RWANDAN AMBASSADORS NAMED FOR DRC AND OTHER POSTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000325

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR RW
SUBJECT: RWANDAN AMBASSADORS NAMED FOR DRC AND OTHER POSTS

Classified By: Ambassador Symington for reasons 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (SBU) On May 6, the Rwandan cabinet announced the
nomination of several new ambassadors, including most
prominently Amandin Rugira as Ambassador to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). Following are biographic notes
and Mission comments on the various nominations.


2. (SBU) Amandin Rugira, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
most recently he served as the Permanent Secretary at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held prior director
positions at the Central Bank, the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, the Prime Minister's Office, and Rwanda Development
Bank. He and his wife, Charlotte, have one daughter, who
just completed high school in the United States. Rugira is a
member of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front RPF),and sits on
its Foreign Affairs Committee. Formerly a member of the MDR
political party, he joined the RPF after the MDR's
dissolution in 2002. He speaks excellent French and English.


3. (C) Comment. This new nomination (the previous candidate
was nominated in 2004 but never received agrement from the
DRC) is the direct result of improved relations between the
two nations. We understand the two governments agreed to
nominate individuals who are neither members of the military
nor intelligence services nor very active politically. The
GOR sees Rugira, an unassuming Hutu technocrat, as someone
who will offer a positive image to the Congolese population,
and can "blend into the diplomatic crowd" in Kinshasa. End
comment.


4. (SBU) Ambassador Eugene-Richard Gasana, Permanent
Representative to the United Nations: Gasana family went to
Burundi in 1960, where he was born in 1962. He trained in
business studies in Cologne and followed with an Executive
MBA course at the European Business School in Maastricht. He
later took several courses in diplomacy at UNITAR in Geneva.
Prior to his recruitment as a diplomat, Gasana was a banker
and did consultant work in Germany. Gasana was the RPF's
representative in Germany before the 1994 genocide, and
served as Charge d Affaires there until 1995. He then worked
as Counselor and Minister-Counselor in the same embassy,
serving under current Prime Minister Bernard Makuza. Since
that time the two men have been very good friends. From 1999
to 2002, Gasana was Rwanda's Permanent Representative to the
United Nations Offices in Geneva. In 2002 he returned to
Rwanda as Chairmann of Artel Telecommuncations. In 2004 he
was appointed Ambassador to Germany. He served there until
November 2008, when the arrest of chief of protocol Rose
Kabuye by German authorities led both governments to recall
their ambassadors. He speaks fluent French, English and
German.


5. (C) Comment. Gasana is close to President Kagame and his
family. He is a highly successful businessman who was given
permission by Kagame to continue his consulting services
while serving in diplomatic positions. Gasana was in limbo
for several months in Kigali following his recall while the
some officials debated whether he was responsible for
some officials debated whether he was responsible for
informing German authorities that Kabuye was in Germany on
"personal" travel. That Gasana was ultimately offered the
key Permanent Representative position in New York reaffirms
his close relationship with the President. He was also under
consideration for the Brussels and Kinshasa positions, but
concerns over what is perceived locally as Rwanda's
ineffectiveness in New York led to Gasana's appointment as
PermRep (see para 10).


6. (SBU) Christine Nkurikiyinka, Berlin: Nkurikiyinka grew
up in Rwanda. She went to Germany in 1987, and graduated
with a degree in Marketing and Human Resources Management in

1991. She served in the Rwandan Embassy there in various
positions from 1991 until 2005. She then served in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the planning department. She
returned to Germany as a business consultant in 2006.
Nkurikiyinka is the daughter of a pre-genocide politician and
is close to Prime Minister Makuza. She is married and has
two children.


7. (SBU) Gerard Ntwari, Brussels: Ntwari was born in 1962 in
the former Kigali rural prefecture. He grew up in Rwanda and
graduated with a degree in linguistics from the National
University of Rwanda (NUR). He then worked as a secondary
school teacher in Kigali. He joined the NUR in 2001 as a
teaching assistant. In 2006 he graduated with a Masters in
Linguistics from Laval University in Canada. As a member of
the Social Democratic Party (PSD),he won election to the
Chamber of Deputies in the September 2008 elections. He is
married and has 5 children


8. (SBU) Ambassador Kamari Karegesa, Pretoria: Kamari
Karegesa grew up in Uganda. Between 1990 to 1994 he served
in the RPF as a full time political "cadre." From 1994 to
2001 Karegesa was Prefet of Byumba Prefecture, before going
to South Africa for further studies. He graduated from Wits
University in Development Studies. Kamari served as
Ambassador in Uganda from 2004 to the present. Kamari is
very close to senior RPF leadership and remains an active RPF
member.


9. (SBU) Ambassador Joseph Nsengimana, Ethiopia/AU:
Nsengimana grew up in Rwanda. He graduated with a PhD in
linguistics in France, then worked in Rwanda as a NUR
lecturer. He is a genocide survivor, losing his wife and 2
children in the 1994 genocide. From 1994 to 2000,
Nsengimana, an influential Labor Party (PL) politician,
served as Minister of Education and Minister of Public
Service and Labor. From 2000 to 2005, Nsengimana worked in
the Presidency as a Special Advisor. Most recently, he was
Rwanda's Permanent Representative in New York. He remains
influential within the PL and is very close to many genocide
survivors prominent in business and in politics. He tried
unsuccessfully to play a mediating role during the 2007
leadership dispute within the PL (07 Kigali 865).


10. (C) Comment. Nsengimana was reportedly selected by NSS
Director Ndahiro as PermRep in New York. His lack of
diplomatic experience was a decided disadvantage in the UN
and there is a general sense that Gasana will be much more
proactive in advancing Rwanda's multilateral agenda.


SIM