FIRST READ:
Kagame , The USA Darling and African economic model who violates human rights with impunity :The danger of running from one USA client state and hiding in another USA slave state : Former Kagame bodyguard attacked in Uganda
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2012/07/kagame-usa-darling-and-african-economic.html
The murder of former Rwandan
Interior Minister Seth Sendashonga
http://africannewsanalysis.blogspot.com/2007/03/nairobi-sendashonga-trio-acquitted-of.html
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot”
October 17, 2012
Holding too much information and working closely with the government in Rwanda can be a lethal combination. This was evidenced again on Monday when the body of Theogene Turatsinze was found after having been missing since Friday night in Mozambique. Sources held report that he had been abducted by unknown assailants and was never seen alive again. The cause of his death has been unofficially declared as drowning but the official cause of death is still being investigated. His hands were found bound behind his back and he was submerged in water when his body was discovered.
Theogene Turatsinze was the Managing Director of the Rwanda Development Bank from 2005-2007.
In 2007 Turatsinze was told by the Minister of Finance in Rwanda to declare the bank as bankrupt because the bank had no money. He refused to declare the bankruptcy because the money had been borrowed by Rwandan Government officials and invested in personal businesses and he believed this money should and could be paid back. He was then forced to resign and his assistant, Jack Kayonga took over the bank. Jack Kayonga did immediately what the Minister of finance asked by declaring the bank as bankrupt and cancelling all of the debt owed by the members of the RPF.
In 2007 Turatsinze moved to Mozambique where he worked as a lecturer and a business man. A few days ago he was contacted by the World Bank and the IMF because these two organizations were seeking his help to answer their questions as to where the money in the bank had gone when the bank declared itself as banrupt. These two organizations are the main lenders to the RDB. They requested the RDB to conduct an audit but had requested to speak with Turatsinze first.
These investigations came after the World Bank discovered that the Government of Rwanda (RPF) is worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Reliable Sources from the Rwandan intelligence have reported that his killing was planned and carried out by Rwandan service men due to his knowledge of where the money had gone and the risk of him giving information to the IMF and the World Bank.
The financial situation in Rwanda today is very fragile due to the amount of aid being cut to this small country based on reports of Rwanda’s involvement in continuing to destabilize Eastern Congo by the report published in June 2012 by the UN Group of Experts. Having another stain on the country after this very damaging report would most likely prove to be disastrous as Rwanda struggles to hang onto what little aid it is still receiving from the International community.
Sadly, Turatsinze is the latest innocent victim of this dangerous regime due to knowing too much about what really goes on inside the Rwandan Government.
Former BRD Director found dead in Maputo
http://in2eastafrica.net/former-brd-director-found-dead-in-maputo
By In2EastAfrica ReporterA Rwandan national who has been living in Mozambique was yesterday found dead after going missing for two days.
The deceased, Theogene Turatsinze, went missing on Friday evening after parting with a delegation of investors who he had dropped off at a hotel.Rwanda’s envoy to S. Africa Vincent Karega confirmed the death in an e-mail received by The New Times yesterday.
“… After dropping them around 8pm, he was no longer on phone and he did not return home…,” Karega said.
Turatsinze was a Managing Director of the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) between 2005 -2007.
The motive behind the killing could have been ‘kidnap but no one tried to ask for a ransom until this morning [yesterday] when his body was discovered’ tied by ropes and floating in a lake, Ambassador Karega said in the e-mail.
He added that at the time of his death, Turatsinze was an accomplished businessman and a vice Chancellor at a private university in Maputo.
He said the deceased’s car was found parked and intact. “Police reports have not yet been made public,” he said.
By Emmanuel R. Karake, The New Times
Taking us to be fools: Kagame’s government demands inquiry into Turatsinze’s death
Rwanda demands inquiry into Turatsinze’s death
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15149&a=59691
The government has demanded an investigation into the killing of Theogene Turatsinze, a Rwandan who was found dead in Maputo, Mozambique on Monday.According to a statement received today by The New Times, the High Commission of Rwanda to the Republic of Mozambique condemned in strongest term the murder and expressed sympathies to the family of the deceased.
