Did Paul Kagame Kill President Habyarimana?

As has always been the case, October 1, 2011 was meant to be just another day on Rwanda’s official calendar. The day meant to commemorate that audacious attempt when up to 50 gallant soldiers who in 1990, from bases in Uganda, attacked Rwanda, to try and get back to their motherland – a country most had hastily been forced to leave at a very young age or never been to.

But as Kigali prepared to let the day pass with as less pomp as has been the case over the years (notice that under the current regime October 1, has been celebrated with less ado), Theogene Rudasingwa, – a former Chief of Staff to President Paul Kagame, dropped a bombshell. In a statement released on his Facebook page, Rudasingwa (who it must be remembered is a former Rwandan ambassador to the United States) claimed that President Kagame not only is responsible for the death of Juvenal Habyarimana as he (Kagame) was the overall operations commander of the RPA at the time of the former president’s death, but that he (Kagame), “told me that he was responsible for shooting down the plane” – the plane in question here being the Falcon 50 jet (Reg No 9XR-NN) belonging to the Government of Rwanda and in which Presidents; Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi were travelling.

A powerful and indeed extra-ordinary revelation if you ask me. But before we go any further, let’s try to make sense of this claim.

When news about the claim started pouring out all over the internet, I tried contacting a few big shots I know in Rwanda to see if they would speak to me over this. Some did respond in an angry manner telling me to mind my own business and forget Rwanda. Others were dismissive of the news but one of them stood out. I will not say who but I can confirm he is a very senior official.  He did mention something which made me realise that I still have so much to learn about the dealings in Rwanda.

(Mr.) “Rudasingwa”, my source said “should not be taken serious because he is another deluded fool who like most of you and your ilk suffers from political excitement, excessive amnesia or perhaps the lack of it. You lot can continue to yap and yap but the truth remains that in Rwanda, we continue to match on. If indeed he was told by the president how about you ask him why it has taken him all this time to bring this out? And trust me he won’t have any answers to this. He is just someone who for reasons only known to him, and in part due to his greed, corruption and dishonesty fell out with the regime, and will now do anything to bring down what Rwandese have laboured to build, for years”.

I know most of this was a very hushed reaction to a statement that will and must be rubbing Kigali the wrong way but we cannot deny the fact that therein lies some good question – and until its answer has been found, Mr. Rudasingwa’s claim shall remain questionable. Yes, I say questionable but let’s not forget that questionable does not necessarily mean incorrect.

There are perhaps so many questions that Mr. Rudasingwa’s revelation will raise but one does stand out: Why now? The story of who actually downed the Falcon 50 and by so doing ended the lives of two presidents, and all on board including three French nationals has been running for over 17 years now. It has become part of Rwanda’s history although under the present circumstances, few will be learning about it in school (refer to the suspension of the teaching of Rwandan history in Rwandan schools). When Abdul Ruzibiza, first claimed to be privy to the actual shooting down of the said plane, Kigali reacted furiously. This was in 2006 and Mr. Rudasingwa was well in a position where he could, as he has now, added his voice to the hoarse groans of Ruzibiza. Imagine the reaction this would have received then? Imagine the amount of legitimacy this would have given the Ruzibiza testimony had a former Rwandan Ambassador to the US, and Secretary General of the RPF come out in support of the then less known former army Captain?

If we are to assume that Mr. Rudasingwa is right and that indeed President Kagame did confide to him that he (Kagame) had ordered the shooting down of the Falcon 5o, what happens next? What happens to the “details and facts” as gathered on the subject in the famous Mucyo Commission which after about 18 months of deliberation, research and inquiries, “established” that the idea of bringing down the plane “was the work of Hutu extremists who calculated that killing their own leader would torpedo a power‐sharing agreement known as the Arusha Accords?”

What happens to the French and Spanish indictments on members of the RPF and RDF which were partly based on Ruzibiza’s testimony? What happens to the new and revisited friendship between Rwanda and France who having severed relations over the indictments have since claimed to have buried the hatchet and agreed to work together “normally”?

And why did Mr. Rudasingwa choose to release his statement on a day which as a former comrade in the Rwandan army and by all accounts a historical, meant to commemorate the first attempt by Rwandan refugees and exiles to go back to their motherland? Is he so gullible not to have realised what attention this was bound to cause?

And what of Kigali? Usually, they come up in arms against any statement, news story or sound bite that is critical or contrary to the idea of praising the country’s achievements over the years. This time however, some four days after the sensational claim, we are yet to hear even a word from Kigali. Could the silence be a result of having had enough or is it a sign of admission knowing who Mr. Rudasingwa is or has previously been? Is it that they feel Mr. Rudasingwa has become so unbelievable that few will take notice of what he has to say? Or are they having been startled by the bombshell, planning a more measured rebuttal? Could it be that their main men at Racepoint are on holiday and thus until one reports to duty, Kigali has chosen to stay silent? Or is it a case of self censorship as has become the norm in Rwandan media?

If it turns out that what took the Mucyo Commission 18 months and about 166 witnesses to establish could have been unearthed by a single phone call or email to one of Rwanda’s former Ambassador, does the government get to pay the tax payer back for having “wasted” state resources and money on an inquiry whose results might have been got rather cheaply with the right people being questioned?

It remains to be seen why Mr. Rudasingwa chose Facebook to announce what clearly remains an astonishing revelation if indeed it is true. Rwanda is an oral society. In Rwanda the word of mouth is what matters. There is every possibility that what remains in terms of proof that President Kagame did indeed confess to having ordered the shooting down of the Falcon 50 is just Rudasingwa’s word. While this is hardly any hard evidence will most likely be inadmissible in most court rooms (especially international tribunals where if anything the case against Kagame might go) it does leave the suggestion – and based on how Rwandan courts or public inquiries conduct their business – that Kagame might at some point in the future be brought to book in Rwanda. What happens then if as a former head of state he is found to have been responsible for the downing of the plane? Remember as an oral society, the inquiry, or trial if any will just like the Mucyo Commission have to be based on witness testimonies most of whom will be saying such things as “I was told”, “I saw”.

Remember too that there are people who claim that it was the shooting down of the plane which caused the genocide (Kigali calls these negationists or where it suits, genocide deniers). I call them liars. Whereas an argument can be made that the shooting down of the plane did spark the genocide just like the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand is said to have sparked World War I, in my opinion, one loses the plot by claiming that without the downing of the plane, the genocide would never have happened. No. From my discussions with a few Rwandans (depending on how extreme or pro a given ethnicity those you speak to may be) I have come to realise that the role of the plane in the Rwandan story remains very contentious and a point of departure to some as far as our country’s history is concerned.

