January 20, 2010
Although the indictments have since expired and need to be re-validated by a Congolese court, this has not happened and no arrest warrants have been issued. Now regional governments are trying to work out a plan agreeable to Kigali and Kinshasa.
“Uganda wants a sustainable solution for both Nkunda and the DRC. We hope whatever is the outcome from those talks addresses the objective of all parties,” said Isaac Musumba, Uganda’s minister for Regional Cooperation, according to The EastAfrican newspaper.
Mr. Musumba said that the negotiations would produce better results with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) and Thabo Mbeki (South Africa) involved.
Stephen Singo, a programme officer in charge of peace and security at the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) told the weekly that they would endorse a consensual position reached between Rwanda and DRC in disregard of the pressure from the international community.
He said: “Rwanda and DRC said they would handle this (Nkunda issue) at bilateral level. We are waiting to hear from them. We want a peaceful and sustainable solution that will bring stability to the region. Our objective is to promote co-operation between Rwanda, DRC and their neighbours.
Zambia is the current chair of the ICGLR body. Zambian leader Rupiah Banda just concluded his official visit to Kigali but it is not clear whether the issue of General Nkunda came up during discussions with President Paul Kagame. The visit was largely overshadowed by Rwanda Genocide suspects in Zambia.
The Zambian President was on a fact-finding mission on the peace process within the region ahead of tabling a final report to the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government summit scheduled for Addis Ababa early this year.
It is highly likely that President Kagame briefed the Zambian counterpart on ongoing behind the scenes talks with Kinshasa.
The Supreme Court was scheduled start hearing Gen. Nkunda’s plea to be released but the hearing was deferred to March 1, after the Rwanda Army Chief of Staff Gen. James Kabarebe, who is accused of illegally detaining the rebel chief, excused himself from appearing before court on grounds of his busy schedule.
Through his legal counsel Stephane Bourgon, a Canadian, Nkunda filed a petition at the Rwanda Supreme Court seeking extradition back to his home, protesting against what he described as illegal detention.
But whatever the outcome from the verdict, senior Rwandan officials privy to details of the numerous meetings between the two neighbours say Gen. Nkunda’s fate will ultimately be determined by what Rwanda and Congo see as the option most likely to advance the thawing relations between the erstwhile enemies and peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.
“We do not mind the concerns of the international community. We are talking about national interests, which will benefit both Rwanda and DRC The Nkunda issue should not be looked at just as an opinion. There are questions but what is important is to bring stability to the region”, a senior official in the Kigali administration who sought anonymity told The EastAfrican.
Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo echoed similar sentiments saying legal hurdles would have to be offset by the two governments to address national concerns pertaining to a possible escalation of violence if the Nkunda question is not amicably settled.
“Our concern is the death penalty, which Rwanda abolished but it still exists in the DRC. So our Justice ministers (Rwanda and DRC) are still examining the issue critically, said Ms. Mushikiwabo.
Gen. Nkunda’s CNDP demands that there should be an inclusive Congolese National Army without any ethnic discrimination; integrate senior CNDP cadres within the Congolese administration; complete disarmament of the FDLR-RUD/Interahamwe — (militia group accused of masterminding the 1994 Rwanda genocide) and enforce the right of Congolese Tutsis to live and move anywhere in the DRC.
Related Materials:
Exclusive: Nkunda to be extradited from Rwanda in 2010
General Kabarebe skips General Nkunda hearing
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