Thursday, July 29, 2010

Fifth Man Charged in Shooting of Former Rwandan General in South Africa

Fifth man charged in S.Africa in Rwandan general's shooting

(AFP) – JOHANNESBURG — A fifth person has been charged in a South African court for attempting to murder an exiled army general from Rwanda, the prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Pascal Kanyanbekwe was charged with attempted murder, along with Juma Huseni, Ahmed Ali, George Francis and Shafiri Bakari, who had been earlier charged in the case that has caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The five were accused in the June 19 shooting of exiled General Faustin Nyamwasa outside his Johannesburg home, four months after he came to South Africa to seek asylum.

"Investigations are still being conducted," National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga told AFP. He added that authorities are also checking "whether they are legally in the country or not."

South African officials have yet to reveal the nationalities of the suspects.

The five return to court on August 12.

Nyamwasa has been in exile in South Africa since February after being accused of trying to destabilize Rwanda, where he has been linked to three grenade attacks in Kigali.

South Africa is still considering a Rwandan extradition request for Nyamwasa.

Pretoria has accused "foreign agents" in the shooting, while carefully avoiding any accusation against Rwanda, which has denied any links to the shooting.

Rwanda has accused Nyamwasa and former army colonel Patrick Karegeya of masterminding grenade attacks earlier this year in the run-up to presidential elections in August.

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