By Frank Kamuntu
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has embarked on a major shakeup of the country’s military, with a round of dismissals announced Wednesday after the appointment of a new defence minister, army chief and head of internal security.
Army spokesman Ronald Rvivanga told local media that two long-serving generals, Major General Aloys Muganga and Brigadier General Francis Mutiganda, had been sacked for “indiscipline”.
“According to the law, this means that they have to hand over military equipment and leave the army without any benefits, because of what they did,” he said, without elaborating.
Another 14 officers were also dismissed along with more than 200 others, the Rwanda Defence Force said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Kagame had announced a reshuffle in several top security posts, without giving any reasons for the move.
He said Juvenal Marizamunda had been appointed defence minister, replacing Albert Murasira who had served in the post since 2018.
The 58-year-old Marizamunda was previously the head of Rwanda’s correctional services, and also a former deputy inspector general of police.
Kagame also appointed Mubarak Muganga as the new chief of defence staff, and Vincent Nyakarundi as army chief of staff, a statement from his office said.
Jean Bosco Ntibitura was named director general in charge of internal security in the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).
Other changes were also made to command roles in the Rwandan force which has been deployed in Mozambique since 2021 to counter a jihadist insurgency.
Of the sacked generals, Muganga had been appointed commander of mechanised forces in 2019, while Mutiganda had been in charge of external security at the NISS until October 2018 when he was called back to RDF headquarters in an unspecified role, local media reports said.
“He (Kagame) has also authorised the dismissal of 116 other ranks and approved the rescission of 112 other ranks,” the RDF statement said, adding that the moves were effective immediately.
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