Your source for credible news Issue no 003
July, 2020
France-based genocidaire flushed out in Orleans
NEWS
Rwanda coffee farmers receive much needed support to boost exports. Page 3
PROFILE
Micombero, a “playboy officer” whose fast lifestyle led him Page 8 into crime.
REGIONAL Another high-profile genocidaire pursued by the law, Ntiwiragabo’s turn to face justice is upon him
The anti-terrorism docket in the French Prosecution Department last Saturday, July 25, opened a preliminary investigation into Col. Aloys Ntiwiragabo on suspected charges of crimes against humanity (extermination of Tutsi). Page 2
Rwandan youth inspired by liberation
Harassment by Uganda’s security opened Rwandan business people’s eyes to new opportunities
As part of the 26th Liberation Day celebrations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in partnership with Rwandan embassies and high commissions across the world, held a series of virtual interactive sessions bringing together the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda in Europe, Asia, Canada and Africa.
When the activities of Ugandan security services brought about the closure of the borders at the beginning of March last year, Rwandans that conducted dealings across the border in Uganda began to look for alternatives. “Rwandans were not going to be held hostage by the aggressions of the Ugandan regime!”
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After Ugandan security agencies tortured Rwandan children, Rwanda’s education system took them in Page 9
CARTOON
Issue no 003 July 2020
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The walls close in on France-based genocidaires as Ntiwiragabo is flushed out in Orleans
Another high-profile genocidaire pursued by the law, Ntiwiragabo’s turn to face justice is upon him
Another high-profile genocidaire pursued by the law, Ntiwiragabo’s turn to face justice is upon him
By Robert Rutoma The anti-terrorism docket in the French Prosecution Department last Saturday, July 25, opened a preliminary investigation into Col. Aloys Ntiwiragabo on suspected charges of crimes against humanity (extermination of Tutsi), conspiracy to commit genocide, and complicity in genocide. “The walls are closing in on the genocidaires in France,” a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi said excitedly upon learning the news. Ntiwiragabo has been smoked out of his hiding place in France by a French investigative journalist, Theo Englebert of Mediapart – an investigative digital newspaper. According to Englebert, Ntiwiragabo has been living in France in the city of Orleans in an apartment with his wife Catherine Nikuze and their two children. Nikuze arrived in the country in March 1998 and her asylum application was granted in September 1999. She acquired French citizenship in 2005 as Catherine Nikuze Tibot.
Mediapart said it had been tracking down Ntiwiragabo – who also was a founding member of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, FDLR – in a period between December 2019 and March 2020. Ntiwiragabo blew his cover in February this year when he ventured out to attend mass with his wife. That’s when investigative journalists took pictures of him, and his identity confirmed. He was revealed as being alive as opposed to earlier false reports of his demise. Unverified reports had indicated that Ntiwiragabo had died and to date ICTR, Interpol, France, and Rwanda were not actively seeking him, having dropped arrest warrants against him due to the misleading information of his supposed death. Ntiwiragabo is well known for his role in the Genocide, having been close to the Akazu – the dreaded inner circle of the Habyarimana regime amongst whose most notorious members were people like Habyarimana’s wife Agathe, Col. Theoneste Bagosora, the
regime’s feared chief of staff of the defense ministry, and Protais Zigiranyirazo (Habyarimana’s brother in law). As head of military intelligence (G2) in the Habyarimana regime, Ntiwiragabo drew up lists of those he termed enemies of the country. He was said to keep many names on his “must die” lists of Tutsis living in Rwanda. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) identified Ntiwiragabo as one of the architects of the Tutsi Genocide early on it’s existence. Ntiwiragabo appears in the ICTR’s “High Military Officials” trials with 10 other ex-FAR senior officers. They were indicted by the court on charges of conspiracy to commit genocide, planning and execution of genocide, direct and public incitement to exterminate Tutsis, as well as taking part in the massacres of Tutsis from 1990 to 1994. According to Richard Mugenzi, a former subordinate of Ntiwiragabo, during his reign as head of
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G2, Ntiwiragabo publicly incited people to hate Tutsi “as enemies of peace and the country.” Mugenzi said Ntiwiragabo would be seen supervising persecutions, torture and killings, and he would be directly involved in the torture of so called “Ibyitso” (accomplices). Ntiwiragabo headed the military intelligence department which was charged with identifying and making lists of Tutsis and anyone who opposed the regime’s genocide agenda or anyone alleged to be a sympathizer of the RPF who would then be condemned to death. The prosecution of Ntiwiragabo, analysts say, is further confirmation that French President Emmanuel Macron “means business when he says genocide perpetrators in France will face justice.” Ntiwiragabo is the second-high profile genocide suspect in France to face the law after the arrest of Felicien Kabuga, known as one of the biggest fish of the culprits of the Genocide, in Paris this May, 17.
