Will the real Kagame please stand up?
By Herman
African Dictator
July 3, 2011
In various newspapers yesterday (Sat 2 July 2011), the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame was featured in five stories and in five different locations.
What was also striking is how radically the stories differed from each other – from an inspirational and accomplished leader to a killer. Which leads to a key question: of the sharply different portrayals of the Rwandan President, which one is the real Mr. Kagame?
Kagame 1: an “outstanding leader”?
An award for an "outstanding" leader from a charity and broadband seller - Kagame receives award from Chello Foundation with chairman of Chello Foundation Shane O’Neill and CEO of Liberty Global Mike Fries
In his home country, Rwanda, The New Times’s main headline read: “Kagame receives Humanitarian Award from Chello Foundation.”
A smiling Mr Kagame is shown receiving the award from the Foundation’s chairman Mr Shane O’Neill and CEO of Liberty Global Mr Mike Fries in London, UK.
The award was bestowed on the President for his “outstanding leadership of the Republic of Rwanda since 1994.” Former British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, who introduced Mr Kagame described him as “an inspirational leader in Africa.”
Kagame 2: the missing head of state
Kagame, Ghaddafi, Bashir missing in action
In Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the news coverage was still largely about African heads of state and the just concluded African Union Summit.
Most notable absentees from the AU Summit as reported, were Mr Paul Kagame, Colonel Ghaddafi of Libya, and General Bashir of Sudan.
Kagame 3: the suspect in killing an exiled Ugandan colonel
Kagame killing adventure in Uganda?
In Kampala, Uganda, one of the main headlines in Daily Monitor of Saturday 2 July 2011 was “Rwanda refutes role in Muzoora’s death.” Mr Kagame’s Ambassador General Frank Mugambage was quoted saying: “Rwanda has absolutely nothing to do with Muzoora’s death. I want to make it clear that he has never passed through Rwanda.”
Kagame 4: suspect in an attempted assassination of an exiled Rwandan general
Kagame keeping safe distance from Zuma?
In Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr Kagame featured in various newspapers including News24.com.
Kagame’s current prominence is due to the trial of Rwandan and other foreign nationals on the attempted assassination of General Kayumba Nyamwasa. Prior to the trial, telephone conversations between General Jack Nziza, the Permanent Secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence, and hired operatives hired to plan and execute the killing of General Kayumba were leaked to the media.
In the headline story for 2 July 2011 titled “SA Trial raises concerns over Rwanda,” Jennifer Cooke of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank spoke for many when she said: “The fact is that these kinds of allegations are mounting.”
Here are new leaked audio recordings between Kagame’s henchmen discussing assassination plans (Sourced from
Umuvugizi):
– Recording 1
- Recording 2
Kagame 5: the mastermind in elimination of Rwandan hero General Rwigema
Kagame eliminated the real Rwanda Hero?
On the same day 2 July 2011, a blogger on the internet named Kananga was making extraordinary charges against the Rwandan President Kagame.
Kananga describes in a chilling account of how Mr Kagame, at the time with a military rank of Major, manipulated Ugandan and Rwandan leaders with one central goal: removal of General Fred Rwigema. Mr Kagame is also shown to have wiped out Rwandan senior commandants he used to eliminate General Rwigema.
Which is the real Kagame?
The most curious portrayals in the above 5 is Kagame as an outstanding leader.
- The Chello Foundation is a charity that currently works with NGOs in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa on education of orphans. The Foundation has never worked in Rwanda – it says at some point “in the longer term, we plan to work in Tanzania and Rwanda.”
- Liberty Global is a cable operator offering video, telephone and broadband internet services with no presence in Africa.
How then would the Chairman of the Chello Foundation and CEO of Liberty Global determine if Mr Kagame has provided an “outstanding leadership of the Republic of Rwanda since 1994”?
