Your source for credible news Issue no 036
July, 2021
After plagiarizing a Western media story, The Observer of Uganda invents own allegations against Rwanda
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John Simbaburanga: Attempting to stoke insurrections from a refugee camp in Belgium while claiming to live in S. Africa Page 2
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RUD-Urunana in limbo as dozens of its fighters surrender in a month Page 3 OP - ED
A baffling headline has appeared this Wednesday in a Ugandan newspaper, The Observer, claiming to quote President Kagame telling Uganda: “Yes, we spy on you.” This headline demonstrates the lengths Ugandan propaganda will go to milk a faux scandal manufactured in Western media, which among other things alleges that Rwanda used the Pegasus spyware “to spy on foreign officials.” Page 8 Get a free copy of our e-paper
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A faux scandal manufactured in Western media sends Museveni minions and unholy alliances into feverish excitement Page 9 OP - ED
Latest lie from Kampala propaganda media smears Rwanda and DRC Page 10
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Issue no 036 July 2021
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John Simbaburanga: Attempting to stoke insurrections from a refugee camp in Belgium while claiming to live in S. Africa By KT Press
Simbaburanga. “He can easily go through your wallet and take all the money!”
For anyone that has seen the social media posts of one John Simbaburanga, this man likes to boast that he is an “opposition activist”, and that he is based in South Africa. However this news website can disclose that Simbaburanga – whose Twitter feed and utterances on some online hate radios are full of negativist propaganda that fit into the political agenda to sow instability in Rwanda – in fact lives in a refugee camp in Belgium.
This type of criminal behavior isn’t new with Simbaburanga, and it in fact was what led to his problems, causing his dismissal with disgrace from the police of Rwanda after which he went to self-imposed exile. Simbaburanga’s Twitter avatar shows him in a police uniform accompanied a bio that says he is a former inspector of police. But he has shameful record. As an officer in police he embezzled funds meant for policemen on duty, RCA – Ration Cash Allowance. Through this theft he accumulated an amount that used to build a house at Kamonyi.
According to a Diaspora source that chanced upon this information, Simbaburanga lives in a tent in a disused military camp in the Arendonk municipality of Antwerp, and he stays there with his older brother Didier. “In the camp they live in a tent of the kind where four people are allocated to each tent. Those men that are either single or that don’t live with their families are allocated to tents, each with a metallic bed and a small cupboard like in a secondary school,” our source said. Simbaburanga has spent four years in that camp because, though he went claiming that he was “fleeing insecurity in Rwanda” the authorities have declined to grant him asylum. Anyone that reads his social media posts or listens to him on hate radios such as “Radiyo Urumuri” can easily be misled that the man is well off in South Africa, as he disseminates his anti-Rwanda messages. Yet, as he tweets and retweets, or parrots genocidaire-promoted hate misinformation, or RNC propaganda, or pro-Rusesabagina falsehoods and the like, the man is busy making a living with menial jobs. He cleans toilets, mows grass, loads heavy luggage, and other work that Rwandans typically call “gukora fuckin jobs.” Our source disclosed that much as Simbaburanga often says that, “he is working for change in Rwanda”, or that “Rwanda is not safe for those that oppose ruling party,” the Belgian authorities
But Simbaburanga’s greed became too much, leading to his quickly getting busted.
The photo used by Simbaburanga on Twitter. The self-proclaimed ‘opposition activist’ has a dodgy past, characterised by dishonestly and misconduct.
