“I will commit suicide if Kagame is not allowed to run for president” pledges a skeleton

President Paul Kagame, after unjustly garnering numerous praises for a so called economic growth, is trying to tamper with the constitution so that a third term is allowed for him to run for president coming 2017 campaign. Maybe to keep accumulating praises! The current constitution states that under no circumstances nobody shall be allowed to run for presidency after two mandates. Note that one presidential term in Rwanda is 7 years, meaning that two terms equal 14 years. Brief, after two terms, a Rwandan president will have been in power six more years than a US president who finishes his two terms.

With Paul Kagame, it has been even more. This man, who took power via armed struggle and after bloodshed of four years between 1990 and 1994, gave himself a post of vice president in order to fool the world that his ambitions were not to be in control. However everybody knows that Bizimungu Pateur also nicknamed a “Hutu of service” didn’t have any power since he had to be dictated what to do or say. It is in 2000 that Bizimungu had it enough to be used like a robot and resigned. Kagame sent him in jail few after.

Kagame took over since 2000, elected President of Rwanda by the national assembly. It is under him that the current constitution was prepared by his close acolytes and inner circle. They thought that by fixing a seven year presidential term renewable once would be enough. It was visible that 7 years was too much while in neighboring countries this term does not go beyond 5 years.

Coming 2017, Kagame will have been in power for 23 years (18 years officially). His thirst is however unquenched still. He needs more terms! He cannot find any reason to advance. This time he can no longer hide his love of being in power. He doesn’t care about  the “stupid” praises he got in the past. He can no longer hide who he really is. He is calculated a better way to initiate the amendment project. So he is sending his secret and armed services in all villages to force the poor people to sign a pre-conceived form to petition the parliament for a constitutional reform so that Kagame can lead until his death. All the public servants are ordered to sign and threatened to be fired if they refuse to do so. All project managers and workers, be it public or private, all business people, all students, and funny enough all prisoners, etc are ordered to sign this petition. A few who have resisted, either disappeared or were found dead, and investigation was ever pushed for. The only group of people still to sign the petition and whose view is likely to make Kagame run for the next term comprises the psychiatric patients, and the dead!

We are simply saying that Kagame should stop this nonsense. While he is claiming that the people has said, we are telling him, that the people chose for him (if they ever did) to be the leader and not the other way round. The role of a leader, especially in a country where the illiteracy rate is about 40%, is to assist the people to build strong institutions and set path for sustainability of whatever achievement is in place. Based on information at hand, the leader is in a better position to even refute popular demands once they are not in the national interest. Instead of garnering a big number of signatures from uneducated people or from traumatized servants, a leader should listen to the elite especially who are not in the government. As for those who are serving in the government, they are in a conflict of interest situation, and so their input can be biased.

Ms Aurore S. has just initiated a petition to ask the United Nations to use its influence on Kagame so that the Rwandan national assembly led by an RPF member, does not amend the constitution. She is calling on everybody who wishes well to Rwanda, to Rwandans and to the whole region of great lakes of Africa to sign this petition. By signing this http://https://secure.avaaz.org/fr/petition/Organisation_de_Nations_Unies_Pas_de_modification_de_la_constitution_Rwandaise_surtout_larticle_101_1/?tPENWgb,  you are saying that:

1. Rwanda is a republic and not a monarchy
2. A peaceful political changeover is the pillar to democratic institutions
3. Rwanda needs strong institutions and not strong men.
4. Rwanda needs a new president in 2017.
5. Stop RPF from torturing the people in attempt to have them sign for the third term for Paul Kagame.
6. Article # 101 of the constitution is untouchable.

Thank you for signing.