Nduhungirehe was commenting on claims by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu who recently revealed she had a conversation with Rwandan fugitive Kayumba Nyamwasa, to discuss with him about her country’s plan to normalize relations with Rwanda.
Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former General who also served as the Rwandan Army Chief of Staff, was in 2011 convicted and sentenced by the court to 24 years of imprisonment in absentia.
Nyamwasa was convicted of charges including terrorism, genocide denial and crimes against humanity. He fled to South Africa where he also founded the Rwandan National Congress (RNC), a movement that has declared war against the government of Rwanda and allegedly involved in subversive activities including supporting a terrorist armed group, FDLR, in the DRC jungles.
In 2014, Rwanda and South Africa relations went sour after South Africa expelled three Rwandan diplomats accusing them of a role in the shooting that saw Kayumba Nyamwasa injured. Rwanda also expelled six South African diplomats from its land.
Since then, Rwandans were barred from getting visas to South Africa while South Africans come to Rwanda easily.
In a press conference on Monday in Pretoria, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said she had met Kayumba to discuss with him about South Africa’s plans to normalize relations with Kigali and added she had been “pleasantly surprised” to discover that he was ready himself to negotiate with the Rwandan government to try to resolve his issues with it.
Lisulu’s remarks raised concerns among Rwandans who consider as ‘strange’ how her country wishes to normalize relations with Rwanda but first consult somebody heading a rebellious movement against Rwanda.
Amb. Olivier Ndughungirehe said Rwanda will never be involved in a negotiation that involves a convicted criminal hiding in South Africa who is apparently not other than Kayumba Nyamwasa.
Nduhungirehe was replying to a tweet by Albert Rudatsimburwa, a Rwandan journalist who described Minister Lisulu’s proposals to negotiate with ‘self-exiled’ Kayumba Nyamwasa as strange and nonsense.
“Strangest attitude from South Africa’s Minister Sisulu in charge of “normalizing” relations with Rwanda, her proposal to negotiate on Kayumba behalf to return to Rwanda does not make a lot of sense. He was never chased away from Rwanda, he is a self-exiled,” Mr. Rudatsimburwa tweeted.
Replying to the tweet, Amb. Nduhungirehe said it is Lisulu or any South Africa official’s right to negotiate with Kayumba Nyamwasa, but Rwanda will never be involved in such a negotiation.
“If any SA [South African] official wishes to negotiate with a convicted criminal hiding in South Africa and leading a subversive movement operating in our region, he/she is free to do so, on his/her own and for him/herself. But he/she should never think about involving Rwanda into this ‘negotiation’,” Minister Nduhungirehe said in a tweet.
Last month, it was reported that the Rwandan Prosecution was considering to issue arrest warrants against Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa.
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