Rwandan President Paul Kagame has appointed new military and intelligence chiefs in a major reshuffle.
The president appointed Juvénal Marizamunda as the new defense minister, succeeding Maj Gen Albert Murasira, who had held the position since 2018.
Lt Gen Mubarakh Muganga, the new army chief, will proceed Gen Jean Bosco Kazura, who has led the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) since November 2019.
A reshuffle in which both the defense minister and the army chief are fired is surprising in Rwanda.
There have been no explanations for the reshuffle. Mr Kagame would every once in a while publicly hint at the reason for previous changes to the military’s upper echelons.
Mr Kagame also appointed a new army chief of staff (land forces) and the head of military intelligence in the Monday night reshuffle.
In another move, he replaced the top commanders of Rwandan troops stationed in Mozambique to assist in the fight against militant Islamists.
