Born in 1943, Misago served as the bishop of Gikongoro Catholic Diocese from March 30, 1992 when it was established. Gikongoro Catholic Diocese is well known for being home to the ‘Holy City’ of Kibeho, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary were reported throughout the 1980’s, however , Kibeho is also internationally known for the barbaric massacre carried out on the innocent civilians by the RPF Regime under the command of the notorious RPF Col. At the time, now General Fred Ibingira
How could it have been possible that many people, mostly children and women could be massacred by RPF while living in an internally designated camp for displaced persons in a small country like Rwanda with an overwhelming presence of international agencies?
It is tragic that this barbaric massacre happened in post-genocide Rwanda, not done by Intarahamwe but by the RPF soldiers who had claimed to have stopped genocide but finding themselves engaging in almost the same ugly act they have come to stop. The massacre was under the disguise of closing the Kibeho camp which RPF accused of protecting the former Habyarimana’s soldiers and Interahamwe Militia, however, the camp was full of children and women as well.
Whereas RPF managed to deceive the world, what is disturbing though, is the fact that, all these war crimes by RPF were committed under the watch of more than a dozen of UN Agencies, 120 non-governmental organizations and 5,500 UN Peace Keepers (UNAMIR). Stephanie- Ahlbrant in his book the Protection Gap in the international protection of internally displaced persons: The case of Rwanda, he argues that on the fateful day of the massacre of the innocent people at Kibeho Camp, the framework of closing Kibeho camp in humane way failed between the RPF government and the international agencies. But little did, Mr Stephanie know that RPF was not only determined to close the camps in human way, but also to humiliate what they perceived to be interahamwe and soldiers of the former government.
Whether this camp was composed of former soldiers or interahamwe militias as RPF would like us and many people to believe, they had surrendered and were under the protection of international community, any interference let alone the massacre of the innocent people or surrendered soldiers constitute a war crime under international law.
Was Bishop Misago aware of all these dirty games in Kibeho and may be wanted to tell the truth? Why was he told that even if he is found innocent he should go and live in another country by Pasteur Bizimungu the former President? Did the former President know that this man of God was innocent and he wanted the Bishop to go for another country to save his skin?
I would suggest that, President Pasteur was giving a peaceful signal to the Bishop that in my opinion went wrong, President Pasteur Bizimungu knew very well the way RPF operates, he had witnessed and chaired a Cabinet meeting that directed the divorce of the former Arusha designate Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu with RPF, the fall out of the former Minister Seth Sendashonga, Col. Theoneneste Lizinde, the incarceration of Col. Biseruka, just to mention a few. Therefore to me, the former President knew what was going to happen to this Man of God, in fact after that announcement by President Pasteur, it took another 7 days to arrest Bishop Misago. I think the President had given the Bishop the grace time for him to find the way out of this country.
As any innocent person would do, but most importantly the man of God, who knew he was innocent, he did not succumb to these threats or warnings. Bishop Misago was arrested on 14 April 1999 and charged with helping orchestrate the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left more than 800 000 Tutsi and sympathetic Hutus dead.
Bishop Misago was very knowledgeable on many issues and He did not only study and write on the Kibeho apparitions he had also gathered enough information on the Kibebo massacre. Indeed, it is believed that RPF was aware of this, and they had to fabricated and frame him as a genocide perpetrator so that they can silence him. Father Yohani Ndagijimana, the head of Caritas in Gikongoro diocese said that Misago, had planned a meeting with priests before his death, but didn’t appear. Ndagijimana tried to call his phone in vain, and later endeavored to go to the bishop’s office, only to find Misago lying dead in the office.
What did the post-mortem reveal? With the history of physical and political extermination of RPF political opponents or those perceived to be, the mysterious death of former comrades of President Paul Kagame, it is hard to believe that Bishop Misago with all the vast information on the Kibeho massacre in which thousands and hundreds of innocent people died including women and children would have left Bishop Misago safe under the RPF regime led by President Paul Kagame.
Jacqueline Umurungi
Brussels.