Rwanda general shot in SA

Ex-Rwanda army chief Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on Saturday afternoon, his wife said.

Rosette Nyamwasa  says her husband was shot in his stomach at the gate of the complex they live in at the upmarket Melrose Arch in Johannesburg around midday. He was taken to the Morningside Clinic, where he was in a stable condition on Saturday evening.

"We were coming from the Blue Bird Shopping Centre," Nyamwasa said. "When we got to the gate, a black man with a pistol came to the driver's window ... The window was half open ... And he fired a shot.

"The driver obstructed the assassin... My husband leaned forward. He was shot in the stomach."

The shooter then walked around the car to the passenger seat. He  apparently attempted to fire another shot, but his gun jammed. Mr Nyamwasa opened the door and he and the shooter were involved in a scuffle.

Nyamwasa said the attack was an assassination attempt as there had been no demand for money or goods.

Nyamwasa, an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame, fled with his family from Kigali in February.  Nyamwasa said someone phoned an ambulance and he was taken to hospital.

Mrs Nyamwasa said the couple, who arrived in South Africa four months ago, had a security guard protecting them, but the guard was "nowhere to be seen" during the shooting.