Issue no 003 July 2020
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Rwanda coffee farmers receive much needed support to boost exports case Made-in-Rwanda products, such as coffee, through the Visit Rwanda brand. This increased visibility comes with requirements on premium packaging.
With premium packaging, Rwanda’s coffee is bound to make a heavy kick on international markets
By Jason Muhire On July 21, the Rwanda Coffee Farmers Federation (RCCF) announced that it had secured a Rwf60 million donation to purchase premium quality coffee bags that will be used to ensure the supply of safe products to local, regional and international markets. The funds were donated by the Project for Rural Income through Exports (PRICE) in partnership with the National Agriculture Export Development Board (NAEB). Theopista Nyiramahoro, the Chairperson of RCCF indicated that the coffee bags are part of a sustainable plan that will enable farmers to expand their coffee export market. “We have already ordered for the
bags which will arrive by December, so that we can embark on distribution,” she said. In similar efforts to boost its coffee exports, Rwanda and the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba signed an agreement in 2018 that opened doors for coffee famers to take part in the cross-border electronic trade by availing their products to the Chinese market. In practical terms, the platform removed the middlemen between Rwandan farmers and Chinese consumers, which would increase the prices for farmers. Moreover, in December 2019, Rwanda signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the French soccer giants PSG to, among other things, promote and show-
“Despite the government’s efforts, the sector faces challenges with coffee farmers still getting unfair prices as compared to other players in the value chain and climate change affecting production in quality and quantity” said Angelique Karekezi, the Managing Director of Rwanda Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company. In similar news, the Third World Coffee Producers Forum, which will be held in Kigali next year, will attract industry leaders, economists to forge solutions to the challenges faced by farmers who produce raw and unroasted coffee. One of the possible solutions for Rwanda could be the development of a local market.
Currently, Rwanda only consumes an estimated three per cent of the coffee produced in the country, according to information from the National Agricultural Export Board. Comparatively, Ethiopia’s coffee industry sells about 50 percent of its coffee locally without facing drops in international coffee prices, according to experts of the sector. For Rwanda, under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), 2017-2024, one of the specific objectives for the agricultural sector is to increase agriculture and livestock quality, productivity and production. The identified key strategic interventions are to continue to promote the ‘Made in Rwanda’ brand working with the private sector and to identify and develop priority value chains in order to create job opportunities and increase export revenues.
With premium packaging, Rwanda’s coffee is bound to make a heavy kick on international markets
Rwandan youth inspired by liberation By Joan Balinda As part of the 26th Liberation Day celebrations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in partnership with Rwandan embassies and high commissions across the world, held a series of virtual interactive sessions bringing together the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda in Europe, Asia, Canada and Africa.
Rwanda’s liberation places a big responsibility on the youth.
The sessions have been taking place throughout the month of July. During the discussions,
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senior government officials shared with the diaspora, mainly the youth, the history of the liberation struggle and the country’s achievements in the last 26 years. “Before liberation, many people inside the country were being killed, tortured, and some others in exile had no rights, they could work to the best of their ability, but their work wasn’t appreciated, they were constantly reminded that they are not in their country. Time came when we continue to page 4 >>
Issue no 003 July 2020 >> from page 3 decided that we wanted to have our country, where everyone’s rights are respected. We were ready to make any sacrifice. Even losing our lives,” General James Kabarebe, Senior Presidential Advisor on Security, told the audience. Discussions focused on the country’s history, achievements made thus far, and the role that Rwandans in diaspora, mainly the youth, should play to sustain those achievements. “As the youth, keep in mind that Rwanda is your country, a country in which you have your rights,
but you also have a responsibility to work and develop it in collaboration with others. You do not have to wait for tomorrow, tomorrow is too late, get involved in building Rwanda today,” Dr. Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the youth. Since December 2010 in Brussels, the government has engaged the diaspora at different occasions, mainly during Rwanda Day. Rwanda day is a large gathering of the Rwanda’s community abroad, and friends of Rwanda, to reflect on how to find solutions to the country’s challenges as well as to advance the national development agenda.