have never been convinced by his claims. “During his last interview for asylum an official told him ‘but how can you say Rwanda is not safe yet it has been proved to be so; when in fact some of us would even like to go live there!”. That officer obviously had done his homework and realized that Rwanda was safe not only in terms of security, but also that those that say anything on their social media – including YouTube radio owners in Kigali who broadcast exactly the same things as Simbaburanga, are very free to go about their daily lives. Simbaburanga failed to offer a convincing explanation, and his request was once again refused. Our source told us that every time
his asylum request is rejected “Simbaburanga goes and tweets even more outrageous lies about Rwanda,” laughed our Diaspora source. “It is as if he wants to relieve his shame.” In the Arendonk camp, Simbaburanga also is known as “ikimashini” by some fellow Rwandan refugees. The reason is that even Belgian employers looking to hire for heavy casual labor know him. “When they are looking for people to manhandle heavy pallets of goods, or push boxes, or other hard labor at the nearby port of Antwerp, Simbaburanga is one of the first people they look for. He is a real ‘Kimashini’, our source laughed. But any new person to the camp is also advised to steer clear of
According to judicial sources, when he built his house, he sold it to two people. The first buyer he signed an agreement with paid half the purchase amount upfront. It was agreed that once the house was built to completion the buyer would make the rest of the payment. When the house was completed, Simbaburanga instead sold it to another person. Fierce wrangles ensued, until police intervened. Investigations led to further discovery of the man’s criminality. Simbaburanga was locked up. His career as a policeman was over. Upon release he fled, to end up in Arendonk, and to his part time of anti-Rwanda slanders. Simbaburanga’s story should be a cautionary tale to anyone, including those who use their online media platform to encourage anti-government hate or insurrections, even with intention to go to Europe to claim asylum, said a person familiar with his life. “They should never fool themselves that anti-government lies and smears campaigns will get them an easy life in Europe.” Source: ktpress – Rwanda
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RUD-Urunana in limbo as dozens of its fighters surrender in a month By Fred Gashema The feuds within the remnants of the “Rassemblement pour l’Unité et Démocratie” (RUD-Urunana) have reached a boiling point as scores of its fighters opt to give in and raise their arms in surrender. For most, they are failing to cope with incessant infighting; the mistrust that engulfed the anti-Rwanda terror outfit following continued routs at the hands of the Congolese FARDC. One result was that RUD-Urunana’s top commanders were killed, and some others repatriated back to Rwanda to face justice. Reports say that only in the last 30 days a total of 71 RUD-Urunana terrorists who include 11 “senior officers” of various militia ranks and 60 junior officers opted to surrender. They handed themselves to the soldiers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (MONUSCO). “This has dealt a serious blow to terrorist activities in the region,” commented an observer. Besides those that surrendered to MONUSCO, it has emerged that an unconfirmed number of RUD-Urunana fighters fled to Uganda, a country that abets the terror outfit in its activities. Philemon Mateke, a Ugandan minister, was said to be heartbroken. Mateke is like a godfather to RUD-Urunana – acting in that role reportedly on instructions of President Museveni. Fighters that parted ways with RUD-Urunana comprise mostly of a batch of the remnants of Kayumba Nyamwasa’s P5 coalition. These had joined RUD-Urunana just after Nyamwasa’s forces were badly routed from its Masisi bases by FARDC. The Congolese army killed more
than 200 of the RNC’s fighters and also captured 25 others that include Rtd. Maj. Habib Mudathir in mid-June 2019. That group was repatriated to Rwanda where they were tried in court. Sources within RUD-Urunana circles reveal that the P5 militia have been grappling with integration with them since RUD comprises mostly of remnants of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. They have never trusted Nyamwasa’s people since “they were majorly Tutsis.” The mistrust has not abated despite Uganda’s efforts to merge them against Rwanda’s security. “It is a good thing that those anti-Rwanda terror groups are now on each other’s neck!” laughed our source, adding, “those terrorists sooner rather than later will be a thing of the past.”
According to a local news website rwandatribune.com, the RUD-Urunana fighters that gave in and fled to Uganda include “Maj.” Ntare, “Capt.” Théodore the commandant of “Tunis” unit, and “Cpt.” Chris Rukundo the commandant of the Mikotokoto-based “Sarajevo” unit among others. It is reported that those rebel leaders crossed together with their armed escorts. “That’s how welcome they are in Uganda,” commented our source. It is worth recalling that RUD-Urunana is the armed wing of FDU-Inkingi, an unrecognized “political party” formed by Victoire Ingabire who served prison. Sources reveal that RUD-Urunana was created in partnership with Ugandan intelligence, with the specific mission of destabilizing Rwanda under the coordination of Philemon Mateke.
“Cpt.” Chris Rukundo the commandant of the Mikotokoto-based “Sarajevo” unit, and “Capt.” Théodore the commandant of “Tunis” unit, are among other top fighters of RUD-Urunana that gave in and fled to Uganda. Courtesy Photos.
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“Banyarwanda should consider living in Uganda a sin”, CMI agents warned Rwandan man Ndahiro By Patience Kirabo Last Thursday, 8th July, Ugandan authorities dumped 11 innocent Rwandans at Kagitumba border following different periods of illegal detention in the neighboring country. Emmanuel Ndahiro is one of the victims who suffered the longest among the 11 victims of CMI’s mistreatment, harassment and torture. Ndahiro, a businessman, tells a harrowing story; that of a person whose life was threatened, under constant stalking as if he was a criminal for three years, “by people donned in civilian clothing but who would be carrying guns,” he narrates. He later on discovered that these were operatives of Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence – the notorious CMI. “I have felt strange eyes on me everywhere, all the time”, says Ndahiro. Before being dumped together with 10 other compatriots, Ndahiro had been a victim of CMI’s arrest on two occasions. Ndahiro was first arrested in 2019 by CMI operatives who took him to an unknown but scary location, though the men would return him to his house, to ransack it. “They turned my house upside down searching, and even removed the ceiling. They tore everything apart, only to later tell me that they were told that I am a Rwandan soldier and might be in possession of
firearms!” This was a very shocking thing for an innocent man. Finding nothing, the abductors decided to let Ndahiro go. However, he was not free from his tormentors for long. Ndahiro was arrested again on April 20 this year, after two years of stalking, harassment, in addition to being demanded to pay unexplained bribes. He was arbitrarily arrested again at his workplace. They hustled him off, handcuffed, to CMI torture dungeons in Mbuya – to interrogate him with torture. While there, Ndahiro says he was brutally beaten by men that forcefully intended to make him confess to “being a Rwandan spy.” They never allowed him a consular visit as per international conventions. According to the Luanda MoU, signed in August 2019 by the presidents of Uganda and Rwanda in a bid to restore strained relations, both countries are obliged to protect the rights and freedoms of the nationals of the other party. If the Ugandan authorities have a case, then let them present it in court, authorities in Kigali have repeatedly said. But CMI and others prefer criminal abductions, and other mistreatment, observers point out. Ndahiro says they tortured him, with accusations that “met with Rwandan soldiers”, and that he was “spying for Rwanda.” Accu-
Emmanuel Ndahiro, arrested in 2019, is one of Rwandans who suffered the longest among 11 eleven victims of CMI’s mistreatment, harassment and torture.
