Kabuga's FBI Most Wanted posterKabuga was arrrested at undisclosed location in Nairobi yesterday (Friday) afternoon. Kenya Police investigators say that they have a positive ID on the elderly Rwandese fugitive and forensic tests are underway to determine the true identity of the man.
Last month, this blog reported how Kenya’s new immigration minister had cancelled Kabuga’s Kenyan diplomatic passport(s) and accordingly informed Interpol of the same.
During the same month, the editor of Norwegian-based African Press International (API) told a Kenyan newspaper that he had interviewed Kabuga in an Oslo hotel room. Editor Sammy Kipterer Korir told newspaper Sunday Nation that he'd been invited to the hotel room by a friend from Sudan. At that time, Kabuga was reported to be seeking to negotiate amnesty with the Rwandese government.
The Kenyan government have in the past been accused to be a stumbling block to FBI investigations efforts to apprehend Kabuga, as he has strong links to ex MP Gideon Moi, the son of ex President Daniel arap Moi. The fugitive had a whopping US$5million bounty on his head.
Kabuga most recent imageIf the reported arrested is confirmed to be correct, then the two month old Grand Coalition Government will have done what eluded successive Kenyan regimes for nearly a decade and a half.
Felicien Kabuga was an influential businessman who used his wealth to outfit the Interahamwe, a violent Hutu militia, who massacred thousands of innocent Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Few militia gangs in history have banded together to act with such swift brutality. In only 100 days Interahamwe contributed significantly to the death toll of over 800,000 Rwandans. Kabuga purchased vast amounts of machetes, hoes and other agricultural tools for the Interahamwe, fully aware that they would be used to hack men, women and children to death. For these and other cold-blooded calculations, he has been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva convention.
Update: 21.30 hrs Kenya Time
We are under estimating the power Kabuga and his Kenyan friends wield.
News reaching this blogger indicate that the person arrested by police is now being touted as "a case of mistaken identity and is afterall NOT Felicien Kabuga".
Kenyan police intelligence is known to be thorough and capable of cracking just about any crime without external help. There is NO WAY police could have arrested a stranger and run DNA and fingerprint tests on the suspect if they were not sure they had their man.
IT IS OBVIOUS SOMEONE HAS PRESSED THE RIGHT BUTTON(S) AND ONCE AGAIN KABUGA IS ABOUT TO BE SET FREE.
Updates to follow
YES. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. let this be true. This mad mad man has finally been caught up with. I hope they put a picture somewhere. A full page coulour picture so finally we can bring to closure the darkest page in Africa's history.
ReplyDeleteI pray that this be true and not another phantom Ayanu spectacle. You never trust anything in Kenya until it is proved right. And if that be truth I FEAR the comrades in crime will FINISH him for fear of spilling the beans. Big catch that one but no celebrations just yet.
ReplyDeleteDid he help organize the massacre in Nakuru and Naivasha and help buy the machetes that were bought from was it uchumu or that other store that was reported saying a large number of pangas had been bought??
ReplyDeletedid he help organize what happened in kenya? and that is why he had been given a safe heaven?? what was the deal with him and kibaki government for him to hold a kenyan diplomatic passport- when even kibaki knew that he was a wanted criminal?? a passport has to be renewed and a diplomatic passport is not handed out by the kenya government easily unless you are a diplomat???
something smells very rotten??
a diplomatic passport from the government of kenya revoked?? whi gave him this passport in the first place?? I thought kenyan passports expire every five years?? and even so when kibaki's government come into power and noticed his name on the diplomatic passport list of kenyan passports and they knew he was a wanted man? why didn't they revoke it immediately?
that is my loaded question?
This is pretty cool.
ReplyDeletePrescription punishment; Cut off an ounce or two of his body everyday until the body mass is no more..
Vikii,
ReplyDeleteThat is CRUEL bro, ama? But then considering the thousands of smashed skulls maybe he deserves every pain. In by the sword out by the very blade. Malipo ni humu humu. You may run but cannot hide forever. Lesson to many living mass murderers.
Phil, Chris
ReplyDeleteYou still haven't told me why you removed the article of the young 19 year old youth who witnessed the plane crash carrying MP Kones and MP Laboso while he was putting a roof on the house?? where it that article? it was posted by a blogger on your previous posts??
can you explain??