This is why whoever has something to say about the plane, who shot the plane and what the plane shooting led to must do so with caution and most importantly with facts based on tangible evidence. I wrote some months ago about the Habyalimana death which continues to haunt Rwanda. I argued then that it is crucial that the truth is established once and for all. The truth regarding the events leading to the shooting down of the plane. When the Mucyo Commission report was published in August 2008, some in Rwanda hoped and believed that the report findings would put to rest what clearly has been a protracted saga/story. It didn’t. And part of the reason it did not is because it is only believable depending on which side of the story one wants to be. Given that Rwandans are people who over the years have decided to be on select sides while acknowledging in public that we are on the same side, this is and was never surprising.

This is why I think and believe that Mr. Rudasingwa, if anything must substantiate his claims. He must be willing to present himself to a credible judge, at a credible court and give his statement under oath – if he duly and clearly believes it. Then let justice follow its course. As it stands, his is another of those extra ordinary claims that we have come to regard as part of the Rwandan story. These days, it is even difficult to know which is which. Lt. Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa and Col. Patrick Karegeya escape and flee for dear life and the next thing we hear is that Kayumba used to be a thief who stole soldiers money and tractor spare parts, that Karegeya was untrustworthy and made a deal with Felicien Kabuga (Rwanda’s most wanted fugitive). Really? And we are told these by some leading public officials within the establishment in Kigali. Are we really to believe that Gen. Kayumba stole tractor spare parts and fertilizers? That Col Karegeya (under whose watch Rwanda had the best intelligence system in Africa) was a deceitful man – and that their (Karegeya and Kayumba’s ) story came to light after they had fled the current regime? My source did ask to ask Rudasingwa why he decided to come out this late. I probably should ask him why his government’s spin masters, only decided to come out on Col. Karegeya and Gen. Kayumba and by the way Maj. Rudasingwa, after the two had long left Kigali?

For those who have previously read Animal Farm, you will recall that at the end of the day, long after the animals had taken over the stewardship of Manor Farm from MAN, most could not believe the tyranny of some PIGS. They looked from pig to man, from man to pig and from pig to man again – it was impossible to tell which was which. There will be some Rwandans and peace loving people out there today who quite frankly must too be looking and looking and until some of the questions I raise above have been answered, they will continue to find it impossible to tell which is which.

Over to you my little monsters…

Of Joseph Bideri and the game with few winners

He had his moments. This we have to agree. A one time government spokesman, Monsieur Joseph Bideri, became famous as the erstwhile chief propagandist capable of bringing down anyone inside or outside the country as long as his bosses demanded as such. A high flying bureaucrat, Mr. Bideri in yesteryear Rwanda was the cowboy with powers to succeed the laws of the land. In two words: Very Powerful.

Those who worked with him during his days as the government’s chief propagandist, remember him ever so well. Their memories fresh with the aura of authority that seemed to go with the incredible Joseph, some are surprised he has ended up fleeing the country back to where he —well—came from.

At the pinnacle of his limelight, Mr. Bideri is famously remembered for telling the world that “Rwanda was not an obstacle to peace”. He was of course referring to Rwanda’s decision not to withdraw troops from Congo following the Lusaka Peace Accord. How ironical that when his country is back in the news, perhaps not over the same issue but something related to the Congo, the man who nine years ago said his paymasters were not obstacles to peace, is running for dear life.

When news broke that Bideri had fled the country to Canada, I was among those who received it with scepticism. Surely? Bideri running for dear life? How?

If there is anyone who has so passionately defended the establishment in Kigali, it is Joseph Bideri. His defence of the ideals of the regime was so entrenched in his psyche that at one point, as head of Orinfor, he still felt he was so powerful to determine and decide what went on in all publications related to the government. I remember him mingling so easily and effortlessly in the affairs of The New Times, even when the latter had a functional and able bodied Editor in Chief at the time.

Dedication, some will say. It seemed to me that behind the hard working persona of the man or stooge that was Bideri, there was always a pushing desire to please. A desire which to some appeared pushed by the need to please and perhaps hide something or make up for something sinister. Otherwise, how would you explain Bideri’s insistence to poke his nose in whichever public institution with connection to the government, his continued desire to dislodge Editor in Chiefs at the pro-government daily, or his untiring efforts to speak ill of anyone falling out with the regime in Kigali?

Bideri will have now realised that serving the regime in Kigali with whatever amount of zeal does not make one indispensable. Question now is, has he learned any lessons? The notion that all men are born equal is one that Bideri to me never understood or if he did, always chose to ignore. I am yet to know why he was sent on leave just days before he fled. But if the story that he engineered the sacking of the whole New Times marketing team on grounds that they were Ugandans is true, then it makes me wonder what it is that he has against Ugandans.

In 2006, the same man, while at Orinfor and board member of The New Times, ordered the immediate sacking of all foreigners at The New Times. The paper as a result lost a host of talented editors, reporters, marketers and designers as Kenyans and Ugandans packed up. He replaced them with locals and due to the imbalance in expertise and quality what had started becoming a better newspaper went back to a hopeless tabloid, specialising in dog eat man stories.

And because he (Bideri) was indispensable, no one even queried his decision. Not even the Board chairman. The move besides being xenophobic, proved completely counter productive. If you want to develop and promote home grown talent, you do so from within, recruit locals, give them time to learn on the job from their superiors and then phase out, if you want, the old stock.

But the man sailed on. In 2008 Joseph Bideri was again in the news, this time accused of messing up the finances of Orinfor, involvement in an infighting battle for power and influence with one Kije Mugisha and failing to process the acquisition of a new and modern printing press. Given the dealings in present day Rwanda, any other person would have been sent to prison for this mess. Bideri survived and was instead shipped to Kacyiru to take over from another sad comrade Ignatius Kabagambe, as the Editor in Chief of the government mouthpiece.

At New Times, Bideri has overseen the transformation of an English daily that his predecessors created from a slightly readable tabloid to some sort of gutter thing where officials and men of little conscience trade accusations and settle scores with those they hate. The handling of the election period, the Kayumba saga, and lately the UN Mapping Report has not helped matters. TNT is still the same old boring TNT if not worse.

It is worthy to note that this is the same man who as boss engineered the sacking of the most successful Editor in Chief of the New Times in its 13 year history. It was Bideri who sacked Sanyu John Bosco, the Editor under whose tenure TNT saw a surge in both sales and readership. With Sanyu gone, the same Bideri orchestrated the installation of Eddie Rwema, the flamboyant young journalist whose days were cut shot by yet another of Bideri and State House import, Ignatius Kabagambe. The latter though keen on becoming the top dog at TNT had his tenure cut short when he was replaced by Bideri after working so hard to frustrate another arguably competent Editor in Chief, David Kabuye.

