A reader says:

" Many people are still eager to know who killed the first RPA commander Major General Fred Rwigyema and who killed Majors Bayingana and Bunyenyezi. There was a lot of speculation about who killed who, what was the reasons behind these killings etc.

As far as I know 1) Bayingana and Bunyenyezi were very innocent of the death of Rwigyema. They had no capacity for doing that even if they wanted to. 2) Bayingana did not get along well with Fred but remained obedient to him all time. He well understood that Rwigyema's role was paramount to the success of the war. He always said that, and the differences they had could not amount to the killing.

Bunyenyezi was Fred's most obedient and loyal officer who could not think of taking the latter's life, owing to their long time comradeship.

Therefore, the answers to questions that remain unanswered all these years are slowly become evident as follows:

a- The killing of Vedaste Kayitare who was Rwigyema's Head of Guards and assistant, who also was the best commander of RPA until the time of his assassination and who at the time of his death left RPA at an upper hand in the RPF war.

b- The continuing, persistent harassment of Rwigyema's former friends, Aides, escorts and assistants from either RPA or RPF. Note that; the few soldiers who had served with Rwigyema and are now successful in the RPA, are those who had been manipulated for the betrayal.

c- The continuing harassment, mistreatment and humiliation of Madame Jeannette Rwigyema by the RPF government, and to all the Rwigyema family members. That is a clear evidence as to who killed Rwigyema.

Back to Bunyenyezi and Bayingana. As one writer put it, the neighbors (mentors) finished them off to clear the way for their "best Governor", whom they thought would be loyal to serve their interests, but you all know what it turned out to be of the mentor and the son. It was a different story.

Of course Gen Patrick Nyamvumba was with Bayingana, the former had just turned the latter's self-styled chief escort. They traveled in the same Landrover that day, and Col. Hassan Safari, alias Lumumba, was also with Bunyenyezi on that fateful day but both boys - Nyamvumba and Safari - came out unhurt. They did not have even a thorn scratch on their bodies!

Therefore, Rwandans should look for the source of the whole story from these two Rambo's of RPA. More info about these Rwanda's controversial issues will be communicated to readers next time."

Radio Katwe Manager replies: - This is one of the best pieces of information to be sent on this subject for a long time. Thanks a lot to the source.

More information on these mysterious deaths is welcome. The source is right in asking the question many other people are asking themselves, which is the way Mrs. Jeanette Rwigyema, the widow of Fred Rwigyema, has been treated by the RPF government. For those who like this idea of "historicals", Rwigyema was the historical among historicals. But there is little evidence of respect and dignity for the deceased, how come?

It is like the ANC government of South Africa mistreating Winnie Mandela or Oliver Thambo's relatives. Or would the CCM government in Tanzania without good cause, pointedly mistreat the wife of Julius Nyerere, the "father of the nation"?

These are the wives of the top leaders of the revolution. If anything Ms Rwigyema should have a special status in Rwanda today, in recognition of the fact that her husband paid the ultimate price. Now when people see the Kagame government keeping Mrs. Rwigyema under almost house arrest, we wonder what is happening. Either he had some deep rooted problems with the fallen war hero, or something else like that. What does Mr Kagame know about Rwigyema's death? Or does Rwigyema's widow know something that makes her a liability to Mr Kagame?

Another point of interest to researchers is that soon after Rwigyema's death in a shooting, Mr Kagame went to the front line and became the RPA's commander. From what we have now, things were still not clear how the top commanders like Rwigyema, Bayingana, and Bunyenyezi had died, so quickly one after the other. Maybe they died in a mutiny, internal diagreements and intrigues that had turned violent. During that time, things were not clear to most outsiders.

The matter of interest is that Mr Kagame didn't linger or hesitate but plunged right in. The inference is he must have known what was going on very well, which gave him the confidence to go to the RPA camp right away, when another person would have approached with caution fearing he could also end up killed. But this one betrayed no such doubts or misgivings, as though he knew nothing bad would happen to him.