According to CNN, the United Arab Emirates have denied that they did not cooperate with Rwanda to kidnap Paul Rusesabagina and they confirmed that Paul Rusesabagina left their country legally in a private jet that led him to Rwanda. As we learned today on September 2 2020, the UAE said that Paul Rusesabagina arrived in Dubai on Thursday August 27, 2020, and left the airport to the hotel. After 5 hours, he came back to the Al Maktoum airport and left at midnight next day Friday on a private jet bound for the East African country.
One of the UAE local authorities told CNN that Paul Rusesabagina entered and left the country legally. However, what this local authority told CNN that Paul Rusesabagina, who is the biggest critic of the Rwandan government and Kagame, boarded an aircraft to go to Rwanda willingly knowing very well that he would be arrested as soon as he arrived doesn’t make sense.
Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) spokesperson, Dr Thierry Murangira, announced publicly that Paul Rusesabagina was allegedly arrested based on an arrest warrant issued by Rwanda. this local authority from the UAE, told CNN that there was no extradition treaty between Rwanda and UAE to arrest anyone sought by any of these two countries.
UAE has also revealed that Paul Rusesabagina has visited their country twice within the last 5 years, and they have never had any issue with him visiting their country again because he was not on any list of people sought for committing crimes. Paul Rusesabagina’s family has told CNN that he has been kidnapped but they haven’t yet found proof of how it happened.
What the UAE’s local authorities have said so far differs from what the Rwandan government has said because they are lying that there was any involvement between countries to kidnap him. Paul Rusesabagina’s family has said that he arrived in Dubai via Emirates airline from Chicago, USA to the UAE, and he talked to his wife and his daughter for the last time that night.
Paul Rusesabagina’s son, Trésor Rusesabagina, was surprised to hear that his dad was in Dubai, a location near Africa. The Rwandan security agents have been following Paul Rusesabagina’s movement within the last few years. They even attempted to kill him numerous times with no success. Paul Rusesabagina’s family is worried about his health because he is a cancer survivor and needs daily medication because of heart disease.
Paul Rusesabagina’s family has also said that they haven’t been able to talk to him since his kidnapping and they wish to visit him or at least have people check on him regularly. Rwandan investigation bureau through his spokesperson, Dr Thierry Murangira has said that people investigating Paul Rusesabagina’s case have 15 days to decide if they will keep holding him. He added that he has the right to seek a lawyer and to talk to his family.
It is possible that the people Paul Rusesabagina trusted tricked him to go and board with them in a private jet where they immediately dragged him and knocked him out so he was unconscious until he got to Rwanda.
People are speculating based off of a tweet someone close to Kagame’s regime posted that said what Paul Rusesabagina said when he woke up after he arrived in Kigali. The tweet said Paul Rusesabagina told them “Look I’m going to tell you everything you want, but promise me only one thing”. When they asked what he wanted to know, he said “How did I get here”. This is further proof that Paul Rusesabagina was taken and kidnapped by the Rwandan government.
