Tag: The New Times

Victoire Ingabire And Why I Love Political Cases

Her supporters insist she is “Rwanda’s Aung San Suu Kyi”. Others know her as the “messiah who having returned to flee Rwandans from President Paul Kagame’s tyranny”, was arrested – first on tramped up charges, put under house arrest, provisionally released only to be arrested days later and charged with promoting ethnic divisionism, propagating genocide ideology and trivilaising the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

A very heavy charge sheet if you ask me but is it really? In case you missed it, this was on April 21, 2010. Some two years later, the prosecution is still looking for evidence. Never mind too that this is a case which first a prosecutor and later the president were both quoted saying that there was enough evidence to convict her on almost all the charges.

To her supporters and perhaps those who have been following the case closely, it was not surprising learning that Ms Ingabire’s case was adjourned yet again, today as her defence team asked for time to review some fresh evidence provided by prosecution. One can only assume that the new evidence reportedly obtained from the Netherlands by the prosecution was availed to the defence on the eleventh minute as a strategic move to catch them off guard for why else would the same people who not long ago (in the same case) complained of not being given enough time by the defence, fall in the same trap?

Some commentators have branded this a political trial. And you can not fail to see why. Between April 2010 and February 2012, this case has been itemised with numerous postponements. It has become a cat and mouse case. When prosecution has not requested time to solicit and submit new evidence, the defence has sought for time to examine and look at the freshly presented evidence. Such requests of course do take time and amidst this quandary, the defendant continues her incarceration.

Add to this the challenges which will come in the form of checks on procedure – issues  such as; does the High Court have jurisdiction to try the accused for acts or omissions amounting to genocide ideology given that the evidence against her is based on say comments made prior to the publication of Law N° 18/2008 of 23 July 2008 in the Official Gazette on 15 October 2008? Does the same Court have jurisdiction to try the accused for any act or omission which the Prosecutor suggests amounts to complicity in terrorist acts done prior to the publication of Law N° 45/2008 of 9 September 2008 in the Official Gazette on 6 April 2009? Or even still, can she be tried for acts done outside Rwanda?

And assuming a solution to all this is finally found, what happens to the literature that has been written or said about this case be it from political commentators, newsletters, blogs and sometimes political party websites?

While it is easy to explain or understand the reasons behind the protracted nature of this case, it remains in the government’s interest to quickly bring this case to trial. The more it drags on, the more the interest (both local and international). Not only will this put the Rwandan judiciary on the spot, it will also require that the prosecutor be sure he has what it takes. This of course means he must be willing to allow for the defence to examine and where witnesses are provided, agree to their cross examination.

And given the nature of this case, never mind the trajectory it has been taking since Ingabire first appeared in court, all eyes will be wide open. Alas to whoever bungles. No one said this was easy. I might be apolitical but like in that other Mc Donald advert “I am loving this”.

…over to you little monsters!

Joseph Bideri And Why He ‘Lived To Die Another Day’

By Eleneus Akanga

Joseph Bideri (bless him) was able to manage a grin last night as he headed home after a long bad day at the office but the former RPF chief propagandist knows things could have been a lot worse – but for some brilliant CYA moment.

Yes and before you begin scratching your head, CYA or (Cover Your Ass), is a common term used in overly litigious societies like the US to refer to the idea that whatever the situation, one MUST always remember not to leave themselves too exposed – refer to the law of torts.

The news yesterday morning that The New Times Editor-in-Chief had been detained following hours of interrogation at the hands of CID officers shocked even the finest of the TNT faithful but to many this was not surprising news. In a country where intolerance to corruption (again depending on how you define intolerance to graft) is somewhat an assumed mantra, reports of even the mightiest of all going behind bars are not that uncommon. So when it dawned on all that Bideri had been taken in, there was a sense of well, “not surprising”.

And like I wrote a few months ago, Mr. Bideri in yesteryear Rwanda was the cowboy with powers to succeed the laws of the land. While he will have been shocked by his questioning and subsequent detention at Kicukiro Police Station, he will have not been surprised. As someone who has been in the system for a while, he knows the terms of reference. Work for us and we will support you, challenge us or fall out with one of those who matter and you will be lynched.

There are a host of reasons as to why Mr. Bideri could have been summoned. Despite his unswerving service to the regime in Kigali, the man has had his own mishaps. Some versions (not official) claim he stole so much from the public coffers when he was the Managing Director at Rwanda Office of Information (ORINFOR). Late last year, there were reports that the reason he had fled to Canada was partly to do with allegations he had presided over a spell of tax evasion at The New Times. Again, I must emphasise that these were allegations and in most cases rumours which never got followed up by the relevant government agencies.