Some of the fruits of Rwanda Day include Rwanda’s diaspora raising funds to support social development activities such as school construction, the One Dollar Campaign, and supporting the vulnerable people with health insurance. Moreover, between 2010 and 2018 remittances from the Rwandan diaspora have also increased 158%. Government’s efforts to engage the community abroad has remined the Diaspora of its important role in the economic development of the country by promoting tourism, trade, foreign direct investment, creating businesses, spurring entrepreneurship, and
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transferring new knowledge and skills. Liberation day is one of the most important days in the history of Rwanda for delivering the country from the shackles of the genocidal regime. The young generation is inspired to emulate the bravery of the young men and women that stopped the genocide. Rwandans in the diaspora are encouraged to keep strong ties with their country by taking part in the main events and increasingly, more Rwandans aboard are exercising their right to vote in embassies across the world.
Cycling tourism: Game changer to boost domestic tourism Cycling tourism is gaining momentum going by the growing volume of bookings that are received on a weekly basis, a move that will significantly contribute to the development of domestic tourism by increasing tourism revenues. “Something interesting is that local and international tourists are increasingly showing interest in cycling tourism ever since the time the new tourism offering was officially launched,” said an official from Musanze District-based Africa Raising Cycling Centre – a training hub for local and international riders that also oversees cycling tourism.
By Jason Muhire Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY) in partnership with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on June 27th 2020 unveiled a cycling- tourism scheme in an effort to boost the country’s domestic tourism. FERWACY president, Abdallah Murenzi explained that cycling tourism seeks to enable tourists to explore beautiful parts of the country stressing that the federation welcomes whoever needs to experience cycling tourism regardless of their backgrounds and experience in cycling. “We are calling upon those who are fond of bicycle to take part in cycling tourism; we welcome those who may need to train themselves, riding professionals and non-professionals and cycling teams that may need to prepare for competitions,” he noted. The new tourism offering was launched in Musanze District, the home of the national volcano parks that host a number of primates, notably the mountain gorillas that are visited by thousands of local and international tourists on an annual basis. Previously, tourists would trek the park and only see the gorillas. Yet, there is a number of other destinations from the park
In Rwanda, cycling goes beyond being a sport, it is a tourist attraction as well.
vicinity they can visit and enjoy as well. Among the destinations is the scenic view of Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo, the mysterious Buhanga Eco-Park – where kings of yore were enthroned – and the Musanze Cave. In the agreement, the federation will work hand-in-hand with Rwanda Development Board to ensure the smooth running and growth of cycling tourism. A visitor who shows up for the ride with their own bicycle pays Rwf25,000 while those hiring bicycles from the federation add an extra Rwf10,000– the package includes tour guides and other equipment
for visitors to have the best experience. Ariella Kageruka, the RDB head of tourism and conservation, noted that annual events such as the Tour du Rwanda, Rwanda Cycling Cup and the Mountain Bike Race help to maintain the country on the global cyclist map, “We resorted to being partners in cycling for us to easily channel messages calling people to ride bicycle and experience the vibrancy and beauty of our country in a fresh way, cycling is one of touristic products that RDB promotes locally and internationally,” she said.
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The new tourism offering is among other new touristic initiatives that Rwanda is bringing in to meet her ambition to double tourism revenues to $800 million by 2024 from $374million generated in 2016 as it is stipulated in the National Strategy of Transformation (NST1). The latter outlines that doubling tourism revenues will be achieved through positioning Rwanda as a world class and high-end ecotourism destination. NST-1 expects increased investments in tourism infrastructure including the development of the Kivu Belt tourism master plan, as well as developing the hospitality industry and building the capacity of the private sector to provide high levels of service delivery, among others.
Issue no 003 July 2020
Rwanda economic plan aims at job creation
On April 8th 2019, First Lady Jeannette Kagame launched construction activities of ‘Jardin de la Mémoire’ (Garden of Memory) for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at Nyanza Genocide Memorial Centre in Kicukiro District. The works on the second phase of the garden are set to be completed at the end of this month. The garden of memory symbolises life and rebirth after the Genocide, as well as the nature’s protection during the Genocide that claimed the lives of over one million victims.