sations of spying against Rwandans by CMI are standard, for anyone they are after. In no case – of the thousands of Rwandans they have arbitrarily arrested, detained incommunicado, and tortured – has CMI ever shown proof of its accusations. This indicates they just make up charges as an excuse to harass people, followers of these issues have remarked more than once. Ndahiro narrates that after days of severe torture including suspending him facedown, held by chains, and getting beaten everywhere, he was thrown in a stinking basement where he found other Rwandans in multitudes. Many were sick, nursing wounds.
Today, Ndahiro thanks God that he’s safe, and is grateful to the government of Rwanda for receiving him and fellow compatriots with open arms. However, he fears for the safety of his family back in Uganda considering many harsh warnings by CMI operatives that “Banyarwanda should consider living in Uganda a sin.” “I am very worried for my family. They are in danger as long as they are still in Uganda,” Ndahiro said, clearly traumatized by his ordeal in the Mbuya dungeons. Ndahiro says that many Rwandans are still in the dungeons, suffering horrific abuse.
CMI man Maj. Kyatuka shoots dead man with Rwandan ties in extortion scheme run by Kandiho By Alain Mucyo On Wednesday 14 July 2021 a UPDF officer identified as Maj. Nelson Kyatuka attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence shot a civilian, Magidu Mugwanya, dead in a bar quarrel that Kyatuka instigated. Mugwanya whose wife is Rwandan, and whose mother too was Rwandan,
was targeted by Kyatuka on the orders of the latter’s boss, Maj. Gen. Abel Kandiho the director of CMI. Mugwanya, 43, who was a resident of Kibumbiro B zone in Busega parish, Rubaga Division has been operating various businesses in the Kampala and Entebbe areas.
On the fateful day Maj. Kyatuka met the deceased at a bar in Nateete that is known to be a haunt of Museveni’s security operatives, especially those attached to CMI. News is that the shooting happened after an argument escalated between Maj. Kyatuka in the company of city bailiff Moses
Kirunda, an Indian, and Magidu Mugwanya. Our source disclosed that Kyatuka was on a mission to extort a huge sum of money from Magidu Mugwanya who also was a wealthy real estate agent. Maj. Kyatuka apparently wanted money for nothing, yet Mugwan-
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Issue no 036 July 2021
perpetrator,” said our source. “This no doubt is because he works for the dreaded Kandiho!”
> From Page 4 ya thought he was meeting the CMI man for a business deal.
Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Oweyisigyire confirmed the shooting, but refused to confirm that it was Kyatuka. Even Brig. Flavia Byekwaso the UPDF spokesperson said that, “So far a UPDF officer at the rank of major attached to CMI has been interrogated over the incident. She says that the officer has since denied the allegation and accused two other people who “are still on the run.”
Kyatuka brought with him to the bar a renowned city bailiff Moses Kirunda, and an unidentified Indian who was to act a go-between in the supposed real estate deal. On realizing that Kyatuka was only after extorting money, Mugwanya declined the terms of the deal. This made Kyatuka jump up and shoot the businessman twice in the chest. He then left the crime scene. Reliable information we have is that the deceased was on the list of those to be extorted by Maj. Gen. Kandiho, who uses Kyatuka in most of his dirty criminal missions, and Kandiho’s deputy Brig. CK Asiimwe. Our sources stressed that the reason Kyatuka hasn’t been arrested is because he is “immune” since he acts on Kan-
Uganda CMI director Maj. Gen. Abel Kandiho also runs an extortion racket from Mbuya.
