Rwanda - Parliament needs to be briefed on diplomatic fallout 

The DA will request that the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, urgently brief Parliament on what amounts to a rupture of diplomatic ties between South Africa and Rwanda (see report). 

This follows Rwanda's expulsion of six South African diplomats on Friday, claiming South Africa harboured dissidents responsible for terrorist attacks in Rwanda. 

Earlier last week, the South African government expelled three Rwandan diplomats whom evidence linked to attacks on prominent Rwandan exiles living in South Africa.

I will be requesting the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Hargreaves Magama, summon the Minister to Parliament without delay.

Speculation over the Rwandan embassy's involvement in politically-motivated attacks on South African soil has been rife for some time.

South Africa has for years had a tolerant attitude towards President Paul Kagame's government and its meddling in the eastern part of the DRC, but relations apparently deteriorated rapidly after the New Year's Eve murder of former Rwandan spy chief Patrick Karegeya, an active opponent of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. 

Late on Monday, armed men broke into the Johannesburg home of former Rwandan army chief General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, another critic of President Kagame.

Nyamwasa, also survived an assassination attempt in Johannesburg in 2010. 

A murky game endangering civilian lives and South Africa's broader diplomatic relations on the African continent cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Parliament must be briefed and kept completely informed as to what is transpiring.

The South African public deserve transparency from the Minister on such an important matter, and nothing less. 

Statement issued by Justus de Goede MP, DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, March 9 2014

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