If President Paul Kagame has been tracking the furore over Priti Patel’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, he’s been doing it on the hoof. Kagame moves constantly these days: the news broke while he was en route to Barbados after a visit to Jamaica. In the past two months he has been to Congo-Brazzaville, Kenya (twice), Zambia, Germany (twice), Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Mauritania, Senegal and Belgium.
How the president of one of Africa’s poorest nations can afford all this travelling is a puzzle, and the fact that his Gulfstream jet is supplied by Crystal Ventures, his Rwandan Patriotic Front’s monopolistic investment arm, raises interesting budgetary questions. In a country where checks on the executive have been whittled away, the dividing line between a ruling party’s business interests and the presidential expense account is distinctly blurred.
The conflicts in the Great Lakes region cannot be fully resolved until Rwanda addresses its internal political problems.
Since Rwanda gained its independence in 1962, the country has experienced successive regimes that have stayed in power by any means possible, refusing to implement good governance reforms. The repercussions have been massacres and human rights violations, culminating in the Tutsi’s genocide of 1994.
After the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) took power in 1994, it held national consultations – referred to as Urugwiro Village meetings – to discuss how Rwanda could solve its issues of national unity, democracy, justice, economy and security. The outcomes of these consultations have been the guiding philosophies of the governance implemented by the RPF over the past two decades.
Nonetheless, the way Rwanda’s governance and relationship with its neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region have evolved over time is a concern. Today there are pressing issues that necessitate holding another intra-Rwandan dialogue between the Rwandan government and dissenting voices and civil society organisations operating in and outside the country to revamp its governance strategy so that long-term stability at home and in the Great Lakes region is guaranteed.
The consensus democracy that aimed to prevent further ethnic violence while accelerating development agreed on during the Urugwiro Village meetings has transformed over time into a political system that suppresses political dissent, restricts pluralism and curbs civil liberty in Rwanda.
In many instances the government has abused its power, collaborating with the judicial system to criminalise its critics under the silent watch of the legislature. These practices, along with widespread human rights abuses, point to the fact that the prospect for full democracy in Rwanda remains rather bleak today.
The mechanisms to promote unity and reconciliation among Rwandans adopted by the national consultation of 1999 were commendable. However, the lack of public and official remembrance of the victims of war crimes committed in Rwanda before, during, and after the genocide against the Tutsis are creating conflicting views among citizens today. This creates social grievances and weakens trust and cooperation among Rwandans.
The development programme put forward during the national consultation of 1999 that aimed to transform Rwanda into a middle-income state driven by building a knowledge-based economy by 2020, has also not delivered on many of its promises. Rwanda remains a low-income state in spite of the abundant financial support that the government has received from development partners. As a result, the goal of turning Rwanda into a middle-income country had to be postponed to 2035.
Over the 20 years since the Urugwiro Village meetings took place, the political scenery in Rwanda has transformed as well. It is no longer limited to the opposition affiliated with the ruling party, but also includes a diverse group of dissenting politicians and activists. Although critics are often marginalised by the government and their voices stifled, they are increasingly being heard across Rwanda and beyond.
The government needs to start taking into consideration the criticism that is coming out of these political quarters. After all, it is the lack of an inclusive political process that hindered good governance and led to conflict in Rwanda in the 1990s.
Some Rwandans have already taken to armed struggle, which has increasingly worried the government and exacerbated relations with Rwanda’s neighbours. The United Nations has issued a number of reports alleging the Rwandan government is involved in the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where it is trying to stem insurgencies it perceives as threatening. Officials in Kigali have repeatedly denied these accusations.
Political tensions between Rwanda and Burundi and Uganda have also worsened in recent years over allegations that these two countries are supporting opposition figures who also want to topple the Rwandan leadership by force. This has led to the closure of borders, which has had a negative economic impact on the country.
To address all these challenges, a new intra-Rwandan dialogue is absolutely necessary today. Such a forum could come up with important reforms that can help improve governance. This would enable Rwanda to secure long-term stability and eventually contribute to conflict resolution in the Great Lakes region.
This dialogue would be aligned with the UN strategy for peace consolidation, conflict prevention and resolution in the Great Lakes region adopted in October 2020. The strategy affirms that effective and sustained dialogue among citizens is key to fostering trust, addressing underlying grievances and facilitating actions for peace, stability and prosperity.
Fortunately for Rwanda, a constant quest for solutions through dialogue is one of the fundamental principles in its constitution. In June 2021, we submitted to the Rwandan government a roadmap for a promising future, requesting the proposed dialogue to be organised before Rwanda’s presidential election in 2024.
For more than a decade, the international community has tried to find a solution to the persistent instability in the Great Lakes region. I have always argued that without solving Rwanda’s internal political problem, it will be impossible to bring about stability in that region.
