INTERVIEW: Gen. Nyamwasa- Why I fled Rwanda

Do you have hope that your wife and family will be able to join you?
It is very difficult but she is brave so she will probably be able to make it.

Did you reach out to the minister of foreign affairs who is supposedly your boss to talk to her about this issue before you left the country?
She is the first person who sacked me that day without even wanting me to find out. And look at her track record- she is just a new entrant who is just trying to protect her position, what do you expect from her?

So what is your future now? What are you going to do? What should we expect in the coming days or years?
Look at it from this perspective; I spent all my youthful years fighting for justice and fighting for the unity of the Rwandese people but at this time, it is going to be difficult I am aware.

Are you planning to return to the country anytime soon?
No. If I was supposed to return I would not have asked for these papers (SA passport).

Should the opportunity present itself and you are confident of your safety, would you go back and run for political office?
That has never been my intention because one person is not going to change much.
I don’t think I am the saviour. I only think that the people in the country, the powers that be, should look around and see the turnover, how many people have run away and probably change. If they don’t change then we shall languish where we are.

What do you make of the allegations that you were plotting a coup d’état?
We used to hear about those things even during the Habyarimana’s regime. Dictators always say that.
That was just threatening the population, threatening anybody who would want to raise his voice. Essentially that was a threat. And every dictatorship will always say that like in Zimbabwe and North Korea.

Are you assured of your safety in SA? Why didn’t you go to Uganda or any other neighbouring country?
The proximity of Uganda and Rwanda would have caused a problem between the two countries. Secondly, the judicial system that I would probably be subjected to was also in perspective when I came here.