Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has appointed ACP Lynder Nkuranga as the new Director General of the country’s External Intelligence at the National Intelligence Security and Service (NISS).
The announcement made on Thursday morning after Cabinet approval on Wednesday saw Nkuranga take up one of the most strategic and important assignments in the country.
Nkuranga replaces seasoned spy Col Anclet Kalibata who is said to have taken over the overall head of NISS from Maj Gen Joseph Nzabamwita who is reportedly under house arrest with the likes former Chief Defense Staff Gen Patrick Nyanvumba, former IGP Brig Gasana Emmanuel, Former head of Military intelligence Col Andrew Nyavumba among others.
ACP Nkurunga’s appointment came as a shock to many as nobody expected a police woman to be handed one of the most sensitive positions in the country.
Rwanda, given its small size, lacks depth that is needed if it were to have a war on its soil and as such relays on external intelligence to identify its perceived enemies for elimination before they can bring the war to the country.
This makes external intelligence a pivotal pillar for the survival of the Kigali establishment.
According to sources in the know ACP Nkuranga was just in police for formality but her real job has always been Intelligence and her assignment being gathering intelligence from foreign dignitaries and high profile Rwandans, locally and internationally using girls.
The source says Nkuranga who is married to one of the Nyanvumba brothers, John currently jailed at Nyarugenge prison over unclear circumstances is the head of “Girls brigade” a group of selected Rwanda young women the system uses to collect intelligence.
“She has been running intelligence operations for a long time with a cover of her police assignments which she never does. Don’t think she is a novice in intelligence gathering,” the source noted.