Part of this is the reason many will have been surprised to hear that Mr. Bideri was behind bars potentially staring at a possible fast route to the infamous Kigali 1930 prison.

So What Happened?

It is difficult to tell exactly what happened at Kicukiro Police Station. I tried contacting a few folks back in Rwanda and not even the insiders know what exactly happened. It seems Mr. Bideri’s arrest was never on the cards (as in imminent) until it happened so even insiders were surprised. What we do know though is that his interrogation began at the CID offices in Kacyiru before ending up in an arrest and detention at Kicukiro. From this we can deduce that whatever the case, Bideri’s arrest was engineered or conducted with the knowledge of someone within the National Security Service (NSS) who as we also now know, was working in cahoots with the Rwanda Police Inspector General Emmanuel Gasana.

After hours of waiting, a disheartened Bideri began to demand answers from his interlocutors. His demands fell to deaf ears probably because there was never a proper charge sheet and the powers that be for all that time were trying to find something to associate with the TNT boss. Given his experience working with the system in Kigali, he became aware of what was likely to happen and realised tha the only way out was jail.

It was then that Bideri being the smart boy he is, decided to text a reporter at the AfroAmerica publication to report he was being put under arrest. The former propagandist also realising that his tormentors had been so delusional to leave him with his phone contacted his work place to let them know what was goin on.

According to The New Times, “Bideri telephoned the Ag. Managing Editor, James Munyaneza, at around 7p.m, and told him he had been arrested over stories The New Times published recently about the ongoing controversy revolving around Rukarara hydro power project in Nyamagabe District, Southern Province.” The news of course came as shock to the young folks at the newspaper and while they normally would have let it go, the journalist in James Munyaneza (one of the few remaining real journalists in the country) saw an opening and wanted the matter reported. The other version has it that Bideri personally asked for the story to be published. And whatever happens now, when all this is done with, Bideri might look back and thank his stars that the story of his arrest and detention came out in the pro-government newspaper.

Story Pulled Down

Those holding Bideri were still smarting from the fact that they had scored one past their nemesis only to be overwhelmed by the amount of interest his arrest was generating on the web around the world. Rwanda remains a very tricky nation and one which given what happened in 1994, continues to attract attention, not least too because of the regime’s crackdown on free speech and freedom of expression. Thus any story about freedom of expression in Rwanda usually generates so much traffic and interest. As people took to on-line forums to debate and make sense of what they were reading and hearing, the police and NSS realised the story had moved faster than they thought. Bideri was already 3-0 up and the reaction was well in his favour.

Already, both CID and the police had struggled to find answers to the question :why is he being held. Their answer: “You will get to know all the details tomorrow” was not cutting it. The tomorrow they were talking about had arrived and they still didn’t have answers. The New Times, the newspaper which the regime has consistently used to push stories against those it wants to destroy and bring charges on had also been compromised by its boss. It was already leading with the story that Bideri had been detained.

This would have been fine but there was another problem. While the NSS and Rwanda police would have preferred a stronger and more compelling charge against the big man, The New Times and all the other publications which picked up the story had already projected the charge as being something to do “Rukarara stories.”

Rukarara Stories?

Probably until (yesterday) not so many people outside Rwanda had paid that much interest to the Rukarara project. Not any more. Rukarara Hydro Power Plant which was meant to help solve Rwanda’s power shortage problems has turned out to be a money spinner for spineless politicians and businessmen who are only intent on fleecing the country out of even the little we borrow. While the government has sunk over 23 million dollars into the project (originally projected to produce 9.5 MW) Rukarara is struggling to even produce a meagre 5 MW. Incredible given the amount which has been spent on the project.

And according to the powers that be, The New Times’ mistake it turns out, was commissioning reporters to tell stories in a way “which portrays the project as a total failure and the government as having not delivered.” So Bideri, was indeed being done for allowing stories about the project to be published in a way that made it look like the country whose regime prizes itself on efficiency and good service delivery was failing or had failed to deliver on a power plant – despite spending millions of dollars on the project.

What Next?

