Rwanda: Assassinations of RPF/RPA Officers.
The question of RPA soldiers who are regularly killed is very complex. The
assassinations differ in their forms, but they all are due to what follows:
When you work for the RPA and you lose the confidence of the army, you
become a dangerous element, likely to reveal secrets;
When you start to foster a hostile environment towards the FPR, you can also
make revelations;
When you are married to a Hutu woman or a woman born of Hutu and tutsi
parents;
when you do not agree with RPA human rights violations;
when you are suspected of collaborating with the opponents of Paul Kagame.
There were also other reasons. Colonel Charles Ngoga was assassinated
because he competed with the commercial milk market of Major General Paul
Kagame. More than six times, the milk of Colonel Charles Ngoga's cows was
poured right in the middle of the road by bodyguards of President Kagame. He
asked whether the strong man of Kigali really believed he had fought for
Rwanda's freedom. These sour words constitute, from now on, an imminent
danger, more so as he was shown to have plotted with those who were
preparing a coup. Finally, he was killed with a very violent poison poured
in his drink by Colonel Dan Gapfizi.
Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson Rutayisire, called Shabani, former ORINFOR
director, was shot by Lieutenant-Colonel Mulisa on the order of Major
General Paul Kagame. He was suspected of being the head of a group of
soldiers exiled in Uganda who did not approve of the way Kagame directed the
country. These soldiers were persuaded that Major General Paul Kagame made
serious errors which will be difficult to correct later, like killing and
wrongfully imprisoning the population, to blame all Hutus of committing
genocide, and enroll many known Interahamwe militiamen in the RPA.
Major Rachid Mugisha (alias Kyojo) was killed by an injection administered
by Major Dr Joseph Ntarindwa at the military hospital in Kanombe.
Theexecution order came from the DMI which received its order from Major
General Kagame in person. It seems that he was assassinated because of his
friendship with Captain Serwanda, himself assassinated under the pretext he
was preparing a war against the FPR. Major Mugisha also caused his
assassination by his character as he did not support injustices within the
army.
Major Alex Ruzindana was assassinated some time after his demobilization
from the RPA. It was claimed that he belonged to the group of soldiers who
prepared a coup d'etat. He was cut down by Captain Butera. That it was
believed he wanted to make a coup d'etat is due to the fact he was openly
opposed to the massacres and assassinations of people because of a
difference of opinion. He was persuaded that if someone did not stop it, the
country would fail.
Major Dr Ndahiro and Dr. Jean Gahungu were killed towards the end of July
1994, near Rwamagana in the direction of Kayonza. In a car Major Dr Ndahiro
drove, they fell into a ambush. The driver tried to dodge these killers and
lost the control of the car. The two officers and one of the members of
their escort were killed in this accident. Major Ndahiro was eliminated not
only because he had made brilliant studies, but also because he did not like
the intrigue. In spite of his relations with Inkotanyi, Dr. Jean Gahungu was
eliminated because his/her son had a strong friendship with the family of
president Juvénal Habyarimana (today his/her son married one of
Habyarimana's daughters).
Major John Birasa and Captain Eddy perished in a ambush which was set up by
Birasa's deputy. The major was killed because he did not accept the faulty
operation of the FPR and an army mercenary. In the years 1993-1994, it was
he who was responsible for the logistics of the soldiers who infiltrated
Kigali and sowed insecurity in all corners of the country. He also took part
in the attack against President Juvénal Habyarimana's plane. By killing him,
they wanted to prevent him from revealing what occurred, especially because
he started to show his dissatisfaction of the way in which the country and
the army were being directed.
Captain Hubert Kamugisha was used by Major General Paul Kagame to commit
several atrocities, in particular the assassinations of politicians,
including Minister Félicien Gatabazi of the PSD, Martin Bucyana of the CDR
and others. He was also used to place mines in Rwanda, particularly in the
town of Kigali at the beginning of the year 1994. He was used to collect
more thorough information during the days which preceded the attack against
the presidential plane. In the final analysis, contrary to the majority of
the others, he was not rewarded and he is not even assembled in rank for all
the work which he had been able to achieve. His public dissatisfaction
caused a move from the DMI to the 17è Battalion (He was relegated to the
units that had nothing to do with intelligence). A few days after, he was
killed by bullets following a DMI conspiracy on order of Paul Kagame and it
was reported he had committed suicide. It is important to recall here that
he was the only officer of the RPA who faced very dangerous situations while
mixing with Interahamwe and knowing that, if he were discovered, he was
likely to be tortured and killed in agony. However, he remained a captain
while young people than majors or lieutenant-colonels were promoted to him.
Captain S. Kavuma. This officer was demobilized from the RPA because he did
not get along any more with the RPF's methods. On the way to Uganda, he was
stopped at the frontier station at Gatuna. He was taken to the DMI in Kami
and killed using a worn hoe (agafuni).
Captain David Sabuni. He disapproved of the RPF's methods, in particular the
unfair promotions and nominations at the director positions in the RRA. He
decided to go into exile in Uganda. Paul Kagame convened a military meeting
where he asked for all the brigade commanders to use all the means at their
disposal, in collaboration with the DMI, to repatriate all the soldiers who
had exiled themselves in Uganda. Thus Colonel Mubarakh Muganga tried to come
into contact with Captain David Sabuni. When he managed to meet him, he lied
to him and said that he had explained the problem to President Paul Kagame
who, also, found it comprehensible. Colonel Muganga invited the captain to
return to be restored in his rank of lieutenant and continue to fight
against the RPF's methods. Captain Sabuni initially had some hesitations but
Colonel Muganga reassured him by promising that he took care of business.