By Juliet Mbabazi On July 20th, the Rwandan government received Rwf 152 Billion from the World Bank and the European Union to create employment opportunities for the youth mainly in the areas of digital economy and tourism hospitality. The money will support job creation in the private sector by facilitating the implementation of the “Market Skills4Tourism” and “Tech Innovation/Incubation Hubs” projects. ”Equipping the workforce with the right skills for economic transformation is central to our long term development objectives, so this support will contribute to upskilling Rwanda’s workforce for long-term economic transformation,” Uzziel Ndagijimana, the minister of finance and economic planning, said in a statement while signing the financial agreement with the World Bank “The program will address Rwanda’s needs to create employment opportunities for its youth. Activities will focus on two sub-sec-
tors, namely the digital economy and tourism hospitality, which have the potential for rapid, sustainable private sector growth and job creation,” He added. Skills development and employment promotion have been central to Rwanda s transformative vision, aiming to become an upper-middle-income country by 2035, and ultimately a high-income country by 2050. The country is making progress towards a middle-income export-oriented economy through prioritising knowledge-based industries. According to the national institute of statistics of Rwanda (NISR), the number of employed persons increased from about 3,186,000 in February 2019(Q1) to about 3,569,000 in February 2020(Q1). However, the Rwandan government has, for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, budgeted Rwf16.2 billion on Job creation and entrepreneurship development, with the government targeting 205,500 new jobs through the National Employment Program (NEP).
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Rwanda to unveil genocide memorial garden By Blessing Agahozo
Rwanda looks at skills development and employment promotion it the quest to becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2035.
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“We need various appropriate and serene places such as this garden which allows us to gather and continue to keep present the memory of those who perished. As we visit this green garden by commemorating Genocide victims, it has to remind us that this country is rebuilt on sacrifices, of those who stopped the Genocide when they were even very young,” the First Lady said. Over 2,500 Tutsi were killed by Interahamwe-militia in Nyanza area after they were abandoned by UN peacekeepers. The victims had sought refuge at the former ETO-Kicukiro (currently IPRC-Kigali) which was protected by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) until the Belgian contingent left the country, leaving them at the mercy of the killers. The garden preparation, which will cover three hectares at a cost of Rwf700 million, is being implemented under the support of Ibuka, National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), Imbuto Foundation and Kicukiro District. Its features include a stone monument, a dry
garden, the forest of memory made of indigenous 100 tree varieties for 100 days of suffering and slaughter, landscape terraces, earth mounds, a meditation corridor, seasonal marshlands, and an amphitheater. Other aspects include marshlands, waterways, rivers, trenches, trees, flowers and pit-holes, among others that will represent places where victims were killed. The dry stone feature simply means ‘we were here as a place of renaissance, the rebirth,’ according to officials. Naphtal Ahishakiye, the Executive Secretary of the Genocide Survivor Organization, Ibuka, recently announced that the first phase has been completed while the second phase will be completed by the end of this month. “The third and fourth phases might be short and we are mulling over combining them as a way of fast-tracking the works. Our wish is that we mark next year genocide commemoration when the memorial garden is complete,” he said. The garden of memory is among other initiatives that Government of Rwanda has put forward to keep the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi alive. The initiatives consist of upgrading and refurbishment of genocide memorials from across the country, constructing genocide monuments and intensifying the fight against genocide ideology in Rwanda and anywhere in the world. The National Strategy of Transformation (NST1) stipulates that fighting genocide ideology will be achieved by enhancing regional and international cooperation in Genocide ideology prevention and prosecution noting that conservation and preservation of material proof of the Genocide will also be reinforced by 2024.