diho’s behalf. “What’s shocking is that up to now Uganda Police Force has not yet named the
“Imagine such covering up for impunity!” commented our source. “So if they know the criminal why are they covering up for him?” Angry people say if Kandiho wasn’t behind this extortion racket, let him prosecute Kyatuka in the court martial! Failure to do anything about Kyatuka directly
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implicates Kandiho in the crime. On 4 February this year Maj. Kyatuka abducted two Rwandan nationals, Munyurangabo Renatus and Mugisha Gahungu from their business premises in Kabalagala and illegally detained them in Mbuya torture dungeons. Maj. Kyatuka accused them of “spying”, but the real reason was extortion. Kyatuka wanted shares in Munyurangabo and Mugisha’s booming bar, called Pyramid in Kansanga, for nothing! When they refused, that was when Maj. Kyatuka had them abducted. They were tortured in the dungeon, and later dumped at Kagitumba. The CMI men use their regime’s anti-Rwanda hostility to victimize countless Rwandans in such ways.
Understanding why the new Ministry of Unity and Civic Engagement unnerved genocide ideologues By Robert Rutoma There is a saying in Kinyarwanda that when you throw a stone in a pack of wild dogs, the one that’s hit will yelp loudest. This saying rings true for genocide negationists, especially after the recent announcement of the creation of the new Ministry of Unity and Civic Engagement by the Rwanda cabinet. The new docket is mandated to consolidate Rwanda’s efforts to deepen national unity, preserve the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi and educate a new generation of Rwandans about the nation’s fundamental civic values. The diabolical syndicate was so unnerved by the creation of the ministry to the extent that they mobilized all their propaganda resources which they deployed online for weeks. They were desperately trying to condemn the government of Rwanda for the checkmate move. While the negationists and detractors pretended to innocently question
Rwanda aspires to build a country devoid of ethnic discrimination whatsoever, by inculcating the values of unity and patriotism as well as propagating reconciliation as the ideal vehicle to move as one nation.
the “significance” of the new ministry in relation to ‘timing’, they (negationists), led by the notorious Belgian genocide ideologue Filip Reyntjens, desperately tried to make the world believe the move was harmful to Rwandans. However, what they did not want the right thinking world to know was that the creation of the ministry to them is a threat. It is another tool Rwandans have devised
to strike an irreversible blow to the divisionism from which they profit. Genocide ideology will have very little soil Rwanda can never go back to the times of Parmehutu rule of discrimination and genocidal slaughter, whatever the wishes of the likes of Reyntjens. Rwandans have read him the riot act.
progress towards a more harmonious co-existence between Rwandans is a mortal threat; a process, in real time, of their slide further into the ignominy of the dustbin of history. But what will they do about it? They can yelp all they want, but as Rwandans we are well past their nonsense.
To the genocide ideologues any
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Issue no 036 July 2021
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Profile: the guilt and fear that fuels Mbarushimana in the streets of Paris By Mary Cyusa Saturday, 10 July, some genocide revisionists and deniers decided to show up on the streets of Paris in what they had called “Manifestation” – supposedly “to pressure the government of Rwanda” to release so-called political prisoners the likes of Rusesabagina, Idamange, Mushayidi and others whose court cases are ongoing, or convicted criminals. To their surprise, only five showed up for their farce. Among them was a man many in Rwanda know as one of the vilest war criminals and genocidaires, Callixte Mbarushimana, currently the secretary general of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a terrorist outfit that has sown instability in eastern Congo for years but whose goal always has been to destabilize Rwanda’s security. Living in France since 2003, Mbarushimana had kept a low profile for some time, perhaps because of his big dirty file at the ICC, and Rwanda’s judiciary. This man did not only commit crimes in Rwanda but also in DR Congo, but this doesn’t come as a surprise given his top position in a top terrorist group.
woman that was a colleague from UNDP called Florence Ngirumpatse, and some school girls at her home. People saw Mbarushimana commit these and other heinous crimes. Two-dozen people testified against him in court, in absentia. These included former colleagues at UNDP, former Interahamwe militiamen, and local administrators. The details in their testimonies included that he used to dress up with military fatigues, armed with a gun and wore grenades on his belt. Also, in 2001, a UN investigative team linked Mbarushimana with the murders of 32 people. Investigator Tony Grieg who researched the case interviewed at least 20 people who witnessed the murders and confirmed that Mbarushimana was indeed directly involved. The man was that year arrested in Kosovo where he was still working for the UN. But, in a clear miscarriage of justice, the ICTR later ruled that he get released, in 2002.
