Question NW478 to the President of the Republic

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19 March 2019 - NW478

Profile picture: Gardee, Mr GA

Gardee, Mr GA to ask the President of the Republic

(1)Whether he has been informed of the alleged murder attempts on a Rwandan citizen, Mr Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa allegedly by the Rwandan government; if so, what measures and steps has the Government taken in response to the clear violation of the Republic’s sovereignty and rule of law by the Rwandan government; (2) whether he has discussed the matter with the Rwandan government; if so, what are the relevant details of the discussion? NW542E

Reply:

(1) I am informed about the attempted assassination of General Nyamwasa. On 6 March 2014, following the attempted assassination of Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, our Government declared three Rwandan diplomats and one Burundian diplomat persona non grata and expelled them from South Africa, for illegal activities inconsistent with their diplomatic work which was in violation of Article 41 of the Vienna Convention and Article 9 of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act. Our Government took that decision based on evidence from our security agencies pointing to the involvement of these diplomats in illegal activities.

(2) The Government of South Africa and the Government of Rwanda have since 2014 engaged in discussions pursuant to the death of Col Karegeya and attempted assassination of Gen Nyamwasa. As an outcome of these discussions, the two countries agreed in June 2015 to normalise their relations. In the meetings that I have had with President Kagame, we agreed to normalise our bilateral relations, including the reactivation of the visa service at the South African High Commission in Kigali. Our respective Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation are working on the modalities.

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