It is therefore timely and appropriate that regional and international stakeholders support the realisation of the proposed intra-Rwandan dialogue for governance reforms in Rwanda and peace consolidation in the Great Lakes region.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Rwandan political figure Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is Rwandan political figure. In 2010 Victoire returned to Rwanda from exile in The Netherlands to run for presidential candidate but was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Rwandan Supreme court in a politically motivated judicial proceeding. Her appeal to the African court on Human and People’s rights cleared her and held that Rwanda violated her rights to freedom of expression as well as to adequate defence. Victoire was released in 2018 by presidential grace after eight years of imprisonment, five of which she spent in isolated confinement. She has founded and is chairing Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi) political party. Her party is yet to be registered in Rwanda. It aims to strive for the rule of law and sustainable development that benefits every Rwandan.
Lake and volcano in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda / credit: Wikipedia/Neil Palmer
Rwanda is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is ranked second in Africa as the easiest place to do business. In addition, this landlocked country boasts the world’s record for female representation in parliament. And it’s the only African country that manufactures “Made in Africa” smartphones.
These milestones make for impressive reading in the Western world, so accustomed to morbid news from the most corrupt region of the world.
This has also led major global brands including the world’s biggest car manufacturer, the world’s biggest nuclear company by foreign orders, a major U.S. multinational telecommunications company plus a retinue of other global corporations to set up shop in a country the size of the U.S. state of Maryland.
In the paternalistic eyes and hearts of foreign development partners in Africa, Rwanda is obsequiously referred to as the “Singapore of Africa,” a moniker that gives the impression that all is hunky-dory in this “land of a thousand hills.”
Rwanda’s economic and social accomplishments—while impressive—mask the underbelly of one of the world’s cruelest states, led by Paul Kagame.
Here, freedom of expression is muzzled. Extrajudicial killings are institutionalized. Show trials are routinely encouraged. Forced disappearances are embraced, while private businesses are forcibly seized by a regime that operates like the Nazi Gestapo.
Despite evidence of Kagame ordering his political opponents to be murdered, arrested, jailed, kidnapped, assassinated and tortured, the international community has continued to turn the other way. Why is that the case in Rwanda, but not in countries like Ethiopia, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for a ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid to flow into the Tigray region?
Rwandan President Paul Kagame / credit: cmonionline
The President and the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) have built and fine-tuned over the decades a totalitarian police state in which criticism of the government, or any semblance of dissent, is criminalized and often results in death for those who dare to speak out, said Jeffrey Smith, founding director of Vanguard Africa. He told TF in an email exchange, “There is no independent media, nor independent human rights groups or a political opposition that are allowed the minimum space to operate. The ruling RPF, in essence, has been wholly conflated with the state,” says Smith.
The 1994 genocide killed about 800,000 people drawn mainly from the minority Tutsi community, including moderate Hutus, while the rest of the world silently looked on. But Rwanda has since experienced an economic recovery that has been inextricably linked to Kagame, who officially took power in 2000.
In a controversial 2015 constitutional referendum, Rwandans voted overwhelmingly to allow Kagame, 63, to stand again for office beyond the end of his second term, which ended in 2017. He won elections held the same year with nearly 99 percent of the vote. In theory, he could run twice again, keeping him in power until 2034. His current term ends in 2024.
So why does the Western world play blind and deaf to the excess exhibited by Kagame? In other words, why the complicity in crimes and misdeeds in Rwanda ever since the end of the genocide?
“Rwanda has performed exceedingly well on the economic front. It’s seen as a success story in a continent that is dotted with malfunctioning states,” Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) told TF in a telephone interview. “The international donor community loves a good story and Rwanda serves as an example.”
The United States and the United Kingdom, like other Western governments, did not intervene in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nonetheless, both U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair later emerged as moralists and humanitarian interventionists, claiming human rights as one of the guiding principles for U.S. and British leadership in the world. This argument has since been used to bomb Yugoslavia, and invade Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.
However, a U.S. diplomat quoted in the New York Times in an article aptly titled, “The Global Elite’s Favorite Strongman,” explained the reason the West disregarded the atrocities happening in Rwanda. “You put your money in, and you get results out. We needed a success story, and he was it.”
French President Emmanuel Macron / credit: The White House
In late May, French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Rwanda, formerly a French colony, in a gesture largely aimed at fixing a glacial relationship that had broken down as a result of the latter having backed the former extremist government in Rwanda, including supporting and training its military, which committed genocide.
In addition, France is determined to win back its influence in former French colonies in Africa, including in Rwanda. Some have begun cooperating with other powers, among them China and Turkey, said Arrey E. Ntui, a researcher with the International Crises Group (ICG).