The Garden would serve as a favorable place to reflect and keep the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi while also contributing to fighting Genocide denial
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Issue no 003 July 2020
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CARTOON OF THE WEEK
For anti-Rwanda campaigners, another cynical tactic is exploitation of even the mentally sick By Jean Gatera Every sympathetic human being knows that when you look, and listen to individuals like Aimable Karasira of Sekikubo Barafinda Fred, you feel sympathy. Mental illness is one of the most dreaded conditions anyone can think of. People like Barafinda and Karasira deserve special sympathy. But the groups that spend time digging up any dirt to smear Rwanda have no empathy for anyone. They will fully exploit the utterances of even the most mentally unwell people for their political purposes. This website invites the reader to do a YouTube search for instance: type in: “Sekikubo Barafinda Fred yemereye Royal TV ko yabaye mu kigo kivura indwara zo mu mutwe i Ndera (Sekikubo admits to Royal TV he was an inmate of Ndera mental health hospital). For those that speak Kinyarwanda, the four and a half minute video – posted by Royal TV on 13 June 2017 – will leave one under no doubt this man is not well at all. His utterances only provoke pity. Yet this is the very fellow that the propagandists have been propping up
as “a great opposition politician that ‘Kigali is fighting!’” In the case of Aimable Karasira, the man is well known in Rwandan society as someone that’s not in full possession of his mental faculties. The man will be seen drinking himself into a highly intoxicated state, in his own videos, then say absolutely anything that crosses his zonked mind. “It is like a tongue that has lost its brake,” said one woman who has seen several of the man’s videos. To the mudslingers, these two men are a godsend. The propagandists for instance are seen regularly issuing missing person reports on social media. They (propagandists) are determined to construct a “missing person” any time one of the mentally unwell fellows goes missing. And of course, they will be pointing a finger at the Rwandan Government as “the culprit.” On the Seventh this month, Aimable Karasira was the subject of yet another false “missing person” campaign. Members of terrorist groups like Kayumba Nyamwasa’s RNC, such as Kayumba Rugema, or genocide
negationist, anti-Rwanda propagandists like Charles Kambanda, as well as others like Ruhumuriza Mbonyumutwa of Jambo ASBL – a Europe-based online organization dedicated to the dissemination of the genocide ideology – began a social media rumor that Karasira “had been abducted, and secretly jailed in Rwanda.” They were joined by Judy Rever, a Canadian dedicated to disseminating the deranged lie that “the RPF is responsible for genocide.” But when Karasira reappeared on social media, on Wednesday this week, the propagandists just went silent. As they always do. Karasira, by his own admission, is a troubled soul who vanishes from time to time. He has said, “I suffer from deep depression and I have not found a doctor for it”, explaining why he sometimes decides to go offline and out of sight. A social media analyst explained why the propagandists closely monitor Karasira. “He is quite literally a useful madman,” the analyst said. “Also, Karasira is an attention seeker,
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always willing to produce outrageous content. They exploit his mental state and breakdowns just as they do with Barafinda.” Ironically, it was Barafinda, released one week ago (once again after another stay in Ndera psychiatric care facility) who managed to get Karasira out and about on social media. “When Barafinda announced that Karasira was wanted for an injection by the psychiatric care center who had released him from Ndera, it caught Karasira’s attention. “Karasira immediately went to interview him,” sources familiar with the situation told us. So, for the moment Rwanda government is off the hook, laughed an observer. “Karasira and Barafinda are in public view, so there is ‘proof Kigali has not abducted and murdered them.” But just wait next week, or some other time when Barafinda does one of his vanishing acts, and listen as the shameless liars shout “murder”, “abduction”, or any of their familiar accusations, said the observer.
CARTOONS
Issue no 003 July 2020
CARTOONS OF THE MONTH
A THIEF HAS 40 DAY: Uganda now stuck with anti-Rwanda elements. Will they bring them to book?
RNC terrorists ditch Nyamwasa to form new armchair terror group
FDLR clobbered by FARDC: ‘col’ Bolingo captured fleeing
Dr. Sam Ruvuma, the embezzler that eluded Justice by joining RNC
Deo Nyirigira, a “pastor” that would work for the Devil
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Uganda sponsors anti-Rwanda militia groups through her minister Mateke to destabilize Rwanda
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Micombero, a “playboy officer” whose fast lifestyle led him into crime By Robert Rutoma “Corrupt, arrogant, promiscuous and greedy,” former friends and colleagues summed up the character of Jean Marie Micombero, a disgraced former RDF officer that fled Rwanda when the walls of accountability began to close in on him. Maj. Micombero is one of “a very few bad apples of the normally highly disciplined Rwanda Defense Force,” remarked a now retired former colleague of Micombero’s who preferred anonymity. Those who know Jean Marie Micombero will tell you that he lived his life in the fast lane. Born in neighboring DRC, in Walikale, North Kivu Province, the flashy gentleman was known for his “cool” execution of “Ndombolo dance moves” on weekends. It probably was the fact of his fast lifestyle of clubs “and everything that goes with such a life” that caused an uncontrollable thirst for money, those that knew him well say. “He was living far beyond his means, and inevitably he developed corrupt habits,” one source told Virunga Post. But much as Micombero seemed to be enjoying the fruits of liberation more than most, it is revealed that during the struggle he did far less than most colleagues. Among those he served in the army with at various periods beginning in the early 90s, Micombero was known as the “white collar soldier”. This was in allusion to the fact that during the hardest battles of the struggle for liberation, he was always finding ways of dodging the frontline. A former colleague told this website that while others were facing fire at the front line head-on, Micombero spent most of his time at the sick bay, “feigning one ailment or another.” Another former colleague reveals something else about him. “Micombero yari maringaringa kabissa!” (The man really liked to avoid duty).
