The list of those who have been killed or forcibly disappeared keeps growing. Here is how Deutsche Welle, the German broadcaster, presented it: Revocant Karemangingo, killed in Mozambique in 2021; Ntamuhanga Cassien, disappeared in Mozambique in 2021; Abdallah Seif Bamporiki, shot dead in South Africa in 2021; Kizito Mihigo, died in Rwandan police custody in 2020; Anselme Mutuyimana, found dead in the woods in 2019; Jean Damascene Habarugira, disappeared and his body was found in a local hospital in 2017; Illuminee Iragena, went missing in 2016 and is thought to have been forcibly disappeared.
Others include Patrick Karegeya, former intelligence chief who was found dead in a South African hotel in 2014; Theogene Turatsinze, former head of the Rwanda Development Bank who was found dead in 2012 in a river near the Mozambican capital Maputo; Charles Ingabire, reporter and founder of Inyenyeri who was killed in Uganda in 2011; and Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, deputy chairman of Rwanda’s Democratic Green Party who was found murdered and beheaded in 2010.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.( Genesis 4: 9-13)
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all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword(Matthew 26:52)
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When Rwandan Refugees Die like rats amidst Global silence: Rwanda Journalist Shot in Kampala
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Will Rwanda remain stable if and when Kagame finally bows out?
Sunday September 26 2021
By Musaazi Namiti
Paul Kagame has presided over Rwanda for decades and managed to keep it stable, earning himself the name “Rwanda’s strongman”.
Some people who have worked with him and know him well have been quoted in media reports and books giving chilling accounts of his streak of ruthlessness, and his government has been sharply criticised for bumping off dissidents.
This week Mr Kagame’s government jailed Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu and vociferous critic who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, for forming and funding a group that carried out terrorist attacks in Rwanda. Mr Rusesabagina, who sheltered more than 1,200 people at a luxury hotel where he was a manager during the 1994 genocide, was sentenced to 25 years, along with other 20 defendants.
Depending on who you speak to, the trial was a sham. And it came against the backdrop of assassinations and disappearances of opponents.
The list of those who have been killed or forcibly disappeared keeps growing. Here is how Deutsche Welle, the German broadcaster, presented it: Revocant Karemangingo, killed in Mozambique in 2021; Ntamuhanga Cassien, disappeared in Mozambique in 2021; Abdallah Seif Bamporiki, shot dead in South Africa in 2021; Kizito Mihigo, died in Rwandan police custody in 2020; Anselme Mutuyimana, found dead in the woods in 2019; Jean Damascene Habarugira, disappeared and his body was found in a local hospital in 2017; Illuminee Iragena, went missing in 2016 and is thought to have been forcibly disappeared.
Others include Patrick Karegeya, former intelligence chief who was found dead in a South African hotel in 2014; Theogene Turatsinze, former head of the Rwanda Development Bank who was found dead in 2012 in a river near the Mozambican capital Maputo; Charles Ingabire, reporter and founder of Inyenyeri who was killed in Uganda in 2011; and Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, deputy chairman of Rwanda’s Democratic Green Party who was found murdered and beheaded in 2010.
Rwanda normally issues denials, but this is only to be expected — because it is extremely rare that people or governments who are being accused of wrongdoing will call news conferences and admit guilt.
What lends credence to the accusations that Rwanda is to blame for some of these killings and disappearances happened way back in May 2011. Then British police delivered warnings to two Rwandan dissidents living in Britain and told them that their lives were in danger because they were the target of an assassination plot by the Rwandan government.
British police may have weaknesses, like all police forces, but they are highly professional. By the time they approach someone to warn them that their life is in danger, they will have gathered solid evidence. Indeed, the letters that police delivered to the dissidents cited “reliable intelligence”.
Given that Rwanda has a history of eliminating what it calls state enemies, it is curious that the government decided to jail 67-year-old Rusesabagina. But the more pertinent question is whether Mr Kagame’s rule will leave Rwanda stable once he leaves power, once he breathes his last, as all people who are breathing will in the course of time.
Are families and friends of those who have been either killed or survived assassinations happy? Are ethnic tensions between Hutus and Tutsis now history? Only the passage of time will answer these questions.
Mr Namiti is a journalist and former
Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
musaazihnamiti@gmail.com
Rwanda: The mysterious deaths of political opponents
https://www.dw.com/en/rwanda-the-mysterious-deaths-of-political-opponents/a-59182275
DW has put together a list of mysterious deaths and disappearances of people critical of Rwanda's government. Monday's killing of businessman Revocant Karemangingo in Mozambique is the latest.
The death of former Rwandan lieutenant Revocant Karemangingo, a critic of President Paul Kagame, is the latest addition to a list DW has compiled of Rwandan opposition voices that have died under suspicious circumstances.
The regime of President Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since 1994 in effect, is accused of suppressing dissenting views.
