KIGALI, Rwanda
Renowned Rwandan industrialist and businessman, Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, has passed on at the age of 82.
His death has been confirmed
by Rwandan media outlets including the State-owned The New Times Rwandan
The circumstances surrounding
his death remained unclear by Wednesday morning.
Rujugiro, who has been
residing in South Africa, is commonly known for his entrepreneurial businesses
in the tobacco industry, where he established and headed Africa's largest
tobacco company, Pan African Tobacco Group.
Rujugiro's name has been
marred in controversy, including allegations of involvement in terrorism
financing against the government of Rwanda.
Amidst the strained relations
between Uganda and Rwanda, speculation arose regarding Uganda's refusal to
extradite Rujugiro to Rwanda.
Rujugiro was purported to have
ties to groups opposing the Kigali government. Uganda's reluctance to comply
with extradition requests is said to have been a contributing factor to the
three-year diplomatic rift between the neighbouring countries from February
2019 to January 2022.
The rift was later dealt with
after the presidential advisor on special operations now turned Chief of
defense forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba intervened and made trips to Rwanda to
have the diplomatic tensions calmed down between the two countries.
In 2021, a report focusing on
East Africa's efforts to combat extremism, crime, corruption, and illicit trade
implicated Tribert Ayabatwa Rujugiro in illicit trade and the financing of
terrorism.
Released by the Counter
Extremism Project, titled "An Unholy Alliance: Connections between
Extremism and Illicit Trade in East Africa", the report highlighted the
growing threat to regional stability posed by illicit markets and trade driven
by corruption.
The Counter Extremism Project
(CEP) is an international policy organization led by a distinguished group of
former world leaders and diplomats based in Germany, New York, and London.
Specifically, the report
pointed to the illicit tobacco trade in the East Africa region as a means of
funding extremist groups, with Rujugiro, an exiled Rwandan businessman, being
central to these activities.
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