Bideri may have woken up from his dream but he just like those of us who are familiar with the dealings in Kigali, will be well aware that this is not the end of his nightmare. There are powerful dark horses towering over bodies of weak pawns on what many see as the unpredictable Rwandan game of chase. Along the way some will be crushed, others will survive. While I cannot wish jail for a man who for the sake of his daily bread has had to do all sorts of things including engaging in smear campaigns against perceived and real enemies to the Rwandan regime, I owe it to him to remind him (and those like him) that in Paul Kagame’s Rwanda, no one is indispensable. Bideri should count himself lucky that he was able to Cover His Ass in time. This time he was lucky, the next he may not be as much. From experience (JB Sanyu, Eddie Rwema, David Kabuye and Ignatius Kabagambe) the top job at Rwanda’s mouthpiece is not the easiest of them all. The good news for Monsieur Bideri is that he was always part of the people who sacked all his predecessors. Perhaps he is “unsacakble” but I am not sure he is “unjailable”. Now that he has survived, he should get to the very bottom of the Rukarara Project to unearth the real problem or the same Rukarara Project will be the last government project for which report he ever presides over as TNT boss. At least he has some sympathisers. Canada anyone?

Over to you my little monsters…

Hands Off Please, President Kagame is a Magnate

I live in London, in a modest one bedroom flat. Each month, I painfully transfer £620.75p to my landlord so he can let me stay. I have never stopped telling myself that this is a lot of money. A lot indeed considering that for the same amount, I could get a five bedroom detached and gated house, with a big garden, a swimming pool and a tennis court in one of the plush neighbourhoods back home. The good news is that I am paying this from my own account.

For now, I will whine and whinge but I must continue to work my socks off if I am to remain resident in my present address. I am also energized by the belief that as a student, life will get easier once I am done with my studies. Then, I so hope, to start earning more, and possibly buy myself a house.

But why all this rent and bills nonsense? You see as a Rwandan student who has been struggling all year around with my tuition, accommodation and food, I was shocked to learn that just this week my president travelled to the US for a UN meeting and spent £12,000 a night on a hotel room. It might have begun as a rumour but the thought of a man who in August 2010 was voted into power by an electorate 60 percent of which according to UNDP live in poverty (and 42 percent in absolute poverty) splashing out on luxury while on a foreign mission is yet to sink in.

When news first broke that President Kagame ( who many still praise for using aid money so effectively and being a down to earth head of state) was living in an expensive presidential suite at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental, those with a highly bent inclination to the regime in Kigali rejected the news as “utter tabloid gossip”. I remained sceptical but was never surprised. With African heads of state, anything is possible and one should never rule out anything unless they are absolutely sure.

Now that the hitherto rumour has been confirmed to be indeed the truth, I await the Rwandan government explanation as to the reasons behind this reckless expenditure. Four times I have tried to get in touch with those in the know in Kigali and no one wants to speak. Not even my most trusted source. An email to an old trusted general yesterday over the matter elicited a response akin to the kind you would expect from a chicken thief who’s been caught red handed drinking from the neighbour’s alcohol pot. “Hands off please”.

The news that the president of a begging state managed to sleep in a hotel which even the British PM (even though the UK might have afforded) thought expensive, will continue to astonish the world but as we await an inquiry into the Mandarin Oriental spree (accountability) questions must be asked as to whether our leaders are worth what they claim to stand for.

There is more to President Kagame than just the tough talking strict disciplinarian he has been portrayed as. While his peers in East Africa were being ostracised for spending fortunes on extravagant presidential motorcades and SUVs, Kagame’s admirers pointed to his well managed small convoy (usually consisting of his car, two land cruisers carrying his body guards and a third vehicle clearing traffic). However, the same man who on the face of it appears to be modest and down to earth, not so interested in a pomp lifestyle akin to most heads of states in Africa, was discovered to have spent more than 100 million dollars purchasing two executive jets – which he continues to use to ferry him for all his trips to and from Europe and the Americas.

No one denies the fact that presidents must and ought to be protected. In the case of Rwanda where the position of the president reigns supreme, and given the country’s history, one might understand the need to ensure that the head of state stays safe and well. And if the protection can be only achieved through hiring and residing in a safe hotel, then so be it. But such protection must be within a certain context, reasonable and some will say, necessary. If President Kagame had for example been visiting Kabul or Mogadishu where as we know security concerns are high one might understand the need to hire or reside at an expensive hotel. But this was the US. Many will say, one of the safest countries in the world. American authorities including the FBI and CIA will have known in advance that dignitaries from all over the world were coming to stay so you can rest assured their security was granted.

