About Africa Realities Media
Latest Analysis
Independent analysis, commentary and investigations on Africa, the Great Lakes Region and international accountability.
[AfricaRealities.com] Gen. Karake's arrest: Another crack in the Kagame regime
Gen. Karake's arrest: Another crack in the Kagame regime
Claude Gatebuke and Kambale Musavuli
2015-08-06, Issue 738
The tide is beginning to turn toward justice. Despite receiving enormous political, diplomatic and economic support from Western governments, Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front-led government have been subjected to increasing scrutiny and pressure for past and current crimes committed on the African continent. The British arrest of Rwanda's spy chief on an international warrant issued by Spain is a long awaited and necessary development toward ending impunity for Rwandan government officials accused of war crimes.
The arrest on June 20, 2015, of Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, Rwanda's director general of National Intelligence and Security Services, also highlights a contrast in foreign policies: Spain's unbiased pursuit of justice against Rwandans accused of war crimes and the United States' history of shielding current Rwandan government officials accused of war crimes from prosecution.
The international arrest warrant on which the British courts acted dates back to 2008 when Spanish judge Fernando Andreu Merelles, acting under the principle of universal jurisdiction, indicted 40 Rwandan military officers on several counts of genocide, human rights abuses and terrorism during the 1990s. Gen. Karake was one of those 40 officials indicted.
The indictment also names eight Spanish citizens who died or disappeared during the 1990s in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and alleges that Karake specifically ordered the killing of three Spanish nationals. The victims in these massacres number millions, with the vast majority being Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese citizens.
Predictably, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo responded with outrage and wholesale denial of the charges against Karake. President Kagame is a master at presenting a picture of Rwanda being under attack by the West, while at the same time Rwanda enjoys Western aid and support at American taxpayers' expense.
Among African leaders, few have better connections with the West and benefit more from judicial protection than Kagame. The US Department of State, then led by Secretary Hillary Clinton, requested a privilege for Kagame that even former President Bill Clinton was unable to obtain as president. The privilege was immunity from a US civil lawsuit on the basis of Kagame occupying the presidency.
American presidents do not have such immunity because of a precedent set in Clinton v. Jones, a contentious 1997 case that established that a sitting president of the United States has no immunity from civil litigation against the president for acts done before taking office and unrelated to the office.
The tide is beginning to turn toward justice. Despite receiving enormous political, diplomatic and economic support from Western governments, Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front-led government, over the last five years, have been subjected to increasing scrutiny and pressure for past and current crimes committed on the African continent.
It appears that with the passing of each year, governments and institutions in the West, along with international bodies, have sought to hold the Kagame regime and its members accountable for the mass crimes and human rights violations they have committed in Rwanda and Congo. Most recently notable was the U.S.-led effort to withhold financial assistance from the Rwandan government in 2012 because of its support of the militia group M23 in the Congo.
The M23 was committing crimes against humanity, destabilizing the Congo and displacing hundreds of thousands of Congolese civilians. The US and a number of European countries withheld tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer aid to the Rwandan government and eventually pressured Kagame to cease his support of the militia group.
The Karake arrest in June provides a view into the crimes that have been committed by the post-genocide regime in Rwanda and the region. A series of reports and studies have been published since the 1994 genocide that clearly document the mass atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by the Kagame regime. Among these reports is the 1994 Gersony report, which documents the following:
• U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' mission leader Robert Gersony reportedly estimated that 'during the months from April to August the RPF had killed between 25,000 and 45,000 persons, between 5,000 and 10,000 persons each month from April through July and 5,000 for the month of August,' according to a 1999 Human Rights Watch report.
• Large-scale indiscriminate killings of men, women, children, including the sick and the elderly, were consistently reported. The reported violence includes: '-- Mass killings at meetings. Local residents, including entire families, were called to community meetings, invited to receive information about 'peace,' 'security' or 'food distribution' issues. Once a crowd had assembled, it was assaulted through sudden sustained gunfire; or locked in buildings into which hand-grenades were thrown; systematically killed with manual instruments; or killed in large numbers by other means.'
The arrest also is a stark reminder of atrocities such as the Kibeho massacres of an estimated 10,000 innocent civilians.
