INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA ACCUSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 001593 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2028 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KCRM KE RW SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA ACCUSES KENYAN GOVERNMENT OF FOOT DRAGGING IN THE SEARCH FOR KABUGA REF: A. NAIROBI 1354 ¶B. NAIROBI 1220 ¶C. 07 NAIROBI 4630 ¶D. 07 NAIROBI 3739 ¶E. 07 NAIROBI 1416 ¶F. 06 NAIROBI 5310 Classified By: Political Officer Samuel Madsen for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Kenyan Government and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) are now engaged in a public debate over the ICTR's criticism of what they see as a lack of substantive cooperation in the search for fugitive Rwandan war crimes suspect Felicien Kabuga. While the ICTR claims that the Government of Kenya has not taken sufficient action against businesses and bank accounts linked to Kabuga, the Attorney General rejects the accusations as unfair and unwarranted. While the June 13 arrest and detention of a Rwandan mathematics lecturer first suspected to be Kabuga may have been for show, it did demonstrate that the Kenyan police are willing to take action on reports of Kabuga,s presence. It does not rule out the possibility that Kabuga may still enjoy protection from bribe-able government officials, however. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) In a 21 May letter, ICTR Acting Chief Prosecutor Richard Karegyesa asserted that the recent action by the Kenyan government to freeze a residential property in Nairobi reportedly belonging to Kabuga and a bank account receiving rent from the property (ref B) was "too little, too late and falls far short of implementing the full range of recommendations of the Joint Task Force," referring to the Joint Kenya-ICTR Task Force that has worked the past several years to track Kabuga and his assets in Kenya. The letter further claimed Kenya had done nothing regarding "the several assets, companies and bank accounts identified by the Task Force as being associated with Kabuga," and had failed to have him arrested and transferred to the tribunal to face trial for crimes against humanity. (Note: ICTR Chief Prosecutor Hassan Jallow recently made the same argument to the UN. The annex of a letter delivered to the UN Secretary General on May 22 listed seven businesses and three bank accounts connected with Kabuga that the Government has taken no action against. End Note. ¶3. (U) Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako responded to Karegyesa's criticism's in a 20 June letter to the tribunal. He has also publicly rejected the allegations, claiming them to be "unfair, unwarranted and utterly without basis." Wako also claimed that the Kenyan police have always acted swiftly on any information or leads received from the ICTR or other foreign investigative agencies. Wako added that he intends to seek an opportunity to address the UN Security Council to explain and defend Kenya's efforts to assist in the manhunt for Kabuga. ¶4. (U) On 14 June Kenyan police arrested a man they reportedly thought to be Kabuga, but who was in fact Charles Nyandwi, a mathematics instructor at the University of Nairobi who had served as a member of the Rwandan cabinet from 1980-1994. While serving in the Rwandan cabinet Mr. Nyandwi had been a colleague of Kabuga. However, according to press reports he was removed from the cabinet early in 1994 and fled to Kenya during the genocide. The police claimed they arrested Mr. Nyandwi because he bears a physical resemblance to Kabuga. He was released from police custody after providing proof of his identity, as well as letters from the ICTR and the Rwandan government stating that he had been exonerated of complicity in the 1994 genocide. ¶5. (C) Comment: The row between the ICTR and the Government of Kenya is not new: while the ICTR claims that the Government of Kenya's minimal compliance is only a tactic to forestall any finding by the UN that Kenya is not cooperating with ICTR,s mission, Foreign Minister Wetangula claims (as described in ref A) that the ICTR only complains about Kenyan non-compliance when they are seeking a renewed mandate (and more money) from the UN. Regardless, Kabuga continues to elude capture, perhaps thanks to the assistance of bribe-able government officials. The recent false arrest of the Rwandan math teacher may have reflected a genuine effort by the government to finally end the Kabuga saga. Or not. Either way, increased public attention directed to the Kabuga case keeps the pressure on the Government. End Comment. RANNEBERGER