It will have been safe to stay in any of the good hotels around, just like some other heads of state or prime ministers did and  not necessarily the most expensive there was. A more modest hotel room of say £3000 would have done just fine. While it still would have been four months worth of my rent and enough to cater for a year’s Universal Primary Education tuition for 3000 Rwandan children, it would have been reasonable.

But does it really matter if a sitting head of state from a poor developing country decides to splash out on a trip out of his land? Should we really care that President Kagame while on a trip to the US suddenly decides to literally “sleep and eat like a queen or King”?

Some have argued that the president may have been outrageous with his hotel bill but we should not forget the fact that he was also in the US to solicit some business and investment for Rwanda. Indeed one outrageous argument was advanced just yesterday that the US trip followed the French trip from which Kagame raised close to 3o million Euros in investments and grants to Rwanda. The idea being that with all this money raised, £12,000 on a room should not be seen as a bad move. I wont say this sort of reasoning is stupid because it is.

As an offender, Kagame is entitled to a defence but this sort of defence is utterly out of order. First it negates the fact that this is not about where Kagame stayed but how much he paid to stay there and whether this was the best option possible. Secondly, it assumes that the money raised was for Kagame and therfore he had authority over it forgetting the fact that the aid advanced or grants given were forwarded to Rwanda as a State not its head of state.

I am not sure the government will want to get to the bottom of this but I wish those in charge could. If it was to turn out for example that PK footed the £12,000 – a night hotel bill from his own pocket, then like myself and my rent, he can sit down and hope for the same next time or even better if he works hard and earns more. Otherwise events in New York have only helped heap more scorn and ridicule to an exposed dancer whose moves people were already beginning to doubt. Someone had better call Racepoint. 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…

How Popular is Paul Kagame?

An interesting insight from  Nkunda Rwanda, one that is definitely worth reading.

By Nkunda Rwanda

There is no doubt that Paul Kagame’s campaigns have been well attended. In Rwanda, the Presidential campaign(s) are big events. They are bracing parties, complete with glamorous music, dance troupes and a lot of fun-fare. This is, more so, the case for a political party like RPF with immense wealth.

For ordinary Rwandans, the campaigns offer a rare chance for them to get a glimpse of the pomp and color that surrounds the political elite. This behavior of passive on looking is known locally as “gushungera”. If you are a Kigali urbanite, or a white person visiting the Rwandan villages, you must have noticed the kind of attention you attract. If you are driving in a car, kids in their tattered clothes and bare feet will chase after your vehicle for very long distances.

The spectacle of Kagame with his convoy of vehicles definitely adds a new component to village life.

Equally important, the villagers want to see the man, with a tight control over their country. The urge to see is so strong that very few people can resist. Thus, when the New Times Reports that the RPF’s campaigns are, “characterized by extreme excitement [among the peasantry]…” I do not dispute.

However, claims by the Rwanda News Agency, an arm of the Rwandan intelligence claims that the mammoth turnouts are an indication that the RPF will be voted for “100%” are very misleading.

On the surface, Kagame appears to be immensely popular among rural Rwandans. The image given, particularly during this campaign period is that of “A man of the people”, who has taken Rwanda by storm.

Beyond this romantic picturesque, there is another reality that is rarely told.
Thus, you may ask, how can a leader who attracts crowds of thousands at rallies get defeated in elections?

Here is the tragic reason:

On the village level, local officials market RPF’s campaigns as part of a government project necessary to fulfill vision 2020. Just like Gacaca or Umuganda, attendance to these rallies is mandatory. Failure to turn up, which is monitored by the local officials in charge of security, is interpreted as a mild form of treason. You are likely to be reprimanded and possibly punished for being an enemy of the state “kurwanya leta” or/and for subverting the government’s agenda “kutubahiriza gahunda za leta”, or/and disrespect for government authorities “gusuzugura abayobozi”.

Failure to embrace the “government’s agenda” puts one into a constant battle with state authorities, and is a cause for perpetual harassment. Should you be remotely classified as such, it will be hard for you to get access to any services.

This is exactly what has happened to some of Victoire Ingabire’s supporters. In 2003, Faustin Twagiramungu’s supporters faced the same problem. After he the end of the elections, many chose to flee into exile.

Elections are tense everywhere—but in Rwanda, it means life or death. Any minor breach of the expected order brings unwanted attention. Moving with the “flock” is a common survival strategy. Thus, as a general precaution, when the RPF invites you to the stadium, it is wise to abandon your daily quest for survival, walk the many miles, and show up to their rally.