Other reports with similar findings include the 1997 Garreton report, which revealed the massacres by the RPF's military wing, also known as the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), in the Congo, and the 2010 UN Mapping Exercise Report, which claimed that if tried in a competent court the RPA could be charged with crimes of genocide in the Congo. The recent BBC documentary titled The Untold Story encapsulates in film many of the crimes documented in hundreds of pages of reports since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
In spite of the abundance of documentation and evidence of the massive crimes committed under the leadership of Paul Kagame, he and his co-conspirators have been able to avoid accountability. Due to the powerful relationships that Kagame has cultivated with influential individuals and institutions in the West, these reports have been blocked, ignored or left to gather dust.
Kagame has benefited tremendously from diplomatic and political cover from both the United States and the United Kingdom. Such benefits include continued aid to the Kagame regime despite mounting evidence of horrific human rights violations, suggestion for immunity from civil lawsuit liability, and strengthened business and economic relationships, as well as opportunities to serve on major international bodies, including the U.N. Security Council.
The Karake case will certainly take many months to go through the legal process in the UK. Karake has been granted bail ahead of a full extradition hearing in October. He was ordered to relinquish his passport and other travel documents and is allowed travel only within the London Metropolitan area.
Because former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is one of Karake's closest peers and defenders and is a paid adviser to Kagame's government, to no one's surprise, none other than Blair's wife, Cherie Blair, is on Karake's defense team. Some of Kagame's sponsors in the West appear willing to stick with him no matter how much evidence is accumulated against him and his officials.
However, the masses of peace-loving and justice-seeking people in Africa and the West will certainly continue the push to hold the West's 'friendly tyrant' accountable until justice is delivered for his millions of victims.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously noted that the arc of history is long but it bends toward justice. We are witnessing the arc of history bend toward justice for the victims of Kagame and his post-genocide regime.
* Claude Gatebuke is a Rwandan war and genocide survivor. He is the executive director and co-founder of the African Great Lakes Action Network. Claude is a human rights advocate who regularly speaks in various parts of the world as well as appear on national and international media. He can be reached at claude@aglan.org
* Kambale Musavuli, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo and one of the leading political and cultural Congolese voices, is a social entrepreneur and an international human rights advocate. He serves as the National Spokesperson for the Friends of the Congo, a group that raises global consciousness about the situation in the Congo and provides support to local institutions. He is featured in the short film 'Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth,' an abbreviated version of the upcoming feature length documentary that explores the role that the United States and its allies, Rwanda and Uganda, have played in triggering the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century. He can be reached at Kambale@friendsofthecongo.org
* THE VIEWS OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PAMBAZUKA NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM
* BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* Please do not take Pambazuka for granted! Become a Friend of Pambazuka and make a donation NOW to help keep Pambazuka FREE and INDEPENDENT!
* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News
Let your voice be heard. Comment on this article.
###
"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.
###
__._,_.___
Posted by: Nzinink <nzinink@yahoo.com>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
When the white man came we had the land and they had the bibles; now they have the land and we have the bibles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Voice of the Poor, the Weak and Powerless.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Post message: AfricaRealities@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: AfricaRealities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: AfricaRealities-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner: AfricaRealities-owner@yahoogroups.com
__________________________________________________________________
Please consider the environment before printing this email or any attachments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
http://www.africarealities.com/ -
https://www.facebook.com/africarealities -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-New International Scholarships opportunities:
http://www.scholarshipsgate.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Find Friends in Africa:
http://www.africanaffection.com http://www.datinginafrica.com/ http://www.foraha.net https://www.facebook.com/onlinedatinginafrica .
__,_._,___
Support Our Work Now !
Africa Realities Media is independent. Your support helps us expose injustice, challenge silence and produce evidence-based analysis on Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
Africa Realities Media offre un espace aux écrivains, chercheurs, experts, activistes, voix communautaires, militants, analystes et personnes ayant une expérience vécue qui souhaitent contribuer à des contenus réfléchis, responsables et courageux sur les changements nécessaires dans la région des Grands Lacs, ainsi que sur les réalités politiques, économiques, culturelles et sociales africaines souvent ignorées, minimisées ou mal représentées.
