Edmund Kagire

05/24/11

Kigali — The Rwandan Government is requesting the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police to prove allegations that it was hunting down "political dissidents" in the UK, if not, it should formally retract the accusations.

A statement released by the Office of the Government Spokesperson strongly denounces the allegations that circulated in the UK media suggesting that Rwanda has sent assassins to kill two relatively unknown Rwandans; Rene Mugenzi and Jonathan Musonera.

Government spokesperson, Louise Mushikiwabo, dismissed the allegations.

"The Government of Rwanda rejects in the strongest terms the allegations of an assassination plot against two Rwandans living in the UK.

"Never does the Government of Rwanda threaten the lives of its citizens, nor use violence against its people, wherever they live," Mushikiwabo said in the statement.

According to UK press reports, Scotland Yard told Mugenzi and Musonera to remain on the alert because assassins from their own "government" were out to finish them.

However, Rwanda insists that the claims are unfounded and unfair because the Metropolitan police never consulted with the government to verify the claims.

"Unveiling identities of people whose lives are supposedly threatened and then calling the alleged culprits "Government of Rwanda" without a shred of evidence, is both unfair and unjust."

"The Metropolitan Police have not approached us with any evidence of these allegations," Mushikiwabo said, adding that the government is ready, as always, to work with the UK Police to ensure that nobody, be they Rwandan or not, is the victim of violence on British soil.

"The Government of Rwanda welcomes requests by UK Members of Parliament, Douglas Alexander and Eric Joyce, to shed light on this whole affair," the statement further reads.

" and should these allegations be shown to be false, the Government of Rwanda would expect the Metropolitan Police to make a full and public retraction of their previous statements,".

In what is seen as media blackmail, the government said that the two individuals are unknown politically and neither have they held any political office.

"Media should take note that the two individuals warned by the Metropolitan Police are practically unknown in Rwanda Government circles and most certainly do not qualify in Kigali as "political dissidents.

"Manipulation of media and opinion by individuals and groups engaged in criminal activities against the Rwandan people and the tarnishing of our nation's image should not be given any value." Mushikiwabo observed.

The New Times