“The French Government is currently not that popular in Africa as a result of its past exploitative history with African states,” said Ntui. “The current leadership in Africa is assertive and takes no prisoners. This calls for France to tread carefully because there are emerging nations that are willing to partner with Africa without a condescending attitude. So it would have been foolhardy, for example, for Macron to censure his Rwandan counterpart on account of real or imagined human rights abuses happening in Rwanda.”
Since his inauguration in May 2017, Macron has visited 18 African countries out of 62 states he has so far visited, a sign that he is determined to claw back the influence France once had when it counted 20 countries as its colonies within the African continent.
But should the world expect an insurgency anytime soon in Rwanda?
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, a former presidential contestant who has been jailed for 15 years for daring to challenge Kagame told TF the Kagame government took power after a war and genocide.
“I would say that all these crimes committed in our country have traumatized Rwandans,” Umuhoza said. “Moreover, there is no room for dissenting voices in Rwanda. If one criticizes the government they are immediately labeled as the enemy of the state. Under such circumstances, people live in constant fear of expressing themselves. But this silence worries me a lot because it can lead to implosion in Rwanda one day.”
U.S. National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends Report published every five years says the world is “at a critical juncture in human history” and warns that a number of countries are at high risk of becoming failed states by 2030—Rwanda being one of them.
Charles Wachira is a foreign correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya, and is formerly an East Africa correspondent with Bloomberg. He covers issues including human rights, business, politics and international relations
The Kagame Regime is the enemy of free-thinking Rwandans. On almost every occasion that someone — Rwandan or otherwise– has spoken up about the repression by the regime, the government builds a case for a smear campaign against critics.
Following smear campaigns are disappearances, prison sentences, and assassinations. In countless cases, the Kagame regime has combined prison sentences and assassinations.
Such is the case of Aimable Karasira, a university professor, musician, and famous YouTuber who speaks out on issues affecting ordinary Rwandans. He is bold and energetic, charismatic, and charming. He is also fearless, humane, and compassionate. His human values and compassion are demonstrated in the platform he built and used to address injustices affecting his fellow citizens within Rwanda. Unfortunately, Aimable Karasira has been a target of formal and informal smear campaigns and demonization by the RPF since 2019.
How Does Rwanda Smear & Outcast Dissenters?
Demonization and smear campaigns are run formally (by the government) and informally (by Kagame’s or his regime’s supporters). Formal smear campaigns typically utilize government tabloids and propaganda newspapers as well as known agents of the Rwandese Patriotic Front. In a coordinated attack, publications run articles demonizing and smearing Kagame critics while RPF agents take to social media to slander the victim. Inside the country, intelligence services track people down to express free thought against the Kagame regime.
Meanwhile, domestic and global supporters of Paul Kagame run informal smear campaigns. Those operating outside of the country compliment formal Kagame agents by spreading rumors about the victim and using “innocent criticism” to fuel anti-victim sentiments. They often claim the victim is too radical and should temper their criticism of the government, meanwhile overlooking blatant governmental abuses of power. They feign support while spreading the idea that the victim will eventually be “punished” for speaking out and us the fear of punishment as their reasons not to speak out against the regime.
Channels withing the government of Rwanda such as The Rwanda Diaspora also known as The Rwandan Community Abroad (RCA), the Center for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) and Ibuka often spearhead these informal movements. Even though CNLG is an official govenrment entity, the RCA and Ibuka present themselves as unaffiliated with the government. These channels seem harmless and front as anti-genocide and genocide survivor advocates. However, their demonstrated commitment to the Kagame regime and erasure of Rwandan Genocide survivors who do not align with the regime prove otherwise. Ibuka and CNLG serve as attack dogs for the Kagame regime, often using the 1994 genocide as blackmail against the victims of their smear campaigns. Abroad, RCA and Ibuka members conduct community surveillance and are coordinated and financed by Rwandan embassies in countries they operate in. They harass critics globally and infiltrate with the intent to destroy groups that are critical of the government. This isn’t conspiracy talk, either. It is a well-known fact among Rwandans that this happens. Global journalists, such as those at the New York Times, are also beginning to pick up on these tactics. Kagame’s advisor, general James Kabarebe stated recently in a vitriolic speech that they conduct these types of activities abroad intending to destroy exiles and refugees or Rwanda.
These cover-ups work two ways. First, they distract the general population from the abuses of power under the Kagame regime, including the ongoing killings within the country and the Congo (including babies). Second, these slur campaigns scare others into refraining from discussing the issues for fear of what will happen to them. The cycle continues in Rwanda until the newest targeted victim is willfully disappeared by government agents, indefinitely imprisoned, assassinated, or a combination of one or more of these events.
