Arrest of Rwanda’s Director General of National Security Service

By: Jennifer Fierberg-Jan-07-2014

The Director General of the National Security Service in Rwanda, Emmanuel Karenzi Karake has been placed under arrest in an undisclosed facility in Rwanda. Sources held in Rwanda state he was arrested due to frequent and high volume of unexplained phone traffic between him the slain Patrick Karegeya.

Lieutenant General Karenzi Karake joined the RPF in the mid 1980’s after serving in the National Resistance Army in Uganda. He fought for the RPF under President Paul Kagame during the 1994 genocide and served during peacekeeping missions in Darfur and Sudan. In February 2008, a Spanish judge indicted Karake, alleging that when he was Rwanda’s intelligence chief between 1994 and 1997 he was responsible for a series of political assassinations and massacres. Human Rights Watch claimed that forces under his command had killed civilians in 2000 while fighting Ugandan troops in the Congolese town of Kisangani. In April 2010 President Kagame announced a shake-up of the military command, and a few days later ordered the arrest of Karake, who was accused of immoral conduct.

The source further stated that all soldiers are shaken by the death of Patrick Karegeya and quite aggrieved. Civil society remains silent doesn’t want to talk about his death due to fear of the government.

The loss of Col. Karegega has opened up a myriad of questions as to how loyal President Paul Kagame’s armed forces are to him. It is a well-known fact that there is no communication in or out of Rwanda that is not monitored by the government in both civil and government society and yet this high-ranking official was able to communicate with political opposition groups on a regular basis without the knowledge of the government.

Sadly, many Government of Rwanda officials have been seen abusing the children of Patrick Karegeya on social media. Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has been one of the most shocking offenders of this activity.

Investigations continue and news will be updated as information is obtained.