If Uganda disowns RNC terror group, what will be Kayumba’s fate in South Africa?

On Monday, January 31, the Gatuna border between Rwanda and Uganda resumed operation after almost three years of near inactivity. In 2019, the Rwandan government issued a travel advisory to Rwandans. It urged them to avoid travelling there, prompted by a wave of arrests and torture of Rwandans in Uganda on allegations that they were spies. Some of those released would be dumped at the border unceremoniously.

Secondly, Rwanda accused Uganda of supporting terror groups like the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) led by Kayumba Nyamwasa, a terror convict and fugitive who resides in South Africa. The resumption of Rwanda-Uganda border operations is expected to be followed by disbanding RNC networks in Uganda as the two countries look forward to full restoration of relations.

In the event that the Government of Uganda disbands the RNC and arrests and extradites all its members so that they face justice in Rwanda, as the latter requested, what would be the fate of RNC leader Kayumba Nyamwasa who is based in South Africa?

Kayumba is a former Rwandan military officer who was in 2011 sentenced, in absentia, to 24 years in prison. He was convicted of multiple charges including terrorism, genocide denial and crimes against humanity.

The RNC, which he formed in December 2010, is a terrorist group that, among others, masterminded the grenade attacks in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, that claimed more than 10 innocent lives. Between 2010 and 2014, the RNC carried out grenade attacks in Rwanda which also left more than 400 people injured.

Rwanda and South Africa have, since 2010, been embroiled in a diplomatic row sparked by the fact that Rwandan terror groups such as the RNC use South Africa as their base for subversive operations against Rwanda.

Rwanda South Africa relations won't depend on RNC wishes 

Some captured RNC fighters as well as collaborators of another terror group, FLN, who are before Rwandan courts of law on terrorism charges have told prosecution how Kayumba acquired a fleet of commercial trucks operating in South Africa. The profits go into   supporting his family and the terror group’s activities against Rwanda.

Kayumba is engaged in acts of war and terrorism against his country. His terror organization has led to loss of lives.

Under international instruments, specifically article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the host state is obliged to stop Kayumba from engaging in war and terror activities against his home country.

Article 20 of the Covenant states that: “Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.”

On November 26, 2001, the then US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, declared that the terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York City was not just a crime against the United States, but a crime against humanity.

Although the classification of such terror attacks as a crime against humanity is not yet adopted by world policy makers, many people across the globe suggest that terror attacks should be classified under crimes against humanity. This reflects the seriousness of the crimes the RNC – led by Kayumba from his base in South Africa – has inflicted on Rwandans.  

Kayumba is often actively engaging international media, and declaring war on Rwanda. With the modern world's terrorism challenges, a person like Kayumba is not expected to be given asylum by any country.

He is supposed to be extradited to Rwanda to face terror charges. In the absence of extradition, it would serve both Rwanda and South Africa better, if Kayumba is moved to a faraway country like Norway or Greenland, where he does not easily organize his terror networks against Rwanda.

In 2018, Presidents Paul Kagame and Cyril Ramaphosa agreed, in Kigali, to normalize relations.

Rwanda and South Africa set up a joint mechanism which was hailed as a big step towards normalizing relations. Citizens from the two countries are anxiously waiting for resumption of trade and free movement of people in the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Rwanda and South Africa have much to gain by restoring good bilateral relations.

The likes of Kayumba should not stand in the way of good bilateral relations between Rwanda and any other country in the world. No country should support terrorism and no country should host leaders of terrorist groups.