Doctor linked to Kabuga dies in Nairobi

A former military doctor who NTV revealed on Sunday treated Rwandese genocide fugitive Felicien Kabuga is dead.

Colonel (Ret) Dr J.K. Rakwach a medical practitioner who works in Nakuru and served in the armed forces as a military doctor and retired in 2002, was linked to Rwandese genocide fugitive who he is said to have treated in the military facilities.

On Tuesday evening, Dr Rakwach’s son, Victor, confirmed that his father died at a Nairobi hospital.

“I can confirm that my father is dead, but I am not going to give any details,” he told the Daily Nation in a telephone interview at around 9.30pm

The doctor on duty at MP Shah Hospital, Dr John Magomere, also confirmed that Dr Rakwach died on Tuesday evening.

“He was taken to the ICU on Friday and the family was notified,” he said. He declined to give any further details.

A letter said to be from the Kenya Armed Forces 3rd Battalion in Nakuru asked Dr Rakwach to treat a man by the name of Sadiki Nzakobi, believed to be Mr Kabuga's alias. (READ: Kenya Army men guarded killer Kabuga)

The letter bears the name of an SK Kamau, and was signed on behalf of the permanent secretary in the department of Defence. We could not ascertain whether indeed such an individual ever  worked at the Ministry of Defence.

At the time, the Defence department was administered by the Permanent Secretary for Internal Security, Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot, who is now the MP for Kuresoi. Mr Cheruiyot denies that such an arrangement for Mr Kabuga ever existed.

When NTV traced Colonel (Ret) Dr Rwakwach at his Nakuru office recently, he also denied knowing anyone by the name Sadiki Nzakobi.

The letter head of the Kenya Armed Forces 3rd Battalion in Nakuru claims that Sadiki was the commanding officer of the DCOY or Delta Company, for seven years, resigning on September 6, 1998.

Another letter, also bearing the same letter head follows up on the requests made in the previous letter from the permanent secretaries' office. The letter gave Sadiki the authority to be treated in any military hospital.

Another letter, written on the February 14, 2001 (Reference number OP/DOD/0652/2001) and also marked as confidential states: “Please assist the above mentioned person with military intelligence for his personal security. He is a person staying in this country under diplomatic immunity.”

This letter bears the name of James Theuri, again on behalf of the Defence PS. Again, we could not establish whether this individual worked for the Ministry and in what capacity.

The NTV expose televised on Sunday reveals that Mr Kabuga could still be in Kenya and that two Kenyans were murdered after they were suspected of revealing information on his whereabouts.

The investigative report unearthed details of the likely whereabouts of Mr Kabuga, who the international community has accused the Kenyan government of hiding.

The investigations by NTV point to the possible involvement of the government in facilitating Kabuga's stay in Kenya despite consistent denial by officials.

NTV investigations over the past five months however point to Mr Kabuga still being in the country under official protection of the security organs, including the military and the National Security Intelligence Service.

Mr Kabuga is the man alleged to be the financier and main backer of the militia groups that committed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. He is now one of the world’s most-wanted men and there is a US $5 million (Sh400 million) bounty on the head.

NTV spoke to a man who claims to work for the NSIS and acted as Mr Kabuga’s bodyguard for 10 years.

The agent claimed that some of those who were involved in the secret mission of protecting Mr Kabuga were eliminated through killings and disappearances. The orders for these actions, he said, were made by the genocide suspect.

The story has already been told of the murder nine years ago of freelance journalist William Munuhe just before, it is believed, he betrayed information on Mr Kabuga’s whereabouts to agents of the American FBI.

Now new evidence unearthed by the NTV indicates that a missing security agent who was in Mr Kabuga’s security detail may also have been murdered.

Mr Michael Sarunei, according to a close relative, disappeared in 2009 at a time when he was serving in the 'personal protection’ squad for the Rwandese fugitive.

At the time he had been working in the Kenya Army as an infrantryman since his enlistment in 1996. His relative, on assurance that his name would not be revealed, gave NTV the following account:

“Four years ago Michael began earning a lot of money. I was surprised by this and asked him whether soldiers were getting paid better these days.

“He told me that in truth, he was working for a very rich man from Rwanda, who the government had wanted to keep in hiding, and that’s why he was getting paid a lot.

“We were doing well at that time; he would support his entire family, and had even bought a farm. Michael told me that the rich man who he and others were protecting was called Kabuga.”.

However, says the relative, Mr Sarunei later defied instructions and started secretly taking photographs of his charge.

On the night of February 13, 2009, the relative received a a phone call from a close friend and colleague of Mr Sarunei. The message was that he had been killed.

He rushed to meet the informant, who gave him  photographs that Mr Sarunei had taken of the man he was supposed to be protecting, none other than Kabuga.

Mr Sarueni had apparently passed on the pictures after suspecting that his life may be in danger.

The informant claimed that he had been taken away in a white government Land Rover, never to be seen again.