Micombero’s “playboy” ways led him to corruption; and to fleeing so as to evade accountability
However, despite this reputation for cowardice, and for dodging to carry out his duties, Micombero was an “incurable braggart”, always making sure everyone knew he joined the struggle from the University of Lubumbashi (in neighboring Congo). He was always boasting, “I can only be assigned office jobs.” Empathy, however, has always been a key principle of the RPF, and of its struggle for liberation. However bad someone’s flaws were, the leadership always tried to find the good in anyone, and give them a chance to serve their country. And so, despite Micombero’s cowardice, coupled with arrogance, he still got a chance. After the end of the liberation struggle Micombero was granted permission to complete his education, after which he would return to his position in the Ministry of Defense.
He went back to university, where he was in his third year pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Law. Upon graduation from the National University of Rwanda in Butare, he served as a judge in the military court of appeal. He was later on to serve as the legal advisor at the Rwanda Ministry of Defense, shortly followed by an appointment as director of judicial affairs, before he was appointed secretary general – a position he served in for a period of one year. Owing to his playboy lifestyle, however, Micombero had several run-ins with the law. Audit reports were implicating him in cases of financial misappropriation, “the bulk of which involved gross transgressions in tendering processes for supplies,” reports say. Micombero was found guilty after a trial, and put behind bars for a year. When he came out, he devised ways to flee, and ended
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up in Belgium in 2011. There he joined a cohort of self-exiled Rwandans of the same character as his. Jean Marie Micombero took the same route as others, becoming a self-styled “expert” on Rwanda’s politico-military affairs. Today he is often sought out by Francophone media like RFI and RTBF as an “expert”, or “eyewitness” commentator on issues – especially those where there is an anti-Rwanda agenda. Before the current crumbling of Kayumba Nyamwasa’s Rwanda National Congress, Micombero was the organization’s de-facto number three. Now, he is living a dead-end existence, a sad exhibit to the moral that we must always try to live within our means.
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After Ugandan security agencies tortured Rwandan children, Rwanda’s education system took them in
Some of the students that Uganda’s CMI abducted and tortured, have regained their lives back home in Rwanda and now are back to school and receiving all possible support.
By Patience Kirabo Just like every other Rwandan national that crosses to (or lives in) Uganda, students have not escaped harassment and all kinds of abuses at the hands of Ugandan security organs. When the Rwandan administration last year in early March issued a travel advisory to its citizens against travel to Uganda, Rwandan students that had been attending school in Uganda (and their parents) made alternative plans. Now, more than a year and a half after the travel advisory, Rwandan students that used to attend school in Uganda have opted to schooling back home. “It is really strange how these Ugandan organs, such as CMI (Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence) used to mistreat even Rwandan secondary school children going back to school in Uganda following holidays,” said a border official that talked to us on condition of anonymity. “Imagine abducting even children that they are Kigali spies, and taking them to unknown locations to subject them to torture. Yet they were going to schools of Uganda, to enrich Uganda,” the official shakes his head. “They were not begging Ugandans for an education; they were paying!”
