Rwandan Army in major shakeup : Gatsinzi sacked !

It is official; the Rwanda’s commander-in-chief Paul Kagame has made a major army reshuffle in the army.   Reliable sources have quoted a communiqué from the president’s office indicating that General James Kabareebe who has been Chief of Defense Staff has been promoted to the Minister of Defense.     Kabareebe replaces his fellow General Marcel Gatsinzi who has been the minister of Defense since 2002 after President Paul Kagame named him after Brig Gen Emmanuel HABYARIMANA who had succeeded him.   Kabarebe becomes the 9th defense minister of the republic of Rwanda since the countries independence in 1962.   General Gatsinzi is not yet appointed for any post despite his military experience which begun in 1968 at Kigali Military Academy (Ecole d’Officiers, that later changed to Ecole Supérieure Militaire) where he was commissioned to the rank of Second Lieutenant upon completion 1970.   Other changes include the promotion of Lt Gen Charles Kayonga the former Army Chief of Staff to Chief of Defence Staff a position that was initially held by Gen. Kabareebe. Lt Gen. Kayonga has been replaced by Maj. Gen. Caesar Kayizari now Army Chief of Staff of land forces. Another general who has been in charge of Air Force Chief of Staff Lt Gen Charles Muhire has been made the commander of Reserve Forces while replaced by Maj. Joseph Damari as the  Acting Air Force Chief of Staff.  Maj Gen. Kayizari who has been initially the commander of J5 department has been replaced by Brigadier General Jack Musemakweri.     Lt Col Dan Munyuza has been promoted to Colonel and commander of J2 while Maj. Gatete Karuranga has been promoted to Lt. Col. and appointed the Director General External Intelligence. General James KABAREBE was the first Joint Commander of the Rwanda Defence Force since the Rwandan Armed Forces adopted a joint structure in 2002. The former Chief of Defence Staff has been responsible for command, control and management of the Rwanda Defence Force. He has also been the Principal Military Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief and the president of Government of Rwanda.   General KABAREBE was born in 1959 who attended Makerere University and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Political Science. According to Ministry of Defence official website, Gen. Kabareebe was commissioned in 1989 and since then, he has held various military appointments with the following as his main career highlights. • During the war of liberation; he served as the Aide - de - Camp to the Chairman of the High Command (CHC) and later as his Military Assistant; • From 1994 to 1997, he was the Commander of Republican Guard Brigade; Chief of Plans, Operations and Training of the RPA; the forward Operations Commander during the 1996/97 campaign in the former Zaire (Now the Democratic Republic of Congo); • From May 1997 to August 1998, he was appointed by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the "Chef d’Etat Major Général"; • From 1998 to 2001, he served in different capacities i.e. as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA); • From 2001 to 2002, he was appointed the Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Patriotic Army and in July 2002 was appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff, the appointment he still holds today. He is a recipient of the National Liberation Medal, Campaign against Genocide Medal, Foreign Campaign Medal, Presidential Inauguration Medal, Command Service Ribbon, Combat Action Ribbon, and the Community Service Ribbon.  He  is married to Esperance MUDENGE with three children.   The outgoing minister General Marcel GATSINZI has been the eighth Minister for Defence since Rwanda became independent responsible for Defence Policy, the conduct of Defence and implementation of Defence programmes. Gatsinzi was born in Rugenge, Nyarugenge District of Kigali City January 1948 and His military career began August 1968 at Kigali Military Academy (Ecole d’Officiers, that later changed to Ecole Supérieure Militaire) where he was commissioned March 1970 to the rank of Second Lieutenant. He pursued his military career courses in Belgium at Heverlee (Louvain) in the School of Logistics in 1971 and in Brussels at the Royal Defense Institute (formerly War College) in 1974 till 1976 while at the rank of Captain. In 2000 he went for a three months course to the USA at the Institute of World Politics. He was promoted to the rank of Major in 1982, Colonel in 1990, Brigadier General 1998, Major General in September 2000 and General on  July 2004. Gatsinzi is also earned the Foreign Campaign Medal, Presidential Inauguration Medal, Command Service Ribbon and the Community Service Ribbon. His various responsibilities held include Acting Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army in 1994, Deputy Chief of Staff of Rwanda Patriotic Army from 1995 to 1997, Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie from 1997 to 2000 and Secretary General of the National Security Service from 2000 to 2002. Gatsinzi is a former member of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), which was the national army prior to the conquest of Rwanda by the RPF following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. During the genocide, from April 7 to April 17 1994 he served as Chief of Staff of FAR.