Under this tightly controlled environment, it is impossible to have a free and fair election. When people are coerced to attend political rallies, their presence, however mammoth, does not represent their satisfaction with the political system. In fact, as is often the case with dictatorships worldwide, this huge gatherings reflect barbaric control and manipulations.

The RPF has tight control over rural Rwanda and they decide what happens and how. On top of their agenda, many believe, is the desire to subvert the spread of democracy in order to guarantee their political survival.

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?

Why General Nyamwasa fled Rwanda

He fought alongside President Kagame and has catholicly served under him for all his adult life. Soft spoken and intelligent, Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa was and remains one of the few comrades who never shied away from reminding the RPF senior leadership of the need to stick to what they waged war for-the liberation of Rwanda. According to senior sources close to the man himself, his reminders fell to deaf ears and his bosses viewed him as too liberal and very compromising. He was, not once but twice, accused of plotting a coup against a regime he served so diligently.

Now after having fled for dear life, Gen. Nyamwasa is being accused of conniving with his fellow comrade Col. Patrick Karegeya to terrorise Kigali by planting grenades around the city. It is a sudden shift from an earlier official statement by the country’s police spokesman who said two weeks ago that the grenade attacks were a work of FDLR rebels. Are we being taken for granted or is someone not telling the truth?

Yesterday, another set of grenades rocked Kigali claiming the life of one and injuring 16 according to police reports. Gen. Nyamwasa is now in South Africa. Who exactly is behind the grenade attacks? If indeed he was, like the government want us to believe, then the problem is bigger than anyone thinks. If this is a ploy to have him extradited, the public deserves answers as to why innocent civilians must die in the name of preserving the status quo. And if the attacks are not an inside job but a work of the FDLR, the two suspects who have since been arrested in connection to the attacks should now be produced in court for the judicial system to take over.

The General spoke to Voice of America.

Mr Nyamwasa, the government of Rwanda yesterday (Tuesday) alleged that you are behind the recent grenade attacks in Kigali, what is your reaction to this?

That is malicious propaganda. Just harassment. I was harassed when I was in the country and they are trying to extend the harassment even when I am abroad.

What is the status of your family back in India? Your wife was on radio and said she was under house arrest?

Yes. The situation is grave. It is dire. We as a family were sent to India to represent the country. It is very unfortunate that my family which has nothing to do with whatever I am being accused of, is being harassed. That shows you what kind of regime we have been serving.

Tell us about the genesis of your fall out with the government in Rwanda

I am not the only one. Look at the turnover of all people who have served in that regime. It tells the whole story. Look at all those who have served with President Paul Kagame, ask him who is still serving with him now. If all of us are bad and he is the only good person, then Rwanda has no future.

Were you questioned by security agencies in Rwanda before your departure?

Not at all. I was questioned by a group of operatives put together to harass me and you could see the harassment method was to provoke me into argument and eventuality cause arrest. So there was no security organ that I met. So if they say I was questioned by any security organ, that is not correct.

What do you think is the basis of all this?

The regime in Kigali is really descending into total dictatorship and you know absolute power corrupts absolutely. So, in this case you don’t have to have a different opinion, you are not supposed to debate and if you are perceived to have a different opinion on anything, then you are an enemy. That’s what happened to me.

You said you were questioned by a group of people. What are some of the questions they were asking you?

These are questions which don’t ask anything. The first question was, I had gone to Rwanda to bury my mother who had died and there was no government officials attending the burial ceremony. So the first question was what I make of the fact that there were no government officials at the burial. You can imagine that kind of question to a person who is still mourning his parent.
And then the other question was that I had gone to the UK for studies; that I sympathise with people who had been thrown out of the government unfairly. That I sympathise with the families of some late comrades and things like that! All those kinds of nonsense.

Are you perceived in any way as some sort of political threat to the power of the president within the party its self?

That could be a perception. The fact that some media houses write something like that; but that happens in every country. They could have cross checked my track record. I didn’t have any intention to challenge anybody in politics. But even if it was the case, what is wrong with that?

So you did not have any kind of political ambitions to take over the presidency of the party?

No, I believe in democracy and if I had wanted to stand for any party position I would have presented my candidature. But to be frank, that has never been my intention. But all I am trying to tell you is that even if it were the case, which it’s not, there wouldn’t have been a problem with that in my view.

Why didn’t you stay in Kigali after being questioned by the security agencies? Don’t you think this aggravated the situation?

