Kayumba Nyamwasa

Who is Kayumba Nyamwasa?

Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is a Rwandan former Lieutnant general who was Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army. He has also been head of Rwandan intelligence and served as Rwanda's ambassador to India.

Nyamwasa fled to South Africa in February 2010. The Rwandan government later stated that he may have been working with Colonel Patrick Karegeya, another former intelligence head who was living in exile in South Africa. Nyamwasa was accused of involvement in acts of terrorism in Rwanda, including three grenade attacks in Kigali on 19 February 2010, but was not arrested in South Africa due to a lack of extradition treaties between the two countries and evidence.

In June 2010, Brigadier General Jean Bosco Kazura, head of the Rwandan Football Federation, traveled to South Africa to see the World Cup and allegedly contacted Nyamwasa. Kazura was recalled and placed under arrest, although an army spokesman said this was purely because he had failed to obtain permission to travel.

Nyamwasa was shot in the stomach in South Africa in June 2010. Several people arrested after the shooting were found to be Rwandan. Kayumba was recorded to have said that Kagame wants him dead because he challenges his dictatorial views. Nyamwasa's wife stated that the attack was politically motivated. According to Al-Jazeera reported that "Rosette said they were in the parking lot of their home and a man came to the side of the car with a pistol and shot at her husband who managed to get out of the car and then there was a scuffle. The driver of the car then chased the assailant away."