KAMPALA Uganda—The Rwandan presidency said
Monday that dissidents plotting against the government "will pay the
price wherever they are," threatening to ignite fresh tensions with
regional governments less than two weeks after the death of the
country's former spy chief in South Africa.
 |
| Paul Kagame |
The
presidency quoted President
Paul Kagame
as saying that Kigali shouldn't be held accountable for those who
have turned against the government with the intention of destroying
what the Rwandan people have built.
It
is the first time Mr. Kagame has commented since the investigation began
into the death of
Patrick Karegeya,
which is threatening to draw Pretoria into the political feud
between Kigali and the sizable Rwandan dissident community that has
taken up residence in South Africa. Both sides accuse the other of
having a hand in Mr. Karegeya's death, accusations both deny.
"Anyone
who plots against his country will turn out to be the loser." Mr.
Kagame said. "Whoever is undermining Rwanda usually faces serious
consequences wherever they are….God gives us the strength to build and
the ability to protect what our nation has built."
The
South African police said last week that initial evidence suggests that
Mr. Karegeya was strangled with a curtain cord at a luxury hotel room
in Johannesburg. Until 2006, Mr. Karegeya was the head of Rwanda's
foreign-intelligence service, but left the country around 2007.
The
government accused him of orchestrating a series of grenade attacks in
Kigali, a charge Mr. Karegeya denied before his death. Mr. Karegeya
accused Mr. Kagame of flouting human rights, repressing freedom of
speech and crushing political opposition in Rwanda.
Mr.
Kagame, in power since 2000, has widely been credited for turning
around the Rwandan economy after the 1994 genocide that killed nearly 1
million ethnic Tutis. Critics say that he has ruled the tiny Central
African nation with an iron fist, forcing thousands of former allies to
flee into exile.
Most Rwandan dissidents live in Europe and the U.S., as well as in African countries including Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.
A
number of Rwandan dissidents, including
Faustin Kayumba
Nyamwasa, Rwanda's former army chief, who lives in South Africa,
claim they have survived multiple assassination attempts sponsored by
the Rwandan government. Kigali denies the accusations.
Until 2012, Mr. Karegeya was under South Africa's special security protection.
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