{UAH} Untold Story: The Rise and Fall of Lt Mutabazi

Sometime in 1998, then director of Rwanda's external intelligence service, Colonel Patrick Karegeya, held several meetings with senior army officials in Angola.

By Giles Muhame 31/01/2014 11:06:00

Karegeya’s mission was to obtain assurances from two powerful Angolan officials, General Manuel Helder Vieira Dias who was minister of state and head of military house in the Office of the President, and General Fernando Garcia Miala, director of Angola's External Security Services and Military Intelligence,  that their country would remain neutral if Rwanda moved ahead to topple President Laurent Kabila.  

Kabila, the father of the incumbent leader, had earlier kicked out hundreds of Rwandan army officers that had installed him president after the overthrow of President Mobutu.

At the time, Kabila had come under intense domestic pressure over Rwanda’s heavy-handed strategy in eliminating the security threat posed by soldiers who had fled to DRC after the RPF assault that toppled the regime of Juvenal Habyarimana.

It was also widely believed that Kabila was a stooge of Rwanda and Uganda.

However, the soldiers whom Kabila forced back to Rwanda included then Colonel James Kabarebe who was his Chief of Staff.

After being convinced that Angola would not intervene in their mission, in August 1998, a white Boeing 727 commercial airliner touched down unannounced at Kitona military airbase in the south-western Bas Congo region of DRC.

At the airbase, guards thought it was a passenger plane dropping civilians. As the plane, which Kabarebe had sized at Goma Airport, rolled to a halt, a heavily-armed contingent of Rwandan commandos and Uganda artillery force, burst out of the doors before seizing the entire airport in less than 30 minutes.

This allowed other planes to move at least 800 Rwanda soldiers from Goma to Kitona to build up a force that would participate in the dangerous mission of having Kabila removed from power.

Among the soldiers in this contingent, was a young and low ranking officer named Joel Mutabazi.

Rwanda was threatened by the remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide who were operating from Eastern Congo and presumably with the support of Kabila. It appeared that Kabila wanted to keep the ex-FAR combatants in Eastern Congo as a buffer against Rwanda.

With all the equipment and forces prepared to strike at the heart of Kinshasa, misfortune befell the Rwandan force.

Angola which had supported the overthrow of Mobutu in first Congo war due to his support of UNITA rebels in Angola was not sure of who would replace Kabila.

Besides, the Angolan leader, Eduardo Dos Santos, was more interested in strengthening relations with Kabila to maintain the cut off of supplies to UNITA.  It also became clear that Karegeya’s counterparts in Angola had not briefed or convinced Santos on Luanda being neutral in the Rwanda invasion.

So after negotiations and backdoor mineral deals among Kabila, Robert Mugabe and Santos, the two leaders agreed to step in and rescue the DRC leader.

Armoured columns of battle-hardened Angolan Special Forces backed with warplanes moved swiftly into DRC thus saving Kabila’s regime from collapsing.

Despite capturing nearly all strategic areas around Kinshasa and even attempting to overrun the city, Angola forced Kabarebe’s light but well-trained force to make a tactical withdrawal from Kinshasa.

Subsequently, Rwandan soldiers withdrew from the DRC battlefield through the jungles into Angola where they fell into territory held by UNITA rebels. The rebels showed Rwandan soldiers an airport which was being guarded by Angolan soldiers, which the former could use to return home.

 

However, it took Rwandan soldiers a long period of time to dislodge the Angolan fighters before calling Kigali which sent a plane to evacuate them.  

Mutabazi goes to Israel

Chimp Investigations Desk understands majority of Rwandan soldiers, including Mutabazi that participated in this mission were later sent to Israel for a specialised Commando training.

On his return, Mutabazi was appointed head of a special unit in the Republican Guard that formed that last security ring of the President.

 

Mutabazi would ride on the same boat with President Kagame whenever he chose to check on his cattle on either part of his farm across Lake Muhazi.

He was trusted, according to officials that served with him in the Republican Guard.

The fall of Mutabazi

However, one incident occurred that would later dent the career of the once courageous and trusted soldier.

Around 2010, Mutabazi was in charge of soldiers escorting President Kagame as he inspected his farm in Muhazi.

After a tour of one part of the farm, the President and his guards returned to the residence.

Mutabazi had gone to take milk from one of the sections of the President’s residence when Kagame, a man of surprises, abruptly chose to visit another part of the farm across the Lake.

As a Lieutenant and head of the unit, he definitely had to be on the boat.

Interestingly, Mutabazi delayed in the residence. This left Kagame with no option but to travel on speed boats with junior bodyguards. On being informed that Kagame was leaving soon, Mutabazi raced outside the house but was too late to join the President.

“He came running and found the boat had already left without him. So he was taken in for inefficiency and taking his duties lightly,” said a source who preferred anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.  