Anon 6.13, do you really expect him to have gone with his real name? Even in his immigration documents? Well, that's very imaginative. Diplomatic passports are not issued to just diplomats and are not renewed evey five years eiher.
ReplyDeleteanon6:13 AM
ReplyDeleteshould kibaki get the same treated for his shoot to kill order to the kenya police?? what is the difference between this two gentleman?? they both used their power and dangerous tools to kill used innocent people -kabuga bought machetes and kibaki used the government machinery called the police-
So i guess they deserve the same fate!! the only difference one is a president and for now he is safe and the other was in a seat of power - and once he lost it he become a hunted man-
I pray this will be the same case for Kibaki.. he deserves it 100%
anon6:26 AM
ReplyDeleteshow me yours the last i checked mine that is the period of renewal that was the norm- last time i was in that position-
show me proof that the kenya diplomatic passport requirements changed??
anon6:26 AM
ReplyDeleteif he didn't use his name?? how did they know which passport was his and to revoke it??
Taabu, that was the best I could think of for a man like him.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6.29, you do not expect me to have a diplomatic passport, do you? I am not yet "in that position"
what happened to Oscars articles that he promised to post on the love life of Kones and Laboso like he threatened-
ReplyDeleteI have been dying to see what he has to post and to get an excuse to post the love life's of the living MP yes I'm not the type to do such things but when one crosses the line - when people die then why not do the same for those who are still alive??
PNU members of parliament-
1. girlfriends( other peoples wifes and some of them of other members
2. girlfriends who gave birth to their children and wifes have no idea.
3.some with under age girls- yes they like virgins like Chris kirubi
3. Some even have special flats in Nairobi that they book high class prostitutes
You will b shocked by which MP's and ministers engaged in this acts....
I guess coming from a kikuyu prominent family - gives me first class knowledge of all this happenings.
one thing I know about most kenyans we respect the dead from any family rich or power that is Kenyan culture and when one posts hear on Kumekucha search statements- and kumekucha(Chris) allowing that then i beg to differ Chris- one does not abuse the dead- and if Oscar wants to take that route then - let us roll it - I will post here and all other blogs that i can find and send copies to all the news papers and gutter press in Kenya- maybe the living members of parliament deserve live soap opera regarding their personal life's i would imagine.
Oscar watch out when you abuse the dead no matter what tribe they originate from- us Kenyans we have a culture to respect the dead !period.
6:44 AM- YOU ANSWERED MY PREVIOUS QUESTION LIKE YOU HAD THE FULL KNOWLEDGE ON HOW DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS ARE ISSUED THAT IS WHY I ASKED.....
ReplyDeleteBlogger Vikii said...
Anon 6.13, do you really expect him to have gone with his real name? Even in his immigration documents? Well, that's very imaginative. Diplomatic passports are not issued to just diplomats and are not renewed evey five years eiher.
This whole thing started with Matiba and Moi who had business dealings with Kabuga going back to the 80s. Siginon Freight used to clear most of Rwanda's and all of Kabuga's imports. He had a virtual lock on the Rwanda economy. You talk about a billionaire...he was one long time ago.After the genocide, Zakayo Cheruyoit protected him and he helped fund the 97' general elections for Kanu. That is why so many assasination attempts were foiled. The links continued with the Kibaki govt. Kenya is for sale, folks, whichever way you see it.
ReplyDeletewhat has changed?
ReplyDeletewhy all of a sudden, we have people like kirubi charged in court, kabuga arrested and who knows even kamani might be interrogated, etc
its either a real tectonic plate shift and the power brokers are shifting from one butt to another (change of guard in the rank and file) or its all just another smokescreen and some serious evil is in the offing (maybe even divert attention from the ODM MP deaths). not meaning to speculate but rather advising that we continue with vigilance to watch our own kenyan space.
i agree with taabu, we need to see where this is going, but if true the man is arrested and even better handed over to the arusha genocide tribunal/court without mysteriously vanishing while in transit, that that is indeed a good step forward.
UrXLnc
@ 6:50, what are you saying?
