Museminali downplays Kabuye’s conditional release

NYARUGENGE - Foreign Affairs Minister, Rosemary Museminali, has said that there is little cause for celebration over the bail granted to the chief of State Protocol, Rose Kabuye, by a French court. In a mid-day interview at her offices yesterday, the Minister stressed that the bail was something little; “a token”, given that Kabuye, “who is innocent” is being dragged through an unjust trial while perpetrators of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide roam free in France and Germany. “Madam Rose Kabuye has been released on bail but for us, we think this is something we can consider as a token – the only good thing about it is that she has not been kept in jail,” she said. “But there is nothing to celebrate about,” she stressed, pointing to Kabuye’s distinguished repute – “somebody who helped liberate this country.” “It is unfair to see her being dragged into court while the guilty parties roam free,” Museminali said. She added that all the good things achieved by the country today, are a result of the sacrifices by Kabuye and her colleagues. Museminali pointed out that just before Rose Kabuye was arrested in Frankfurt, German authorities had freed two prominent genocidaires, including Callixte Mbarushimana, secretary General of the DRC-based Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), remnants of those who carried out the 1994 Genocide of Tutsis. Germany is also home to FDLR leader Ignace Murwanashyaka. “All that to us is a big statement,” she said, referring to the fact that, “the killers, the terrorists” are free adding that the arrest had strained the previously good relations between Rwanda and Germany. Museminali underscored that Germany’s arrest of Kabuye was not right because they had the capacity to follow up on the matter and find out the truth before arresting her. “We were surprised. We had good relations with Germany before then,” she said, explaining that even after the incident, no serious official explanation has come forth from the German government, a sign that, “no real value is being given to our relations.” “Adding all this together, we wonder whether there really is a will to have good relations with us,” she pointed out. The Minister, however, made it clear that there was room for full relations to be resumed with both Germany and France only if Rwanda is given its well deserved respect. “Our door is open but to pass through it, relations will be built based on respect, fairness and equality,” she stressed. Mutual understanding and national interests. Ends

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Museminali downplays Kabuye’s conditional release