Days after General Nkunda's arrest, doubts and disbelief reign in Rwanda

Twelve days after the arrest and subsequent disappearance of popular Congolese rebel Laurent Nkunda at the hands of Rwandan authorities, with little said about him, people are beginning to wonder if he’s actually in custody.

The Rwandan army, who reportedly apprehended him, has not helped its own cause by shutting down all major conduits of information for the media.

Other than offering snippets of information, not a single photograph, audio or video recording, or any other literature of proof of Nkunda’s arrest has been provided.

As the days drag on, and international media interest in the case begins to wane, scepticism in Kigali residents only grows.

To most, the uninterrupted silence is evidence of a long-suspected intimate relationship between Mr. Nkunda and the Kagame administration.

“Can they give him to the Congo? No. If they give him to the Congo they will kill him,” says Charles Kabonero, editor of the best-selling newspaper in Rwanda.

According to Major Rutaremara, Nkunda has been given no official legal status in relation to his arrest. He is “not being punished,” according to the spokesperson, although Nkunda reportedly both resisted arrest and crossed over an international border illegally and armed.

But Rataremara has also said “arrest does not mean imprisonment,” a line he has repeated. He also says Nkunda is “staying some place decent,” and though his movements are limited, he isn’t necessarily being guarded closely. Amenities such as television have also been alluded to.

But Rwanda maintains that, not only did they never work or back Nkunda during his leadership of the CNDP, but that the Tutsi General was in fact a “barrier to peace.”

The last official word has Nkunda in Gisenyi, just across from the Congolese city of Goma he threatened last October, but multiple journalists in Rwanda are beginning to suspect he has not been arrested at all, and remains in the Congo. Others believe he is living in a home he is suspected to own in Gisenyi, or another property of his in Kigali itself near the Kanombe military barracks.

Sources close to Nkunda says that he is still in possession of a cellular phone and that he has seen members of his family, including his son, Allan.

This has not been independently verified.

Extradite Nkunda

Congo has now twice called on Rwanda to extradite Nkunda, a Congolese citizen, back to Congolese soil where he can await justice for crimes committed against Congolese.

But Permanent Secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rugira Amandin denies receiving an official request.

The Ministry of Justice and Office of the President have kept leaps well sealed, offering virtually zero information about Nkunda, who Rwanda used to work tirelessly to disassociate itself from.