President Kagame Appoints Brig. Gen. Patrick Karuretwa as Rwanda Defence Force Spokesperson

President Paul Kagame, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), has appointed Brigadier General Patrick Karuretwa as the new spokesperson of the RDF.

Brig. Gen. Karuretwa replaces Brig. Gen. Ronald Rwivanga, who recently assumed a new role as Commander of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF). Rwivanga took up the position in May 2026, succeeding Kenya’s Brig. Gen. Paul Kahuria Njema, whose three-year term came to an end.

Before his appointment, Brig. Gen. Karuretwa served as the RDF’s Director General for International Military Cooperation, a role he will continue to hold alongside his new responsibilities as military spokesperson.

Karuretwa joined the military in 1992. He studied law at the University of Rwanda in Huye before pursuing further studies in the United States at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he earned master's degrees in International Relations and International Law.

Throughout his military career, he has held several senior positions, including serving in the Presidential Guard, commanding the RDF’s Second Division, acting as Presidential Adviser on Military and Security Affairs between 2011 and 2016, and serving as President of the High Military Court.

He also served as Secretary General in the Office of the President of the Republic from 2013 to 2021.