The official shakes his head in anger at the thought of the torture of children. Several Rwandan students used to travel to Uganda to study every year and were a significant source of revenue for universities and schools there. That no longer is the case following the determined victimization of Rwandan nationals after Kampala’s adoption of a policy of anti-Rwanda hostility by working with groups such as Kayumba Nyamwasa’s RNC, and others bent on destabilizing the security of Rwanda. “Whoever advised Uganda did so very poorly,” said an observer. “Their hostility has backfired, in very big ways including the fact that their educational institutions have lost a very big chunk of their income, which was from Rwanda students.” In just one of the notorious instances of CMI’s victimization of Rwandans, in November last year they arbitrarily arrested four Rwandan university students on the usual allegations of “espionage” that no Ugandan security organ has yet proved against any Rwandan national – in a court, or anywhere else. Like hundreds that have fallen victim to operatives of Kampala’s security organs, their only crime was that they were Banyarwanda. The students, Andrew Mugisha,
Joram Rwamwojo, Emmanuel Namanya, and Living Kagaara, were all at Kampala International University. They were abducted from their hostels, blindfolded, and taken to Makindye Military Barracks. While there they were mistreated, tortured and beaten into false confessions that they were “Rwandan spies”, even though the victims had no idea of what their torturers were talking about.
Schools in Uganda have reported a drastic fall in student numbers as hundreds of Rwandan learners never reported back since the second term of school that started on 27 May, 2019.
This was a very important factor in persuading Rwandan students, and Rwandan parents that it was no longer wise to try to pursue studies in Uganda. “Life was normal, until it wasn’t. I ceased to study with a settled mind knowing that anytime someone was going to arrest me on the way to or from school,” Mugisha narrated.
“That is the kind of thing that Uganda probably did not expect when its acts caused the closure of the border,” remarked a commentator.
Rwandan parents completely stopped sending their children to study in Uganda. The Rwandan government ensured that all school going students who were studying in Uganda before were successfully enrolled in Rwanda. At a press conference on the resolutions from the government leadership retreat earlier this year, the Minister of Local Government Anastase Shyaka said: “None of our children has failed to find a school to continue education in Rwanda. They have been all successfully enrolled.”
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According to Nazario Mubangizi, the deputy head teacher of Katuna Primary School, the school had about 105 Rwandan pupils out of 355 pupils, but none of them reported back.
Ronald Beinomugisha Katungi, the Public Relations Officer of Bishop Barham University College in Kabale says about 120 Rwandan students who studied in Uganda never showed up again after border closure. “We are now counting losses since we don’t expect new students in the forthcoming intake,” he said. Inadvertently, it is Rwanda’s education system that has benefitted, the bulk of students that used to cross the border having now enrolled in Rwandan schools. “And they have really lost nothing in quality of tuition either,” said a Rwandan educationist on condition of anonymity.
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How harassment by Uganda’s security opened Rwandan business people’s eyes to new opportunities By Patience Kirabo When the activities of Ugandan security services brought about the closure of the borders at the beginning of March last year, Rwandans that conducted dealings across the border in Uganda began to look for alternatives. “Rwandans were not going to be held hostage by the aggressions of the Ugandan regime!” said a Cyanika businessman last year. The Rwandan administration thought so, and in concern for the safety and security of its citizens, issued a strong advisory against travel to Uganda. Rwandans stopped going to Uganda for business, education, and travel, “all because Ugandan security agencies thought they could just pick and harass Rwandan nationals, ‘as if they thought we were just helpless chickens!’” added another border resident. Now members of Rwandan business communities are fully settled into their new routines. For starters many have chosen to do their business transactions in China, Turkey, Dubai, Kenya, DRC, or domestic markets as their alternative. Some of the business people that we talked to for this story include those that can foot the bill to fly across the world to do
business, and those in small and medium enterprises that expressed a sense of optimism after expanding their horizons and looking beyond Uganda. “I think one of the best things the Ugandan regime did was to open our eyes to new possibilities,” laughed a trader. “Why risk arrest or death in Uganda when even better opportunities can be found elsewhere?” “Rwandans definitely need to widen their horizons,” agreed Christelle Kamikazi, a businesswoman who deals in clothes and garments in Kigali. Before opting for the Guangzhou (China) route, Kamikazi, and a number of other business colleagues of hers had been getting their stock from Uganda. Now the Kampala wholesalers “are cut out as middlemen and women,” said a business analyst. Zaina Mukabagunga, a businesswoman that operates from Burera District, just next to Uganda thanks the Rwandan Government for encouraging them to explore ways to tap into different markets within the country, or open new markets in the neighboring Congo. She currently exports potatoes and other agricultural produce to the Congolese market, which she says is coming along well despite even the challenges of Covid-19. “Imagine
Rwandan business people continued operating.
how good things will be when life returns to normal,” she says. Relations badly sored between Kampala and Kigali due Uganda’s hostile, anti-Rwanda policy that Kampala doesn’t even hide in its open backing of anti-Rwanda terror groups like RNC. But even after the two heads of state signed a memorandum of understanding in Luanda, Angola, in August last year as part of efforts by the Angolan head of state (with the participation of DRC),
Rwandan business people found new business opportunity after Ugandan security agencies threatened their lives and businesses.
