By: Jennifer Fierberg
Holding too much information and working closely with the government in Rwanda can be a lethal combination. This was evidenced again on Monday when the body of Theogene Turatsinze was found after having been missing since Friday night in Mozambique. Sources held report that he had been abducted by unknown assailants and was never seen alive again. The cause of his death has been unofficially declared as drowning but the official cause of death is still being investigated. His hands were found bound behind his back and he was submerged in water when his body was discovered.
Theogene Turatsinze was the Managing Director of the Rwanda Development Bank from 2005-2007.
In 2007 Turatsinze was told by the Minister of Finance in Rwanda to declare the bank as bankrupt because the bank had no money. He refused to declare the bankruptcy because the money had been borrowed by Rwandan Government officials and invested in personal businesses and he believed this money should and could be paid back. He was then forced to resign and his assistant, Jack Kayonga took over the bank. Jack Kayonga did immediately what the Minister of finance asked by declaring the bank as bankrupt and cancelling all of the debt owed by the members of the RPF.
In 2007 Turatsinze moved to Mozambique where he worked as a lecturer and a business man. A few days ago he was contacted by the World Bank and the IMF because these two organizations were seeking his help to answer their questions as to where the money in the bank had gone when the bank declared itself as banrupt. These two organizations are the main lenders to the RDB. They requested the RDB to conduct an audit but had requested to speak with Turatsinze first.
These investigations came after the World Bank discovered that the Government of Rwanda (RPF) is worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Reliable Sources from the Rwandan intelligence have reported that his killing was planned and carried out by Rwandan service men due to his knowledge of where the money had gone and the risk of him giving information to the IMF and the World Bank.
The financial situation in Rwanda today is very fragile due to the amount of aid being cut to this small country based on reports of Rwanda’s involvement in continuing to destabilize Eastern Congo by the report published in June 2012 by the UN Group of Experts. Having another stain on the country after this very damaging report would most likely prove to be disastrous as Rwanda struggles to hang onto what little aid it is still receiving from the International community.
Sadly, Turatsinze is the latest innocent victim of this dangerous regime due to knowing too much about what really goes on inside the Rwandan Government.