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Rwandan rebel leader pleads guilty to terrorism
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A rebel leader accused of
orchestrating deadly attacks in Rwanda’s border regions pleaded guilty
Thursday to terrorism and other charges, and admitted to working with foreign
governments against Kigali.
The admission of conspiracy by Callixte Nsabimana, the spokesman for the
National Liberation Front (FLN), risks further escalating tensions between
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his immediate neighbours, whom he has
accused of spying.
Nsabimana was arrested last month for his involvement with FLN, an
insurgent movement blamed for attacks inside Rwanda from a forested area near
Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nsabimana plead guilty to 16 charges including terrorism and murder, and
offered an unconditional apology for his crimes.
“I apologise for all things I did,” he told the court.
“I want to declare that my work with FLN is over, and anything else they
do from now on is their business, not mine. I would like to apologise to the
president, those that we injured and the families of those who died. I
apologise to all Rwandans.”
His lawyer requested bail, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The
prosecution opposed bail, declaring Nsabimana a flight risk.
The FLN is the armed wing of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, a
political opposition group founded by Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier whose
actions during the 1994 genocide were depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster
Hotel Rwanda.
In December last year, Nsabimana claimed responsibility for setting fire to
passenger buses in Nyungwe Forest — a region popular among tourists coming
to see endangered mountain gorillas — which led to the death of two people
and many injuries.
Those attacks prompted many Western governments including France, Germany,
Canada, and Australia to advise their nationals against travel to the area.
A number of rebel groups opposed to Kagame — who has ruled for decades and
pursued his political opponents at home and abroad — have proliferated just
over Rwanda’s borders in remote forest regions of DR Congo and Burundi.
The FLN is also affiliated with the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda
(FDLR), another rebel group based in DR Congo, which occasionally carries out
cross-border attacks against Rwandan forces.
In his guilty plea, Nsabimana admitted to collaborating with Burundi’s
intelligence services and Uganda’s military.
“We asked them for military and diplomatic support against Rwanda, and they
were willing to help us,” he said.
Kagame has accused his neighbours of meddling in Rwanda’s affairs and
sponsoring armed movements against his government in Kigali. In February, he
ordered the border with Uganda shut, and ties with Burundi have long been
sour.
BSS/AFP/RY/1936 hrs