Kagame reacts in front of a wreath for the 25th Commemoration of
the 1994 Genocide at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali,
Rwanda, on April 7, 2019. Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
America’s top diplomat for Africa has urged a fair trial
for “Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina, as concern mounts over
the mysterious circumstances of his arrest and return to his home
country.
Rusesabagina, who saved more than 1,200 Rwandans during the 1994
genocide by sheltering them in a hotel, appeared in handcuffs in
Kigali this week accused of serious charges including terrorism
after a quarter century in exile abroad.
It remains unclear how the strident opponent of long-ruling
President Paul Kagame, who had been living in the US and Belgium
since leaving Rwanda in 1996, was extradited to his homeland.
Tibor Nagy, US assistant secretary for African Affairs, said he
met Wednesday with Rwandan ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana to
discuss the circumstances around Rusesabagina’s arrest.
“The United States expects the Rwandan government to provide
humane treatment, adhere to the rule of law, and provide a fair and
transparent legal process for Mr. Rusesabagina,” Nagy said in a
statement.
Rwandan investigators say Rusesabagina, who was played by US
actor Don Cheadle in the 2004 Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda”,
was arrested “through international cooperation” but have refused
to elaborate.
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Rusesabagina’s family have said they cannot understand why their
father, a high-profile regime target, would return by his own free
will to Rwanda where almost certain prosecution would await.
Global accolades
“We believe he was kidnapped and taken by extraordinary
rendition to Rwanda,” a spokesman for the family said in a
statement Wednesday.
He “is being held by President Paul Kagame’s government on false
charges”, added the statement shared by the Hotel Rwanda
Rusesabagina Foundation, a charity in his name.
Rusesabagina was hailed a hero over his actions during the
genocide that killed some 800,000 Rwandans and he was awarded,
among other global accolades, a US Presidential Medal of Freedom in
2005 by then president George W Bush.
But inside Rwanda, the ruling party began to attack his motives
and character in the years since as Rusesabagina’s attacks on
Kagame hardened in exile.
Investigators say Rusesabagina was suspected of creating and
financing “extremist terror outfits” in East Africa, including the
FLN, the armed wing of a movement he founded abroad to bring about
political change in Rwanda.
The Rwanda Investigation Bureau said Rusesabagina was the
subject of an international arrest warrant over alleged crimes of
terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder.
Supporters of the government in Kigali — including Ambassador
Mukantabana — have been sharing videos on social media of
Rusesabagina vowing to use “any means possible” to “liberate”
Rwanda from Kagame’s rule.
The former military leader whose troops drove the genocidal
regime from Rwanda in 1994 was once championed in Western capitals
as a visionary reformer, lifting his country out of the devastation
of the killings.
But he has ruled ever since and critics say he shows signs of
autocratic leadership, overseeing constitutional changes to prolong
his rule and targeting opponents both inside Rwanda and abroad.
AFP
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