Nos articles et vidéos visent à ouvrir le débat, renforcer la sensibilisation, encourager la pensée critique et favoriser une réflexion plus profonde sur les réalités vécues par les populations africaines. Nous voulons aider les peuples de la région des Grands Lacs à mieux comprendre leurs droits, notamment leurs droits humains, leur droit au développement, leur droit à la dignité, à la sécurité, au bien-être et à une vie meilleure.
À travers nos contenus, nous cherchons également à rappeler aux décideurs, aux institutions publiques, aux acteurs régionaux et internationaux, ainsi qu’aux responsables politiques, leur devoir de transparence, de responsabilité et de redevabilité envers les populations qu’ils prétendent servir. Notre objectif est de contribuer à une culture de vérité, de justice, de participation citoyenne et de protection égale pour tous les peuples africains.
Why We Exist
Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states, ruling elites, armed groups, military forces and security services. But these abuses are often sustained by international silence, Western lobbying, trade interests, migration deals, mineral access, diplomatic partnerships and unequal global accountability.
Africa Realities Media exposes that system.
Lived Experience Matters
Survivors, displaced communities, refugees, families affected by repression, journalists, activists, women, young people and diaspora voices are not passive subjects. They are knowledge holders.
Their experiences must shape policy, advocacy, journalism and public debate. The people closest to injustice are often closest to the solutions.
Our Principle
Africa Realities Media is rooted in one principle: African lives deserve equal truth, equal justice and equal protection.
Popular Posts
The FDLR Myth: How Rwanda Weaponises a Diminished Threat to Justify Occupation Investigation Exposes Contradictions in Rwanda's Security Narrative For over a decade, Rwanda has justified its military presence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by citing threats from the FDLR, a Hutu militia group linked to the 1994 genocide. But an investigation into FDLR's actual capabilities, Rwanda's military operations, and patterns of violence reveals a narrative that does not match reality. The FDLR threat, whilst real, has been systematically exaggerated and manipulated to justify objectives that have nothing to do with the militia group. Introduction The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) occupies a central position in Rwanda's justification for military intervention in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. For more than two decades, Rwandan authorities have portrayed the militia group as an existential threat requiring sustaine...
Cet article identifie le principal obstacle à la responsabilisation de Paul Kagame pour ses actions au Rwanda et dans la région des Grands Lacs : le puissant réseau international de dirigeants politiques, d’anciens présidents, de diplomates, de philanthropes, de personnalités religieuses, d’hommes et de femmes d’affaires, d’institutions internationales, d’organisations sportives, de conseillers et de lobbyistes rémunérés qui, depuis trois décennies, le promeuvent, le légitiment, le défendent et le protègent. Il s’agit d’un article d’identification du problème. Il cherche à comprendre pourquoi Kagame est resté influent et protégé sur la scène internationale malgré des allégations graves et largement documentées concernant les actions militaires du Rwanda en République démocratique du Congo, la répression politique, les opérations extraterritoriales, l’exploitation des ressources minières ainsi que le traitement réservé aux opposants politiques, aux journalistes et aux critiques. La ...
How Paul Kagame Uses Diplomats' "Bury Your Head in the Sand" Strategy as a Green Light to Continue Rwanda's War in the DRC Africa Realities Media | 17 July 2026 The purpose of this article is to expose a deliberate and systematic strategy: Paul Kagame's years-long practice of creating events — diplomatic dinners, RPF party meetings, genocide commemorations, international business forums and RPF Bureau Politique addresses — to which he invites foreign ambassadors and the world's business and political elite for one purpose: to explain, justify, and defend Rwanda's military invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Everybody who follows this region knows the strategy now. The same narrative. The same arguments. The same defiance. At one event he tells the Trump Administration to go to hell. At the next he says those sanctioning him will leave power and he will remain. At the RPF Bureau Politique of 17 July 2026, he tells ambassadors that the on...
Kigali wants Washington to punish Congo too. But a ceasefire that leaves the occupier in place is not peace; it is occupation without noise. African lives are not worth less. African deaths are not normal. Western interests must never become a licence to kill African people. Introduction: A Familiar Complaint On 29 June 2026, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, sat before the cameras of France 24 and declared that his country was “disappointed by the increasingly biased US mediation” in the conflict with the Democratic Republic of Congo. He asked why sanctions had targeted only Rwanda. He called the measures unfair, one-sided and counterproductive. Weeks earlier, President Paul Kagame had told Jeune Afrique that sanctions and threats were insults thrown at Rwanda, and accused Washington of exerting heavy pressure on Rwanda while treating the DRC more delicately. The grievance sounds reasonable until you remember where you have heard it before. Since 2022, the Kr...
