As a young Rwandan, I lived and worked closely under Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa in the late 1980s while he was Assistant District Administrator (ASDA) in Gulu district, Northern Uganda and later on during our liberation struggle.

Kayumba’s history is indeed telling. His history shows that he was characterized by criminality and selfish interests that could have made him a prey of being used as a tool to undermine a system that he personally claims he worked hard to put in place.  Unfortunately, I got involved in several dubious cases in which my then afande was an architect.

Between 1988 and 1990, I participated in dirty deals in which Kayumba used to loot Wanainchi property ranging from maize milling machines to large sums of money from the North.

On Kayumba’s instructions, I together with some soldiers under him, were made to transport looted items from his Administrative Headquarters in Northern Uganda to his residential flat in Bugolobi, Kampala mainly at night.

These milling machines would later be sold to Vendors in Owino market in Kampala. Interestingly, Kayumba had grabbed the flat from one Ondongkara, an Acholi opposition figure against the NRM Government but who Kayumba claimed had mobilized in favour of NRM. The truth of the matter is that Ondongkara had surrendered his house as a bribe for his personal security.

Kayumba later ordered that the house be put under his names, something that we worked day and night to implement using his contacts in Kampala.

A share of some of the proceeds from the loot would be given to some NRM/NRA cadres and senior commanders especially those who were involved in the operations in Northern Uganda.

This earned Kayumba remarkable cheap popularity within the senior NRA command and staff officers despite the fact that he was just a Second Lieutenant (2Lt).

During the counter insurgency operations in the North, the NRM government used to issue money for mobilization to some government officials. Some of the money that Kayumba used to be given for winning the hearts and minds of the population would be brought back to his home in sacks. We used to offload the money and deliver it to his wife in Kampala.

Between 1996 and 1999, while still serving under Kayumba, I came to realize that he was running mafia operations that used forged tax collection documents made in Nairobi.

The Revenue documents were issued to some selected businessmen from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Burundi who were close businessmen to Kayumba. This information was later revealed by some businessmen who had been beneficiaries to these operations. 

Kayumba’ recent decision to flee the country always forces me to reflect on his character and intentions. I also very well remember Kayumba making some suspicious utterances in Kinyarwanda during an informal meeting at the Gendarmerie Headquarters in Kigali in early 1995 when he said, "Aka ka’Rwanda k’ubusabusa, kakwigereranya gute n’ibindi bihugu duturanye”? Meaning; how can Rwanda, very small and weak as it is, compare itself with other neighbouring countries?

That time I gave him a benefit of doubt and assumed it was a language of a defensive leader, justifying likely future failures so that together we could seek solutions.

What puzzled me again however, were the utterances that Kayumba made when he came back from one of the official trips in Uganda in late 1999. I heard Kayumba telling some fellow officers how in an informal conversation with some senior Army officers in that country, one of the Ugandan General said " Manya Kayumba: onsasire! I really find it hard to recognize Rwanda as a sovereign state”. 

This statement was made in presence of other Rwanda officers who had accompanied Kayumba to Uganda. The way Kayumba put it when he came back was as if it was a joke. It was surprisingly clear that he had taken it very lightly.

Kayumba’s current status cannot be explained by what happened to him the last time he was in Rwanda as he would want the whole world to believe.

His life has been characterized by concealed criminality and cheap popularity. Judging from his history, my personal conclusion is that Kayumba has throughout his career in the military been serving personal and foreign interests.

The author is a retired RDF Officer

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