Mbarushimana then moved to France where Rwanda applied for his extradition in 2005. Germany arrested him in 2008 but again, released him on unjustified reasons. The US State department then condemned the act and said it was “disappointing”, given the overwhelming evidence that his case carried, but in vain. Just when he had fooled the naive that he was an “innocent” man, Mbarushimana was indicted by the ICC in 2010 and arrested hardly a month later. He was facing five counts of crimes against humanity and eight counts of war crimes he committed in DR Congo in 2009 when he was the Executive Secretary of FDLR. Prosecution revealed that Mbarushimana was responsible for the FDLR’s perpetration of attacks against the civilian populations in the Kivu province throughout 2009. “The objective of these attacks, which included murder, rape, torture, mutilation and pillage,
was to create a humanitarian catastrophe that would place pressure on the international community, and draw attention to the FDLR’s political demands,” reads the summary of his indictment. But in another travesty against justice the man was released a year later, after the ICC dismissed the charges for “insufficient evidence.” This came a shock to many, even those with expertise in criminal law. “The ICC did a very bad job from the beginning. It is very disappointing,” Martin Ngoga, former prosecutor general told the press. Nothing will ever free Mbarushimana from his past however, because there is no statute of limitations for crimes of genocide. This is the main reason, for him, he can only live in hiding and shout nonsense on the streets of Paris; it is the fear and the guilt that fuels him!
Born on July 14, 1963, Mbarushimana hails from Ndusu, Ruhengeri, in Northern Province. He went to school there before he joined the National University to do Technology. He got a contract with the UNDP in 1992 as a computer technician, and after the evacuation of foreign staff at the onset of the full-blown Genocide Against the Tutsi, Mbarushimana appointed himself officer-in-charge of UNDP in Rwanda, from April 10to July 4, 1994. During the Genocide, he is said to have used his position to commandeer UN resources, like vehicles and satellite telephones to facilitate the massacres of hundreds of Tutsis, beginning with those he worked with at UNDP. He ordered the killing of a
(Left) Callixte Mbarushimana, a Genocide fugitive and a war criminal, (Right) A group of Genocide deniers in Paris demonstrating in his support.
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Issue no 036 July 2021
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Profile: How genocide survivor Kasinge contracted Stockholm Syndrome, turning revisionist By Mary Cyusa Earlier this month, excommunicated priest and father to dozens of out-of-wedlock children Thomas Nahimana and his syndicate of fellow failed politicians dubbed “Ishema Party” announced that their candidate in the next presidential elections in Rwanda will be Nadine Claire Kasinge. This prompted gales of laughter on social media. This is the woman who in 2016 had escorted Nahimana “to campaign for the presidency in Rwanda.” But when they reached Nairobi her enraged husband alerted the authorities that she had taken their then 6 months old baby without his consent. The officials in Nairobi couldn’t let them proceed. Nahimana and Kasinge had no option but to make an about turn. Kasinge, this scandalous mother of two, was born in 1984 in Kacyiru, Kigali, to one Nzagirukwayo and Euphrase Mukandinda. The father worked at the then Electrogaz – the national power and water utility – and her mother was a teacher at Kacyiru Primary School. These people were killed, alongside Kasinge’s four siblings, during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. But Kasinge’s story is unique.
She has gone into the revisionist camp, spouting the wild lie that “RPF shot the plane that carried Habyarimana.” Psychologists call this phenomenon, of a victim sympathizing those that have wronged her, “Stockholm Syndrome.” Kasinge is full on Interahamwe supporter with all the signs of Stockholm’s Syndrome. She has even gone as far as claiming that “RPF killed her family members”, a genocidaire narrative developed over the years in a bid to absolve themselves of their crimes. Kasinge’s revisionism is very problematic, but if she could perhaps find a counselor, to help her see that it is criminals like Nahimana that are the problem, it could be a good start. “Unfortunately she is consorting with that very genocide apologists and ideologues,” said a former friend of Kasinge on request of anonymity. Commentators on social media have kept asking her to make sense of her accusations against RPF, but she has never answered even one. “How could the RPA kill your family and spare you who was just near their headquarters in Byumba?” some have asked her. “You should just be very thankful that RPF in fact saved your life!”
Witnesses have repeatedly told Nadine Kasinge that her parents and siblings were murdered by troops of Habyarimana at a roadblock, as they were on their way trying to find refuge at Amahoro Stadium where they would be protected by the RPA, as were thousands of other Tutsi refugees. “Unfortunately, Nadine has swallowed the poison of genocidaires now, and won’t listen to truth,” said her friend. On July 4, this year’s Liberation Day, Kasinge was singing praises to the ex-FAR, the very people that killed her parents. She repeated claims that they had saved her life. In fact they had taken her hostage, with them to DRC. Kasinge, like so many Rwandans, was forcefully herded off to the former Zaire by the ex-FAR. But while there she was evacuated by Italian Jesuits in 1995 to Italy, Florence, where she stayed for a long time. Eventually she was sponsored to go for studies in Canada. While there she got married, in 2009, and still lives there. Whoever paid this woman to change her story must have outdone themselves, however. Or its just a case of very strong Stockholm Syndrome for her to have gotten into cahoots with
Nahimana. Kasinge became very close to the excommunicated Nahimana when he formed his “party” in 2013. Given Nahimana’s reputation with women has resulted into dozens of illegitimate children; people say Kasinge’s relationship with him is more than just mere “friends.” She was first elected “Deputy Secretary General and spokesperson” of Nahimana’s party, and that she was “in charge of Canada and Kigali city.” This prompts more laughter on social media. “Delusions will one day kill someone!” Later on Nahimana appointed Kasinge “vice-prime Minister” in his so-called “government in exile”. She later became president of the party in 2018. One of her main roles, it seems, is attacking Rwandan female politicians, just for being in the RPF. She also is regularly on hate platforms like radios Itahuka and Ijwi rya Rubanda, disseminating negativity. This poor, misguided woman needs more prayers, many social media accounts agree.
