By David Himbara
What was General Paul Kagame thinking when he named Johnston Busingye Rwandan high commissioner to the UK? This remains a mystery.
Busingye was Kagame’s frontman in kidnapping and imprisonment of Paul Rusesabagina and publicly admitted that the Rwanda government paid for the aircraft that transported Rusesabagina from Dubai to Rwanda.
Confessed kidnappers are hardly ideal candidates for ambassadorships. Sure enough, the UK government is under pressure to block Busingye’s appointment as Rwanda’s top diplomat in London.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Magnitsky Sanctions cited Busingye as one of leading human rights abusers around the world.
Chris Bryant, Chair of the APPG on Magnitsky Sanctions, remarked: Busingye “should be on our list of sanctioned individuals, not people being escorted to Buckingham Palace to have their credentials agreed by Her Majesty.”
The former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith queried why Kagame sent an ‘abusive individual’ to represent his nation. Kagame may have scored an own goal.
Stay tuned.
