Former RPF Fighters in Uganda Demand Compensation from Rwandan Government

By The Independent
Uncensored News, Views and Analysis
July 1, 2009

Several units of the Ugandan army invaded Rwanda on October 1, 1990. The Ugandan military bases served as back up bases of the Tutsi-led guerilla movement as Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

To get an idea of what really happened, one should easily get reliable and detailed information in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he/she will find former fighters who were hired to fight for the RPF during the so-called "liberation" war.

They will tell you that the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia recruited foreign fighters (including al Shabaab militia, World-Wide Jihad and Al Qaeda) for the RPF guerilla movement.

They mostly came from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and South Sudan to fight against the Rwandan Government.

Obviously, there is no need to say that the 1990-1994 war was really a civil war as it has been described before and after the RPF seized power in Kigali.

Up to date, there are still Somalis living in Rwanda with full Rwandan citizenship. Some of these Somalis currently serve in a special unit of Kagame's presidential guard. Many others who got disappointed have left the country for Europe.

That may be why the CIA once said that Paul Kagame was linked to Al-Qaeda but did not give any detail.

Many of these guys who fought along side the RPF rebels were actually terrorists. However, this label couldn't be used to describe them apparently due to the fact that it was before the September 11th terrorist attack on the American soil in 2001!
MK/HTPJ
=======

A group of men claiming to be former members of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) which helped to overthrow the government of Juvenal Habyarimana in 1994 are demanding payment of their salaries and compensation. The former fighters want a total of seven billion shillings accumulated over the past 13 years.

On Monday June 29, 2009, fifty (50) of the former RPF officers held a meeting at Kasana Football Ground in Masaka town, Uganda to discuss their demands. They said they were giving the Rwandan government two weeks to clear their arrears or they would seek legal redress.

Aquino Matega, a retired sergeant in the RPF who now serves as the representative of the claimants, says he is personally demanding for 12 million shillings. He claims that his leg was wounded by a landmine during the 1994 push to Kigali and he has never been compensated by the Rwandan government.

The claim for compensation is based on an agreement allegedly made with the Rwandan government and a group of 600 former officers in 1996. The soldiers were reportedly told to return to their countries of origin with the agreement that they would be paid for the efforts in the war.

The contract signed by Colonel Sam Kanyemera Kaka, the former Rwandan Army Chief of Staff and the non-Rwandan citizen fighters entitled them to a pay of between 300,000 shillings and 740,000 shillings depending on their rank. Payment was to be effected from September 1996.

In total 235 Ugandans who claim to have fought in the Rwandese Patriotic Front between 1990 and 1995 claim that they have never been paid.

Ibrahim Kaliisa, one of the former fighters, says he and his colleagues still have identity cards and documents recognizing them as Rwandan soldiers. He says he wants six million shillings in compensation because he played a central role in the Virunga Forest battle in 1993. He claims that he killed 20 government soldiers during that battle.

A Rwandan Embassy official who identified herself as Regina Chantal called the RPF claimants greedy and impatient. She said the issue is still pending a decision in Rwanda and the former fighter should wait for an official answer.

Major John Karangwa, an official from the Rwandan Ministry of Defense, in a phone interview from Kigali, said he is aware of the demands of the RPF claimants. He said he regrets the delays and confirms that his government is working closely with the Rwandan Embassy in Uganda to compensate the soldiers.

Foreign Minister Sam Kuteesa, who has been a reference point for many of the fighters, said he is also aware of the demands. He urged the former fighters to remain calm.

Related Materials:
RDF dismisses claims by ‘ex-combatants’

Kagame is linked to terrorism

USA: Kagame links with Al-Qaeda probed by USA,

The conquest of Rwanda (1990-1994): Recognizing the international conspiracy

DRC: There Is No Military Solutions To Political Problems