Rwanda suspends two military judges who freed army general from house arrest

By Agence France Presse
November 18, 2010

NAIROBI-A Rwandan army general arrested in April and placed under house arrest for misconduct has been released, a statement said Thursday.

Major General Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, a former deputy chief of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, was freed after being pardoned.

"Karenzi Karake was yesterday (Wednesday) released and is no longer under house arrest," army spokesman Jill Rutaremara said in the statement.

"He has been facing a disciplinary sentence since April this year until his pardon by the military authorities."

Karenzi was arrested alongside former airforce chief Lieutenant General Charles Muhire who was accused of corruption.

The two generals were members of an exclusive circle of top military officers in the former Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel movement which brought an end to the 1994 genocide.

They were arrested at a time when Kigali accused two former senior army officers exiled in South Africa of instigating grenade attacks in the capital.

The Rwandan army also suspended two military judges -- Brigadier General Steven Karyango and Lieutenant Colonel Marc Sebaganji -- for "unethical conduct," a statement said.