Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo on Wednesday, July 26, said it was unfortunate that “the Belgian government seems to have capitulated to pressure from” the DR Congo government and propaganda from genocide negationist organizations and activists, through whom they decided to leak the decision to reject the appointment of Vincent Karega as Kigali’s Ambassador-designate to Brussels.

The decision by the Belgian government to reject Amb. Karega’s appointment was yet to be officially confirmed when it was leaked by Jambo News, an outlet owned by Jambo Asbl. The latter is a Belgium-based organization whose staff comprises children of the planners and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda.

While these children front the organization, behind them loom their parents who continue to perpetuate genocide ideology and hatred, and influence their descendants.

After their defeat, in July 1994, the members of the defeated genocidal regime fled the country mostly to eastern DR Congo – many others took off to European countries including Belgium and France – and other regional countries and regrouped as they plotted to fight their way back to power in Rwanda and finish their genocidal agenda. Their main bases, up to today, were in eastern DR Congo.

To win the support of the international community, as an essential element in their fight back after being defeated by Rwanda's liberators - RPF - in 1994, according to genocide researcher Tom Ndahiro, the strategy they devised was to keep known figures from the genocidal establishment in the background, and promote new supporters and sympathisers that were not directly implicated in the genocide.

In a few articles, Ndahiro explained how, among others, in this strategy, which continues to date, the young were especially considered.

Those who lived abroad at the time of the genocide against the Tutsi were especially prized. The extremeist party RDR – formed in the jungles of eastern DR Congo in 1995 – which spearhead these efforts quickly identified the then Netherlands based Victoire Ingabire, as one of its greatest assets. The RDR consisted of the most extremist elements of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) and the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), and other extremist Hutu-Power factions that perpetrated the 1994 genocide.

Committed to the cause, and resident in the Netherlands throughout the mid-90s, Ingabire could distance herself from direct involvement in the 1994 genocide and was appointed one of the first leaders of RDR, a subversive group founded on genocide ideology. Founded in April 1995, with headquarters in France and later in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada, the Rassemblement Républicain pour la Démocratie au Rwanda (RDR) hierarchy comprised genocide ideologues drawn from among the génocidaires in exile. Many were very active in the refugee camps in Zaire, now DR Congo.

Ndahiro explained that one of the genocidaires’ strategies was to encourage sympathetic journalists to gain access to influential media houses and through them, pump out messages to the world.

According to Ndahiro, it is in this context that Jambo ASBL can be understood.

As noted, the person trusted with the creation, and leadership of RDR was Juvenal Bahufite who had been a Lieutenant-Colonel in the defeated genocidal regime’s army. Bahufite, an influential sector commander in Gisenyi, was particularly involved in the training of Interahamwe militia. On arrival in DR Congo, he was appointed head of military intelligence for the genocidal forces.

Jambo Asbl styles itself as a human rights association whose objectives are to carry out projects aimed at peace, dialogue and justice but, in reality, it is a Trojan horse for the objectives of genocide ideologues and extremists. Its activities include a YouTube Channel, Jambonews, all of which are revisionist platforms for their forebears, who were part of the genocidal machine that claimed more than one million Tutsi lives.

Gustave Mbonyumutwa, the grandson of Dominique Mbonyumutwa, Rwanda’s first president and one of the architects of Parmehutu, the extremist party that introduced ethnic cleansing, was Jambo Asbl president from 2017 to 2019.

In 2018, when the Belgian parliament was debating a bill to make genocide denial a criminal offence, Jambo moved to block it. Earlier, on September 29, 2017, the group had sent a letter with a dossier entitled, “Observations on the proposed law against the denial, minimisation, justification, or approval of the genocide committed in Rwanda in 1994” to the Belgian Federal Parliament, expressing the group’s concerns about the proposed bill.

One of the group’s objections was that criminalising genocide denial deprives the accused a line of defence. Their argument was the denial of genocide should not be criminalised, because, according to them, it is a valid line of defence for those accused of the crime.

The group was able to mingle and infiltrate far and wide in Belgium and especially gain access to the political world and in particular to the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CDV), a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium whose NGOs had a foothold in pre-1994 Rwanda. It was traditionally the largest political party of Flanders, until it was overtaken by the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) in the 2010s.

With a history that dates back to the 19th century, the CDV has generally the largest number of mayors and most Prime Ministers of Belgium and Ministers-President of Flanders have been CDV politicians.

