Rwanda Information Portal

Rwanda’s reaction to the leakage of Ruzibiza testimony

Abdul Ruzibiza

Kigali – The Government of Rwanda has cited conspiracy and foul play by some French elements for �leaking� to the press the testimony Joshua Ruzibiza purportedly given to a French judge, referring to the incident as a �scheme to scandalise Rwanda.�

Ruzibiza, 40, died Thursday in Oslo, Norway where he had been living for over a decade. Shortly after his death, an excerpt of his so-called testimony which he gave to French Judge Marc Trevidic was published in a French magazine Mariannne.

In an interview with The New Times, Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama said that the leakage of the �highly confidential� document containing the testimony Ruzibiza made to a French Judge in Norway is �very shocking.�

�We have received the information about the leakage of a confidential judicial statement made by the late Ruzibiza to the Judge in Norway. This information of judicial nature being leaked to the press is very shocking,�

�A judicial file is supposed to be confidential; it is supposed to be protected. If there are people who have access to the judges file and they can go in and pull out information and send it to the media, that�s extremely dangerous and we are expressing grave concern over that development,� Karugarama said.

Karugarama said that it is �unusual� for an investigative judge�s file to be leaked to the press, adding that the fact that a full excerpt was published shows that someone in the office of the judge deliberately leaked the information.

�That is extremely dangerous. We don�t know what else they could leak out, we don�t know what people could be interested in to have extremely confidential judicial documents leaked out,� he said.

�We find it extremely dangerous and its bothering us a lot. We have received that information with great indignation and we are very scandalised, that that could happen,�.

The Magazine said that there was much more to the hearing than what was published and said of Ruzibiza: �We have lost somebody who could have provided very interesting explanations on how the investigation was manipulated under Bruguiere.�

The same French Judges were in Rwanda last week carrying out investigations into the shooting of the plane that was carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana. The findings are expected in March.

The former RPF lieutenant claimed in a book that he was part of the commando unit that shot the President Habyarimana plane down and became the key witness in the investigation launched in 2006 by the French anti-terror judge, but he later retracted his testimony. He told the judges that he was under threats by RPF.

In a recent interview with the French judges which has now been leaked to the press, Ruzibiza confirmed his claims against RPF. After his death last week, the lawyer for the RPF suspects called for an investigation into his death, saying that he would have been a key witness to prove that the French judge Bruguiere had been manipulative. That triggered the publication of the full interview by the magazine Marianne.
Read full interview (in French).

September 28, 2010   3 Comments

Kigali High Court hearing over bail denial of FDU-Inkingi activist Martin Ntavuka

The Kigali High Court started on Monday the hearing of bail denial for Mr. Martin NTAVUKA, an FDU INKINGI�Kigali�local leader, incarcerated since 24 July 2010.

In their motions to revoke the remand order and to grant an immediate release, the defendant and his lawyer Mr. Theogene MUHAYEYEZU insisted that the defendant�should be released from prison because the charge of�organizing�illegal protest is politically motivated, and for the fact that the defendant was not demonstrating when he was arrested.

Mr. Martin NTAVUKA�was arrested when Police found in the vehicle in which he was, a dozen t-shirts with�the text ��WE NEED DEMOCRACY AND FAIR JUSTICE�. On the other side, evidences clearly show that Mr. Martin NTAVUKA is not a risk and does not pose any threat to the Rwandan community.

The prosecutor then confirmed that the government considers all militants of FDU INKINGI and PS IMBERAKURI (opposition parties) as a security threat because their plan is to topple the current government.

The verdict is expected on 01 October 2010.

September 28, 2010   No Comments

Former Rwandan Prosecutor General Gerard Gahima Testifies Against Kagame in Spain

Sources in Spain have informed AfroAmerica Network �that Gerard Gahima, a former Rwandan Prosecutor General and Vice-President of the Supreme Court has been testifying against� the Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame.

The testimony in front of the Audiencia National in Madrid is likely to be very critical and damaging for Paul Kagame. In fact, General Gahima was one of the closest allies,� comrades,� and friends of� Kagame�s sometimes regarded, along with Tito Rutaremara, one of the ideologues of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front.

The lengthy testimony was recorded on Wednesday September 22, 2010.

In the testimony, Gerard Gahima confirmed that General Paul Kagame has personally or through proxies, and private businesses committed, executed, supervised, and/or ordered war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in Rwanda. According to Gerard Gahima, among the companies belonging to Paul Kagame and his associates, including the wife of the Minister of Finances,� and exploiting resources in the DRC, especially coltan and other commodities, and shipping them across the border to Rwanda are� Air Navette, Jambo Safari, and New Gomair. He also reaffirmed that companies belonging to the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), General Paul Kagame and a clique of personal friends, relatives, and leading personalities� continue to benefit from illegal logging and poaching. They include the holding Tri-Star Investments that belongs to Paul� Kagame.

Gerard Gahima testified also on the assassination of spanish aid workers and missionaries, the catalan missionary Joaquim Vallmaj� in 1994 and Medecins du Monde workers� Flors Sirera and Luis Manuel Madrazo Valtue�a, killed three years later.

One of Gerard Gahima�s associates, Kayumba Nyamwasa is accused of ordering these murders. The Spanish Government, at the insistence of Judge Andreu, formally requested his extradition from South Africa, where he has sought asylum, to Spain, to face prosecution for the crimes.

General Kayumba Nyamwasa�was a victim of the first assassination attempt on June 19, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa where he has sought exile (see our article here ). After the first assassination attempt, the� South African Government pointed a finger to intelligence operatives from Rwanda as responsible for the failed assassination. The accusation led to a strain in the two governments relations. The South African Government eventually recalled its Ambassador to Rwanda (see our article here and here).

[AfroAmerica]

September 28, 2010   4 Comments