It’s time South Africa ceased to bury its head in the sand

I’m not a huge fan of the United Nations, I think its outlived its usefulness. While it could pretend to be a fair arbitrator back in the days of Dag Hammarskjold, a truly heroic man who died in the jungles of Congo attempting to broker peace, it’s become a club that can only be described with one word, ‘toothless’. While this might seem harsh, I just have to remind everyone who disagrees with me one thing: “Rwanda 1994’. The myth that the UN was anything more than a talking shop for namby-pamby politicians and career diplomats died a wretched death during the one hundred days during which over one million Rwandans perished. It further fell, in my estimations, when it released its infamous Mapping Report seeking to accuse Rwanda of genocide. But there is a saying in Kinyarwanda that I absolutely love, let me attempt to translate it. “Even a mad man sometimes spouts pearls of wisdom”. Recently the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported their findings to the Security Council and these finding have put the record straight. Two Rwandan nationals, namely Kayumba Nyamwasa and Patrick Karegeya had been under observation. According to the authors of these findings, “several independent sources, including one in Kampala and one within FPLC, informed the Group that FRF had agreed to join the FPLC coalition,” all confirming that those contacts may have been facilitated by Kayumba Nyamwasa. The FLPC and the FRF are all militia groups in the DR Congo. “In addition, according to credible testimony from various sources, former CNDP officers have been in contact with Rwandan political dissidents in South Africa, including Patrick Karegeya, , and Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa. The Group directly witnessed a conversation between Karegeya and former CNDP FARDC officers in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September. According to United Nations sources and combatants interviewed by the Group, Kayumba may have sent an emissary to meet with FDLR, FPLC and Mai Mai leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February. Now, I will not say “AHA” and pronounce them guilty of contacting people that may or may not be enemies of Rwanda, but I must admit that there are certain questions that must be asked. Like “what are you people doing with criminals and members of terrorist organisations”? “Especially when you’ve gone on record saying that people must rise up against the government in Kigali”? I’m not an immigration lawyer, or any type of lawyer actually, however, I know for a fact that if one seeks asylum in another country, that refugee must desist from activities that might put the good relations between sister nations at peril. Well, I feel that this is what these two gentlemen have done. And instead of being good partners, the South African government has chosen to ignore Rwanda’s warrants and counsel. To quote the South African Department of Justice spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, when asked about the extradiction request that Rwanda submitted, the answer was that the decision on the request” is not yet imminent”. And when the South Africans say “not imminent” I think what they are trying to tell is “hell no, we are not extraditing them, not in a million years”. Some observers believed that this stance has been taken because of the belief that the charges against these two men did not warrant their extradition. Well, the UN ‘Experts’ think that these men are fishy. So, why don’t you - South Africa - do yourself a favor? Don’t end up with an egg on your face, cut your ties with these men. sunnyntayombya@newtimes.co.rw

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It’s time South Africa ceased to bury its head in the sand