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From one....
It is understood that Pres. Habyalimana confirmed
these warnings in
separate messages to the King. As an intelligence officer, I knew that Maj.-Gen.
Kagame was well-
informed of the fact that Pres. Habyalimana's Presidential Guard and Interahamwe militia were trained and armed to eliminate Tutsi groups in case Paul Kagame attempted to take power. He knew very well that almost all Tutsi were registered on the list of those who had to be exterminated. Militia Interahamwe units were deployed throughout the country, waiting to kill all Tutsi inside Rwanda. The RPF's clandestine broadcasting unit, Radio
Muhabura, consistently
and openly broadcast at the time details of the Interahamwe's plans for attacks on Tutsis. The following examples demonstrate that extent of
that situation:
Gatabazi Felicien, noted above, was assassinated by
the RPF because
he had refused to endorse the plan to kill Habyalimana. The RPF had been afraid that he might reveal the plans to Habyalimana who was a close associate in an arms business which weapons supplied to Palipehutu, a criminal-extremist Hutu group in Burundi, and through Mr Minani, who was at that time a Burundian Minister. The transit store of those arms was a company called Mimosa, a travel company located behind St. Andrews College at Nyamirambo, a suburb of Kigali. Mimosa belonged to Mbarushimana Antoine, a close friend to Gatabazi. Mbarushimana was subsequently killed by RPA at Nyanza (a sub- prefecture of Butare) after the genocide, in order to silence a witness of Gatabazi's death. In response to the killing of Gatabazi, the PSD
militants of Butare
prefecture, ignoring the psychological operations of the RPF, killed Bucyana Martin, President of CDR (Coalition pour la defense de la Republique) in revenge, believing that their leader was killed by CDR or Habyalimana. The Interahamwe and CDR militia in turn reacted angrily and killed many Tutsi in revenge for the killing of Bucyana. This rapid and violent sequence of events made it clear to Kagame what would happen if he attempted to kill Habyalimana. Another corroborating example was the death in 1993
of Katumba, one
of the Interahamwe leaders, who was shot dead, presumably by the RPF, because the Interahamwe and CDR had killed so many Tutsi of Kigali. This wave of killings should have served as an alarm which could not have gone unnoticed. Still, the plan of Kagame was to take power in
Rwanda regardless of
the lives of Tutsi and Hutu moderate which would be lost when the anticipated genocide began. Kagame's choice in 1994 of Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, to be the figurehead President behind whom Kagame could operate secretly, was beneficial to him in helping to bring his plans to fruition without causing international alarm. This process ended for Kagame when Pres. Bizimungu resigned in March 2000, tired of being a show president while the real power was with the nominal Vice-President and Defense Minister, Paul Kagame. MILITARY PERSONNEL OF RPA WERE TRAINED TO OPERATE
SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES TO SHOOT DOWN THE PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT Following the signing of the Arusha Accord by the
Habyalimina
Government and the RPF in January 1994, a battalion of the RPA was sent to the Parliament, the CND, in Kigali. At the same time, other RPA units secretly infiltrated Kigali in civilian clothes. Concurrently, Maj.-Gen. Kagame sent to Uganda four of his military personnel to be trained in the operation of the Russian-built SA-7 Strela man-portable surface-to-air missile (SAM). This type of missile was already in service with the Ugandan Army. Given that there was no air threat to the RPA at
the time � because
the RPA units were in the center of the common capital city, Kigali, and because the Rwandan Armed Forces of Habyalimana had only a few armed helicopters � it is clear that the purpose of the training was specifically to shoot down the presidential aircraft of Pres. Habyalimana at the earliest possible opportunity. After training in Uganda, all four RPA troops were returned to Mulindi, the General Headquarters (or High Command) of the RPA in Byumba Prefecture, where they were transferred to the Missile Unity [the term "Unity" normally applies to a three-battalion formation, but not in this case], which was in reality a small missile section commanded by Lieutenant Kayumba Joseph. Kayumba was later known to be living at Kanombe Barracks, in Kigali, and was later been promoted to the rank of Captain. I was a witness of these events, living at Mulindi,
and where Kayumba
Joseph and his colleagues were friends of mine. At the end of February 1994, considering the
refusal of Habyalimana
to implement the Arusha peace accord, Lt.-Col. Kayonga, then commander of the RPF's Battalion based in the CND, sent a message to Lieutenant Kayumba ordering him to send the four missile-trained military troops to the CND. After receiving that message, Lieutenant Kayumba had immediately sent them to CND without informing Lt.-Col. Kabarebe James, his Commanding Officer. Lt.-Col. Kabarebe imprisoned Lt. Kayumba because of that failure to inform him of the transfer of the four troops. In March 1994, the RPA's High Command led by Kagame
called on the RPF
officials based in Kigali to return to Mulindi. Most of them left Kigali for Mulindi. Two weeks before the crash of the Presidential aircraft, Maj.-Gen. Kagame sent Lt.-Col. James Kabarebe to bring the SA-7 surface-to-air missiles to the CND detachment, and to give final instructions related to the new attack against the Rwandese Army forces [FAR] and brief the four soldiers designated to shoot down the aircraft of Habyalimana. Lt.-Col. Kabarebe spent more than one week in CND before returning to Mulindi. Two RPF leaders, Colonels Kanyarengwe Alexis and
Lizinde Theoneste,
who had earlier served in the Habyalimana Government, gave information and instructions as to where the missiles should be placed. [Col. Lizinde Theoneste, who later defected, was subsequently assassinated in 1998 by RPF operatives in Nairobi, Kenya, in order to ensure the secrecy of the missile operation.] The missile locations were at Masaka sector of the
Kanombe commune,
on the outskirts of Kigali, where aircraft make their final approach before landing. Two weeks before the Habyalimana's aircraft crash,
12 artillery
systems were brought from Uganda, and arrived at our headquaters in Mulindi. In the meantime, our High Command was busy organizing meetings and preparing for the final battle to take control of Kigali. Those who attended the meetings were: Colonels Ndungute, Sam Kaka, Kayumba Nyamwasa, Twahirwa Dodo, Gashumba, Muhire, Mugambage Frank, Ngoga, Bagire, Biseruka, Musitu, and Karemera. Among the lieutenant-colonels were James Kabarebe, Ibingira, Rwahama, Nyamurangwa, Karangwa, Kadhafi, Karera, Gahutu, and others. 3 comming up
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
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