Mande Ill In Kigali Hospital

Sep 19, 2001

Col. Samson Mande (above) who recently declared war on the Government has been admitted to a hospital in Kigali, Rwanda suffering from serious ailment.

By Grace Matsiko Col. Samson Mande (above) who recently declared war on the Government has been admitted to a hospital in Kigali, Rwanda suffering from serious ailment. Mande, former Uganda military attaché to Tanzania, was moved from his residence in Kacyiru, a posh Kigali suburb, to King Faisal Hospital in the city centre last Saturday, sources in Kigali and Kampala said. They said Mande complained of severe chest and abdominal pain. Mande together with another renegade Lt. Col. Anthony Kyakabale have been linked by security to former presidential candidate, Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye. Kyakabale was wanted for robbery before he fled to Kigali, security sources said. Mande and Kyakabale have reportedly formed a rebel group that has been trying to recruit youth in western Uganda. Mande and Kyakabale hail from Rukungiri and Kabale districts respectively. Rwanda government spokesperson Joseph Bidere and President Paul Kagame’s press secretary Nicholas Shaliita were unavailable for comment yesterday. But the secretary general of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), Dr. Charles Murigande said he was not aware Mande and Kyakabale are in Kigali. “I have never seen those people in Kigali. I don’t know them. Even if I met Mande in the hospital I would pass him because I don’t know how he looks like,” Murigande added. President Kagame has admitted Mande and Kyakabale are in Kigali but warned them against launching war on Uganda from his country. “He (Mande) has been receiving treatment from clinics in Kigali until Saturday when his condition worsened,” a source said. It was not clear if Mande was still in the hospital or had been discharged. Mande has been in and out of hospital for what he called injuries he suffered in military cells. Ends

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});