Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo dismissed claims that the
bodies discovered floating in Lake Rweru were from Rwanda. PHOTO | FILE
By A JOINT REPORT, The EastAfrican
In Summary
TARGETED ARRESTS
- In a new twist, the government of Burundi last week reportedly rounded up several Rwandans living and working in Burundi on suspicion of espionage.
- Over 20 Rwandans, mainly business people operating in Bujumbura, were rounded up by security forces on claims that they lacked the proper documents to guarantee their stay on Burundian soil. The 20 follow two others who are in detention on charges of interfering with the “sovereignty” of the country.
A diplomatic row between Rwanda and Burundi is
brewing as they trade accusations over where the bodies found in Lake
Rweru bordering Burundi and Rwanda came from.
According to press reports, fishermen in Burundi
claim to have found 40 corpses floating in Lake Rweru since July, some
wrapped in plastic with their limbs bound. Authorities in Burundi and
Rwanda said their citizens are not among the deceased.
Edouard Nduwimana, Burundi’s Interior Minister, told Agence France-Presse: “There
are many bodies, some tied, floating on Lake Rweru, although probably
the figure of 40 reported by fishermen is exaggerated. But it is certain
that there are many floating bodies in the lake.”
Mr Nduwimana said that while the fisherman
reported the bodies had been carried into the lake from the Akagera
river, downstream of Rwanda, it was not yet possible to confirm their
origin.
In a new twist, the government of Burundi last
week reportedly rounded up several Rwandans living and working in
Burundi on suspicion of espionage.
Over 20 Rwandans, mainly business people operating
in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, were rounded up by security forces
on claims that they lacked the proper documents to guarantee their stay
on Burundian soil. The 20 follow two others who are in detention on
charges of interfering with the “sovereignty” of the country.
“They were on a mission. Even if you showed them
the correct documents, they would still arrest you and say that they
want the commercial visa,” Bonaventure Iyakaremye, a Rwandan trader who
lives in Bujumbura told The EastAfrican.
A police officer told this paper that the
operation is aimed at formalising business operations in the country but
traders maintain that the commercial visa had been scrapped after
Burundi and Rwanda joined the East African Community.
“The commercial visa was scrapped over five years
ago but the police insists foreign businesses, including small scale
traders should have it. It costs about $500 and on top of that, each
person should show a bank statement showing that they have at least
BFrw50 million ($32,000) in their account; if not, you are arrested,”
said a businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The traders claim that Rwandans in the country
continue to face animosity. Two Rwandans who have been in detention in
Burundi are accused of engaging in acts of espionage.
Efforts to reach the Rwandan embassy in Burundi
proved futile while a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
that they were not aware of the arrests so far but promised to follow
up.
Last week, Rwanda and Burundi disagreed on the
source of bodies discovered in the lake with the Rwandan Minister for
Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Louise Mushikiwabo, dismissing claims
by a Burundian official that the bodies discovered floating in Lake
Rweru were from Rwanda.
Ms Mushikiwabo’s remarks came a few days after
Burundi’s Prosecutor-General Valentin Bagorikunda told reporters that he
was “certain” the bodies had originated from Rwanda. She accused
Bujumbura of making serious accusations before sharing its findings with
Kigali.
“Whatever we know of what the Prosecutor-General of Burundi said, we heard from the media, and not from the government of Burundi; what he said was not true,” Ms Mushikiwabo told journalists in Kigali on Friday last week.
“Whatever we know of what the Prosecutor-General of Burundi said, we heard from the media, and not from the government of Burundi; what he said was not true,” Ms Mushikiwabo told journalists in Kigali on Friday last week.
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