After caution, Mutabazi was given other assignments in the army.

“However, Mutabazi became disgruntled, claiming he was being unfairly treated. He kept making mistakes, like drinking because he felt being taken away from the President was a demotion and this continued until he escaped.”

Firearm

Before leaving Rwanda, Mutabazi had hid a pistol at his uncle Eugene Mutamba’s home in Rwamagana, just close to Kagame’s residence in Muhazi.

Mutamba told the Military High Court at his home on Thursday that Mutabazi kept his gun inside a suitcase at the former’s home until it was taken by the soldier’s brother known as Jackson Karemera.

Karemera also confirmed handing the gun to Mutabazi in Uganda which he used to stage an attack before calling in police claiming his house had been raided by Rwandan agents.

He would later secure a refugee status and protection from the government of Uganda and UNCHR.

RNC links

Chimpreports has learned that after being recruited by Karegeya and Kayumba in Kampala, Mutabazi hatched a plan with his co-accused.

 

Innocent Kalisa to deceive and solicit $3,000 from the exiled Rwandan army officers.

Mutabazi reportedly told Karegeya and Kayumba that he could organise an operation and shoot Kagame on a boat at Lake Muhazi.

It remains unclear whether Mutabazi had the potential to sneak back into Rwanda and successfully execute the mission without being arrested or would rely on the services of other people.

It is thought that Mutabazi and Kalisa wanted money for personal use.

“They knew it was a dream, but wanted to eat free money by exciting the old men,” said a source.

How Mutabazi was recruited

According to intelligence reports, through his former escort Jean Paul, Kayumba contacted Mutabazi and recruited him as an agent of Rwanda National Congress (RNC) in Kampala.

Sources say Kayumba sent Mutabazi a laptop and money to facilitate his activities in the region.

Mutabazi recruited ‘Camarade’ alias Joseph Nshimiymana, a top FDLR agent who was then operating in Kampala.

The RNC’s network was slowly but steadily growing.

Camarade also recruited two FDLR agents to gather intelligence in Rwanda and Burundi.

It is understood that during a joint RNC-FDLR meeting to plan terror/sabotage during the 2011 Rwandan elections at Mamba Point Hotel in Kampala, attended by Camarade, RNC pledged USD$50,000.

Mutabazi confirmed to Camarade during the meeting that USD 14,000 was immediately available.

These two agents travelled with Camarade from Uganda towards Rwanda where they crossed over and left the former in Mbarara.

A few days later, two grenades were set off in Kicukiro during elections time by Camarade’s agents who then escaped back to Uganda.

After the Kicukiro explosion, Camarade sent a Whatsapp message to Mutabazi informing him that grenades had been launched. It read: "We have added the recommended spices to the election."

 

A few months later, Karegeya recruited Innocent Kalisa through Rukundo who was known as head of RNC Uganda.

Karegeya called Rukundo during the burial of journalist Charles Ingabire of Inyenyeri News in Uganda and told him to look for Kalisa among those present and give him a phone so they could talk.

Karegeya told Kalisa to trust and work with Rukundo to recruit informers, and not mind that he is Hutu.

Following this discussion, Rukundo is said to have gone to an FDLR camp in DRC to deliver a message to Omega from Kayumba Nyamwasa seeking RNC/FDLR cooperation.

Sources say Omega asked to talk directly with RNC leaders and Rukundo gave him the political organisation’s coordinator Theogene Rudasingwa’s telephone number.

 

What was discussed is unknown to Chimpreports.

However, it was at the same time that Halleluiah of FDLR sent emails to Rukundo asking him to provide intelligence on RDF positions.

RNC recruiting students

With RNC operations gaining steam, Rukundo recruited Cyprien Nibishaka a former student at the University of Rwanda before sending him to DRC for training in FDLR camp.

Cyprien also recruited 7 other students, one of whom went to train in terrorism and sabotage in FDLR camps in DRC.

When Cyprien and some of the students he had recruited were arrested, Alleluhia asked Rukundo to provide registrations of the car and identify people who had arrested Cyprien and the student so they can forward the details to Human Rights Watch for advocacy.

Arrest

Sources say when this evidence was submitted to Uganda authorities, their neutrality of keeping Kalisa and Mutabazi as refugees was weakened.

This led to diplomatic meetings between officials from both countries that saw Uganda hand over Mutabazi and Kalisa to face trial for their alleged crimes.

Uganda could not risk hurting its blossoming bilateral relations with Rwanda over the two dissidents.

Mutabazi and others are being charged jointly and separately with terrorism, murder, conspiracy to murder, formation of an armed group, spreading rumours with intention to incite the public against the State, illegal possession of fire arms, forgery and desertion.

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The only way of limiting the usurpation of power by
 individuals, the military or otherwise, is to put the people in charge  - Capt. Thomas. Sankara {RIP} ’1949-1987

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