Misguided and self-turned revisionist Nadine Claire Kasinge carrying her then six months old in Nairobi in 2016.
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Issue no 036 July 2021
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After plagiarizing a Western media story, The Observer of Uganda invents own allegations against Rwanda By Alex Muhumuza A baffling headline has appeared this Wednesday in a Ugandan newspaper, The Observer, claiming to quote President Kagame telling Uganda: “Yes, we spy on you.” This headline demonstrates the lengths Ugandan propaganda will go to milk a faux scandal manufactured in Western media, which among other things alleges that Rwanda used the Pegasus spyware “to spy on foreign officials.” Listening to what the Rwandan head of state has said about the Pegasus issue, nowhere does he mention that Rwanda spies on Uganda. The Observer alone knows where it found that statement. Perhaps it was taking an example from outlets of misinformation controlled by Ugandan Military Intelligence, CMI, which has been running an anti-Rwanda propaganda campaign for some years. One thing about the Observer’s story is that in fact they didn’t write their story themselves. They simply copied and pasted articles that appeared in the Guardian newspaper of London, which alleged that multiple countries had been using the Pegasus spyware to hack thousands of targeted numbers. Among the allegations was that Rwanda had spied on a number of Ugandan civilian and military officials. The Observer regurgitated the claims that “Rwanda had used Pegasus to hack the phones of high profile Ugandan officials including Gen. David Muhoozi, the former chief of defense forces and now junior minister for Internal Affairs, former Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa. One problem with the Observer’s article is that nowhere does it show where the president of Rwanda said “he spies on Uganda.” It then proceeds to undermine it’s own claim by reproducing statements President Kagame issued to The Financial Times, a UK newspaper in 2019, which is when the Pegasus issue first surfaced.
Ugandan president Museveni and his propaganda machine have jumped on the latest, Western-manufactured “Pegasus” scandal to mudsling Rwanda.
The question is: why is The Observer reporting things the president said in 2019 as if he said them last week? “The purpose is to mislead,” said an official in Kigali. Basically the Ugandan newspaper is scraping around in the bottom of the barrel, mining a non-existent scandal. Speaking on the Pegasus allegations when Western media first published them, President Kagame said Rwanda uses no such technology for two simple reasons. The first is that Rwanda doesn’t possess the technical capability in any form to make use of the spyware. Secondly, using it is said to be very expensive. Furthermore, the president said, “Rwanda had no reason to use such technologies as it is “very good at human intelligence.” He pointed out that Rwanda like any other country does intelligence as part of its duty to ensure the security of its citizens. There is no other way to know
what a country’s enemies do, or whether they are up to something, without gathering intelligence. But, he added, “We have always tried to do things within our rights like it is in the rights of all the countries we know in this world.” Moreover, others point out, intelligence is not something Rwanda invented. “The ludicrous pretentions emanating from Kampala that ‘Rwanda spies’ is very laughable considering how they do the very same thing they are accusing Rwanda of, but in criminal ways,” laughed a social media commentator. In August 2019 The Wall Street Journal, an American publication detailed how Kampala regime security organs tracked the phone of Robert Kyagulanyi, more popularly known as Bobi Wine, and other NUP officials. Everyone has seen the torture, disappearances, and mass killings that NUP members and supporters suffered before, during, and after the January elections. The technology they
used to track them was supplied by China’s Huawei, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unlike verified stories such as Museveni security agencies’ use of Huawei however, the Pegasus story is very dubious in it’s sourcing. Issuing a statement on the controversy, Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta disclosed that “only 0.1 percent of the phone numbers on the list (of the 50,000 people worldwide supposed to have been spied on by different governments using the spyware) have been forensically examined, and only half of those had traces of Pegasus.” What this means is that the Guardian, and others only took random guesses, and based their accusations on those. “These false accusations are part of an ongoing campaign to cause tensions between Rwanda and other countries, and to sow disinformation about Rwanda domestically and internationally,” concluded Biruta.
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Issue no 036 July 2021
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A faux scandal manufactured in Western media sends Museveni minions and unholy alliances into feverish excitement reason would Rwanda have to spy on him; unless the misinformers also want to accuse Kigali of the activities of Museveni against People Power!”
