Concern over killing of Rwandan exiles in SA

The continued assassination of Rwandan political leaders exiled in SA is harmful to the country’s image, due to SA being seen as weak in stemming the tide of President Paul Kagame’s crusade of silencing dissenting voices.

This is according to counterterrorism expert Jasmine Opperman following the shooting to death in Nyanga, Cape Town, of Rwandan National Congress spokesman Seif Bamporiki at the weekend.

Opperman, of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, said the death of opposition politician Bamporiki formed part of a list of unresolved attacks on exiled anti-Kagame leaders living in SA and in other countries.

“This incident goes directly to the South African intelligence services and to the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco), on what government is going to do in its interactions with its Rwandan counterparts, to thwart these intelligence operations on our home soil,” said Opperman.

“These attacks are not legal. It is within the South African government’s mandate to provide protection to Rwandan political exiles or to enact counteractions, because this harms our image to a great extent worldwide.”

Saying Kagame’s government had gone on a worldwide crusade “to identify anyone who is opposing or critical of his leadership”, Opperman added: “What has happened in Cape Town should not be seen in isolation to the kidnap and incarceration in Rwanda of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, having saved people during that country’s genocide. “Rusesabagina was hounded and taken out of Texas in the US, with Rwanda’s head of intelligence later admitting that it was one of the biggest intelligence operations carried out by the Rwanda Intelligence Organisation. “Incidents like the one in Cape Town, have been seen worldwide.”

Attacks on exiled Rwanda opposition leaders include:

The 2014 New Year’s Eve Sandton murder of former Rwandan intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya, who was advising SA as it prepared to send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23.

The attempted murder in SA of Karegeya’s colleague General Kayumba Nyamwasa, the former chief-of-staff in the Rwandan Armed Forces.

The SA government, which has renewed full diplomatic ties with Rwanda, has avoided taking a hard-line stance on the East African country following the killings.

Police could not say how much progress has been made in arrests and prosecution of people behind the attacks.

Police Minister Bheki Cele’s spokeswoman Lirandzu Themba said he was kept updated “about the incident, which police are investigating”.

Dirco spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele said they were checking with the police if this was a crime or an assassination, “which will determine how we respond”.

SA govt must provide protection to Rwandans