By David Himbara
Led by Donkeys, a British activist group, investigated the UK government’s scheme of forcibly sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. In a covert sting operation, Johnston Busingye, the Rwandan high commissioner to the UK was filmed acknowledging the killing of refugees by the Rwandan security forces. To get Busingye to agree to attend the luncheon at which he was caught on film, he was told he was meeting an Asian businessman keen to invest in Rwanda.
Led By Donkeys set up a fake Asian company keen on investing in Rwanda. With help from Chelgate, the London-based PR company that whitewashes General Paul Kagame in the UK, the fake Asian company held a meeting with Johnston Busingye. There can be no doubt that Kagame faces embarrassment after Busingye’s revelations, including his admission that the Rwandan police killed refugees. Busingye’s utterances included the following:
- Rwanda police killed and wounded refugees protesting over cuts to food rations in 2018. During the London sting operation, Busigye’s response to the killings was: “Well, there is an incident where the Rwandan police shot 10 refugees. Yes, it might have happened, but so what? Here in the UK, someone is shot every day and it is on BBC and it is everywhere.”
- The UK government’s policy of deporting asylum seekers is “absolutely wrong” and “immoral” because it does not have a long-term idea. “They should have a long-term policy of making it a choice for people not to risk their lives coming to the UK.”
- It is “immoral” for the UK to “still regard itself as a solace country, the protection country, the compassion country. They enslaved millions of people for 400 years. They destroyed India, they destroyed China, they destroyed Africa.”
- The London-based public relations agency, Chelgate, advised on how to manage the international condemnation of the Rwanda government over Paul Rusesabagina’s detention.
Special thanks to the London-based campaign group, Led By Donkeys, and journalist Antony Barnett for conducting a flawless operation of exposing Rwanda’s human rights atrocities.
