20100531
Reuters

An exiled Rwandan general accused President Paul Kagame on Sunday of abusing an anti-graft drive to frame his opponents in the central African country which holds presidential elections in August.

Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa fled to South Africa earlier this year after falling out with Kagame in what regional analysts see as a growing rift between the president and top aides in the party and army.

"If accountability is going to be used as a political weapon to frame perceived opponents, then it ceases to be meaningful or useful," Nyamwasa said in a statement printed in the Ugandan newspaper the Monitor on Sunday.

"Accountability is paramount but what (I) do not agree with is that an unaccountable person should victimise his perceived opponents in the name of accountability," Nyamwasa said.

Neither the president's office nor the government spokeswoman were immediately available for comment.

The country's ombudsman, Tito Rutaremara, denied the allegations and told Reuters the war on graft, which has earned Rwanda plaudits from donors and watchdogs, is independent of political interference and integral to the nation's development.

Analysts say the flight of Nyamwasa, who fought alongside Kagame to end the 1994 genocide, the arrest of two other senior officers and a military reshuffle are signs of a growing rift a between the president and top aides.

"(Our) disagreements (are) centred on governance, tolerance, insensitivity, intrigue and betrayal of our colleagues," Nyamwasa said.