“The Government of Rwanda has called upon the Government of Mozambique to investigate the case and bring the culprits to book and is committed to follow it up and support the family during this trying time,” reads the statement.
Turatsinze was a prominent businessman in Mozambique and the vice-president of a private catholic university in Maputo.
He reportedly went missing last Friday evening after parting with a delegation of investors who he had dropped off at a hotel. The deceased's car was found parked and intact.
He was the Managing Director of the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) between 2005 -2007.
The Trial and persecution of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Follow the Trial and persecution of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
http://www.buitenpostdewereld.org/weblog-rwanda-2010/trial-victoire-ingabire.html
Supreme Court rules on Ingabire petition today
The Supreme Court will today announce its decision on an
application filed by Victoire Ingabire, who stands
accused of terrorism charges.
This was confirmed yesterday by the spokesperson of the judiciary, Charles Kaliwabo in an interview with The New Times.
In the petition, Ingabire, who heads a yet to be registered political party, FDU-Inkingi, filed at the highest court of the land, challenged the Genocide Ideology Law.
The suspect petitioned the Supreme Court seeking a repeal of articles 4 and 9 of the law against Genocide Ideology saying they contradict articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution that guarantee freedom of expression.
Her substantive trial and that of her four co-accused — all former rebels—is underway at the High Court.
She is accused, among other charges, of terrorism after evidence presented by the prosecution and witness accounts linked her to a group of militiamen based in DRC with whom she allegedly planned to carry out subversive activities on Rwandan territory.
Ingabire is also accused of promoting genocide ideology.
In her trial, which began in September 2011, the High Court had earlier found her statements at Kigali Genocide Memorial – Gisozi– to be in clear violation of the genocide ideology laws of July 2008.
At the memorial, Ingabire allegedly espoused the double Genocide theory of which, while appearing before the Supreme Court, she again claimed she found nothing wrong accusing Tutsis of killing Hutus the same way Hutus killed Tutsis.
In a related development, the High Court will on Friday pronounce its verdict in the trial.
Since Ingabire is accused of genocide ideology and was challenging the law, High Court judges thought the Supreme Court decision may affect their decision hence deciding to delay their ruling.
The prosecution is seeking a life sentence in this case.
The four militia officers who were part of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, confessed to working with Ingabire to stage subversive activities.
Rwandan opposition leader found dead
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/14/rwanda-opposition-politician-found-dead
Discovery of Andre Kagwa Rwisereka's body near river
follows attacks on two other critics of President Paul Kagame
- Xan Rice in Nairobi
- The Guardian,
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, vice-president of the Democratic Green party, which was unable to gain registration to contest next month's presidential election, was found near a river close to Butare, in southern Rwanda. He had been reported missing on Tuesday.
"His head was almost completely removed from his body. His brother, Antoine Haguma, confirms seeing the dead body," said Frank Habineza, the party president.
Police confirmed the death and said a machete was found near the victim, who had also suffered chest wounds.
Eric Kayiranga, a police spokesman, said Rwisereka had reportedly been carrying a lot of money and robbery may have been the motive.
The murder follows the killing in Rwanda on 24 June of Jean Leonard Rugambage, acting editor of the Umuvugizi newspaper.
The government suspended the paper for six months in April for "inciting insubordination in the army and police" and publishing "information that endangers public order". Five days earlier, the former Rwandan army chief Lieutenant General Kayumba Nyamwasa, who had fallen out with President Paul Kagame, was shot in the stomach in South Africa.
Both the exiled Umuvugizi editor and Nyamwasa's wife accused the Rwandan government of being behind the attacks. The government has vigorously denied this, and there is no evidence of its involvement.
But human rights groups have accused Kagame's regime of clamping down on political opponents and the independent media in recent months. On Tuesday, the press watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on the European Union and other donors to suspend financial support for the election because of "a series of grave press freedom violations".
"How much longer will the international community continue to endorse this repressive regime?" the organisation said.