By Alex Muhumuza A scandal manufactured in the West – the Pegasus spyware that certain governments are accused of using to track phones of targeted individuals – has sent Museveni regime propagandists, and Museveni’s fellow travelers over the world in the goal to sow instability in Rwanda, into a feeding frenzy. The faux scandal went into full swing on Tuesday, with dozens of websites and social media accounts in Kampala under the control of Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence CMI, together with the usual individuals abroad that devotedly peddle RNC terrorist propaganda, as well as propagandists for suspected terrorist Paul Rusesabagina, kicking up a ruckus, and piling on Rwanda. Among them were Chimpreports, Commandonepost, Spyreports, Softpower, and David Himbara the RNC mouthpiece, and British journalist Michela Wrong who has just published a Museveni-funded hit job against Rwanda, and Carine Kanimba the propagandist stepdaughter of Rusesabagina. They repeatedly posted allegations as if they were proven facts. They published such claims as that “Kagame spied on South African President Ramaphosa.” They repeated the same about former Ugandan prime minister Ruhakana Rugunda; Burundi Prime Minister Bunyoni, and some others as if the claims already are established fact. Yet the reports are speculative in nature. If one for instance reads the Guardian reports, nowhere does it state anything is proven. Regarding Rwanda’s alleged targeting of the South African head of state for instance the report states: “the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa appears to have been selected in Rwanda in 2019.” Throughout its article, the Guardian uses this phrase. Even this news organ is signaling it could be wrong! “Appears”, and “did” are two completely different things.
It doesn’t end there. Himbara himself has gone as far as claiming he “was spied on by Rwanda.” There is even less proof of that than the other cases. Even the Guardian had to admit that a forensic analysis of Himbara’s phone showed no evidence that he was spied on.
After the Pegasus brouhaha started, the propaganda machine of Museveni – whose misinformation outlets are controlled by CMI’s Maj. Gen. Kandiho – went into overdrive, partnered by overseas propagandists for Rusesabagina, and RNC through mouthpiece Himbara.
An objective observer of this particular newspaper, the Guardian would recognize it as part of a Western media industrial complex devoted to foisting upon the world a particular narrative; one whose goal is control.
and others to create a mountain of false criticisms out of it.
Any “third world” country that declines to fall in line with Western ideologies, of how they want the world to be run, or to look like, will be targeted with a relentless campaign of negativity. To understand this one only has to look at the constant accusations of “hacking”, of “copyright theft”, and others – all with no proof – against countries like China and Russia by such media organs.
“The rule of thumb, whenever Chimpreports, Commandonepost, and similar outlets write anything about Rwanda, is to dismiss it as a fiction,” a social media commentator in Kigali said. To cite just one recent example, after a UPDF soldier strayed into Rwanda, armed to the teeth, every CMI outlet was shouting, “kidnap!” They were shouting that “Rwandan forces had crossed into Uganda to abduct a UPDF soldier.”
In sub-Sahara, Rwanda is one of the countries that refuse to dance to ideologies meant to serve others, as opposed to its own national interests. Rwanda long ago refused to become a comprador agent state, serving the interests of the powerful even at the expense of its own. So the Guardian, and others have targeted Rwanda. It’s not a coincidence that the country has found itself the recipient of constant, negative coverage every time it acts in its interests – the latest example being the case of Rusesabagina who was arrested on credible charges of terrorism, only for the Guardian
For those working for the Museveni regime, or its partners however the primary thing is to smear Rwanda.
As usual the facts were different. The UPDF fellow himself confessed to voluntarily walking into Rwanda, violating its territory. Hyping up the faux Pegasus scandal beyond the bounds of sanity, the CMI misinformation peddlers have thrown into the mix their own invented claims, such as that “Rwanda had even spied on Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu!” “It was all funny beyond imagination,” said an observer of security issues in Kigali. “Now, just on the Kyagulanyi issue, what possible
Commenting on the accusations when accusations first surfaced, in 2019, President Kagame said that Rwanda, like all other countries, indeed does intelligence on enemies “to try and read ahead what might happen.” But in the Pegasus case, he said Rwanda couldn’t go as far as using the said technology “which was understood to be very costly.” Rwanda has reiterated this, with a communication from Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta following the latest round of accusations. “Rwanda does not use this software system, as previously confirmed in November 2019, and does not possess this technical capability in any form. These false accusations are part of an ongoing campaign to cause tensions between Rwanda and other countries, and to sow disinformation about Rwanda domestically and internationally,” the statement said. Furthermore, observers will point out, those hurling unproven accusations in fact have real, verifiable skeletons in their closets. A report in August 2015 by the Wall Street Journal, an influential US newspaper, detailed how the Museveni regime conducted surveillance of political opponents’ phones, notably Bobi Wine, to inflict serious harm on them. But, typical of Museveni propaganda projection, they are accusing Rwanda of the very offenses their master committed.