The colonel then sent money to him and the means necessary to return at his
discretion. Arriving at Gatuna, the captain was bound by the DMI and
assassinated after a lengthy torture.
Shown to want to launch a war against the RPA, Captain Serwanda was killed
with the Akagera National Park with his escort. The news was quickly spread
that he was killed while trying to organize an armed rebellion in the forest
to reverse the capacity of the FPR. But the true reasons of his elimination
were completely different. They wanted to get rid of him.
Lieutenant Aloys Rupari was assassinated in Mulindi (Kanombe) by soldiers of
the Republican Guard commanded by Lieutenant Bosco Ndayisaba who recieved
orders from Captain Silas Udahemuka. He was killed because he denounced the
injustice that characterized the arrests and imprisonment of masses of the
population.
Second Lieutenant Dan Ndaruhutse, a bodyguard of Paul Kagame in the
Republican Guard, was killed at the same time as another soldier who was
suspected of having taken part in a plot. Ndaruhutse had nothing to do with
this business. He was killed quite simply because dared to ask why his
fellow-soldiers were killed brutally.
Their killer said that he had been likely to fall on the second lieutenant,
because he was required to disclose secrets of the Republican Guard. The two
soldiers were thus assassinated on order of Captain Silas Udahemuka.
Lieutenant Karegeya, who was in the 3rd battalion with the NDT during the
war of 1994, was killed by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Kayonga in Kigali
sometime after the end of the war. Oncraignait which it does not reveal
information relating not only to the attack against the presidential plane
of Habyarimana, but also of the assassinations of politicians like Félicien
Gatabazi, Martin Bucyana, Emmanuel Gapyisi and Emmanuel Bahigiki.
This soldier, originating in Kibungo, had lived a long time in Kigali before
joining the RPA. He was used in espionage carried out in Rwanda and in
Kigali in particular. He helped to obtain Rwandan indentity cards for RPA
soldiers who infiltrated Kigali before the genocide. He did it in
collaboration with Captain Charles Karamba, Colonel Lizinde and close
relations of Kanyarengwe who were in the adminisitration.
Lieutenant Rwagasana, a Hutu who spoke English and French, was used as a
translator-interpreter for Paul Kagame in the war. He was cut down by
Captain Jimmy Muyango in the 101st Battalion. His elimination was explained
by the fact he was Hutu, and he did not have any more confidence in the High
Command that ensured Kagame's safety, that he knew all the correspondences
of Kagame, and that he held fundamental information on the assassinations of
politicians, including Juvénal Habyarimana. His death was described as
accidental. He was replaced by Lieutenant Jean-Bosco Kazura as the
translator-interpreter.
Lieutenant Dan Twahirwa was liquidated following the sour remarks he made at
the time of his stay in the Kibungo military prison with regards to the high
command of the RPA, the DMI, and the legal military services that imprisoned
soldiers unjustly.
Lieutenant Fred Gatumbura was the driver of Paul Kagame for several years
and thus knew many secrets. After loosing his credibility in the army
following rumours he had a direct family ties with a Hutu (and after these
rumours were reinforced by his relations with a Hutu woman with whom he was
even going to marry in Kibuye) He was poisoned and everyone was led to
believe that he had died of AIDS.
Second Lieutenant Peter Sempa. He was the personal bodyguard of Paul Kagame
since the beginning of the war. After being suspected of supporting the
counter-cells, one deduced he could reveal to them crucial information
relative to the death of Juvénal Habyarimana, because he had taken part in
the loading of the missiles. Thus, military authorities had him directly put
in the battalions that fought in Zaire. It is there that he was cut down at
the time of an attack simulated by the elements of the RPA which had led him
there.
Deputy-Lieutenent Jean-Claude Ruraza belonged to the DMI. He was suspected
of not supporting the program to exterminate the population whereas this was
the principal task of any DMI officer. The RPA preferred to eliminate him as
I already described in the part which relates to the war.
First Sergeant Nyirumuringa was shot in Kigali at the place where he often
went to drink. He had been used against his will to transport corpses and
people to be taken out to Nyungwe Forest where they were incinerated. He was
killed to prevent him from telling anyone later.
I do not intend to recount all the victims, because there are too many.
There is reasonable evidence from the few cases I raised. They can be
available to whoever will bring a lawsuit against these criminals. I also
took care not to evoke all those who were killed during the war. Their
number is so high that I reserve a whole book for them that will start with
Major General Fred Rwigyema and Major Peter Bayingana and will evoke their
comrades in arms until today.
Except the soldiers of the RPA, Kagame also killed elements of the ex-FAR
who had joined the RPA. I will quote some examples of those who were
eliminated because they expressed their dissatisfaction on the massive
arrests and the repetitive massacres of members of their Hutu ethnic group.
Major Lambert Rugambagye was killed in the military prison of Kibungo at the
beginning of the year 1997. As he did not have anything to be reproached
for, he was allowed to denounce the atrocities the RPA was committing. Even
Inkotanyi which dared to act on him were killed. He was unaware of this.
Dated October 24, 1997, Gitarama, Captain Théoneste Hategekimana, commander
of the Gendarmes in Gitarama, was assassinated. He was a victim because of
his open opposition to the massive arrests and massacres of the population,
in particular of Hutu intellectuals like during the setting of the RPA
infiltrations in Gitarama prefecture. Assassinations of ex-FAR and people
were carried out because they had soldiers of the FAR abound in their
families. We will not hesitate to add other names of victims as soon as we
are in possession of sufficient information on the circumstances of their
deaths.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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