Inside sources at the New Times have said that Bideri would still be in charge had he not messed up the marketing system through his ill-advised interference and decision to tax evade. With staff going unpaid for three months and the company going as far as near bankruptcy, this was bound to backfire. And backfire it did.

With Rwanda Revenue Moving in to demand the payment of tax arrears and staff beginning to worry about their wages and reporters choosing instead to stay in the newsroom or at home due to the lack of vehicles to take them to the field, “the possibility of TNT falling flat on its belly” was imminent. And because TNT is ruled by someone even more powerful, he demanded answers and Bideri had none. His forced leave was a stern reminder that his time had come, being someone who has previously sent predecessors in forced leaves before moving up on them, he quit the country.

But as he tries to settle in Canada, I wonder if Joseph Bideri has any idea what being a puppet or being used to such extents that you lose your common sense means. What we can deduce is that no one is indispensable in Rwanda or anywhere in this world, if there is, then it is because their time has not come yet. So my friend, Prof Nshuti, when you let yourself be used to write stuff that would make Lucifer cringe, remember that there is going to be time, when you might want to use the same words to defend yourself. Do not say there were never any precedents!

Over you my little monsters…

Rwandans; Is Kagame willing to give power to You?

By Eleneus Akanga

The planning had been as meticulous as the voting that preceded this event. Having successfully come through as winner of the predictable presidential election on August 9, this was a day Kagame and his supporters knew was coming. And boy, did they plan.

After all, Kigali is known for its pristine and tidy streets, so most of their job was already cut. A few decorations here and there and everything would be in motion. People were asked to turn up in numbers and business in the city, especially near the national stadium came to a standstill. If you did not make it to the stadium due to heavy security or venue capacity limits, you had no reason not to stay at home and watch it on national television. Giant screens were erected around for those that would claim they did not have televisions at home.

Somewhere across town, the cult figure that is Paul Kagame prepared to cut his cake and serve it, as dignitaries from far and near, ensconced themselves in comfy seats, waiting to witness history. Oh yes, history! History because not long, someone would stand in their midst, take his oath and become the first ever head of state to assume a second seven year term in office. To put this in context, that is 2 years short of 3 presidential terms in any of his neighbouring countries and 2 years short of a possible 4 American Presidents, assuming each served only one term, or 2 if each served the legally accepted 2 terms.

This was a day that had come right on the heels of mounting pressure on Kigali. Pressure – resulting from heavy criticism of a regime and government that the guest of honour understands as being on the right path. If there was going to ever be an opportunity for President Kagame to put one past his critics or for Kigali to express how confused and angry it is at those who continue to question its style of leadership, his overall judgement, or his role in the politics of the region, this was it.

And he took the invite it with open arms. “It is difficult for us to comprehend those who want to give us lessons on inclusion, tolerance and human rights. We reject all their accusations. Self-proclaimed critics of Rwanda may say what they want, but they will neither dictate the direction we take as a nation, nor will they make a dent in our quest for self determination,” he roared.

With his face grimacing in what some will have viewed as fear as opposed to his cowboy seriousness, the one time member of Africa’s new brood of leaders continued:

“These external actors turn around and promote the dangerous ideas of those who have fallen out with the system; ignoring the choices of the majority of our people … it is evidence of hypocrisy and a patronizing attitude towards our entire continent”.

For all his greatness and his one time grand vision for the country, President Kagame remains a peculiar character. For reasons well known to him, he views critics as self styled. He has never understood or blatantly chooses to ignore that critics are what any one needs to be perfect. He has this feeling that for some weird reason or a deliberate sort of raison d’être, certain people hate him and his people. And he can’t stand these critics leave alone the thought of getting lessons from them.

As someone who is understood to have brought an end to the genocide (some contest this), Kagame would rather he earned maximum praise. He sees Rwanda as his brain child, a nation which needs him so badly, that without him, it would extinguish away in flames. He also sees the world, as gradually ganging up against him by siding with or lending a few ears to his critics. And for this he wants a fight.

The Kagame we saw today is the Kagame we saw some 3 years ago in front of dignitaries at then Hotel Intercontinental, chastising and directly telling off dignitaries most notably the French ambassador to Rwanda at the time for his country’s decision to prosecute some of his men. Now, fighting for fellow countrymen is a sign of solidarity, but this fight has got to be both reasonable and appropriate. President Kagame needs to know that sometimes, over reaction, can come through either as a sign of guilt or weakness.

While I understand his anger and his desire to put his point across, I am not overly convinced that he has to use his swearing in ceremony to moralize his beatitudes.  Anyone would be angry. Everyone human would be so angry if after years of innocence, their army as well as their person suddenly stood accused of crimes against humanity – especially by an organisation they themselves accuse of folding its arms against them when they needed help. Angry rhetoric is no solution. While it may help send a clear message to your accuser to expect a tough fight, like I said before, it risks creating the impression that the noisemaker is wary of something.

Mr. President, everyone remembers how easily you swept through the election, winning 93 percent of the vote. We know too that according to you, dependency on aid and not the lack of democracy is Africa’s major problem. Is it not fair that after all these years in power, you should return power to the people as provided for in the constitution, decentralise power and provide for free speech and press freedom. And that way, “we the people” can have a proper debate on the way forward for this wonderful nation that you so easily are tilting towards a dictatorship?

Should We Run and Hide now That Kagame is President?

By Eleneus Akanga

There are those who believe the presidential election in Rwanda was nothing else but an illegitimate consecration of President Paul Kagame. There even are some who did refer to the election as a “selection with no choice given” and have refused to accept it as valid.

So are those who feel that the reported massive turn out on election day and the subsquent total number of votes cast in favour of Kagame, is testament that Rwandans still love the former rebel leader.

Whatever the belief, there is one fact that stands out. Kagame is now Rwanda’s president and will at least legally or illegally remain so till 2017. It is a fact that the two sets of protagonists have got to contend with. How and whether they should, is a different matter, alltogether.

If there is anything Africa’s strongmen have managed to effectively do,hang on to power is that thing. From Uganda to Libya, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, Africa has had it’s fair share of authoritarians or longest serving presidents if you may. Trouble is, as in the case of Kagame, those in question have laid claim to the fact they were democratically voted back into power. Even where it has neccessitated tampering or ammending the constituions for them to get to the ballot paper, the result in those cases has passed as legitimate because such is democracy as understood in authoritarian countries.

Kagame has said previously that this should and will be his last term as head of state and for purposes of objectivity, he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Writing in the FT last week (August 19) he maintained that “competitive democracy requires sustained social cohesion”. His argument was pitched on the very note his leadership has defended its vice-like grip on political pruralism for years – the one that 16 years they have had is too short a time for competitive politics.