One thing is for sure. The Kagame1 is pure PR fantasy concocted by Tony Blair and other Kagame hired apologists. The real Kagame is a composite of 2, 3, 4, and 5 that is unfolding daily in front of our very eyes – in a court of law in South Africa; in inter-state conflicts with neighbours such as Uganda; and inside Rwanda itself where reportage of Mr Kagame’s bloody history is surfacing with vengeance on internet, his repressive machinery notwithstanding.
It is from these accounts that the real Kagame will shortly become exposed. And the emerging picture of the Rwandan president is not of an outstanding leader but a ruthless predator. The real question is: why has it taken the world so long to discover this fact.
Related Stories:
RWANDA’S OPPOSITION LEADERS CRITICIZE TONY BLAIR
July 2, 2011
In London on July 1, 2011
President Paul Kagame received the Humanitarian award from The Chello Foundation for his work in the areas of children’s education and healthcare and the promotion of women’s rights. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s introduction of President Kagame came via video where he praised the Rwandan President in the above listed areas as well as his leadership of Rwanda. President Kagame then spoke for just over fourteen minutes thanking The Chello Foundation, Tony Blair and the ongoing support that the UK provides to Rwanda. The Rwandan President emphasized “meaningful and productive relationship over many years.” Attenders at the event looked on with admiration, smiles and nods as President Kagame spoke of the progress Rwanda has made in the areas of children’s education, HPV vaccine for girls and sanitary supplies so they do not have to miss school.
While President Kagame receives this prestigious award many are left wondering why his record on humanitarian abuses continues to be ignored by the former UK Prime Minister and the international community as widespread reports continue to circulate regarding President Kagame and the RPF as they systematically create chaos and destabilization within Rwanda and the DRC.
This journalist uncovered a letter addressed to former Prime Minister, Tony Blair from Oppositional Rwandan Leaders requesting peace talks with him regarding his relationship with Rwanda. These leaders asked Mr. Blair to withdraw his support until peace can be established as well as a cease in humanitarian rights abuses. As of this publication confirmation has been established regarding the former Prime Ministers receipt of this letter.
The letter in its entirety has been published below in its original format with no editing by this writer.
Confidential letter to The Hon. Tony Blair
January 7, 2011.
Hon. Tony Blair
Africa Governance Initiative
London
United Kingdom.
Your Excellency,
Re: Political Situation in Rwanda
An article entitled “‘Tony Blair defends support for Rwandan leader Paul Kagame” that was published in the December 31, 2010 edition of the Guardian newspaper highlighted your support for President Kagame and your unequivocal endorsement of his stewardship of the post—genocide Rwanda state. The article reports that you consider President Kagame to be a visionary leader, and that allowance ought to be made for the Rwanda Government’s record on governance and human rights issues on account of the country’s recent experience of genocide. The article also states that you regard the use of charges of crimes of ‘divisionism’ and ‘genocide ideology’ to silence critics of the Rwanda government as legitimate; and, that you share President Kagame’s view that economic development should take a priority ove1· democracy and respect for human rights and that you consider Rwanda’s military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s and early 2000s, that has caused immense human suffering and loss of more than 5 million lives, as justified. We note with deep regret that the article also reports that you would appear to discount the gravity of the allegations of violations of international humanitarian law established by the Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003.
The writers of this letter represent Rwandan political and civil society organizations that have long had concerns about the policies of the United Kingdom government in relation to Rwanda and your Excellency’s support for President Kagame’s policies. We acknowledge that you are entitled to your personal opinion on the situation in Rwanda.
We do not in any way seek to question your good faith or noble intentions in the work that you do to support Rwanda. We also appreciate the very significant humanitarian and development assistance that the United Kingdom has provided to Rwanda since 1994.
Nevertheless, we find ourselves compelled to address this letter to you in order to bring to your attention the views of our respective organizations and members as well as many other Rwandans on the situation in Rwanda. We seek, in particular, to communicate our concerns over the damaging impact of your Excellency’s public pronouncements and unqualified support for President Kagame’s leadership and conduct.