No security agencies questioned me. The secretary general of the party has nothing to do with diplomacy. That’s not the minister of foreign affairs, he is not the President.
In the first place, he never had any right to question me. If you look at the people in the meeting, some of them were ministers, Members of Parliament and police officers.
There is nothing like security organs. That’s why I am telling you a group of operatives, some fellows who are just sycophant[ing] around just to obtain positions and maginalise other people.

So this was basically a meeting with members of the ruling party who called you to come in, there was no interrogation of any sort by and security agency whatsoever?

Yes, that’s right.

So you decided you should extract yourself from this situation?

Yes

Every time there is this type of fall out in Rwanda, we see that the parties involved try to leave the country… why?

It’s because they have no faith in the judiciary, no faith in government institutions because they have no faith, then you go to seek for justice where it is.

But someone would say you have been serving this country for over a decade, is it now that you are seeing it happening because you are the victim? Has this happened in the past?

Yeah, exactly, that’s why I ran away. Because I have been trying, asking people to reform and to make sure these institutions are strong enough to defend people and yet they have been marginalised and monopolised. That’s why I had to leave. If I had faith in the institutions, I would have stayed.

Do you have hope that your wife and family will be able to join you?

It is very difficult but she is brave so she will probably be able to make it.

Did you reach out to the minister of foreign affairs who is supposedly your boss to talk to her about this issue before you left the country?

She is the first person who sacked me that day without even wanting me to find out. And look at her track record- she is just a new entrant who is just trying to protect her position, what do you expect from her?

So what is your future now? What are you going to do? What should we expect in the coming days or years?

Look at it from this perspective; I spent all my youthful years fighting for justice and fighting for the unity of the Rwandese people but at this time, it is going to be difficult I am aware.

Are you planning to return to the country anytime soon?

No. If I was supposed to return I would not have asked for these papers (SA passport).

Should the opportunity present itself and you are confident of your safety, would you go back and run for political office?

That has never been my intention because one person is not going to change much.
I don’t think I am the saviour. I only think that the people in the country, the powers that be, should look around and see the turnover, how many people have run away and probably change. If they don’t change then we shall languish where we are.

What do you make of the allegations that you were plotting a coup d’état?

We used to hear about those things even during the Habyarimana’s regime. Dictators always say that.
That was just threatening the population, threatening anybody who would want to raise his voice. Essentially that was a threat. And every dictatorship will always say that like in Zimbabwe and North Korea.

Are you assured of your safety in SA? Why didn’t you go to Uganda or any other neighbouring country?

The proximity of Uganda and Rwanda would have caused a problem between the two countries. Secondly, the judicial system that I would probably be subjected to was also in perspective when I came here.

Can Victoire Ingabire fix Rwanda’s Political Puzzle?

Little known but committed Victoire Ingabire is a woman of all seasons. She has since her arrival back in Rwanda been trying to familiarise herself with the developments so far in a country she left 16 years ago. A career accountant-turned politician, she hopes, subject to the registration of her political party, to contest the forthcoming presidential election this August. Many agree she stands no chance but her introduction into the Rwandan political fold has already created a few surprises. Government propagandists under different pseudo names are already engaged in a tarnishing campaign to ensure all she says is never believed. Already, her political aide has been arrested and jailed over a Gacaca court conviction that Ingabire’s supporters and sympathisers believe is faked.

But as Kagame prepares to assume yet another seven year term, the world has been introduced to a politically charged mercenary type of society where opposition politics is only present on paper. It appears Kagame and his men are more at ease with the already established and very disorganised nine political parties who they know and have always controlled so easily. They are not ready for a party whose leader has been brave enough to raise critical issues. As part of a more detailed story to follow in one of the leading newspapers in the UK, I asked Ingabire about her thoughts on recent events:

You have been a subject of constant criticism from several government spin doctors and there is every indication you may not get to register your party, do you still believe it is possible?

I have indeed been subjected to all sorts of harassments from government sponsored media and services. But I have so far managed to keep on with my agenda of registering my party. Given the kind of hurdles that I have gone through, I can not rule out any scenario. The government may reject the registration application of my party on flimsy reasons, in order to hang on power. It is clear that the ruling party is not ready for competition of ideas, in a genuine multiparty system.

The fact that one of your aides has been charged with a genocide crime and imprisoned as a result must surely make you doubt and fear for your life. How have the events of the past weeks affected your overall desire to bring to Rwandans what you think they deserve?