“Many also fail to understand that it was precisely a system of pluralistic politics that played a major role in the genocide, as newly formed parties with shared extremist ideology outperformed the former one-party state in mobilising the population to commit mass murder,” he argued.

To Kagame, pruralistic politics breed divisionism and chaos and should thus,be avoided. While he may be true, his assertion brings into fore a few observations. One, that for 16 years Kagame has failed, despite his economic prowess, to promote genuine unity among Rwandans and fears the message of forgiveness and reconciliation is yet to be accepted after all these years. Two, that he now looks increasingly even more authoritarian compared to his predecessor as far as political space is concerned. And three, which probably is more worrying, that his country’s much touted and publicized peaceful co-existence between victims and perpetrators, is just a bubble waiting to explode.

While it is important to work toward ensuring that what happened in 1994 does not happen ever again, success on this matter wont come from the duration granted for wounds to heal but a genuine and well thought arrangement where both sides take to an open and clear debate about what actually happened.

Some people will argue that Kagame has done his best and continues to, and therefore with enough time, will deliver. Well to this group of thinkers, I say hold it. Everyone knows that Kagame has consistently avoided such politics as the politics of open debate. His crackdown on independent media, his continued fall out with those who oppose and question his repressive style of leadership notwithstanding, his government’s decision this year not to register the only credible opposition parties and the incarceration of Victoire Ingabire – the only politician to ever call for an open debate about the country’s history, went to show just how unprepared Kagame is for this sort of debate. The question then becomes not one of can he, but rather that of for how long.

The Rwandan story under Kagame is destined to that sad fact where even after 100 years, the same wounds that have taken 16 years to heal might still be very raw and well visible, if the current policy is maintained. And that to me would not be progress. It is what happens when you know the truth but instead choose the slightly easier option because the truth hurts or you feel the time is not ripe. Some scholars have even suggested that Rwanda’s issues would quite easily be sorted by embracing the model taken by South Africa after apartheid – a notion that Kagame appears to be totally opposed to probably because it dictates that the two sides get to open up and confess to their atrocities. And when one side has been pleading complete innocence for 16 years, you get the idea of why such a move can only succeed without the incumbent.

And it is worse. You have to feel for the real opposition in Rwanda when an under pressure president after getting the hint that the world has began to understand how he really conducts his business and will soon be demanding real answers to the pertinent questions, suddenly speaks about forming some sort of coalition government. (I will write in detail about this in my next piece).

Kagame is a very tactical guy. In his heart, he knows the truth. He knows forinstance that his style of leadership is one he would have struggled to stomach himself had he been in the opposition’s shoes. He knows that his government has made and continues to make it extremely tough for free speech to succeed in Rwanda. He knows that what he refers to as his opposition is not but just a group of strategists and RPF sympathisers who for the sake of keeping their jobs have agreed to play opposition when in actual sense, they are subsets of the ruling political party. But he does not give a damn like he said before. To calm the nerves of the international community, he will open up or pretend to be opening up for power sharing but only share with his own. Notice too, that Rwanda has theoretically embraced some sort of a coalition government ever since the country formed the Forum for Political Parties in 2002. So why make a fuss about it now? Because it diverts the attention.

To those unaware of his true character, such a move will be seen as a clear indication that he is an inclusive president intent on sharing power. Share power? Remember this is a gentleman who in the early 90s refused a power sharing agreement with then president and instead went ahead with war. But this cannot be used against him really as people do change – may be he has changed! It however remains to be seen if Kagame can really be trusted, which raises the question, is he really going to step down come 2017?

As for those who do not subscribe to his principles and style of leadership, the times are getting harder. Just yesterday, I read that Lt. Col Rugigana Ngabo, has been arrested on charges of “destabilisation”. Despite the Rwandan army confirming the arrest, Col Ngabo’s wife seems to have no idea as to the whereabouts of her husband or where he is being detained. And when you consider that the colonel is brother to exiled former army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, you get the picture of what Gen Nyamwasa said in his first interview to Voice of America about Rwandan officials living in fear, so much that comrades and friends alike are no longer associating with one another for fear of being labelled “the bad guys”. Now that Kagame is president again, when he surely should have been sitting home looking after his cattle and reading books about his role in the Rwandan history, should we run and hide?

…over to you my little monsters.

Of Rwanda and the coveted image

By Eleneus Akanga

Writing August 3, in The Guardian, another of UK’s newspapers I regard highly, Robert Booth exposes yet another of those rambling defences that the regime in Kigali now considers part of the lingua-franca. One, of a nation which under President Paul Kagame has managed to develop, foster unity and completely re-invent itself 16 years after it was torn apart by the genocide.

Rwanda under Kagame continues to fascinate. You have a leader, who has managed to silence all opposition, crack down heavily on free press and dissent despite ushering in a period of economic progress and prosperity (at least for some) but he never gets any criticism from leading nations like the US or the UK.

Well, if you have been wondering why Kigali gets away with accusations of state terror, violation of human rights, suspected journalist killings, sham elections or serious concerns about the level of political freedom, here is the answer. According to The Guardian, a London PR firm Racepoint , hired by our dear head of state himself, is in control.

When I wrote the other day about the gutter that is The New Times, a few people wondered why I was so dismissive of my own national newspaper, some even reminding me that I mustn’t trash TNT so much as it is where I began my career. Well, they were right, why trash an organisation that gave you a chance. While it would be humane for me not to bin The New Times for the opportunity it gave me, it would be suicidal on my part as a journalist to knowingly not tell the truth. By questioning why Rwanda spends millions on adverts in foreign papers or why Kagame always chooses foreign media when giving interviews instead of our own newspapers, I was only trying to point to the fact that The New Times is not taken seriously even by the people it serves. And if Paul Kagame, the man who and whose government The New Times has pampered since 1998 does not think it is worth giving an interview, why not say the truth?

But this is not the point today. Publicity is good.  Make no mistake; Rwanda needed some great publicity after what happened in 1994. I know of people in Europe who still know of Rwanda from the movie Hotel Rwanda. And so often, I have had to explain that the genocide ended some 17 years ago. Good publicity has helped revamp our tourism industry which, it has to be said, remains our highest foreign exchange earner to-date.

But if this publicity is going to come at the expense of the truth about the country’s democratic path, facts about free speech and press freedom or the exact truthful experiences of the local Rwandan, I rather we don’t get it. There is coming to London to look for a good PR firm to help you get recognised and known world wide, this I agree with, but when such trips, are made with the sole aim of striking deals aimed at promoting spin and lies about the real experiences in Rwanda from the Rwandans up and down the country who wish they could have some bread on the table and are not sure what tomorrow holds, then it becomes highly questionable that the taxpayer should foot the bill.