Rwanda: Allow Independent Autopsy of Opposition Politician
Foreign Experts Should Investigate Circumstances of Murder
July 21, 2010
Rwisereka was last seen late in the evening of July 12, 2010. His body was found near the southern town of Butare on July 14. His head had been severed, and witnesses described unusual marks on several parts of his body.
"This is the second killing of an outspoken critic of the Rwandan government in less than a month," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "An independent autopsy and inquiry are necessary to determine what happened to Rwisereka."
Events leading up to Rwisereka's death indicate that the murder may have been politically motivated. He had long told close friends and colleagues that he feared being killed as a result of his opposition to the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the country's ruling party. In recent weeks, Rwisereka had seemed increasingly concerned about his safety.
In late June, the former Green Party secretary general, Charles Kabanda, visited Rwisereka at the Sombrero Club, the bar run by Rwisereka in Butare, and tried to convince him to leave the Green Party. Rwisereka had told people close to him that Kabanda, who left the Green Party earlier in the year, had told him that the RPF would never allow Rwisereka to leave the "family" - referring to the RPF - and questioned what would happen to members of the Green Party. Rwisereka told people close to him that he interpreted this as a threat.
Rwisereka, like Kabanda and many other Green Party members, was formerly a member of the RPF. In previous months, other members of the Green Party had come under pressure to abandon their party activities by individuals believed to be close to the RPF or the government.
The police initially stated to the media that Rwisereka had been the victim of a robbery, and that people who had seen him on the night he disappeared claimed that he was carrying a large sum of money. However, further investigations by Human Rights Watch and others revealed that he had left some money with a relative on the evening of July 12, but had been carrying little money and no valuables at the time of his death.
The police subsequently changed their explanation, alleging a financial dispute between Rwisereka and Thomas Ntivuguruzwa, the last person to see Rwisereka before his disappearance. Ntivuguruzwa, whom the police are treating as the prime suspect, has been arrested and remains in custody.
"The conflicting police statements and discrepancies between the police version and those provided by sources close to the victim are creating doubt and confusion about the circumstances of Rwisereka's death," Roth said. "A thorough independent investigation would confirm or dispel these different explanations."
The Circumstances Surrounding Rwisereka's Death
Human Rights Watch has established that on July 12, Rwisereka arrived at the Sombrero Club at around 10 p.m. and shared drinks and food with Ntivuguruzwa, a regular customer there. At around 1 a.m., Rwisereka left the bar and drove off in the direction of his house. Ntivuguruzwa retired to the hotel room he had reserved at the Sombrero Club and was not seen to leave the hotel until the following morning at around 9 a.m.
Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga told Human Rights Watch that Rwisereka never arrived home. The following morning, an individual living in the area saw Rwisereka's car, which was approximately three kilometers from the Sombrero Club, and called the police. The police told Human Rights Watch that the windshield was broken but that they did not believe that it was the result of a traffic accident. Rwisereka's identity papers and keys were inside the car. Kayiranga said that the police conducted a cursory search of the area but did not expect to find Rwisereka near the site. Family and friends also searched the area for several hours, over a distance of nearly two kilometers, without finding any sign of Rwisereka.
On July 14, police were alerted to a body that had been found by local farmers and confirmed that it was Rwisekera. His head had been severed almost entirely and his face showed signs of beatings. The police said his left arm was injured and his left leg broken. Others who saw the body reported to Human Rights Watch that it was covered with dozens of marks. In statements to the media, the police spokesman rejected claims by the Green Party that Rwisereka's body showed signs of torture. A large butcher's knife was found at the scene, according to police.
Human Rights Watch's investigation revealed that Rwisereka's body was actually found only one kilometer away from his car, not three kilometers as the police spokesman had said. The police told Human Rights Watch that there was a lot of blood at the scene. However, when Human Rights Watch visited the scene the day after the body was found, there was little blood there. The blood was located in a single spot which roughly matched the size of Rwisereka's head, and the body was on a steep slope, suggesting that Rwisereka may have been killed elsewhere.