Comment Paul Kagame utilise la stratégie diplomatique de « l’autruche » comme feu vert pour poursuivre la guerre du Rwanda en RDC Le but de cet article est d’exposer une stratégie délibérée et systématique : la pratique, poursuivie depuis des années par Paul Kagame, consistant à créer des événements — dîners diplomatiques, réunions du parti FPR, commémorations du génocide, forums internationaux d’affaires et interventions devant le Bureau Politique du FPR — auxquels il invite des ambassadeurs étrangers ainsi que l’élite mondiale des affaires et de la politique dans un seul but : expliquer, justifier et défendre l’invasion militaire de la République démocratique du Congo par le Rwanda. Tous ceux qui suivent cette région connaissent désormais cette stratégie. Le même récit. Les mêmes arguments. La même défiance. Lors d’un événement, il dit à l’administration Trump d’aller au diable. Lors du suivant, il affirme que ceux qui le sanctionnent quitteront le pouvoir tandis que lui restera. Lor...
MASS KILLINGS OF HUTU BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER 1994 IN RWANDA, DRC AND UGANDA INTRODUCTION TO PART 2 Part 1 established the assassination of President Habyarimana, the Bruguière and Spanish investigations, Kagame's responsibility for starting the war, the Kigali massacres, challenges to the "genocide against the Tutsi only" narrative, and the need for UN framework revision. Part 2 documents specific mass killings of Hutu populations that have been systematically erased from history: the Kibeho massacre of 1995, the Byumba Stadium massacre of 1994, the hunting and slaughter of Hutu refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1996 to 1997, killings in Uganda, and the pattern of political assassinations and property seizures. 2. THE KIBEHO MASSACRE (22 APRIL 1995) 2.1 The Camp and Its Population By April 1995, the Kibeho internally displaced persons camp in Gikongoro prefecture southwestern Rwanda held between 80,000 and 100,000...
T he FDLR Pretext Collapses Under the Weight of Documented Plunder Introduction: A Battle That Tells the Truth When Rwandan-backed RDF/M23 forces fought with extraordinary ferocity to seize and hold Rubaya — a remote mining town in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — the stated justification was security. Kigali's consistent public line has been that its military presence in the DRC is a response to the threat posed by the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group whose leaders include individuals linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. This narrative has been accepted, qualified, or left insufficiently challenged by Western governments and multilateral institutions for over a decade. The Battle of Rubaya strips that narrative bare. What unfolded in Rubaya was not a counter-insurgency operation against genocidal remnants. It was a sustained military campaign — reinforced by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), prosecuted at sign...
http://www.veritasinfo.fr/m/article-122363461.html Itangazo ry'inama yahuje amashyaka i Buruseli kuwa 01/02/2014 Nk'uko byari biteganyijwe, kuri uyu wa gatandatu tariki ya 01/02/2014, i Buruseli mu Bubiligi hateraniye inama y'amashyaka atavuga rumwe n'ubutegetsi bwa Perezida Paul Kagame. Ku mashyaka icumi yari yatumiwe, ayabonetse mu nama ni atandatu (60%), ari yo : 1. Forces Démocratiques Unifiées (FDU-Inkingi) ; 2. Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) ; 3. Pacte Démocratique du Peuple (PDP-Imanzi) ; 4. Parti pour la Démocratie au Rwanda (PDR-Ihumure) ; 5. Parti Social (PS-Imberakuri) ; 6. Rwandan Dream Initiative (RDI-Rwanda Rwiza). Ihuriro FCLR - Ubumwe naryo ryari rihagarariwe muri iyo nama. Mu gutangira inama, abayijemo batoye umuyobozi wayo. Bamaze gusuzuma no kwemeza umurongo w'ibyigwa, bemeje ko muri iki gihe, ubufatanye bw'amashyaka ya opposition ari ngombwa cyane ...