President Kagame is free to become a dictator if he chooses to but he must not forget that Rwandans reserve the right to demand he explains why he is leading the country dangerously to the brink with his reclusive and iron-fisted approach to leadership.  And if he or those working for him have no moral authority to explain this to the masses choosing instead to employ the services of spin masters in London and at ludicrously high prices, then that is betrayal.

It is clear who Kagame wants to hear his music. Like one of the PR moguls put it in Robert Booth’s piece, “If you are managing a client’s reputation, whether individual, company or country, it is the Anglo-Saxon media that matters and particularly the London-based media,” said Ivo Gabara. And you would not have to search far to see why Rwanda is keen at spending so much in London for image rights.

Rwanda received £70 million from the UK last year and as Kagame prepares to assume another seven-year term on Tuesday August 10, he can look forward to another cool £56 million from London this year. And if Racepoint is there to help advance a spin that will blind London and Washington from seeing that this is a gentleman whose government refused opposition candidates to register, has successfully outlawed dissent, banned independent media from operating in the country, persecuted critical journalists and above all spent an astonishing $100 million on two executive jets when 60 percent of the locals are classed by the UN as living below the poverty line, why not pay millions of this free money to those who help you gain it?

There is probably not much the West can do given the power of Paul Kagame’s public relations machinery ironically financed wholly by their (West) free money. But besides reading and following the choreographed stories in these London or Washington publications planted by the lobbyists at Racepoint and others like it, the West might want to borrow a leaf from researchers and Rwandese themselves who at least know what is going on.

And like Susan Thomson pointed out, there are three things that donors (development partners as Kagame calls them) can do to encourage him to create a more open and peaceful culture after his re-election on Monday.

“First is to question the government’s ability to manage Rwanda’s natural resources its people and its land.

“Second is to encourage open dialogue and a culture of constructive criticism and debate about government policies amongst the political class.

“Third is to encourage Kagame to engage the diverse political views of the Rwandan Diaspora”.

From me, it is congratulations President elect Paul Kagame on your second term as Rwanda’s head of state. You may have won confortably but surely events in this year’s campaign will have proved to you that freedom is not divisible. The tighter you control the tenets of democracy, the more it is going to be harder to loosen it once that time you so keenly talk about comes. Silence is a bad thing, and just because people are silent does not mean they are contented.

Over to you my little monsters…

The gutter that is Rwanda’s New Times

By Eleneus Akanga

From bomb thrower, incompetent army officer and now petty thief! Rwanda or at least the government mouth piece wants us to believe that Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, the country’s former Army Chief of Staff, now a refugee in South Africa, was always a bad grape.

When news broke in March this year that the general had fled the country, Rwanda was quick to dismiss him as a very incompetent officer, who as they claimed “had always believed in gaining cheap popularity and had at one point abandoned comrades on the battle field”.  Because, Gen. Kayumba’s record was there for many to see, this version of events did not sell. As a counter measure, the government decided to instead accuse him of throwing grenades. That too, did not seem to sell as expected. President Kagame himself decided to step in, branding Nyamwasa, a nobody, with some reports even suggesting he (Kagame) had referred to both Gen. Kayumba and Col. Patrick Karegeya as human excrete! Talk about stooping so low!

That again did not seem to achieve the aim. President Kagame instead, decided this time, to grant an exclusive interview to The Daily Monitor, one of Uganda’s leading English newspapers to shed more light on Nyamwasa – the menace. Why Daily Monitor and not Rwanda’s New Times is something I will explain later.

The exclusive interview seemed to have achieved its aim until Gen. Nyamwasa sent in a rejoinder. It was to reveal much more than everyone else knew. And it is this well written and clearly thought out response from the general that according to a close source, Kigali is still wondering whether it should have ruthlessly pursued Nyamwasa in the papers like it did.

I am going into all this just to get you my readers into the reason I have decided to come up with this short piece.

Just like technology has saved the world from all the hustles of everyday life, The New Times has saved the regime in Kigali all the hustle, except, in technology’s case, the technicians have been wise enough to realise where to put stops and where not to.

In case you are wondering, read today’s opinion in The New Times. The writer “Mr. Anonymous” or if you may, a retired RDF officer, is trying to tell the world the truth about Gen. Nyamwasa.

He begins by telling readers that besides working closely with Nyamwasa, he actually lived with him. He is not shy to even reveal that he got involved in dubious deals with the exiled general transporting looted merchandise from Northern Uganda where they were based, to Nyamwasa’s flat in Bugolobi.

The retired RDF officer goes on: “Between 1988 and 1990, I participated in dirty deals in which Kayumba used to loot Wanainchi property ranging from maize milling machines to large sums of money from the North”. Not enough confession to press charges? Wait and see!

“These milling machines would later be sold to Vendors in Owino market in Kampala,” he goes on arguing that “a share of some of the proceeds from the loot would be given to some NRM/NRA cadres and senior commanders especially those who were involved in the operations in Northern Uganda, to earn Kayumba remarkable cheap popularity within the senior NRA command and staff officers despite the fact that he was just a Second Lieutenant (2Lt)”.

Unless Mr. Anonymous thinks we are all stupid, it would be foolhardy of him/her to believe anyone is going to fall for this bunkum.  Even if it were true, is it possible, leave alone logical that proceeds from milling machines could buy the loyalty of NRM/NRA cadres and senior commanders for as he /she says “remarkable” cheap popularity?

Even if it were true, Mr. Anonymous and Gen. Nyamwasa would have had to ferry trucks and trucks of milling machines, to be able to raise enough money to bribe senior cadres and officers and hope too that everyone at Owino be in demand of milling machines!

If Rwanda or President Kagame is what he claims to be (a no nonsense disciplinarian who does not tolerate corruption and hates working with crooks) he should order the arrest and immediate detention of Mr. Anonymous. For, not only is this fellow a criminal and an accessory to a crime, he, having been privy to this information for so many years and served in the RDF with this kind of spirit, tells much of who actually RDF is composed of.

And for The New Times, to have allowed to publish this piece by Mr. Anonymous as its main opinion piece reveals much. Many a time, The New Times has been rightly referred to as Kagame’s mouth piece much to the annoyance of those who support it. If this had been a story, published in say, Umurabyo, Umuseso or Umuvugizi, the High Council of the Press would be up in arms against the publishers demanding that either the publication reveal the name of the author or risk being suspended for good. Sadly, because it is The New Times, no one will be summoned or even questioned. The New Times can gladly mystify and demonise people, including officers and men who gave half their adult life fighting for Rwanda, and nothing happens. Why? Because it is well insulated.

This is a newspaper, that Rwanda and Kagame’s government will want you to take seriously, believe as a model publication and an authoritative source of news on Rwanda. As the only remaining newspaper in Rwanda or one of the few remaining ones (they arent many left) in the run-up to elections, the government will want you to believe  its stories on the forthcoming elections.