Rwanda is a one party regime governed by one man who controls all organs of the state. President Kagame does not allow opposition parties to be registered, let alone operate freely. Media outlets that are critical of the government are either shut down by the government or forced to close operations as a result of attacks against their journalists.
Civil society organizations independent of the government operate under draconian restrictions that make the exercise of their role as watchdogs over government all but impossible. The people of Rwanda have no liberty to discuss, let alone decide, how they should be governed. The political system marginalizes the majority of the population from political participation.
President Kagame maintains his grip on power by severe repression, including arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions of political opponents of the regime. Institutions of the state continue to subject real and imagined critics of the government to a wide range of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, involuntary disappearances and extrajudicial killings. President Kagame does not respect the sanctity of human life. Over the course of the last several months, several members of opposition parties, civil society groups, independent media outlets and individuals suspected of being opponents of the regime have been hunted down, arrested, tortured, imprisoned or killed. Agencies of the Rwandan state have made multiple attempts to kill opposition leaders such as Col. Patrick Karegeya and Gen. Kayumba Nyarnwasa. Victims of state sponsored terror who have lost their lives over the recent past include Andre Rwisereka (Vice President: of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda), Jean—Leonard Rugambage (deputy editor of the Umuvugizi newspaper) and John Rutayisire. As we write, many members and leaders of opposition parties (including Hon. Charles Ntakirutinka of Ubuyanja Party; Bernard Ntaganda, President of the Social lmberakuri Party; Victoire lngabire, President of the FDU-Inkingi party and Deo Mushyayidi of the PDP Imanzi Party) remain in detention, as do some innocent relatives of opposition leaders. The climate of repression that prevails in Rwanda has made it impossible for tens of thousands of refugees who remain in exile after the events of 1994 to return to Rwanda. Indeed, the human rights situation in the country continues to force Rwandese from all levels of society to take the road to exile.
President Kagame’s appalling record on human rights and governance in general is not a result of the legacy of the genocide. It was not inevitable that Rwanda should end up as a dictatorship after the genocide. The Arusha Peace Agreement provided a framework that could have led to a successful transition to democracy under a broad based government.
The RPF, and President Kagame in particular, derailed Rwanda’s transition to democracy after the genocide by driving other political forces from government in 1995. President Kagame has used his control of the ruling party (the RPF), the government, and security institutions to entrench authoritarian rule, the restrictions on the exercise of fundamental liberties that the Rwanda government has established aim to protect President Kagame’s monopoly of political power, not to promote peace. Peace and stability in deeply divided post conflict societies are best protected and promoted by inclusion and genuine power sharing. Peace maintained by a dictatorship through violent repression is not enduring.
Democracy and respect for human rights are not a luxury that any government is free to dispense or withhold at its discretion. Nor is development aid necessary to purchase freedom, an inalienable right for every human being, rich or poor. Your views on President Kagame’s accountability for human rights abuses is at variance with the values that the United Kingdom has espoused in its long history, and the positions that it has always taken on accountability in other post conflict situations, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Iraq. Your stand on the relationship between human rights and development in the context of Rwanda contradicts the policies and approaches that your own governments Department for International Development and the international community have long championed. We are fortified that our organization’s concerns about the broad human rights situation in Rwanda are shared by all major human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
We firmly believe that the violent conflicts that Rwanda has experienced over the past half century are rooted in issues revolving around governance. The only path to sustainable peace in Rwanda is a system of government that has popular legitimacy, includes all communities of Rwanda and is committed to respect of fundamental human rights, especially the integrity of the person and the right to political participation.
Economic development in post conflict societies that is not rooted in democratic values, respect for human rights, and broad inclusion is not sustainable. The tolerance that the international community has exhibited towards President Kagame’s excesses continues to fuel impunity. The endemic impunity that still thrives in Rwanda is an insurmountable obstacle to lasting peace and sustainable development. We strongly believe that accountability for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including the crimes disclosed in the Report on the DRC mapping Exercise, is a pre-requisite for national reconciliation and lasting peace.
