Spain Revives War Crimes Case Against Kagame’s Ex-General

A Spanish court has reissued international arrest warrants for Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former senior Rwandan military official and close ally of President Paul Kagame, over his alleged role in orchestrating war crimes and political assassinations during the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)'s rise to power.

Charges and Background

The case, launched in 2008 under Spain's universal jurisdiction laws, targets 40 RPF officials for alleged genocide, crimes against humanity, and terrorism committed in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1994 and 1997.

Nyamwasa stands accused of:

• Planning the murders of three Spanish aid workers, a Canadian priest, and several UN observers and human rights staff.

• Overseeing mass killings of Rwandan and Congolese civilians during counterinsurgency operations.

Spanish prosecutors argue that Nyamwasa used his intelligence role to coordinate assassinations of foreign nationals who had witnessed RPF atrocities, particularly against Hutu civilians.

A Fugitive After Gaining Witness Access

After initially cooperating with the investigation and accessing confidential testimony from protected witnesses, Nyamwasa disappeared. Spanish courts now consider him missing and have issued new European and Interpol arrest warrants.

"Nyamwasa is not being prosecuted for his politics; he is being pursued for his role in atrocities," said Victor Hortal Fernandez, one of the lead Spanish lawyers on the case.