But if this is a publication that very clearly has shown itself as lacking in both professionalism and content, why should anyone really care or believe what it writes?

Is it any wonder then that President Kagame, himself shuns it, and chooses instead to grant his exclusives to the likes of The Daily Monitor, Jeune Afrique and SABC?

You can fool the world for sometime but you cannot fool the world forever.

There are not many people who were so close to Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa while still a junior officer both in Northern Uganda and later in Rwanda. There can only be 2 or three. And these would include the current head of state. Are we not to believe that President Kagame or one of the few other high ranking officers under his command today would be Mr. Anonymous?

And what happens if it is later found out that one of our senior officers oversaw and participated in the looting of milling machines and chose to conceal the info until July 2010?

Yet another reason to fear for Rwanda. Be very afraid my friends. Over to you my little monsters…

Is the West treading a dangerous path on Rwanda?

By Eleneus Akanga

First was the arrival in Rwanda and subsequent incarceration of Victoire Ingabire, a Rwandan, who until January 16, 2010, was exiled in Holland. While she was lucky to escape immediate detention on arrival at Kanombe International Airport, the establishment’s decision to ground her was meant to be a stern reminder to all, that Rwanda is simply not ready to talk about its genocide in a manner different from that towed by the ruling regime.

By speaking out on the lack of indicators of Hutu victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, at the genocide memorial centre in Kigali, Ms. Ingabire thought, such would open up a genuine debate on the country’s history.  A debate, that would examine what exactly happened in Rwanda, pre and post genocide, and give Rwandans (victims, perpetrators and neutrals) a chance to objectively discuss the real issues that have continued to make true reconciliation in Rwanda impossible. Her argument was swiftly regarded as very divisive, her talk very controversial. She was to later be accused of working with the FDLR (remnants of the Hutu extremists based in Congo), charged with collaborating with terrorists, downplaying genocide and divisionism.

As Ms. Ingabire tried to clear her name, news came in of yet another bad story for Kigali. Lt. Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, former Army Chief of Staff and until then, Ambassador to India, had fled the country. He was to later be accused of throwing bombs in Kigali (even when the police spokesman had suggested the grenade attacks were the work of the FDLR) and his diplomatic immunity was withdrawn.

Almost immediately, President Kagame made a series of high profile changes in the military. While many saw this as progression of fear and a possible link to rumours of a coup detat in Rwanda, the government rubbished the claims as baseless, arguing instead, that the reshuffle was normal.

Meanwhile, Rwanda mounted a ferocious war of words with Gen. Nyamwasa accusing him of corruption, terrorism, incompetence (even when the government is on record to have awarded Nyamwasa for excellence and hardwork). To observers, Gen. Nyamwasa’s break up with President Kagame had been so acrimonious that when the general survived a shooting in South Africa, many suspected Kigali had a hand.

As we tried to get to the real facts in the Nyamwasa shooting case, Jean Leonard Rugambage, the acting editor of Umuvugizi, a local language publication, was killed on his way home from work. The circumstances surrounding his death were as deplorable as they were very suspicious. This was a journalist, whose publication had published a story that day, which seemed to suggest complicity on the side of the Rwandan security services, in Gen. Nyamwasa’s shooting.  Even with two suspects now in custody over his death and one having confessed, there are many who still suspect Rugambage’s death as having been an assassination.

As the nation and the media world mourned the death of a brave and vocal journalist whose work they had grown to like, Agnes Uwimana, another editor with the local weekly, Umurabyo was arrested on charges of genocide denial and inciting violence. Ms Uwimana who had served a year in prison for defamation and inciting ethnic division was followed yet by another journalist Saidati Mukakibibi for comparing Kagame to Hitler.

And just yesterday, the body of Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, the vice president of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, was found murdered near his car, after being reported to have gone missing. Mr. Rwisereka would have died a happy man if the ruling government had not persistently refused the registration of his political party, despite numerous attempts by party members to fulfil everything required of them to register. His case is likely to raise more questions than answers. The government has linked his death to a robbery, an argument the Rwanda Greens, have flatly rejected calling instead for an independent and thorough investigation.

It is worth noting that these sad events have happened in between the closure or suspension as the government would want it called, of the two most popular and independent newspapers in Rwanda. Umuseso and Umuvugizi, which would have tried to report  at least with some success , the events in Rwanda right now were slapped with a six months suspension by the High Council of the Press in April this year for violating the media law and inciting public order.

It would appear that any dissenting opinion, business or project, which endeavours to critically question or suggest a different view to that universally acceptable by those in power in Rwanda is either charged with inciting violence or put out of the public domain. And it matters less how this silencing is done. In some cases, those in question have been lucky that the silencing act has come in form of putting them out of business. To some, silence has been promoted through ending their lives by people who choose to put the law in their own hands – people the government tells us are thieves or thugs avenging their departed.

Very sad too, that despite these saddening developments in Rwanda, the closest we have come to a demand for proper accountability from the regime in Kigali by those the world looks up to in cases of democracy (US, UK, France, Belgium or the West as they are collectively known) is a muted and thinly veiled remark from US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton that Rwanda risks losing what it has gained over the years. Even the UN has been silent despite numerous calls from Reporters Without Borders and Committee to Protect Journalists on the plight of democracy, political space and press freedom in Rwanda.

At least Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided not to go ahead with a meeting today with Mr. Kagame today in Madrid.

You would think that after what happened in Rwanda sixteen years ago, any hints of possible mayhem would be adhered to with some consideration. President Kagame will definitely win another 7 year-term as expected, and even more so after effectively banning any credible opposition by selectively choosing who registers and who does not. He will argue there are laws to be followed for party registration, and rightly so, but who can deny that these rules have been made to make it extremely difficult for any credible opposition party to register?

Is it fair that the European Union should agree to send election observers to Rwanda for an election whose result is already known?  It is such failure to act that promotes and encourages African leaders to flout democratic principles. It is this failure to act on potential hints of broken societies or increasingly repressive governments, that has helped breed strong dictators. And when the chickens finally come home to roost, questions will be asked as to whether the West did not actually abet oppression in some of our countries.

Over to you my little monsters…

INVESTIGATE MURDER OF RWANDAN JOURNALIST

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

URGENT ACTION

Rwandan journalist Jean Leonard Rugambage was killed on 24 June.  Authorities must establish an independent commission of enquiry into the killing and ensure other journalists can work in safety.

Jean Leonard Rugambage, the Deputy Editor of Rwandan newspaper, Umuvugizi, was shot dead outside his home in the Rwandan capital, Kigali on 24 June 2010. Jean Leonard Rugambage is the first Rwandan journalist murdered in recent years.