Rwanda is in a situation of serious crisis. We are convinced that violent conflict is virtually certain to return to Rwanda if the present government does not heed calls for dialogue and agree to a process of peaceful political reform leading to democracy. The results of the substantial development assistance that your government and others have extended to Rwanda since the end of the genocide could be very swiftly undone in the event of such conflict, with grave implications for the whole Great Lakes region and international peace and security.
The climate of fear and terror that prevails in Rwanda does not permit Rwandan society to freely discuss the very grave problems facing the country and to find solutions to those problems. The people of Rwanda count on Rwanda’s development partners, especially the United Kingdom and the United States (the two countries that are widely perceived as being Rwanda’s principal allies in the West) to support the promotion of respect for human rights and advancement of democracy. We believe that Rwanda’s development partners, especially those who have close relations with the current government such as Your Excellency, have a unique role, if not responsibility, to advance the cause of peaceful change in Rwanda by President Kagame on the need for progress in guaranteeing for fundamental human rights and for national dialogue to resolve the country’s crisis. It is in this spirit that we write to urge you to keep an open mind about the situation in Rwanda; to have empathy for the suffering of the victims of past and on-going human rights abuses for which President Kagame bears personal responsibility; to put the long—term interests of Rwanda and of the majority of her people above loyalty to a President you say is a personal friend and to hold him accountable to the values and standards of conduct that the international community ought to require of leaders exercising the responsibility of national leadership, particularly leadership that citizens, have not freely chosen and are powerless to change.
We hope and trust that this letter will be the beginning of a necessary engagement between you (and others in the international community who want to help Rwanda attain stability and lasting peace but are at the same time still supportive of President Kagame’s leadership) and individuals and organizations whose views on the situation of Rwanda and vision of our country’s future can not be freely articulated inside Rwanda on account of the prevailing climate of repression. We assure Your Excellency of our respective organizations’ commitment to unconditional dialogue with both the Rwanda Government and Rwanda’s development partners on the way to avert the crisis that is engulfing our motherland. Some of the organizations that are signatories to this letter have already demonstrated commitment to inter-Rwandan dialogue by establishing a mechanism to advocate for such a dialogue. We take this opportunity to request Your Excellency to grant the writers of this letter audience to enable us discuss the issues raised in the letter with you in person and to brief you on our work in pursuit of peace change in Rwanda.
Accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest considerations.
Dr. Nkiko Nsengimana
Premier Vice President
Comite de Soutien
Forces Democratiques Unifiees
Paul Rusebagina
President
Dialogue inter Rwandais Hautement Inclusif (DIRHI)
President
Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation
Gen. Habyarimana Emmanuel
President
Convention Nationale Republicaine-Intwari
Ambassador Jean-Marie Vianney Ndagijimana
President
FEIDAR-Federation Internationale des Associations Rwandaises
President
IBUKABOSE-Memoire por tous
Karangwa Semushi Gerard
Vice President
PDP-Imanzi
Matata Joseph
Centre de Lutte Contre l'Impunite et l’Injustice au Rwanda (CLIIR)
Dr. Rudasingwa Theogene
Coordinator
Interim Coordination Committee
Rwanda National Congress
Trial begins in South Africa attack on Rwandan general, poses diplomatic challenge
By DONNA BRYSON
Associated Press
July 2, 2011
JOHANNESBURG - The trial of six men accused of trying to kill a prominent Rwandan dissident who found a haven in South Africa has barely begun, and already it has raised diplomatic concerns over Rwanda's alleged involvement in a crime outside its borders.
Since it started Tuesday with testimony evocative of a movie thriller, the trial over the June 2010 shooting attempt on Lt. Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa has also raised bigger questions.
