Arrest of Rwandan spy chief could spark diplomatic spat

In Summary

• Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake was arrested on Saturday at Heathrow Airport as he prepared to board a plane back home from an official mission.
• According to reports in the UK, Gen Karake was a
  rrested on a European Arrest Warrant based on the 2008 indictments by Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu Merelles.

A plane flies in to land at Heathrow airport in west London. Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake was arrested on Saturday at Heathrow Airport as he prepared to board a plane back home. PHOTO | ANDREW COWIE |  AFP

The decision by the United Kingdom to arrest the head of Rwanda’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) is likely to spark a diplomatic row between Kigali and London.

Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake's arrest on Saturday at Heathrow Airport as he prepared to board a plane back home from an official mission was based on indictments on war crimes issued by a Spanish Judge in 2008 on 40 senior Rwandan army officers.

On Tuesday, the British High Commission in Kigali issued a statement confirming the arrest by UK’s Metropolitan Police on June 20 on behalf of the authorities in Spain.

“This was a legal obligation, following the issue of a valid European arrest warrant,” the statement reads in part.

The EastAfrican understands that Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo has already arrived in London for talks with UK authorities over the arrest of the 54-year old General, who had reportedly travelled to London to attend an international meeting on security.

In a post on her official twitter account Tuesday, Ms Mushikiwabo decried the action by the UK government as based on "lunacy".

"Western solidarity in demeaning Africans is unacceptable!! It is an outrage to arrest #Rwandan official based on pro-genocidaires lunacy!"

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye confirmed on Monday night that Gen Karake was prevented from boarding a flight home, detained and arraigned before a magistrate’s court in Westminster, with another appearance scheduled for Thursday.

'Genocide, crimes against humanity'

Gen Karake, who has served in different high ranking army and UN Peacekeeping positions, was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant based on the 2008 indictments by Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu Merelles.

The judge accused 40 Rwandan military and political leaders of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army of engaging in reprisal killings and mass massacres in the years that followed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Mr Merelles indicted the officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including eight Spaniards. The Rwandan government vehemently denied the accusations.

Over the years, Kigali dismissed the indictments and questioned their credibility, labelling them “politically motivated”. President Paul Kagame has also on many occasions spoken out against the indictments.

“The Bruguière (French Judge Jean Louis) and Spanish indictments were created to merely inconvenience Rwandans because they are hinged on no genuine legal premise and are not meant to serve any justice or cause.

“For universal jurisdictions to be credible, it has to go both ways and not the situation where we only have some powerful nations having jurisdictions over less powerful ones,” President Kagame said in 2012.