Rwanda: President Kagame Sacks Military Top Brass

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has sacked more than 200 soldiers, including senior military officers. Maj Gen Aloys Muganga, commander of the army’s mechanised division, and Brig Gen Francis Mutiganda are among 16 officers who have been dismissed. Another 228 soldiers of other ranks have also been kicked out.

The statement, released by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in the early hours on Wednesday, gave no reason for the sackings. The move comes a day after Mr Kagame reshuffled top military officers, firing a defence minister and army chief at the same time and announcing their replacements - uncommon in Rwanda. Gen Muganga is a graduate of US War College and served as commander of reserve forces from 2018 to 2019.

Gen Mutiganda had been head of external security in the National Intelligence and Security Services (Niss) until 2018 when Mr Kagame redeployed him to RDF headquarters. The reshuffle and sacking come at a time of heightened tension between Rwanda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, each side accusing the other of working with rebels to topple one another’s governments.