Kigali veut que Washington punisse aussi le Congo. Mais un cessez-le-feu qui laisse l’occupant en place n’est pas la paix ; c’est une occupation sans bruit. Les vies africaines ne valent pas moins. Les morts africaines ne sont pas normales. Les intérêts occidentaux ne doivent jamais devenir un permis de tuer des Africains. Introduction : une plainte familière Le 29 juin 2026, le ministre rwandais des Affaires étrangères, Olivier Nduhungirehe, s’est présenté devant les caméras de France 24 et a déclaré que son pays était « déçu par la médiation américaine de plus en plus biaisée » dans le conflit avec la République démocratique du Congo. Il a demandé pourquoi les sanctions visaient uniquement le Rwanda. Il a qualifié ces mesures d’injustes, unilatérales et contre-productives. Quelques semaines plus tôt, le président Paul Kagame avait déclaré à Jeune Afrique que les sanctions et les menaces étaient des insultes lancées au visage du Rwanda, et avait accusé Washington d’exercer une forte p...
Le 30 juin 2026, pour la première fois en cinquante-six ans d'existence de l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, les candidats au poste de Secrétaire général ont été auditionnés publiquement devant les ministres des Affaires étrangères des 53 États membres de plein droit, réunis en Conférence ministérielle extraordinaire à Paris. Parmi les quatre prétendants au mandat 2027-2030, qui sera attribué par les chefs d'État au XXe Sommet de la Francophonie à Phnom Penh les 15 et 16 novembre 2026, figure un profil inédit : Dacian Cioloș, ancien Premier ministre de Roumanie, ancien commissaire européen à l'Agriculture et ancien président du groupe Renew au Parlement européen, seul candidat non africain de la course. Cet article, premier d'une série de cinq consacrée aux auditions, analyse la prestation de M. Cioloș sur huit axes : la vision, l'innovation, le développement des communautés locales, la promotion de la langue française, les conflits et la s...
Why Africa Realities Media Is Different
Africa Realities Media speaks to Africa and to the developed world. Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states and ruling elites, but they are often protected by international silence, lobbying, public relations, trade interests, migration deals and unequal global accountability. While governments pay lobbyists to present a good image abroad, ordinary African people continue to face violence, hunger, disease, poverty, repression and exclusion. We challenge the normalisation of African suffering and demand equal truth, equal justice and equal protection.
Pourquoi Africa Realities Media est différent?
Africa Realities Media s’adresse à l’Afrique et au monde développé. De nombreux abus subis par les peuples africains sont commis par des États africains et des élites dirigeantes, mais ils sont souvent protégés par le silence international, le lobbying, les relations publiques, les intérêts commerciaux, les accords migratoires et une responsabilité mondiale inégale. Tandis que des gouvernements paient des lobbyistes pour présenter une bonne image à l’étranger, des Africains ordinaires continuent de faire face à la violence, à la faim, aux maladies, à la pauvreté, à la répression et à l’exclusion. Nous contestons la normalisation de la souffrance africaine et exigeons une vérité égale, une justice égale et une protection égale.
Policy and Systems Change
Our work is designed to trigger debate, discomfort and action. We do not only expose injustice; we work for policy and systems change.
We want governments and institutions to address the root causes of inequality, disadvantage, discrimination, exclusion and barriers affecting African people. We believe lasting change must be shaped by people with lived experience.
Exposing Injustice in Africa
Africa Realities Media is an independent African accountability platform based in London. We report, analyse and challenge the systems that shape African suffering, silence African victims and protect abusive power.
We are not here to repeat diplomatic language. We are here to ask the questions that are often avoided: why are African deaths treated as normal? Why are African victims given less urgency? Why are governments that imprison, exclude, displace or kill their own people protected when they serve powerful international interests?
Africa Realities Media gives space to writers, researchers, experts, activists, community voices, campaigners, analysts and people with lived experience who want to contribute thoughtful, responsible and courageous content about the changes needed in the region, as well as the political, economic, cultural and social African realities that are often ignored, minimised or misrepresented.
Our articles and videos aim to encourage debate, raise awareness, stimulate critical thinking and support reflection. We seek to help people in the Great Lakes Region understand their rights to human rights, development and wellbeing, while also encouraging decision-makers to be more transparent, responsive and accountable.
Comments
Post a Comment