The rough beating and subsequent arrest and detention of Joseph Ntawangundi brought to limelight the true colour of our government. In a rule of law, we expected the assailants to answer for their deeds, more so when the government claimed that they had been arrested. Instead, the victim was arrested and jailed, as if to cover up the assailants. We were both targeted by the mob and I narrowly escaped. I would have been equally beaten if I had been caught. Yes I fear for my life, as any human being, but this will not derail my desire and determination to bring changes in Rwanda.

You are a strong lady, aren’t you? Who is Victoire Ingabire?

I can not gauge my strength, I leave it to others. As for my background, I am 42 years old, married and mother of three children. I hold a degree in Commercial and business administration which I got in Holland, where I worked in private sector. I majored in Enterprises management. My political career started in late nineteen. I was also involved in many NGO’s activities. I believe in no violence as a way of bringing political changes.

Elections will be here in 6 months time but yet one would think Uganda will be voting earlier than Rwanda. What do you think is the reason for no morale about the coming elections in Rwanda?

Previous elections held in Rwanda in 2003 and 2008 were marred by massive rigging. This was confirmed among others, by EU observers in their report. Since the composition of the electoral commission has not fundamentally changed, there is no guarantee of a more transparent election. This is the reason why we are calling for a broad based electoral commission and an electoral code that has the blessing of all political parties involved in the election. The ruling party can not be a judge and jury. The recent resignation from the ruling party of the chairman of the electoral commission is a mere smoke screen move, to hoodwink donors and it is our prayer that some of these things get sorted out. He still is member of the party which does not change much.

Reports from both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International seem to hint on the excessive lack of political space in Rwanda viewing dissent as anti-progress. Is that a view you share especially after spending a few weeks in the country now?

I totally share the assessments of HRW, as far as political space is concerned in Rwanda. Freedom of expression and equal access to public and private media is paramount for democratic elections. No issue should be a taboo. People should be free to challenge the government on its achievements and generally the way it conducts its affairs. Government critics should not be treated as enemies of the nation, but as watch dogs. Democracy is a universal commodity. It should not be twisted merely to suit interest of a group or political organisation. This is what I am struggling for.

There is this allegation that FDU-Inkingi is connected to FDLR which has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the US, tell us this is true?

These are fabrications aimed at tarnishing my image and delaying the registration of my party. Of late, government lobbies have been going around, brandishing a UN experts report as evidence. This UN report which by the way was heavily criticised by Tanzania and Burundi, is so biased that it went to the extent of saying that the commander in chief of FDLR is my brother! This is rubbish? The report further alleges that I am connected with FDLR because I attended a meeting with FDLR members in Barcelona. The so called Barcelona meeting took place under the auspices of a Spanish NGO and was attended by Rwandan of all ethnic groups, including RPF well known individuals from Rwanda. This can be cross-checked from the minutes of the meeting. The agenda of the meeting was to see ways and means of organising an inter Rwanda dialogue. How came these RPF members who attended the meeting are not labelled FDLR supporters? The truth of the story is that the government does not want a true dialogue and want to demonise any dialogue initiative that is not under it iron fist. Had the Barcelona meeting been a conspiracy meeting, the organisers would have not invited delegates from Rwanda including staunch supporters of the ruling party.

What do you want and wish for Rwanda?

Peace, stability and reconciliation. I don’t want to see any more Rwandan being killed as a result of his ethnic, religious, region or political origin. I don’t want to see any more Rwandan seeking asylum abroad, or living in makeshift camps around Africa or being hunted like animals in neighbouring countries.
I want an independent judiciary and state machinery that pays allegiance to a cause, a nation, and no more to an individual or political organisation. I want a Rwanda where there is a rule of laws and equal economic opportunities. This is my dream.

After the attack on you a few weeks ago, do you now feel safe? We read in the papers that you have written to the president for security, what is the latest on this?

It is the duty of any government to ensure security for its entire citizen. This is what I expect from my government. I am not begging for favours.

If winning had to be about you (FDU) merging with the Green Party of Rwanda, and that is of course assuming that you both get registered, would you welcome a coalition?

Let’s not cross the bridge before reaching it. For the time being the issue does not arise. But I can assure you that I will support any move that can bring changes in Rwanda. I am not struggling for my own ego, but for the good of my countrymen. I share the Green party thirst for freedom and democracy.

The “Messiah” who is putting Kagame’s govt to test

She remains as determined and hopeful in her dream to become Rwanda’s next president and possibly the first ever female head of state in the volatile Great Lakes Region of Africa but if hope is her charisma, she must know by now, the road to this feat is potentially, a very rough one.