ReplyDeleteThis is unbelievably good news! What a coincidnce that he was arrested immediately after the plane crash death of one of the RV kingpins and perpetrator of 1992 RV tribal massacres? Was this kingpin one of the protectors of Kabuga?
ReplyDeleteToday will turn out to be a historic day if this news pans out. It gives Kenyans hope that one day the financiers early this year of the Eldoret ethnic cleansing will face justice in the fullness of time here on earth before going to meet their Maker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Update: 21.30 hrs Kenya Time
ReplyDeleteWe are under estimating the power Kabuga and his Kenyan friends wield.
News reaching this blogger indicate that the person arrested by police is now being touted as "a case of mistaken identity and is afterall NOT Felicien Kabuga".
Kenyan police intelligence is known to be thorough and capable of cracking just about any crime without external help. There is NO WAY police could have arrested a stranger and run DNA and fingerprint tests on the suspect if they were not sure they had their man.
IT IS OBVIOUS SOMEONE HAS PRESSED THE RIGHT BUTTON(S) AND ONCE AGAIN KABUGA IS ABOUT TO BE SET FREE.
With a US$5million bounty on his head, Kabuga, who is a tycoon in his own right, must have spent millions of dollars to open doors that earned him Kenyan diplo-passports and protection.
Watch this space! Updates to follow
Kabuga lived in safe houses operated by RV bosses who are now either in or sympathize with ODM.(There may be one or two PNU characters involved.) To top-up Kabuga's security, these bosses also maintained an elaborate active police network of their tribesmen. (These are the people going around in RV calling other Kenyans "foreigners." Without minimizing the importance of the diplomatic passport withdrawal, I think a more fundamental pillar of Kabuga's security unravelled. Let us hope that Kabuga doesn't die "accidentally" or out of "natural causes" before he spills the beans.
ReplyDeleteTaabu,
ReplyDeleteThese are your words "In by the sword out by the very blade. Malipo ni humu humu. You may run but cannot hide forever. Lesson to many living mass murderers."
Glad that you believe on this dictum. Roll back from January and see what for four months advocated in this blog. Go through your posts and comments - remember pia as you say malipo ni humu humu. You ignited fire in this blog and i believe in Kenya as an adviser.
Phil, you just validated the fears people had; That this entire saga will turn out to be a smokescreen.
ReplyDeleteI had my doubts about this issue lakini I had hoped the fugitive had been arrested. On local news this evening things changed dramatically and the person who was in custody was not the fugitive but a businessman of Rwandese origin and who was legally in Kenya, he has since been released. The report said that that after verification by Kenyan and Rwandese embassy personnel the identity of the person was established. I suspect there is something not right, we will overcome
ReplyDeletethe story has to pan out in several possible directions, if trully he had been arrested and now some high stakes are being played out and have freed the man, then it follows that some police officers and possbily informers are about to disappear or become victims of some highly publised or highly hidden (ngong forest type) tragedy.
ReplyDeleteon the other hand if it was a hoax to divert attention/smokescreen, then it could possibly have already served its purpose, so keep a look out for what it was that needed such a high profile (in diplomatic circles) smokescreen
its time that our police force recaptured their dignity from executive interference and returned credibility and integrity in their rank and file from the most senior to the most junior. aren't there any upright kenyan police anymore?
UrXlnc
So predictably Kenyan way of handling things. The country is teaming with so many scoundrels so much so that none would dare lift a finger. Kabuga has the right connections and all the smokescreens remain cheap diversions ala commisons.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7454686.stm
I'm sure if you asked Raila and ODM where Kabuga is they'd tell you in a heartbeat. I understand he was one of the key advisers to ODMs campaign strategy. And the parallels are quite powerful too. The madoadoa, adui stuff, sharpening pangas on roads, burning women and children in churches, rapists etc. Quite clearly he helped ODM mastermind its bloody massacre of innocent Kenyans, an attempted genocide not very different from Rwanda's. Judgement will come, in good time. It will come.
