Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch

BEHIND THE PRESIDENTIAL CURTAINS

From Inyenyeri Newspaper

The South African intelligence service has unveiled news of another failed assassination attempt against Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa by his long-time comrade turned enemy President Paul Kagame.

This is a third attempt so far after the initial one that got him shot in the stomach and a series of a few that involved planed poisoning of the former Member of High Command, Head Intelligence of the RPA, Army Commander of the Rwanda Defence Forces and Rwandan Ambassador to India who has since sought refuge to South Africa fearing for his dear life from BAD MAN Mr Kagame, president of the republic of Rwanda.

This plot was rather a deadlier of the lot since it is said to have involved the plan to use a medium machine gun that would be used to gun down not only the General but sweep his entire family and any living creature in his Johannesburg home.

It is said to have involved an enormous amount of Rwandese people’s taxpayer money spent by Mr. Kagame just to eliminate one of the country’s heroes. For us who were involved in the bush war that made Kagame the dictator of the world, we surely know that he is just but biting the same hands that fed him, killing officers and men of the RPA that put him where he never expected to be.

I remember when I was still working alongside these two men Afande Kayumba was a very social person who tried to make everyone around him of all ranks comfortable, a morale booster when we needed it most, a comrade.  Afande Kagame on the other side was this sort of person who makes everyone anxious and pretends to know more than the rest of the world, with his snobbish mentality.

On looking back, I believe that this could have been because of a few factors that led to the behaviour of Afande Kagame:
•         He was less learnt that the rest of his commanders who at least had attained a bachelor’s degree in different discipline while he was just a secondary school drop out.
•         He lacked discipline right from his childhood and hence failed to acquire basic military training that could have made him a good soldier when he joined the NRA.
•         He rose fast through the NRA ranks due to his slyness and hence his complexity (superior/inferior), whichever way you look at it.
•         He lacked any military or operational skills and was well known to his superiors; this is evident that the top Rwandan officers in the Ugandan Army (NRA) decided to attack their first offensive 1st October 1990 while he was away for military training. They less considered him one of theirs, less effective, not combat effective, though he was considered Pilato in Uganda for his notoriety in the Ugandan civil intelligence.

It was due to the misfortune, the loss of the entire RPA command that President Museveni decided to call back Maj Kagame from America. Kagame was groomed by Mr Museveni for a number of years while the troops were fighting. Kagame spent most of his time commuting between south western Uganda and Kampala to meet the president, Gen Salim Salleh and Kale Kayihura who were charged with the Rwandan operations at the time.

At the battle fields the RPA was commanded by Lt Col Adam Waswa, Maj Steven Ndugute, Sam Kaka and the rest. Other departments and echelons of the RPA were under the likes of Kayumba Nyamwasa, Alphonse Furuma, Frank Rusagara, Frank Mugambage, Charles Musitu and many senior commanders either have died or became frustrated by Kagame who was termed as Afande PC which was literally (political coordinator), a title that president Museveni gave him on his recall from America after the death of Gen fred Rwigema, Major Bayingana and Chris Bunyenyezi.

It was not long until president Museveni made Kagame the chairman high command while Col Alexis Kanyarengwe remained the chairman RPA and later Kagame promoted himself the rank of Maj General and later made himself the president after planting himself as the vice-president a post that was not mentioned in the Arusha peace code while the country was run by the broad based government of the same code.

By the time Kagame became the president, most of the top RPA officers had died while others were sidelined. Gen Kayumba who had helped him a lot in the bush while he was still Afande PC had become the Army commander. Let me clarify the word help here by saying that Kagame was unpopular the to the old fighting troops due to his notoriety way back from Uganda where he was termed Pilato the biblical ruler who crucified Jesus Christ.

Gen Kayumba therefore being a modern intelligence officer an administrator way back from Uganda, helped mend Kagame’s grudges with the troops on several occasions. This led to Kagame trusting Nyamwasa who was also a close friend to Kagame’s aide-de-camp (ADC), James Kabarebe a young energetic officer who moved along his friends preaching to the likes of Vedaste Kayitare how his boss Kagame has changed to a good man.

After the war Kagame and Kayumba’s friendship was huge, their families were very close their children would visit each other.

 I remember when Kagame’s wife got a new car Mercedes Benz bullet proof, she asked me to take the one she used to drive to Kayumba’s wife. The time when Kagame had misunderstandings with his wife Jeanette Nyiramongi, she would go and spend nights at Kayumba’s home in Kimihurura. I remember we would go there in the evening for Kagame to try and apologise to his wife, Kayumba was always the peace maker of Kagame’s family, I wonder how it is now?