The police also told Human Rights Watch that Ntivuguruzwa had given a false identity and had not revealed his name on the hotel register. However, Human Rights Watch has seen the hotel register and confirmed that Ntivuguruzwa provided his full name and identity card number.
André Kagwa Rwisereka and the Green Party
Rwisereka was a longstanding member of the RPF, the former rebel movement that carried out attacks in Rwanda from Uganda from 1990, overthrew the government that planned the genocide, and ended the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. In July 1994, the RPF formed a government that still rules Rwanda. Rwisereka had worked closely with high-ranking RPF officials in raising funds for the movement while in exile in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but did not occupy an official position in the party or in the government formed by the RPF after the genocide. Over time, Rwisereka became disillusioned with the RPF. In 2009, he left the party to create the Democratic Green Party - a new opposition party - with other former RPF members.
The Green Party has suffered numerous difficulties and has been unable to obtain authorization from the police or local authorities to hold its meetings. In October 2009, one of its meetings was violently broken up by police. Repeated obstacles by district officials have since prevented it from registering as a political party or competing in the presidential elections scheduled for August 9. Several of its members, including its president, Frank Habineza, have been threatened and urged to abandon their political activities. Earlier this year, three prominent members, including Kabanda, defected from the party and denounced its policies in what many observers believe was an RPF-backed attempt to destabilize the Green Party.
While Habineza is usually the Green Party's public spokesperson, Rwisereka had also spoken out on several occasions. In an interview with the BBC in October 2009, he said: "It is time for people to act to bring about changes, as the RPF is incapable of having an internal revolution. So it has to accept that others come to its aid. A party that does not renew itself, from the point of view of its ideas, ends up falling. All the parties you have known which have worked with dictatorship, where are they now? "
Other Recent Attacks and Intimidation of Government Critics
Several other critics of the government have been targeted in recent weeks. On June 24, Jean-Léonard Rugambage, a journalist with the independent newspaper Umuvugizi, was shot dead outside his home in Kigali, the capital. His murder may have been linked to his newspaper's critical stance and the sensitive investigations he was conducting in the days leading up to his death, including on the attempted murder of former general Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa. The police have arrested two suspects, who have allegedly confessed to planning to kill Rugambage, in revenge for a killing they claim he committed during the genocide.
Umuvugizi, along with the other main independent newspaper Umuseso, was suspended for six months by the Media High Council in April 2010, effectively preventing it from covering events in the election period.
The leader of the PS-Imberakuri opposition party, Bernard Ntaganda, was arrested on June 24 and remains in detention. He is facing several charges, including endangering national security and inciting ethnic divisions. Several other members of his party, and the FDU-Inkingi, another opposition party, were arrested on June 25. They were released a few days later, but the case against them is pending.
Like the Green Party, the PS-Imberakuri and the FDU-Inkingi have been prevented from offering candidates in the forthcoming presidential elections. The FDU-Inkingi has been unable to register as a party due to obstacles similar to those encountered by the Green Party. Its leader, Victoire Ingabire, has been formally accused of collaboration with armed groups, genocide ideology and "divisionism." The PS-Imberakuri registered as a party, but was then taken over by dissident members who set up a parallel structure and appointed their own president to replace Ntaganda. Neither this new president nor Ntaganda are candidates in the presidential elections.
On June 19, a former Rwandan general, Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, was the target of an attempted murder in South Africa. Once a close ally of President Paul Kagame and a former chief-of-staff of the Rwandan army, Kayumba fled to South Africa in February. In exile, he became an outspoken critic of the Rwandan government and of Kagame. Senior Rwandan officials, including the president, have in turn criticized him publicly. The Rwandan government has requested his extradition from South Africa, accusing him of being behind a spate of grenade attacks in Kigali earlier this year. The South African police have arrested several suspects in connection with the attempted murder of Kayumba.
Correction
This July 21, 2010 news release originally incorrectly stated that Andre Kagwa Rwisereka had left some money with a relative on the evening of July 14. The correct date is July 12, 2010.