The government of President Paul Kagame, accused of violating human and democratic rights, has repeatedly denied having anything to do with the shooting that wounded Nyamwasa, a complex figure who has been accused of wartime atrocities and was once close to Kagame.
A second, related trial expected to begin July 25 may offer more revelations in a case that presents a delicate diplomatic challenge for South Africa.
And not just South Africa, said Jennifer Cooke, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank.
"If this allegation is true, I think they (Rwandan officials) will find there is a limit to what the international community will stand for," Cooke said.
The United States and Britain are key allies of Rwanda that have supported Kagame as the leader who helped bring an end to his country's genocide and has since transformed it into an economic success story. Cooke said support for Kagame already appears to be fraying. She noted British police warned some Rwandan exiles living in the U.K. that their lives were in danger, and the threat is believed to have emanated from the Rwandan government.
"The fact is that these kinds of allegations are mounting," Cooke said.
Clayson Monyela, spokesman for South Africa's foreign affairs ministry, said Friday he could not comment on a pending court case. Monyela confirmed, though, that South Africa's ambassador to Rwanda has not returned since he was recalled "for consultations" in August.
The trial has also been stalled by inadequate translation, the judge's brief illness and even a power cut. Before adjourning Friday, only one witness was able to complete his testimony. The prosecution witness, a longtime friend of one of the accused plotters from Rwanda and Tanzania, is in hiding with his wife and three children under police guard because he says he fears Rwanda's government. He testified that his friend told him "Rwandan soldiers" masterminded the plot.
The Rwandan government hired a South African lawyer to observe the proceedings against the six East African suspects.
Nyamwasa is to testify during the next round, scheduled to start in late October. The long break is necessary because it's difficult to coordinate the schedules of several defense teams, the judge and the prosecutor.
In court this past week, two police body guards sat nearby as Kalisa Mubarak, a 36-year-old Rwandan who immigrated to South Africa in 2003, testified in English and Kinyarwanda.
Mubarak said he has known one of the accused, former Rwandan soldier Amani Uriwani, since the two were children. Both ended up in South Africa as adults, and Mubarak said his old friend told him last year he had been recruited to help with a job in Johannesburg by "Rwandan soldiers who are about to do some shooting."
Uriwani said he was offered 10,000 rand (about $1,400) by Rwandan soldiers who had come to South Africa from bases in Europe, and who seemed to have plenty of cash and cars, Mubarak said. He said Uriwani would only say that the target also was a soldier, and that he was charged with finding a car and men to carry out the attack.
Mubarak said he thought of rumors that had been circulating in the Rwandan community that the Rwandan government was behind attacks on dissidents abroad. He also thought of two Rwandans who had found refuge in South Africa: former army chief Nyamwasa and Patrick Karegeya, once Kagame's intelligence chief. Mubarak, who owns a downtown Johannesburg hair salon, said both men had been prominent in news reports from his homeland, and were the subject of heated discussions in his salon.
In a tale reminiscent of a movie, Mubarak, who also is a part-time actor, said he tried unsuccessfully to persuade Uriwani to bring him into the plot so he could secretly warn the intended victim. Then, on June 19, 2010, Mubarak heard from a friend about Nyamwasa's shooting in Johannesburg a day earlier.
Frightened, Mubarak called Uriwani and told him he was going to the police. The two arranged to meet at Mubarak's salon. Instead, Mubarak arrived at his home to find Uriwani's small truck parked outside. A panicked Mubarak fled Johannesburg to Durban by train and then by bus to Cape Town, not even telling his pregnant wife of his plans.
As his bus neared Cape Town two days after the shooting, Mubarak said police called him. Another friend in whom Mubarak had confided had gone to police, and taken them to the salon in search of Mubarak. Mubarak called Uriwani and told him he wanted to meet at his salon. Uriwani went, and was arrested.
Later that day, five armed men showed up at the salon, Mubarak testified. He begged for protection from police, but received it only in January, after what he described as a threatening call from Uriwani, who was then in jail.