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Kampala has only paid lip service to its commitments to restore normal relations. Among the commitments are that Kampala end its dealings with negative anti-Rwanda groups, as well as ending harassment and persecution of Rwandans, in addition to releasing hundreds of Rwandans illegally detained, but never tried on any charges.
Issue no 003 July 2020
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Battle royal in anti-Rwanda rebel coalitions: “You don’t own us” FLN rebel blasts both Twagiramungu and Rusesabagina By Moses Gisa Internal conflicts have deepened in the anti-Rwanda coalition MRCD-Ubumwe and its former ally CRND-Ubwiyunge. The two are clashing over ownership of the armed militia group, known as Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), with MRCD claiming to have established and sponsored the militias before any other. FLN is better known as one of the armed anti-Rwanda terrorist groups. In a press conference earlier this month, on 6th July, MRCD spokesperson Faustin Twagiramungu announced that, “FLN is a legal entity of MCRD-Ubumwe.” Twagiramungu then accused MRCD’s former ally, CNRD, of “impersonation”, and false claims of ownership. “We are tired of military dictatorships and if CNRD fights for democracy, their militias should submit to the leadership of MRCD-Ubumwe because we own them,” shouted a deranged Twagiramungu.
created long before the existence of MRCD-Ubumwe. FLN was formed on May 31, 2016, by members of FDLR-FOCA, from different units in what was codenamed ‘Peace Revolution’ led by Laurent Ndagijimana (alias “Lt. Gen.” Wilson Irategeka Rumbago). “That was when the laws and names of CNRD-Ubwiyunge and FLN were enacted for our political and armed group respectively,” Geva added. “I see their (Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu) claims as just a political talk that has nothing to do with reality.” Continuing to inadvertently disclose the disarray roiling the terrorist groups, Geva continued: “We joined the MRCD-Ubumwe coalition being an already established political and military group.
Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu’s claims are baseless and meant to divert attention and sow divisionism amongst FLN combatants and CNRD members.”
face and spokesman, “Maj.” Callixte Nsabimana alias “Sankara” was arrested, tried in court, and imprisoned on an array of treasonous charges.
According to Geva, “FLN was never Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu’s making. Right from its inception, FLN fought battles with FDLR-FOCA in Kamodoka, Rutshuru, North Kivu in October 2016 and 2017; that was before the formation of MRCD-Ubumwe, or anything by Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu.”
The FLN group is one of the illegal armed groups that are a factor of instability in the region. They have launched terror attacks on innocent civilians that claimed some lives – in Nyaruguru District, Southern Province – before the Rwandan military repulsed them, upon which they fled back to Burundi via the Nyungwe Forest.
On what has become the norm in all anti-Rwanda terrorist groups, the MRCD-Ubumwe coalition did not last long. Its members started accusing each other of betrayal, mismanagement of member contributions, and insubordination, among others. Matters further worsened when its public
According to SOS Media and Radio Publique Africaine, the same FLN militias ambushed Burundian soldiers on night patrol in Kibira forest, killing two and injuring four in the night of Monday, 20 this July.
It was in July 2017 that a group called PDR-Ihumure of Rusesabagina, RDI-Rwanda Rwiza of Twagiramungu, and CNRD-Ubwiyunge of ‘Lt Gen’ Wilson Irategeka, agreed to form MRCD-Ubumwe. CNRD’s major contribution to the coalition was its armed wing, FLN which the others resolved to sponsor. Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu then campaigned across Europe to raise funds for what they termed an “armed struggle to overthrow the Rwandan government.” Recently, on 20 this month in an interview with CNRD-Ubwiyunge Radio and TV, however, both Twagiramungu and Rusesabagina’s statements were refuted by MRCD’s “head of security and intelligence,” a man called “Brig. Gen.” Antoine Hakizimana, alias Geva, who also serves as “head of military operations” in FLN. “I was shocked to hear what Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu said,” he said. “FLN was
Aftermath of an FLN terror attack in 2018, in Nyaruguru. The group’s violent agenda is what the likes of Rusesabagina and Twagiramungu are squabbling to take control of.
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