UN rejects Rwandan claim that refugee was a terrorist

UN rejects Rwandan claim that refugee was a terrorist

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article3913144.ece

Jerome Starkey Africa Correpsondent

Published at 12:01AM, November 5 2013

A former bodyguard of Paul Kagame who was abducted in Uganda and taken back to Rwanda on suspicion of being a terrorist had been investigated and found to have no criminal past, the UN has said.

Joel Mutabazi served as the Rwandan President's bodyguard, but fled the country in 2011 after enduring 17 months of solitary confinement and torture after he was accused of supporting an exiled general. He was snatched in Kampala on October 25 and illegally transferred to Rwandan custody.

However, Mohammed Adar, the head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Kampala, said Mr Mutabazi had been granted refugee status after a thorough check of his past.

"It's a breach of the Geneva Convention and it's the worst thing that can happen to a refugee," Mr Adar said.

Rwandan police promised that Mr Mutabazi would face "due process of the law". In a message posted on Twitter, they said that he "will face court like any other suspect", but they have refused to say where he is being held. His wife, Gloria, said yesterday that she had been left in the dark.

Speaking from the UN safe house from where her husband vanished, Mrs Muta-bazi said she knew nothing of his where-abouts or health and was terrified for the safety of their two sons and herself. "He went downstairs to get a soda, then five minutes later a policeman came upstairs and asked me where he was," she said. "We have no information since."

Rwandan police said that Mr Mutabazi was wanted in connection with "grenade attacks in Rwanda". In a statement released six days after he was abducted, they said that he was part of a dissident network with links to "genocidal forces" in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, Mr Adar said there was no proof of wrongdoing: "We haven't seen anything to support their claims."

Mr Adar was the most senior UN official to speak out about the abduction, the latest in a series of assaults on Rwandan refugees. Two other men, Innocent Kalisa and Pascal Manyirakiza, were abducted from Kampala in August. Mr Kalisa has not been seen since.

"Rwandan refugees are one of the highest risk groups among refugee communities in Africa," Mr Adar said. "Their record speaks for itself."

He called on the Rwandan authorities to ensure Mr Mutabazi was "treated well", and he criticised the Ugandans for failing to protect him.

Mr Mutabazi had been living in a UN safe house after surviving an assassination attempt in Kampala last year.

ENDS

Jerome Starkey
Africa Correspondent
The Times

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