Rwanda has broadened her business interests in Cabo Delgado, as the country’s private owned security company linked to the ruling party has established operations.
The company ISCO a subsidiary of Macefield Ventures an international arm of Crystal Ventures, which is in turn the business arm of the Rwandan Patriotic Front — the ruling party of President Paul Kagame is expected to bid for contracts with the TotalEnergies-led LNG project.
ISCO, the private security company which already operates in Rwanda and Zimbabwe, is staffed largely by former members of Rwanda’s police and military, according to well-informed sources.
Observations by Zitamar says the revelations will play into persistent suspicions that Rwanda’s intervention in Cabo Delgado is not just charitable assistance for Mozambique’s counter-insurgency operation, but that the country — or at least, its political elite — will want some quid pro quo.
The development comes after President Kagame reassured President Filipe Nyusi that Rwanda’s forces are in Cabo Delgado to stay, at least until Mozambique can get a handle on the situation.
However, the establishment of ISCO in the province raises the possibility that Rwanda’s government forces could, in time, be replaced by Rwandan private security — albeit owned by the ruling party — which could make some things simpler, both for the energy companies needing to contract security, and for the Mozambique government which is facing questions over the implications for national sovereignty of having a foreign country secure its territory.
Meanwhile President Nyusi’s regime has other regional allies to think about, too. In this week’s edition of Cabo Ligado, it is reported that Tanzania has deployed troops to Mozambique outside the regional bloc SADC’s mission, but under a bilateral agreement.
The report further notes, Tanzania is unlikely to be indifferent to Rwanda’s continuing presence just across its southern border — especially as Tanzania moves closer to monetizing its own Rovuma Basin gas reserves.