By David Himbara

Kalisa Mupende was Director of Finance in General Paul Kagame Office. Mupende was also Chairman of Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD). Kagame viciously beat up Mupende in front of me and other senior public servants in 2008. Kagame claimed that Mupende and Captain Musekera had bought window curtains for the president’s office from the wrong shop.

I shared this story with the New York Times’ Jeffrey Gettleman who challenged Kagame in an interview to explain the beating. Kagame did not deny the incident — read the New York Times’ article here. Kagame threw Mupende in jail in 2009. Mupende died in September 2019 while still in prison. During the ten years in prison, Mupende was never given an opportunity to have his say in court.

Rwandans should be forewarned — working in Rwanda Development Bank is a kiss of death

For God’s sake, whatever you do, don’t take a job in Kagame’s Rwanda Development Bank. This financial institution is the most dangerous place to work in Rwanda. The Development Bank of Rwanda’s former CEOs and chairmen either fled Rwanda, or ended up in prison, and even ended up dead in mysterious circumstances. This history surely indicates that there is something terribly wrong with the institution. Take a look at the turnover record at the Development Bank of Rwanda.

1. BRD’s CEO Edith Gasana — decided to leave Rwanda for good.

2. BRD’s CEO Theogene Turatsinze — decided to leave Rwanda for good but was murdered in Mozambique.

3. BRD’s Chairman Henry Gaperi — briefly detained before leaving Rwanda for good.

4. BRD’s CEO Alex Kanyankole — thrown in prison in October 2018.

Besides the death of Mupende in prison, the death of Turatsinze in Mozambique was horrible

Turatsinze death was described by the US government as follows:

”Mozambique police found former Rwandan Development Board Managing Director Theogene Turatsinze floating dead and tied with ropes in a lake two days after he was reported missing. Mozambique police initially indicated Rwandan government involvement in the killing before contacting the government and changing its characterization to a common crime. Rwandan government officials publicly condemned the killing and denied involvement. Domestic political observers commented that Turatsinze had access to politically sensitive financial information related to certain Rwandan government insiders. The killing remained unsolved at year’s end.”

When will this nightmare end?