Rwanda’s Kagame Breaks Silence On Reports Of Spying Foreign Politicians, Uganda Inclusive Rwanda president Paul Kagame has broken silence on reports accused of spying on several foreign politicians including Uganda using Pegasus software from Israeli.
A report by Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories alleges that Kagame obtained loads of data on thousands of foreign officials by hacking their mobile phones using Pegasus software.
In Uganda, those spied on included former Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen David Muhoozi (now junior internal affairs minister), former foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa, and ex-prime minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda.
However, Kagame told The Financial Times basaed in Kigali spies on other nations but can’t afford expensive pegasus technology.
“We run intelligence. We do it and we are going to continue doing it. That’s how countries operate and I don’t think Rwanda would be an exception,” said Kagame.
“We know plenty about our enemies and those who support them. We use human intelligence and we are very good at that.”
OCCRP, a global investigations non-profit organization, reported on Monday that Rwanda targeted Uganda ex-Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa, both dropped last month, and director general of External Security Organisation (ESO) Joseph Ocwet.
“The list of selected numbers [for tapping] also shows that the Rwandan President Paul Kagame government may have used the Pegasus to target high-ranking political and military figures in
neighbouring countries,” OCCRP reported, citing Dr Rugunda and Burundian Prime Minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni.
Rwanda has had frosty relations with both countries, with the Uganda diplomatic fall-out culminating in the 2019 closer of the busiest Katuna/Gatuna border point to-date.
The President, who is also the commander-in-chief, dropped Gen Muhoozi and instead assigned him as State Minister for Internal Affairs, while both PM Rugunda and Mr Kutesa were fired.
The hacking, according to OCCRP, corresponded with Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s visit to Uganda, likely the February 21, 2020 trip for the fourth Quadripartite Heads of State Summit at Katuna border for the normalization of relations between Uganda-Rwanda relations.