
Vincent Karega, who was expelled by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a Rwandan ambassador, has been rejected as well in Belgium.
Belgium have rejected Karega’s letters of credentials as a Rwandan ambassador to Belgium after he was declared person no grata in DRC where he was an ambassador a few months ago.
Karega had been entrusted in the position in March 2023 and be a chief of Rwandan diplomats across Europe, replacing Dieudonne Sebashongore, who had held this position since 2020.
On March 24, 2023, the Rwandan president Paul Kagame appointed Karega through the announcement delivered by the Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente.
No additional information delivered by the Belgium foreign ministry over the Karega’s rejection.
The decision sparked concerns among people thinking that Belgium would have made the decision after the civil societies sent a letter to the Belgian foreign minister portraying their concerns over the Karega’s nomination basing on his notorious past where it’s reported that he would have caused many Rwandan political refugees to be jailed.
Vincent Karega, 60, was dismissed as a Rwandan ambassador to DRC in November 2022 after the M23 rebels alleged to be backed by the Rwandan government, captured the cities of Rutshuru and Kiwanja.
In background, Karega was a Rwandan high commissioner to South Africa where according to human rights advocates, he would have been in complicity of the assassination of Colonel Patrick Karegeya, a former military in RPF before and after the Genocide in 1994.
Patrick Karegeya was killed in a hotel in Johannesburg in January 2013.
Belgium, a long standing partner of DRC, would have rejected the nomination of Karega fearing to break down the good relationship between DRC and Belgium.
According to analysts, if Belgium fell into such snare, then Kigali would give a significant lesson to DRC.
According to the 2019 report of the International Organization on Migration, Belgium hosts over 40,000 across Europe.
The rejection of Vincent Karega’s accreditation can be attributed to a combination of factors according to experts: mounting pressure from Rwandan and Congolese communities in Belgium.
Similarly various organizations advocating for human rights and democracy in Belgium expressed deep concerns over Karega’s controversial past as an ambassador to South Africa and the DRC.