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OP-ED
Issue no 036 July 2021
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Latest lie from Kampala propaganda media smears Rwanda and DRC By Alex Muhumuza A Kampala propaganda outlet has, this Friday, published a piece that claims “Rwanda is involved with rebels of the ADF in massacres in Beni, Ituri (in DRC), ‘with plans to cut off Uganda’s access to Congo.” This article, carried on the Commandonepost website – one of the many under the control of Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence – relies entirely on a fictitious source within the Monusco peacekeeping force. The website attributes a lot of things to this unnamed “Monusco source.” It claims that: “Rwanda is committing genocide.” But also that Rwanda “controls the Congolese army FARDC.” But again that “FARDC forces have committed massacres.” And that “ADF has persistently killed the Banande people”, but however that “it is Kagame and Kabila using ADF to massacre the people.” And so on.
hand in these lawless incidents, with the aim of smuggling conflict minerals like Gold and Timber from the region. The Commandonepost article is consistent with a long-running pattern of anti-Rwanda propaganda, coordinated by CMI, as part of Museveni’s plot to sow instability in Rwanda. With time, this campaign has become multi-purpose: most times when Museveni is embroiled in crises of his own making, Rwanda becomes the scapegoat. Observers however will be left wondering why, in addition to Rwanda, Museveni’s people also are slandering the DRC leadership.
One can’t make head or tail of these uncoordinated rumblings by CMI.
Ever since the new leadership in Kinshasa took office in early 2019, its stated priority has been to restore peace and security throughout its territory. It said it would not tolerate illegal armed groups – rebels or militias – killing, looting, and generally destabilizing Congolese. Also, Kinshasa said it would welcome, and work in partnership with all well-meaning neighbors in that effort.
First of all Kabila no longer is president of DRC; is CMI suggesting that after Tshisekedi took over, his predecessor somehow went on a spree of massacres?
This was a serious blow to Museveni. He has worked with, funded, and facilitated almost every criminal, terrorist non-state armed actor in DRC.
Is CMI suggesting that the current leadership in Kinshasa is complicit in massacres, or “genocide” of its own citizenship? After all if their claim is that “Kagame and Kabila are massacring Banande”, but also that “Rwanda controls the Congolese army”, what else can they mean?
Kayumba Nyamwasa’s RNC had illegal bases and training camps in Minembwe, eastern DRC. Museveni is the biggest backer of RNC, his main proxy in plans to destabilize Rwanda. FDLR, the offshoot of the ex-FAR and Interahamwe militias had their bases, and still have remnants of them up to now, in DRC. Museveni has been working with this genocidal group – even facilitating the movements of their leaders with Ugandan passports. Museveni also works with the RUD-Urunana terrorists, with one of his ministers, Philemon Mateke the point person in their activities.
One would also ask why it is only a CMI outlet that’s aware of “genocide” in DRC, but no one else? On the other hand, Museveni has been implicated in inciting violence in Ituri, inciting the Lendu to kill the Hema and vice versa, including arming both sides. The International Crisis Group has confirmed Museveni’s
Obviously Kampala had no intentions to cooperate with Kinshasa in eradicating criminal groups, to
find lasting peace for Congolese, since Museveni was the main partner of those groups. The Ugandan ruler could never contemplate an end to his own looting activities in DRC. Rwanda on the other hand had no problem accepting Kinshasa’s invitation to work in the common security interest. In the ensuing period, Congo’s army FARDC notched up one victory after another against all the terrorist groups – RNC, FDLR, RUD-Urunana, and others. Now, all these proxies of Museveni have been completely routed. “Can it be any surprise then, that Museveni’s propagandists have taken to smearing Kinshasa as well?” laughed a security observer. The Kampala regime’s campaigns of misinformation ultimately will fail because they are based only on lies and fictions, he added. When Commandonepost for claims that Rwanda works with ADF, they are only repeating a fiction of their own. No facts back them.
It is the same every time CMI media levels a claim against Rwanda – such as alleged Rwandan soldiers crossing to Kisoro; or alleged Rwandan soldiers crossing “to kidnap Ugandans”, and so on. They back those claims with nothing. They are mere smears. On the other hand, whatever Rwanda raises about Kampala’s aggressions and provocations is backed with facts and proof. When for instance Kigali accused Ugandan security services of helping recruit fighters for RNC and making arrangements to transport them to training camps in Minembwe, Rwanda showed proof of that. Even Museveni would admit it. It was the same when Rwanda raised complaints that President Museveni had met RNC officials at State House, Entebbe. Rwanda showed facts including that Charlotte Mukankusi, the RNC “commissioner of diplomacy”, possessed a Ugandan passport. There are several other examples like this. “In the end lies will never defeat truth,” observed a social media account.
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