Joseph Bideri, the embattled Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of Rwandan Intelligence Services’ news media group, New Times, has finally been fired, AfroAmerica Network correspondents in Kigali report.
The New Times is an umbrella of news media controlled by Rwandan Intelligence services. It includes the New Times English daily newspaper, the Sunday Times English weekly newspaper, Izuba Rirashe Rwanda newspaper, The New Times English Online, and Izuba Rirashe Rwanda Online. According to the US Embassy in Rwandasee our article US Embassy in Rwanda: New Times, Government Mouthpiece Run by Rwandan President’s Office., they all serve as a mouthpiece of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front and the Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame.
Joseph Bideri has been a front man, while the Rwandan Intelligence Chief, Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro is the “eminence grise”, the behind the scenes boss. The firing of Joseph Bideri follows the suspension and house arrest of Colonel Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro, on January 19, 2012 (see our article Rift within Rwandan Army or Comedy? General Paul Kagame Suspends Top Military Aids.
Joseph Bideri has been fighting a lost battle against the government intelligence apparatus since mid 2010. In October 2010, he fled to Canada, where he is a citizen, following allegations of mismanagement and embezzlement (see AfroAmerica Network article: CEO of Rwandan Intelligence Media, New Times, Joseph Bideri Flees to Canada of Monday, October 4, 2010″. He was allegedly bribed into coming back and returned to Rwandan after close to a month. He soon realized the trap and tried to flee again. According to sources close to his family, the security net around him was so tight he has been under a virtual house arrest for the last year.
Then in a dramatic turn, he was arrested on November 14, 2011, accused of undermining the legal authorities. He was arrested on Monday 14 2011 in the morning, interrogated for most of the day by the Rwandan intelligence services within notorious Criminal Investigations Department. He was then led to a local jail over the night and was real eased the next morning.
Whether the firing of Joseph Bideri is related to the arrest of Colonel Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro remains a question. For now, Joseph Bideri has been temporary replaced by Collin Haba, the Acting Managing Director of New Times.
©2012 AfroAmerica Network. All rights reserved.
Comments on this entry are closed.