UNENDING PURGE FOR RWANDA’S DISSIDENTS

Diplomatic melancholy once again!, Last week South Africa expelled three Rwandan diplomats in connection with an attack on the home of an exiled Rwandan opposition figure Lt Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa. But he was not at home when the raid was premeditated. These raiders ransacked his property.

In a tit for tat move, The Rwanda government also debarred and sent back home six South African diplomats from for alleged involvement in espionage.
In correlation to this raid, South Africa also expelled a Burundi diplomat who was accused of collaborating with the suspect. It is ridiculous that government of Burundi has also promised a response. Taking into account the Rwanda-South Africa previous ‘prison-dilemma game.’ possibly yes, they will also expel one South Africa diplomat.
Whenever a Rwandan exile living in South Africa or elsewhere is attacked, the latter blames the former. The former usually denies such allegations and accuses South Africa for shedding its enemies.

It would be irrational to take South Africa accusations as ‘fwaaa’ but there is no reason to trust their thesis 100 percent. For example, why can’t they nab any of these raiders?. Gen Nyamwasa has already survived two assassination attempts. He was also shot in 2010 in an attack widely blamed on the Rwandan government.

A report by Reuters quoting South Africa intelligence sources stated that the attackers were followed back to the Rwanda embassy in Pretoria 

In January this year, the body of a Rwandan former intelligence chief dissident, Patrick Karegeya, was found in Johannesburg. He was apparently murdered.

It is prudent to assess the way Rwandan government replies whenever accused of exterminating its enemies. Unlike here (Uganda) where government has also been accused of killing government enemies in one way or another but responds calmly in defence. Rwanda’s government response remains questionable. 

When nagged by the Wall Street Journal after strangling of Karegeya, Paul Kagame said no, Rwanda did not kill him but added ‘I really wish Rwanda did it. I really wish it.’ After recent accusation, Rwanda's Ministry of foreign affairs Louis Mushikiwabo tweeted "We have expelled six South African diplomats in reciprocity and concern at SA harbouring of dissidents responsible for terrorist attacks in Rwanda". Think about why Rwandan government does not candidly defend itself against such allegations.

Who else has been target?

 Seth Sendashonga, the respected Minister of the Interior in the post-genocide government. After protesting human rights abuses in a series of memoranda sent to Kagame, he was dismissed and went into exile in Kenya, where he became increasingly vocal against the government.

After surviving a first assassination ambush in February 1996, in which an arrested man with a firearm turned out to be an employee at the Rwandan embassy, he was shot dead in Nairobi two years later.

This killing of critics has always happened with relentless regularity. There was a particularly nasty spate before the 2010 election, when not only was Nyamwasa targeted but a newspaper editor murdered, a rival politician found near-beheaded and even a Tanzanian law professor involved in a genocide case shot dead.

In 2011, Scotland Yard warned two exiles in Britain that a Rwandan hit squad had been sent to kill them, although they were not high-profile.

One of the targets was Rene Mugenzi, a father of three and Liberal Democrat activist. He had to cut off contact with many fellow Rwandan exiles in Britain for fear they might be government agents and still lives under a high state of security alert.

With Nyamwasa and other dissidents still alive, the hunt will continue targeting both low and high profile opposition figures until when all of them are eliminated.