South Africa should come clean on Kayumba Nyamwasa

KIGALI - Events unfolding in South Africa, in the wake of the shooting of Kayumba Nyamwasa, points to a conspiracy and mystery that only the government of South Africa should help unveil, as it clearly revolves around its own securocrates at the highest levels. Nyamwasa was shot and wounded in Johannesburg, as he approached the driveway of his Sandton residence. A few days later, authorities announced that they had made six arrests, but subsequently, two of the suspects were cleared and released, among them, a Rwandan businessman, Francis Gakwerere. From the onset, South African officials joined the bandwagon of those who sought to blame Rwanda for the attempt on Nyamwasa’s life. Though they fell short of making direct accusations, they continuously insinuated in the media that Kigali had had a hand in it. Planting the seeds of suspicion was not difficult at all, as Kayumba Nyamwasa’s brother-in-law, Frank Ntwali, was strangely running the show at the John Foster High Risk Prison, where the suspects were being held and processed. He sat through and even conducted the interrogations of the suspects. The manipulation machine was set in motionNtwali is not a member of the South African Police, nor is he a known member of any security services, and neither was he representing any of the suspects in his capacity as a lawyer. How did he get access to the maximum prison and which South African security official(s) facilitated his participation? That is one of the many mysteries in this saga.When Gakwerere was arrested and interrogated, he refused to answer any question in the presence of Ntwali whom, in his opinion, had no business in the interrogation room. Gakwerere could easily read through the whole charade. Some of the officers in the room were taken aback, that a Rwandan civilian was posing as a police officer, and consequently threw him out. Gakwerere was cleared and set free, but he paid a heavy price; literary. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, the South Africans confiscated US$ 6,890 and 1,700 Rands. His watch and identification documents were also taken by the South African police. The plot thickens when police — for two days— conveniently chose not to arrest Nyamwasa’s driver, who was with him at the time of the attack. The least that would be expected under such circumstances would have been to question him as a material witness. This was never the case. This in itself would not have raised eyebrows if the suspect was an ordinary man; but Nyamwasa’s driver had nothing ordinary about him. Indeed, the driver had made the police work easier, when he confessed in a statement, that he was part of a wider plot to kill Nyamwasa. Why is the driver’s confession or his arrest shrouded in secrecy? The police say that they have in their custody four people; Two Tanzanians, a Mozambican and a Somali national, but they have conspicuously left out Kayumba’s driver, even after he was arrested. There has been an effort, on the part of the Southern Police, to keep his name out of the news media, when they have happily publicized the other alleged suspects. Police in South Africa, for reasons better known to themselves, chose to mislead the public by not only concealing the arrest of Kayumba’s driver for the shooting, but also by failing to disclose that he is technically a Ugandan national as he, indeed, travelled to South Africa on a Ugandan passport. Why are the authorities so coy about bringing these facts to light, but instead work to spin the story, a conduct that has clearly betrayed their vested interest? Ends

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South Africa should come clean on Kayumba Nyamwasa