International rights groups claim that opposition politicians, journalists, and activists both in Rwanda and abroad have also been killed or made to disappear after criticizing Kagame or his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party.
Mysterious deaths
Revocant Karemangingo, 2021
Millionaire businessman Revocant Karemangingo was sprayed with bullets by gunmen near his home in Maputo. The outspoken Kagame critic had settled in Mozambique after being ousted from his home country in 1994. The Rwandan government has denied any involvement in the killing. However, Cleophas Habiyaremye, president of the association of Rwandan refugees in Mozambique, rejects the denial. "If there is any real independent inquiry, Kagame and his government should be held responsible," Cleophas Habiyaremye told DW.
Ntamuhanga Cassien, 2021
Rwandan journalist Ntamuhanga Cassien disappeared in Maputo in May after being taken into custody by Mozambican police, and has not been heard from since. There are rumors he was handed over to Rwanda.
Abdallah Seif Bamporiki, 2021
The leading Rwandan opposition politician and member of the Rwanda National Congress was shot dead in South Africa, where he was living in exile. South African police initially said they were treating the killing as a robbery. A week before his murder, Bamporiki had led a memorial service for Rwandan opposition activists killed worldwide.
Gospel singer Kizito Mihigo, seen here in 2018, was arrested in 2020 after attempting to cross into Burundi
Kizito Mihigo, 2020
The singer and government critic died under suspicious circumstances in police custody. Police claim Mihigo strangled himself — but days before his arrest, hereported to Human Rights Watch that he was being threatened.
Anselme Mutuyimana, 2019
The assistant to Victoire Ingabire, president of the opposition United Democratic Forces (FDU-Inkingi) party, was found dead in the woods in 2019. The year before, Mutuyimana had been freed from a six-year prison sentence for "political activism."
Jean Damascene Habarugira, 2017
The opposition politician disappeared after being called to a meeting with an officer responsible for local security. A few days later, authorities called Habarugira's family to collect his body from a local hospital.
Illuminee Iragena, 2016
The opposition activist went missing in 2016, and has not been seen since. There are fears she was forcibly disappeared.
Patrick Karegeya, 2014
The former Rwandan intelligence chief was found dead in a hotel room in South Africa. He had fled to South Africa in 2007 after allegedly plotting a coup against President Kagame. According to a 2019 article in The Guardian, before his death, several Rwandans in South Africa had warned Karegeya that Rwanda's military intelligence was looking to hire contract killers.
Theogene Turatsinze, 2012
The former head of the Rwanda Development Bank was found dead in 2012 in a river near Maputo, days after he went missing. Before he was fired from his position, Turatsinze was believed to have taken with him to Mozambique a list of clandestine payments made by top Rwandan government officials.
Charles Ingabire, 2011
The Rwandan reporter founded Inyenyeri Newssite, which was highly critical of Rwanda's government. Ingabire was shot and killed in Uganda, where he lived as a political refugee.
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, 2010
The deputy chairman of Rwanda's Democratic Green Party was found murdered and partially beheaded in Rwanda in 2010. An inquiry into his murder by Rwanda's Bureau of Investigation never saw the light of day.
Jean-Leonard Rugambage, 2010
The journalist was shot dead in 2010 after he published an online article about the attempted murder of a former army chief, Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa. Rugambage was viewed as highly critical of Kagame's government.
Seth Sendashonga, 1998
A moderate ethnic Hutu involved in the post-genocide unity government with Kagame's RPF party, Sendashonga served as interior minister until he fell out with the RPF before Kagame became president in 2000. Sendashonga survived an attempt on his life while in exile in Kenya, but was subsequently killed by unknown gunmen in 1998.
Theoneste Lizinde, 1996
The former intelligence official was found dead in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1996.
Suppressing the opposition
Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire, who served eight years in prison, told DW in 2020 that the "political space in Rwanda is closed."
Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire once told DW Rwanda's political space is closed
At the time of the interview, Ingabire was the leader of the FDU-Inkingi opposition party.
"I was in prison and spent eight years [there], and when I was released, I thought the government of Rwanda was ready to open up the political space. But one month later, our vice president disappeared. Four months later, my assistant was killed. In July, our representative in [an] eastern province disappeared; yesterday, our national coordinator was murdered," Ingabira said in a 2020 interview with DW.
Although Ingabire did not blame President Kagame for the murder of her party members, she said the killings were politically motivated, and warned that many more would die under the regime she described as a dictatorship.
"Of course, I fear for my life. I know they can kill me any moment; but I will stay in my struggle because I know we need democracy in Rwanda," the politician said.
Sarah Jackson, deputy director of Amnesty International for East Africa, agreed that "being in the political opposition in Rwanda is quite dangerous."
Amnesty International had urged the Rwandan government to make its investigations into the killings public and credible.
"It is incredibly worrying to see these rising cases of disappearances and the impact that this has on the broader political context in Rwanda," said Jackson.