He used to come down Kagame, stop him from making his silly decisions especially in government and in the forces, things have worsened since Gen Kayumba fellow out with Kagame.

The problem with our president is that when you do not accept all his ideas or plans, you become his enemy. Afande Kayumba is obviously safe and has enough protection where ever he is because he has done nothing wrong apart from fleeing for his life, but Kagame will continue to plan to kill any of his family members, according to how I know Kagame.

He has succeeded several times, he is a bit carried away by what he did in Nairobi Kenya when he killed Seth Sendashonga or in Congo where he is still killing innocent people, but these are countries where people like Kagame can use money and kill whoever they want but places like South Africa and the Western countries is a different story and that is why he’s continued to be caught up with his ruthless missions.

It’s embarrassing because his top commanders whom he thinks that they are doing the job are totally wrong because he pushes them into the box. You wonder how these guys think? Some of them have been recorded on the phones negotiating on the amount of money to pay for their killing missions.
This has led to believe that even If God himself disagreed with Kagame, His excellence Paul Kagame would hunt God down.

I cannot stop to remember all of the heroes he has eliminated for just not agreeing with him, not only those he came with from the National Resistance Army (NRA) but also the Ex-FAR officers and men who joined us in order to work together for the best of our nation. People like Gen Munyakazi, Lt col Cyiza, Gen (BEM) Habyalimana, Col Kanamugire, Col Ndibwami, Col Biseruka, Col Lizinde, Cmdt Muvunanyambo, Col Ndengeyinka and others. He frustrated most of them, killed a number of them and has jailed the remainder.

Kagame’s slyness has got a long history. In 1987 while he was the head of intelligence in Uganda, Maj Kagame lied to his much superior boss the late General Fred Rwigyema that Major Peter Baingana had started to divide the Rwandese troops in the Ugandan army. He said to him that because Peter Baingana was a medical Doctor, he used to call them as secondry school certificate holders both Kagame and Rwigyema and so he was dividing the army. Kagame added that Baingana said that he will not be ruled by a Mucyaba, this was Fred Rwigyema’s clan.

During this time a lot had been happening, this included the officers who were involved in killings of innocent people like Mirindi who had shot a girl in Wandegeya Kampala just because the girl refused to go with him to his house, Lt Nzaramba who had been involved in killings of civilians in southern Uganda and the history of the then Sgt Rwahama Jackson Mutabazi who was hiding in Tanzania at the time due to his cruelty to the Banyankole.
Some soldiers were permanently AWOL drinking alcohol while others were jailed in prisons due to indiscipline.

This was a hard time for Gen Fred Rwigyema maintaining the force inside a national army in a foreign land with subordinates like Kagame trading useless intrigues.  All that Gen Rwigyema wanted was to protect and maintain a well disciplined force until the 1/10/1990.

On hearing this Gen Fred Rwigyema was not pleased by what Kagame reported to him and so he organised a meeting which was attended by only Banyarwanda officers, he asked them in his words that: ‘’when you see yourself in the mirror who do you think you are?’’. No one responded because for the first time every one realised that Afande Fred was annoyed but no one had a clue of what had happened.

He therefore mentioned to them that: “those officers in the meeting are Banyarwandas from a small landlocked poor nation located in the south western Uganda with a dark history of crime and hate”. He revealed to them that they had a chance to organise themselves and go back home, and that they shall live with their fellow Rwandans in peace and harmony if they managed to go back, and insisted that they should not lose that chance and reminded them that they did not belong where they were (Uganda).

He was concerned about the discipline of the soldiers and making sure they knew why we were in Ugandan forces but not the silly information Kagame was feeding him. Kagame waited to see if late Peter Baingana was going to be asked a word, until today he does not know why Rwigyema never mentioned anything. It’s a shame that Kagame spent all that time with Fred Rwigyema but never even picked his discipline nor his wisdom.

Kagame has since built his country on intrigue and monitors it like he monitored Basima house the office that he ruled as pilato in Uganda winning himself the famous name. He has groomed his rumour centred officers the likes of Jack Nziza around him who continuously feed him with unconstructive information that has made him the tyranny of our land.
Kagame has lost touch due to his greediness and being so hungry of power, he can do anything to stay in power.

It’s paradoxical.
God bless Fred Rwigyema as we remember 21 years since he left us with mad Kagame.

Noble Marara