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KIGALI. – Rwandan President Paul Kagame has sacked several high-ranking military officials, a day after naming a new defence minister and army chief in a major reshuffle of the country’s security apparatus.

A statement by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) yesterday said two senior commanders and 14 officers had been dismissed.

“The dismissals and rescission of service contracts take immediate effect,” it added. No reason was given for the changes.

It came a day after Mr Kagame had announced the appointment of Juvenal Marizamunda as defence minister, replacing Albert Murasira who had served in the post since 2018.

The 58-year-old Marizamunda was previously the head of Rwanda’s correctional services and a former deputy inspector general of police.

Mr Kagame on Tuesday had also appointed Mubarak Muganga as the new chief of defence staff, and Vincent Nyakarundi as army chief of staff, a statement from his office said.

Jean Bosco Ntibitura had also been named director general in charge of internal security in the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). Changes were also made to command roles in the Rwandan force which has been deployed in Mozambique since 2021 to counter an armed campaign in the country’s north.

The RDF said Major General Aloys Muganga and Brigadier General Francis Mutiganda were among those dismissed.

In addition to the 14 other sacked officers, Kagame “also authorised the dismissal of 116 other ranks and approved the rescission 112 other ranks”, the RDF statement said. – Al Jazeera