Mubarak said Uriwani accused him of causing trouble for Uriwani's family and for "the government of Rwanda."
Nyamwasa and other Rwandans living abroad have accused President Kagame of crushing dissent and democracy after he helped to end the 1994 genocide during which extremist Hutus killed more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda. Cooke, of the U.S. think tank, said Kagame may be especially sensitive to criticism from former insiders — men who may know his dark secrets.
Nyamwasa and other senior Tutsis have been accused of waging an extermination campaign against Hutus in the chaotic aftermath of Rwanda's genocide — charges Nyamwasa denies. In addition, a French judge in 2006 issued international arrest warrants for Nyamwasa and eight other Rwandan officials he suspects plotted the downing of then-President Juvenal Habyarimana's airplane on April 6, 1994, a killing that triggered the genocide.
Related Materials:
Kayumba Nyamwasa: Witness cries in court amid emotion testimony
Rwandan Dictator in SA Dock
Witness in Rwanda general shooting feared for life
Dakar/Senegal: Place de l’opposition républicaine en AFRIQUE : De grands pôles pour plus de crédibilité
Par Maguette NDONG
Le Soleil
02 Juillet 2011
Certes, les partis politiques d’opposition en Afrique ont franchi des paliers essentiels, en ayant un statut pour la plupart. Mais il reste qu’ils doivent se constituer en « pôles » pour enrichir le débat d’idées.
De part et d’autre, en Afrique, les partis politiques d’opposition ont tous réussi à avoir un statut. Cela depuis les années 1990, coïncidant avec la vague de démocratisation des régimes. Ce statut de l’opposition s’est matérialisé, selon Alioune Sall, Professeur de droit international, « au plan législatif par un contrôle de l’action gouvernementale, à travers les questions écrites et orales ainsi que par la possibilité de renverser le gouvernement ». Il s’y ajoute à ces acquis « l’égal accès aux médias et le financement de certains partis politiques d’opposition », selon Alioune Sall qui animait, hier, au siège de la Raddho, une conférence-débat sur le thème : « La place de l’opposition républicaine en Afrique ». Une rencontre initiée par l’Union des ressortissants rwandais au Sénégal (Urrs), à l’occasion du 49e anniversaire de l’indépendance du Rwanda. A cette occasion, Alioune Sall a souligné que la reconnaissance des partis de l’opposition n’est pas généralisée dans tous les pays africains. « Il y a des pays qui restent encore à la traîne, il y a des pays qui reconnaissaient la fonction de l’opposition, mais qui ne l’ont pas aménagée de manière plus précise », a-t-il indiqué. Toutefois, afin d’assurer aux partis d’opposition leur crédibilité, le spécialiste des relations internationales suggère la constitution de grands « pôles ». « Il faudra que les partis apprennent à se réunir autour de pôles, ce qui permettra de lire dans la vie politique et d’améliorer la qualité du débat politique », a-t-il estimé. Ce rassemblement de partis d’opposition autour de grands pôles contribuera à enrichir « le débat d’idées » et la promotion des partis politiques se fera sur des « bases plus objectives et moins subjectives », aux yeux du conférencier.
Pas d’alternance au sein des partis d’opposition
Toutefois, au vue du management des partis d’opposition, une telle perspective est loin d’être réalisée. Selon le sociologue Djiby Diakhaté, dans plusieurs partis politiques d’opposition, l’organisation est souvent personnalisée. « On se rend compte que le parti s’identifie plus ou moins à une seule personne qui garde le secrétariat général, qui dispose du matériel, du local. Les autres militants ne constituent que le décor et, si cette personne accède au pouvoir, il risque de reproduire la même démarche », prévient Djiby Diakhaté. Et de donner l’exemple du Sénégal où, dit-il, « les secrétaires généraux des partis d’opposition qu’on voit sont là depuis des années 60-70 ». Une absence d’alternance valable également au sein des organisations de la société civile où les seules personnes émergent toujours. Selon Djiby Diakhaté, cet état de fait est lié au fait que « la perte du pouvoir constitue une catastrophe » pour ces hommes politiques. C’est pourquoi il considère qu’il y a « un travail d’éducation, de sensibilisation et de communication des masses » à faire pour changer cette donne.