This was the party that enabled most of the parents of Jambo Asbl members to obtain refugee status in Belgium, particularly in Flanders, sourced said. Well established in this part of Belgium, they now constitute a significant electorate for Belgian political parties. Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium.

Bahufite's daughter, Lilian Bahufite, is one of the leaders of Jambo Asbl.

Like Gustave Mbonyumutwa, she is not the only one who promoting her father’s cause.

Gustave, Ruhumuza, and Patrice Mbonyumutwa: A family legacy of extremism

Gustave, Ruhumuza, and Patrice Mbonyumutwa, all founder members of Jambo Asbl, hail from a family with deep-rooted connections to the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Ruhumuza Mbonyumutwa’s brother, Patrice Rudatinya Mbonyumutwa who is based in Luxembourg was the Vice-president of the Belgian section of Victoire Ingabire's FDU-Inkingi Party.

Their father, Shingiro Mbonyumutwa, was a Genocide fugitive and a key member of the Hutu extremist party MDR-Pawa. Shingiro was a leading light in the extremist MDR-Power faction. He was also Director of Cabinet for the genocidaires’ Prime Minister Jean Kambanda who is serving life sentence in Mali.

Shingiro, a fugitive who was wanted by the Rwandan justice system, died in Belgium in February 2022. Shingiro’s father, Ruhumuza’s grandfather was Dominique Mbonyumutwa who served as interim President of Rwanda under the Belgian colonial administration in 1961, for nine months.

From November 1959 to October 1961, Dominique Mbonyumutwa distinguished himself by initiating and driving the first massacres of the Tutsi. In this period he mentored his son Shingiro, then a teenager, who now passes on the genocidal ideology to his children.

Robert Mugabowindekwe: The son of a tainted legacy

Robert Mugabowindekwe, 44, holds a significant position as the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jambo Asbl.

Mugabowindekwe is the son of Ephrem Rwabarinda, a Colonel in Habyarimana’s army. Mugabowindekwe’s wife Kami Runyinya is the daughter of Professor Runyinya Barabwiriza, who was a special adviser to Habyarimana. He was also the President of MNRD in Butare prefecture. Among his responsibilities was to oversee the training of the Interahamwe militia in the region.

His father, Lt Col Ephrem Rwabalinda, formerly an advisor to the chief of staff of the former Rwandan Army (FAR), was implicated in planning Tutsi executions. He sought military support from France to continue the massacre of the Tutsi community.

Norman Sinamenye: A man with controversial ties

Norman Sinamenye, the Secretary General of Jambo Asbl, is associated with influential figures from the Genocide era.

Unlike the case of most other Jambo Asbl leaders, Norman's father, André Sinamenye, did not participate in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. His father was a PSD member from Gikongoro known to be a moderate and would even travel to Rwanda after the genocide.

Sinamenye tried to talk his son out of his extremist activities, without success.

Leon Habyarimana: A presidential connection

Leon Habyarimana, 53, is Jambo's treasurer.

He has a direct link to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi through his father, Juvenal Habyarimana, the former Rwandan president.

Under his father's rule, the government was responsible for planning and implementing the Genocide against the Tutsi.

He is also a son in law to Félicien Kabuga, the financier of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Laure Uwase: A daughter of genocidaires

Laure Uwase was born on January 28, 1992, and was two years old during the genocide in 1994.

Only through her parents and friends like the Mbonyumutwas, can she be indoctrinated.

Uwase, an editor in Jambo News, also has a family background marred by connections to the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Her father, Anastase Nkundakozera, was implicated in the atrocities, while her mother, Agnes Mukarugomwa, held a prominent position as an MRND activist involved in disseminating information during the Genocide.

Placide Kayumba: Founder with a dark legacy

Another former chairman of the organisation, Placide Kayumba is the son of Dominique Ntawukuriryayo who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the ICTR.

As sous-prefet of Gisagara in what was then Butare prefecture, in southern Rwanda, Ntawukuriryayo was directly responsible for the murder of 30,000 men, women and children.

His son, Placide Kayumba, is a founder member and former president of Jambo Asbl.

Natacha Abingeneye: Ties to a founder of the Interahamwe

Natacha Abingeneye, a former chairperson of the group, is the daughter of Juvenal Uwiringiyimana.

A former Minister of Commerce and Industry in Habyarimana’s government, Uwiringiyimana was one of the creators of the notorious Interahamwe militia.

Times Reporter

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