Jean Leonard Rugambage returned home around 10pm on 24 June 2010. He was shot dead as he reached the gate of his home in the Kigali suburb, Nyamirambo. His exiled Managing Editor-in-Chief, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, has stated that witnesses who heard the gunshots saw the unknown assailant drive away in a car.  Police arrived at the scene soon afterwards, but Jean Leonard Rugambage was already dead.

The Rwanda Police have confirmed that Jean Leonard Rugambage body remained at Kigali’s Police Hospital and would not be released for burial until a later date. Police investigations have been opened.

Jean Leonard Rugambage had been investigating the shooting of the exiled former Chief-of-Staff of the Rwandan Army, Kayumba Nyamwasa, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 19 June 2010. Umuvugizi had published an on-line article on 24 June 2010, the day of Jean Leonard Rugambage’s murder, alleging that Rwandan intelligence officials were linked to the shooting. In the days before his murder, Jean Leonard Rugambage had told colleagues that he felt that the surveillance on him had intensified.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, French or your own language:

n  urging them to ensure that any autopsy of the body of Jean Leonard Rugambage is undertaken by independent medical experts;

n  calling on them to establish an independent commission of enquiry into the killing of Jean Leonard Rugambage;

n  demanding that they ensure that the perpetrators are brought to trial promptly and in accordance with international fair trial standards;

n  urging them to make public assurances that all Rwandan journalists can work freely, independently and with full protection from state authorities.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 AUGUST 2010 TO:

President

Paul Kagame

Office of the President

BP 15

Urugwiro Village
Kigali
Rwanda

Fax: +250 572431

Salutation: Dear President Kagame

Police commissioner

Emmanuel Gasana

Commissioner General

Rwandan National Police

Kigali

Rwanda

Fax: +250 58 66 02

Salutation: Dear Commissioner General

Prosecutor General

Martin Ngoga

National Public Prosecution Autnority

BP 1328

Kigali

Rwanda

Fax: +250 589 501

Salutation: Dear Prosecutor General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

INVESTIGATE MURDER OF RWANDAN JOURNALIST

Additional Information

Jean Leonard Rugambage’s newspaper, Umuvugizi, was suspended in April 2010 until after Rwanda’s presidential elections scheduled for August 2010. The Rwandan High Media Council, a regulatory body aligned with the government, suspended Umuvugizi for six months alleging they had incited opposition to the government and divided the army.  Umuseso, another private newspaper, was also banned for six months. The High Media Council later started court proceedings to initiate a permanent ban against both papers.  After the suspension, Umuvugizi continued to publish on their website, launched in May, though their website was not accessible from within Rwanda.

Jean-Leonard Rugambage became the Acting Editor of Umuvugizi after the Managing Editor, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, fled Rwanda in April 2010 after threats following Umuvugizi’s suspension. Jean-Bosco Gasasira had been brutally assaulted in February 2007 by unidentified men with iron bars. Prior to the attack, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, had also published several articles critical of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the ruling political party.

Over recent years, Rwandan journalists working for non-state media have frequently been threatened and physically assaulted. Criminal sanctions have also been used against them to stifle freedom of expression. There have been no known cases of Rwandan journalists murdered in Rwanda in recent years, but several journalists have fled Rwanda for their safety.

Such an attack comes, as the space for independent reporting fast diminishes before Rwanda’s August 2010 presidential elections. Amnesty International has called on the Rwandan authorities to respect the rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression and to ensure that journalists can work freely, independently and with protection from state authorities.

UA: 143/10 Index: AFR 47/004/2010 Issue Date: 25 June 2010

Rwanda: Stop Attacks on Journalists, Opponents

(New York, June 26, 2010) – Insecurity and political repression are increasing in advance of Rwanda’s August 2010 presidential elections, Human Rights Watch warned today.  In the last two days, an independent journalist has been killed, the leader of an opposition party has been detained by the police, and other opposition party members have been arrested.

“The security situation is rapidly deteriorating,” said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “With only 45 days left before the election, the government is lashing out to silence its opponents and critics.”

The Rwandan government should investigate all incidents of violence and ensure that opposition activists and journalists are able to carry out their legitimate activities in safety, Human Rights Watch said.

Jean-Léonard Rugambage, a journalist for the newspaper Umuvugizi, was shot dead shortly after 10 p.m. on June 24 outside his home in Nyamirambo, in the capital, Kigali. His colleagues and other sources in Rwanda told Human Rights Watch that the assailant appeared to be waiting for the journalist as he returned home.

As Rugambage drove up to his gate, a man approached his car and fired several shots at close range, hitting him in the head and chest. Rugambage died on the spot. The assailant then drove off. Police arrived on the scene and took Rugambage’s body to the police hospital in Kacyiru for autopsy. The police stated on June 25 that they were investigating his death.

Umuvugizi, an independent newspaper that has often been critical of the government, had published an article online on the morning Rugambage was killed, alleging that the Rwandan government was behind the attempted murder of a former Rwandan general, Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, in South Africa on June 19, and implicating senior officials.  General Kayumba, once a close ally of President Paul Kagame and a former chief-of-staff of the Rwandan army, has become an increasingly outspoken critic of the government since fleeing to South Africa in February 2010.  Umuvugizi’s editor said that Rugambage had been investigating the murder attempt on Kayumba and had reported being under increased surveillance in the days leading up to his death.

“We are shocked and saddened by the death of this courageous journalist,” Peligal said.  “Freedom of expression is already severely restricted in Rwanda, but the death of Rugambage is a further chilling blow to investigative journalism and, more broadly, to freedom of expression in the country.”

Human Rights Watch called on the Rwandan authorities to ensure that those responsible for Rugambage’s murder are brought to justice without delay, and to ensure the security and protection of other journalists.

In the early hours of June 24, police entered the house of Bernard Ntaganda, leader of the opposition party PS-Imberakuri, and took him away for questioning.  He has spent two days in police custody and is believed to be detained at Kicukiro police station.  The exact accusations against him are not confirmed, but it is thought that the police have questioned him, among other things, about his alleged involvement in an attempted arson attack on the house of former party vice-president, Christine Mukabunani, and inciting ethnic divisions.

Members of the PS-Imberakuri reported that the police raided Ntaganda’s house and the party’s office and took away documents and other belongings. By June 25, the party’s flag and sign had been taken down from their office.

Later on the morning of June 24, several members of PS-Imberakuri were rounded up by the police and taken into custody after they gathered outside the US embassy; they had gone there to ask for help following Ntaganda’s arrest. Some were released, but several, including the party’s secretary-general, Théobald Mutarambirwa, remained in detention in various locations in Kigali on June 25.

