No bail for men accused of killing Rwandan general

Published in: Legalbrief Today


Date: Thu 23 September 2010

Category: In Court

Issue No: 2652

Pascal Kanyandekwe, fingered as the brains behind the assassination attempt against a former Rwandan general living in SA, has been denied bail by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.
A report in The Star says Kanyandekwe and his co-accused face charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the June shooting of Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa. The report says in a case that has already seen SA recall its ambassador to Rwanda, evidence placed before the court seems to indicate the men were acting on the instructions of the Rwandan Government. But Kanyandekwe also faces a further charge of conspiracy for allegedly plotting to kill Nyamwasa while he was recovering in hospital. It was for this charge that he and two co-accused were denied bail. After the first failed assassination attempt, Kanyandekwe is alleged to have regrouped with a new set of conspirators. Their supposed plan was to pose as hospital visitors. Once in Nyamwasa's room, they were to strangle him before ditching their suits and escaping in casual wear. But the men were arrested on the way to the hospital after a police tip-off. Magistrate Lukas van der Schyff also denied bail to co-accused Shafiri Bakari and Ahmed Ali. The report notes two other alleged conspirators - Juma Husein and George Francis - abandoned their bail applications earlier in the trial.