Victoire Ingabire, 42, chairperson of the yet to be registered Unified Democratic Forces (UDF), a coalition of Rwandan opposition parties with members in Rwanda and abroad returned to Rwanda only last month following some 16 years of exile in the Netherlands, to register her party and get ready for the August presidential elections.

She has since proved a constant pickle to spin doctors in Kigali who have been running a series of hate stories against her and the party she represents, in a manner, only reminiscent of the hate media days that characterised the country prior to the genocide.

The government controlled and only English daily in the country, The New Times has consistently run very critical commentaries about her with some so nasty and badly written the authors names had to be doctored according to inside source at the paper.

But while this is probably what Ingabire will have been told to expect the day she made the decision to go back to Rwanda and prepare to contest for the top seat in the land, events from the last couple of weeks after her arrival have left many wondering whether the country’s media industry may have learnt anything from its distasteful past.

One would think that having witnessed the awful manner in which publications like Kangura and radio stations like RTLM were used in pre-genocide times to spread hatred among Rwandans, media practitioners in today’s Rwanda would be the last to resort to hate campaigns and dehumanisation. Not so says one Felix Muheto.

In an editorial that appeared in January 21, publication of The New Times, Muheto, who it has to be noted is a pseudo name for a leading Kigali spin doctor, imperially questioned Ingabire’s credentials as a presidential candidate in a manner that casts doubt as to whether journalism in Rwanda has changed for the best or the worst post genocide. “Mrs. Victoire Ingabire, in her Parmehutu nostalgic mind thought it wise to start her ill-fated struggle for the country’s highest office by seeking her ideological ancestors’ blessing for another revolution. “Well ! Is she the messiah who is going to cleanse them of their confessed sins for participating in genocide while planning to involve them into another ?” he wrote.

Muheto’s stinging allegations were even considered so important that The New Times, which maintains it is an exemplary and constructive media house published his opinion as an editorial.

Patrick Bigabo, a journalist and former employee of The New Times who currently is in private business told me it is less to do with a failure to learn from the past but a concerted desire to hustle free speech. “It has nothing to do with preserving what we have achieved over the years. Truth is, Kigali has been caught pants down.

Ingabire is viewed as a threat and so to counter her resurgence, the only tool is to attack. They will go to any level to make it extremely diffcult for her,” he says.

And go for her they have. Immediately after arriving in Rwanda on January 16, Ingabire headed to the genocide memorial at Gisozi in the outskirts of the capital Kigali where she is said to have delivered a speech.

The government says her speech aimed at evoking arguments of a double genocide, Ingabire’s camp maintains her speech was honest and aimed at challenging critical thinking and looking at Rwanda’s history “objectively”. Whatever the case, Ingabire’s arrival and subsequent speeches in Rwanda appear to be making Kagame’s government run scared. Otherwise why would Felix Muheto and the lot find themselves pre-occupied with criticising and literally demonising a lady who many agree stands no chance of winning the August election ?

There is little chance her party will get registered. Her mother …as we have since come to understand has already been accused of playing a role in the 1994 genocide and was sentenced in absencia by the Gacaca court of Butamwa. Even Ingabire’s camp is aware the government is trying to use this against their presidential hopeful. A recent communiqué from a party member, Chris Nzabandora noted :

“In a healthy democracy, discussion should be focused on issues not individuals. Ms. Ingabire is in Rwanda to defend a program not her own personal interests. The New Times is trying out cheap propaganda to imply that genocide ideology is a family rooted crime, to which every family member is answerable. This is not true.” Ingabire Attacked

That a presidential hopeful was attacked by youths and his aide beaten up so severely to the extent he had to be rushed to hospital calls into question whether the government is ready and willing to provide security to aspirants.

There is rumour too that the attack was an inside job by some elements within the establishment keen at sending Ingabire a message that she either gives up or prepares to face similar or even worse incidents. This argument is supported collaborated by the inconsistencies in the reports of events as told to different media outlets by Police spokesman Supt Eric Kayiranga.

While he told Reuters that Ingabire was beaten up by mobs who were angry at her politics, he told this reporter on phone that the five men police was holding over the matter confessed they wanted to steal her bag and had nothing to do with Ingabire as a politician.

But speaking to Reuters, Gregory Mthembu Salter a research associate at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said the attack may reflect a need for Rwanda to uphold freedom of speech better.

The country has often come under heavy criticism for its continued limits on freedom of speech, press freedom and rule of law – a criticism Kigali vehemently denies. The coming presidential election will be a stern test to the establishment in Kigali.