Also on the morning of June 24, police arrested several members of the FDU-Inkingi opposition party, who had gathered outside the Justice Ministry to protest a court case against their party president, Victoire Ingabire.  Most were released on June 25, but the party’s secretary-general, Sylvain Sibomana, treasurer, Alice Muhirwa, and Kigali representative, Théoneste Sibomana, were still in detention at the police station in Kicukiro on June 26. Some FDU-Inkingi members reported that when the police broke up their gathering, the police told them that they should stop being members of the party. Police also surrounded Ingabire’s house at about 6 a.m. on June 24, and stayed there for most of the day.

Members of both parties reported being beaten by the police.

On June 25, the Commissioner General of Police issued a statement saying that about 40 individuals had attempted to hold a demonstration without a permit, that 22 people had been arrested and questioned, 14 had been released and eight were being held for further questioning.

“These incidents are occurring at the very moment that parties are putting forward candidates for the presidential elections,” Peligal said.  “The government is ensuring that opposition parties are unable to function and are excluded from the political process.”

Intimidation of Independent Media

The killing of Rugambage was not the first incident of violence against journalists.  In February 2007, a group of assailants attacked Umuvugizi’s editor, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, in a near fatal incident outside his house, after he spoke out at a presidential news conference about the harassment of journalists. No one has been brought to justice for the attack.

In July 2009, the information minister publicly declared that “the days of the destructive press are numbered,” referring to Umuvugizi and a second independent newspaper, Umuseso. Within 24 hours, the national prosecutor’s office had summoned Gasasira to answer allegations of defamation, a criminal offense punishable with imprisonment. Gasasira was convicted and sentenced to pay a large fine. Umuseso faced similar defamation charges for exposing scandals involving public figures. In February, a court sentenced its former editor, Charles Kabonero, to a year in prison and the current editor, Didas Gasana, and a reporter, Richard Kayigamba, to six months each. The editors of both newspapers have fled the country after receiving repeated threats.

On April 13, the Media High Council, a government-aligned body in charge of regulating the media, suspended Umuseso and Umuvuzigi for six months, and then called for their definitive closure. It alleged, among other things, that some of their articles constituted a threat to national security.  The newspapers’ appeal against the suspension is still pending. The suspension has effectively shut down most independent reporting in advance of the elections, since Umuseso and Umuvugizi were among the very few active independent newspapers left in Rwanda. Umuvugizi has since posted an electronic version of its newspaper, but access to its website has been blocked inside Rwanda.

Obstruction of Opposition Parties

Incidents of harassment and intimidation of members of opposition parties have steadily increased in the months leading up to the August elections.  Ntaganda and Ingabire, as well as their party members, have been especially targeted. Unless the situation changes in the very near future, none of the three main opposition parties (PS-Imberakuri, FDU-Inkingi, and the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda) will be able to take part in the elections.  Parties and independent candidates must submit their candidacies to the National Electoral Commission by July 2.

Why we should fear for Rwanda

A few months ago, I wrote and explained how Rwanda is a country in chaos. A nation threatened not by a rampant genocide but by the side effects of it. Some people were quick to dismiss my observation as hogwash reminding those so stupid to understand what I was pointing out, not to mind me as “he is a deluded fool”.

It reminded me of the famous adage I grew up with. The one about Prophets having honour except in their motherland. Today, some two months later, I am forced to re-post on exactly why I feel there is genuine reason to fear for my motherland.

Reading today’s opinion in The New Times by one Pan Butamire, the gentleman who until yesterday, I respected with all my might, I was left to wonder whether Rwanda is not living a lie. Mr. Butamire who has a penchant for writing very stinging reports about perceived enemies of Rwanda and very cosy ones on the job well done by President Paul Kagame and his regime in regard to today’s Rwanda started his piece as if he sympathised with Lt. Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa.

“Rwandans and their friends who cherish the sanctity of life must have heaved a sigh of relief when they heard that Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was out of danger. It would have been terrible grief if he had succumbed to the bullet of a common gunslinger, knowing the role he played in the liberation of this country”, he wrote.

Take time to read on and you will realise that the old fella’s intro in hindsight actually reads: “Rwandans and their friends who cherish the sanctity of life must have heaved with disappointment when they heard that Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was out of danger. It would have been JOY if he had succumbed to the bullet of a common gunslinger, knowing that he NEVER played any role in the liberation of this country”.

He then went into the beatitudes of Rwanda’s history as known from his viewpoint before landing another of those outlandish statements that have become a trademark of writing off those who Kigali regard as useless because they have fallen out with the regime.

Again, he sheds some light about Rwandan Kings, hinting at the so called ‘Inyenzi’ and making round-turns here and there before coming back to his original subject matter: Making sure that Kayumba (who he blatantly refuses to address by his army rank), is erased from the history of Rwanda’s liberation struggle, first by making him (Kayumba) look useless, and insignificant while maintaining that Rwanda is what it is wholly and solely because of one man, President Kagame.

Mzee Butamire then deservedly but out of interest gives credit to the late Maj. Gen Fred Gisa Rwigema who he rightly says led the invading force only to die early into the struggle leaving a disorganised force of ‘scattered fighters’ lacking a capable and effective leader. He is building up for his crescendo, a mean he delivers with sheer precision in his next para:

“One man is credited with the reorganisation of that scattered group of fighters who slowly grew and methodically fought as a formidable force to defeat the forces of genocide.

“That man is today’s President Paul Kagame. He is the man who led a group of hardened fighters to victory. These are the fighters who against all odds were able to end the 1994 genocide and stabilise the country, a country that had abolished the word ‘unity’ from its vocabulary”, he asserts.

For purposes of clarity, lets put this statement in perspective. Mr. Butamire is essentially accusing the defeated regime of having rid the country of the word ‘unity’. And rightly so, it would appear that Rwanda before April 7, 1994 had lost this word. No wonder people were able to murder each other on the scale they did. One of the present regime’s main tasks since assuming power in 1994 has been unity and reconciliation.

I can not remember any regime that has gone on about unity and reconciliation in my time, more than President Kagame’s. But I begin to question this regime’s very preaching on unity and reconciliation if the Butamires who are senior cadres and trusted mentors to the head of state, have the guts to trash a shot comrade, choosing instead to brand him useless and erase his name out of the history books because he is no longer with them?

Imagine then, what Butamire’s exact position is when it comes to giving advice on those wrongly or rightly accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide whose historical cause, he so carefully details in his opinion?

It is hard to judge anyone at this stage but as a young citizen, I get so terrified as to the future of my country both immediate and long-term, seeing the very people I should be looking up to, peddle the kind of hatred and controversy that I am meant to detest and refrain from.

And to paraphrase Mr. Butamire, Why, Butamire, Why?