The arrest of the head of Rwanda’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in the UK has rekindled interest in the hitherto redundant indictments by a Spanish Judge against 40 senior members of the Rwandan military.

Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake was arrested last Saturday at Heathrow Airport in London as he prepared to leave UK from an official mission, on what the UK government said were ‘valid’ European arrest warrants issued by Spain.

He is expected to be arraigned in court on Thursday. The arrest has sparked outrage in Rwanda with the country's foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo describing it as an attempt by western countries to ‘demean’ Africans.

“Western solidarity in demeaning Africans is unacceptable!! It is an outrage to arrest a Rwandan official based on pro-genocidaires lunacy,” Ms Mushikiwabo said, claiming that the NGO’s behind the indictments have been implicated by UN for supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Rwanda has over the years dismissed the indictments which were issued in 2008 by Spanish Judge Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu Merelles, describing them as ‘politically motivated’, but it appears the once redundant indictments have now come back to haunt Kigali.

Mr Merelles indicted the 40 officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including eight Spaniards. The Rwandan government vehemently denies the accusations.

Make or break case

Dr Phil Clark, a Rwandan Genocide scholar, says that the arrest of Lt Gen Karake could rattle relations between Rwanda and the UK which were hitherto ‘warm’ but recently strained by the BBC documentary that riled Kigali.

“This [arrest] will strain Rwanda-UK relations at a time when these are already difficult because of the spat over the BBC documentary, "Rwanda's Untold Story",” Dr Clark said, adding that “the UK government has been lobbying Rwanda to reinstate the BBC Kinyarwanda service banned in the wake of the documentary.”

The UK-based Australian scholar also questioned the timing of the arrest terming it as “highly unusual” given that Lt Gen Karake regularly travels to the UK.

“There are several possible explanations for the arrest. New evidence in Spain or the UK may have come to light which convinced the UK authorities to act,” he said.

“The Metropolitan Police may have been influenced by the sizeable Rwandan diaspora in the UK or they may want to show a dedication to cross-border European cooperation at time when this seems increasingly under threat,” Dr Clark further observes.

He, however, notes that what will happen next will be determined by whether the Spanish indictments remain relevant or if they will be end up getting quashed to clear the names of those on the list.

“If Karake is extradited to Spain, which is a strong possibility, this will mean a detailed legal examination of the evidence against him in the Spanish courts,” he said.

Several legal observers, including the US through leaked documents, have previously criticised aspects of the Spanish arrest warrants for their lack of strong evidence against Rwandan officials and the fact that 40 officials have been named in a fairly slapdash manner.

Dr Clark says given that there are serious doubts over the quality of the Spanish evidence, this may present Rwanda with the opportunity to challenge the indictments.

“It may be in Rwanda's interests for Karake to directly challenge the Spanish charges in court, as Rose Kabuye did in a similar case in France in 2008, and highlight the weaknesses of the Spanish case,” he added.

Who's on the list

Among the 40 accused by the Spanish Judge include Defence Minister Gen James Kabarebe, exiled dissident Kayumba Nyamwasa, head of the reserve force Lt Gen Fred Ibingira and Maj Gen Jack Nziza, the Inspector General of Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF).

Others include the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana and his deputy Dan Munyuza, Gen Charles Kayonga, who is currently Rwanda’s Ambassador to China and Lt Gen Caesar Kayizari, Rwanda’s Ambassador to Turkey.

Also on the list is Brig Gen Joseph Nzabamwita, the Defence and Military Spokesperson, Brig Gen Eric Murokole, Maj Gen Alex Kagame, Gen Sam Kaka Kanyemera, Col Charles Musitu, Brig Gen Charles Kalamba and Col Twahirwa Dodo.

Others named include senior officers who have since retired and joined the private sector, fallen out with the Kagame regime and those who have passed on such as Brig Gen Dan Gapfizi who died in June 2013 in a car accident.

'Due process must be followed'

International lobby Human Rights Watch (HRW) added its voice to the matter, saying that due process must followed and that Spanish authorities should ensure that Karake receives a fair trial.

The rights watchdog's Africa Director Daniel Bekele however says that despite progress in trying people responsible for genocide crimes, thousands continue to wait for senior RPF commanders to be tried for the crimes they committed.

“There has been significant progress in ensuring justice for the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. But thousands of victims and their relatives are still waiting for justice for crimes committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994,” he said.

HRW, which has had a rocky relationship with the Rwandan government in the past, contends that in the years following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, members of the RPF army killed thousands of civilians in Rwanda and DR Congo.

HRW further says it reviewed the 2008 Spanish indictment, which it believes has some merit, and calls for the investigations into the crimes cited therein to continue to be pursued.