The Rwandan Genocide: The Bodies That Were Floating In The Kagera River Were Victims Of The RPA

By Radio Katwe
"la kweli nitakwambia"
Kampala
October 10, 2007

A reader is questioning our story on the late Col William Bagire who was the commander of the RPA's 7th Mobile Battalion. The reader says that Bagire and his 7th Mobile operated through Rwamagana and never came close to the River Akagera so he could not have slaughtered Rwandese and thrown them into the River Akagera.

We can tell the reader that he is right when he says that the 7th Mobile used to be based in Rwamagana. But we can also tell him and other readers that the 7th Mobile was one time ordered to go to the bridge over the River Akagera for that special operation. We have eye witnesses and also people who themselves took part in the killings.

We had all accepted the story that the bodies that floated down River Akagera into Lake Victoria in Uganda were "Tutsis" murdered by "Hutus". No one checked each body one by one to know who was who. But what we can tell from the data so far is that among those bodies we in Uganda saw were victims of the RPA when they made a special operation and rounded up Rwandese who were grouped as Hutus and finished them off. We are repeating for your information that among the Rwandese who were hacked and thrown into the River Akagera in April to May 1994 were these Hutu victims of RPA.

The victims were brought to the area with their hands tied behind their backs. We shall soon bring you the names of the RPA intelligence officers who led this operation. We have the names of Bagire and the other commanders.

The Hutus were brought to the area and they were full of too much fear. We have specific information on incidents where they were hit by a small hoe (called "Akafuni" in Uganda) and then thrown into the Kagera. These are the bodies which floated down the river into Lake Victoria and washed up in Uganda in Masaka.

You should also take note that under the 1993 Arusha accord with the Habyarimana government and the RPF, the RPF was given control of the area of Rwanda which has the Akagera River.

If you look at a map you will see that where the River Akagera enters into Lake Victoria is where the RPF was in control. And they had control in that area even long before the genocide started. So how could the troops of the Habyarimana government kill Tutsis and throw them into River Akagera when that was an area controlled by the powerful RPA?

If you saw first hand or from TV pictures in 1994, you would have seen that many of the bodies floating down the Akagera into Lake Victoria were tied the "kandoya" style of the NRA in Luwero.

These things we know and you will hear more coming out. We have data on the massacres against Rwandese in 1994, both Hutus and Tutsis who opposed Kagame. We have names of people who were burned alive in the Amahoro stadium in containers. This was under the command of Lt. Col. Jackson Rwahama by the way who is also President Kagame's cousin.

We know the story of the genocide is too complicated even for us to tell you every detail up to 100%. We know militant Hutus took part in the massacres. What we don't hear at all anywhere except in small whispers full of fear is about the role of RPA/RPF.

In the genocide, we only hear the role of the RPA as angels who saved Rwanda. The true story is that during that time, there were no angels in Rwanda. That is the only fact you should know and nobody should deceive you that for them, their hands are clean. We know these things.

Related Materials:

Government of Rwanda Suspends BBC Local Language (Kinyarwanda) Programmes

Uganda to rebury Rwanda genocide victims

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Kagame massacred both Hutu and Tutsi

Rwanda: Is Paul Kagame the New Hitler?