ReplyDeleteODM's Zakayo Cheruiyot should tell us where he has been hiding his side kick, US intelligence has known for a long time that Zakayo was harboring, aiding and protecting Kabuga, he should be put on trial alongside Kabuga, we do not need cleansers of Rwandese in Rwanda or cleaners of Kenyans in Molo living freely our midst. It is time Cheruiyot produced the man he has been hiding for all these years.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 3:22 is right on mark, only heartless killers like Kabuga could help plan and fund the killing of innocent men, women and children. In Rwanda these innocents were called "cockroaches" in Kenya, killers and their inciters who now walk freely called them "madoadoa". Jackson Kibor and other killers took these lessons to heart and engaged in ensuring that murders, rapes, burnings, lootings took place in a true genocide fashion only the likes of Kabuga could have helped plan.
Zakayo Cheruiyot, a former civil service chief and one of Mr Moi's closest advisers, was last month accused by America of harbouring Mr Kabuga.
"Our information indicates that this individual, Mr Cheruiyot, has used the government infrastructure to maintain the fugitive status of Mr Kabuga," said America's special ambassador for war crimes, Pierre-Richard Prosper.
"In the last few months information has really come in pretty concretely and focused on Cheruiyot and his apparatus."
Mr Cheruiyot, who was one of only two civil service bosses sacked by the new government of President Mwai Kibaki this month, has denied the allegation.
As Al Qaeda discovered, money talks in Kenya. The managed to bomb the US embassy with help from senior Moi men. They had immense official support in the attempted downing of an Israeli plane in Mombasa.
ReplyDeleteKabuga is a very rich business man. He will buy his freedom in Kenya for as long as he needs it. Kabuga doesn't buy protection from middlemen, he gets it from the very top. That is why Kibaki had to remain at State House even after he lost elections. Kabuga is not alone, there are hundreds of other high level criminals who weren't ready for a regime change.
Kenya is great.
taabu 2.15 said 'so predictably' I was so excited that kabuga had been 'arrested' that for some hours i forget which country were in. How do you make a mistake like that? Announce that you have arrested one of the topmost wanted men in the world. That level of incompetence is unheard of in the universe let alone the world. One day you will hear the Kenya police say 'we have arrested this tree and charged it with loitering with intent to commit a felony' Sheeesh. In any other country such a gaff would have claimed the heads of the Chief of police, attorney general and most certainly the ENTIRE security team that were privy to the arrest. Why does the Kenya administration ceaselessly embarass itself and by extension all kenyans. Can you imagine the US saying 'we have arrested Bin Laden' then later it turns out it was a Saudi businessman!
ReplyDeleteIt's all a lie people! No DNA was done on the suspect. Kabuga was trailed and arrested. Then before the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda officials could board the plane to come and verify his identity, they were told it was a case of mistaken identity. If anyone was to bring the DNA samples to be compared with those of the suspect, it was these ICTR officials. It is obvious that Kabuga had bribed his way out again. There is no way the Kenyan authorities would have captured the man and released him without verification from the ICTR officials who issued the international arrest warrant. They know Kabuga better than anyone else. Kabuga continues to enjoy his freedom in Kenya, associating with the high and mighty in this very coalition government, being driven in cars flying the flag and being sheltered in military barracks and having multiple travel documents... This government will never arrest the man. When pressure mounted from the ICTR that Kenya would be reported to the UN Security Council for non cooperation, they decided to freeze one of his assets - the house in Lavington. Whereas the government has in its possession a list of over two dozen properties including bank accounts in various banks that needed freezing, they only acted on one of them. Where is the will here to bring this man to justice? Now I hear the officers who had actually trailed and arrested Kabuga were yesterday transferred to remote areas of the country. Nothing new here - it is business as usual in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteThere is no lye about this!!! Anyone can lmake a mistake and this is exactly what happened... Yes, I am sure of this as I spend a horrible week-end, being the daughter of the man they'd arrested!!!! It is all well to judge, but do you think about the family of this respectable man arrested for nothing?
ReplyDeletepoor Kabuga!!!
ReplyDeleteAll of you guys are are talking about a man you do not know about. People made up a lot of stuff against this man... I am from Rwanda and I know him very well, he will never harm anybody. Those machettes people talk about; every household in Rwanda has a machette!You know what one day history will talk and all of you will be surprised.