Kayumba Nyamwasa: Witness cries in court amid emotion testimony
By RNA reporter
Photo: Gen. Nyamwasa at the Amahoro National Stadium
in Kigali during an event
Kigali: The top witness in the Kayumba Nyamwasa shooting case says he could be killed anytime as a result of the information he knows about the incident and on one of the six men charged with attempted murder, RNA reports.
Kalisa Mubarak told the Jonesburg Magistrate’s court Friday that right from June 19 2010, the day when Nyamwasa was shot, he has been in hiding as “gangs” have tried to kill him. They even vandalized my saloon when they failed to find me, said Mubarak.
Wearing a scuff and dark glasses which he has been using to cover part of his face, Mubarak narrated that when news spread that Nyamwasa had been shot, he called Amani Uriwani, one of the six accused. As RNA has reported over the past week, Mubarak and Uriwani are said to be childhood friends.
The story, according to Mubarak goes that on that fateful day, he called Uriwani immediately after getting the news because the accused man had confided in him weeks before about the possible incident.
At this point the prosecutor asked Mubarak said to Uriwani. “I cannot imagine what you have just done,” is how Mubarak quoted himself. Then the Prosecutor asked what Uriwani responded and in what mood he was. “He (Uriwani) pleaded with me not to tell anyone but he was very shaken,” said Mubarak.
According to prosecution, Uriwani was the driver of the vehicle in which the man who shot Nyamwasa is believed to have jumped into and it spade off.
Mubarak said he later returned home and found Uriwani and another person waiting there, in a white Nissan truck with no license plates.
"I see that maybe I can be killed to not show the evidence," he told the court.
Mubarak described fleeing to Cape Town after the shooting, then returning to Johannesburg and hopping from hotel to hotel, worrying his life was in danger.
He broke down on the witness stand telling how he feared for his pregnant wife, lifting the dark sunglasses he has worn throughout his testimony to wipe his eyes with a scarf.
Mubarak said after he helped police find and arrest Uriwani, five gunmen attacked his beauty salon in Johannesburg.
The trial will resume on October 24 and run through November 4, when defence attorneys will cross-examine Mubarak.
Related Materials:
Rwandan Dictator in SA Dock
Witness in Rwanda general shooting feared for life
DAKAR/SENEGAL: DECLARATION DU PRESIDENT DE L’UNION DES RESSORTISSANTS RWANDAIS AU SENEGAL A L’OCCASION DU 49ème ANNIVERSAIRE DE L’INDEPENDANCE DU RWANDA
Par Dr. Samuel Hakizimana
Président de l’Union des Ressortissants Rwandais au Sénégal (U.R.R.S.)
Dakar, Sénégal.
1er juillet 2011
1er juillet 1962 - 1er juillet 2011, il ya 49 ans, le Rwanda est devenu indépendant. Cette indépendance n’a pas été obtenue sans heurs. En utilisant la politique de « diviser pour mieux régner », le colonisateur était parvenu à monter les populations les unes contre les autres au gré des intérêts du moment.
De l’indépendance à la conférence de La Baule, le Rwanda était dirigé par un Parti-Etat. La Constitution actuelle de la République rwandaise reconnaît à chaque rwandais le droit de fonder et/ou de s’inscrire dans un parti politique de son choix. Cependant la réalité est tout autre puisque les pouvoirs publics opposent tous les obstacles administratifs formels et non formels pour empêcher l’enregistrement et l’exercice libre des partis politiques non inféodés au régime en place. Aucune opposition politique n’est tolérée et tous les leaders des partis d’opposition dans le pays sont actuellement emprisonnés.
