Kagame regime swiftly announced that the former Kagame guard killed in South Africa was a hijacker. How did the Rwanda government determine this in a matter of hours?
Camir Nkurunziza, a former General Paul Kagame’s bodyguard, was killed in South Africa on May 30, 2019. Instantly, the Kagame government, via the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, announced that Nkurunziza was killed while he was hijacking a vehicle in Cape Town, South Africa. As Minister Nduhungirehe explained:
”Camille Nkurunziza, a member of terrorist organizations RNC of Kayumba Nyamwasa then FLN of Callixte Nsabimana, was also a hijacker in South Africa. He was killed yesterday evening by the Goodwood Police while resisting arrest with a knife. Once a criminal, always a criminal.”
How could the government of Rwanda sitting in Kigali instantly determine the cause of death in Cape Town, 3,760 kilometers away? The Kagame government may have its own reasons for attempting to preempt South Africa police investigation. The Nkurunziza killing occurred five days after Kagame was in South Africa to attend President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration on May 25, 2019. Is this coincidental? Most unlikely. It is widely known that whenever Kagame visits a country with a large Rwandan diaspora, he leaves behind operatives to terrorize folks opposed to his regime.
Nkuruziza was a determined critic of the Kagame regime, accusing the Rwandan ruler of silencing dissenting views. Nkurunziza is credited for starting a campaign against the constitutional amendment that enabled Kagame to cling to power beyond two terms. The South African authorities no doubt will be interested in this case. The death on South African soil of yet another Rwandan opposed to Kagame becomes another ugly milestone.
This latest death comes after four attempted assassinations of former Rwandan army chief of staff, General Kayumba Nyamwasa; and the assassination of Patrick Karegeya, the former Rwandan intelligence chief. The Karegeya case is still ongoing after the court determined that his killers are connected to the Kagame government, and must be tried in South Africa.
By David Himbara