Depuis le mois de mars 2010, la Présidente des FDU-Inkingi, Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, rentrée volontairement au pays le 16 janvier 2010, après 17 ans d’exil, en vue d’implanter le parti dans le pays et se présenter aux élections présidentielles d’août 2010, s’est vue opposé, à chaque fois, une fin de non recevoir par les autorités, malgré plusieurs demandes administratives et gracieuses d’autorisation.
Arrêtée le 21 avril 2010, relâchée ensuite et mise en résidence surveillée le lendemain, Madame Victoire Ingabire a été de nouveau arrêtée et jetée en prison depuis le 14 octobre 2010. Condamnée d’avance, sans espoir de pouvoir bénéficier d’un procès équitable, elle est accusée de divisionnisme, idéologie génocidaire, atteinte à la sûreté de l’Etat, formation de rébellion et de terrorisme. Les autres leaders du parti, par exemple, M. Sylvain Sibomana, Mme Alice Muhirwa et M. Martin Ntavuka, respectivement secrétaire général, trésorière générale et responsable de la région de Kigali, ont été condamnés le 9 juillet 2010 pour avoir organisé une manifestation publique demandant l’ouverture de l’espace politique.
S’agissant de «Rwanda National Congress » (RNC-Ihuriro), un Parti né des flancs du Parti au pouvoir le Front Patriotique (FPR), il convient de mentionner que tous ses membres fondateurs, à savoir le général Kayumba Nyamwasa, le colonel Patrick Karegeya, Monsieur Théogene Rudasingwa et Monsieur Gérarld Gahima, viennent tous d’être condamnés par contumace à de lourdes peines pour des faits fabriqués de toutes pièces, à savoir atteinte à la sûreté de l’Etat, trouble de l’ordre public, sectarisme et association de malfaiteurs. S’agissant en particulier du général Kayumba Nyamwasa, il convient de mentionner la tentative d’assassinat survenue en plein Mondial le 19 juin 2010 en Afrique du Sud, tentative d’assassinat orchestré, selon toute vraisemblance, par le régime rwandais ainsi que l’ont attesté les dernières déclarations de la police sud-africaine.
Qu’en est-il des autres partis d’opposition ? Le premier Vice-président du Parti Démocratique des Verts du Rwanda, M. André KAGWA RWISEREKA disparu le 13 juillet 2010, a été liquidé physiquement et retrouvé mort le 14 juillet 2010, la tête presqu’entièrement tranchée. Le Président du PS-Imberakuri, M. Bernard Ntaganda, et M. Deogratias Mushayidi, Président du parti PDP-Imanzi, M. Charles Ntakirutinka, ancien ministre du parti PDR-Ubuyanja, purgent de lourdes peines pour les mêmes faits que ceux retenus contre les leaders des FDU-Inkingi et RNC-Ihuriro.
Voilà le tableau sombre du sort subi par les formations politiques de l’opposition au Rwanda. Pour museler l’opposition, les autorités utilisent des dispositions législatives réprimant l’idéologie du génocide rédigées en termes vagues pour museler les opposants. Toute critique est considérée comme une atteinte à l’ordre public ou à la sécurité de l’Etat.
Nous demandons :
- Au Président de la République Rwandaise, son Excellence Paul Kagame, lui qui est le garant du respect des institutions de l’Etat, d’avoir un esprit de grandeur, de se situer au dessus de la mêlée en libérant tous les opposants politiques et les leaders d’opinion actuellement en prison.
- Aux hommes de bonne volonté, d’où qu’ils viennent (la société civile Rwandaise, les organisations africaines de défense des droits de l’homme), à initier ou à encourager le dialogue qui fait défaut entre le pouvoir et l’opposition Rwandaise.
-A la communauté internationale, à encourager et à soutenir tout effort visant à régler le problème rwandais.
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