About Aimable Karasira
Aimable Karasira is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994. The RPF won the war during which the genocide occurred, and the party claimed to stabilize the country. However, during their “stabilization efforts,” the RPF massacred hundreds of thousands of people– including Karasira’s parents and two siblings who had survived the initial genocide. Talking about his family and what was done to them by the RPF after the genocide has brought the hammer of government newspapers, the groups mentioned above, agents, and sympathizers of the government onto Aimable Karasira’s shoulders.
Supporters of the Kagame regime have even accused him of denying the genocide, which he has openly talked about surviving. In Rwanda, denying the genocide is a crime. Misinformation and false rumors by RPF agents about his genocide denial increased calls for imprisonment across the country. This all culminated in Karasira being arrested on May 31st, 2021.
For three weeks, Karasira has been held without a single appearance in court. During this time, he has reportedly been held in the Kicukiro jail without contact with other inmates. Rwandan law states he is supposed to appear in court within three days of his arrest, so his detainment without court appearance is unlawful.
On the weekend of June 19th, Karasira was moved to an unknown location with the claim that he contracted Coronavirus. Readers and defenders of global justice worldwide should be worried about this. Karasira has been quarantined for the last three weeks in a jail cell by himself, begging the question of how and where he picked up the virus. Those who have a working knowledge of the injustices of the Kagame regime understand this news is likely grim. The government might have detained Karasira to a torture chamber. It’s also possible that they plan on assassinating him and covering up the death as a coronavirus death. His safety has been in danger for years now, but he may be in much greater danger of being assassinated with this claim.
This would not be the first of such inmate deaths at the hands of the government. Countless outspoken critics of the Kagame regime have been assassinated in Rwandan jails. Kizito Mihigo died in police custody, and the government of Rwanda claimed that he committed suicide. There are dozens of cases of prisoners who the government has shot, and the government attempted to cover up the deaths by claiming they were trying to flee jail or prison. Many of these victims were shot while handcuffed.
What Can Be Done To Stop This?
Citizens of donor nations are generally unaware of their governments supporting repressive regimes like the one in Rwanda. One thing they can do is to share this article widely to ensure the rest of the world or their networks are informed about this issue.
Knowing about the injustices and human rights violations done by the Kagame regime, donor nations such as the US and the UK must withhold aid to Rwanda and be wary of accounts about dissidents coming from the government. The Netherlands, in particular, funds Rwanda’s judicial system — a system that has been proven to be broken. Their withholding of aid would go a long way to spark change at the government level. When criminals such as Kagame are given resources, they commit more crimes. Holding off on aid sends a message that human rights violations will never be rewarded and begs the regime to change its standards.
Donor nations must call for an immediate release of Aimable Karasira and other prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. These include Paul Rusesabagina (the real-life hero of the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda), Deo Mushayidi, Mitsindo Viateur and many more innocent Rwandans languishing in prisons. They must also produce poet Bahati Musa who has been missing since early February 2021.
Mu kinyarwanda iyo umubyeyi yabyaraga apfusha, hari ubwo yageragaho umwana akamwita Nzamwitakuze. Ni nko kuvuga ngo iri zina ni iry’agateganyo, nakura nzamushakira irya burundu. Jenoside na yo yabaye nzamwitakuze. Loni ari na yo ifite inshingano zo kwemeza niba ubwicanyi ari jenoside, yatangiye iyita jenoside y’abanyarwanda. Byasobanuraga ko ari abayikorewe n’abayikoze bose ari abanyarwanda. Ni na byo koko, kuko nka jenoside y’abayahudi yakozwe n’abanyaburayi.
Mu Rwanda ho ubutegetsi bwa FPR bwahisemo kuyihindura nzamwitakuze. Yabanje kwitwa itsembabwoko n’itsembatsemba, nyuma ihinduka itsembabwoko, irakomeza yitwa jenoside y’abatutsi, none ubu ni jenoside yakorewe abatutsi. Uwakwibeshya ni uwakwibwira ko noneho iretse kuba nzamwitakuze, ko urutonde rw’amazina rugiyeho akadomo. Urebye intambwe ya “ndi umunyarwanda” ushobora kwibaza niba tutazakanguka tugasanga bayise “jenoside yakozwe n’abahutu”, nibikomeza nk’uko Kagame yigeze kubitangaza, izaba “Jenoside yakozwe n’abahutu bafatanyije n’abafaransa”, nyuma ishobora kuba “jenoside yakozwe n’abahutu bafatanyije n’abafaransa na Kiliziya Gatolika ”, cyangwa “jenoside yakozwe n’interahamwe n’abafaransa”…inzira ya nzamwitakuze iracyari ndende
Mu kinyarwanda kwita umwana Vuguziga byashushanyaga ubushake bwo kuvuga ukuri ugera, ngo hatagira inyungu zawe zihangirikira, iteka ukagira icyo usiga inyuma. Dore bijya gutangira ubutegetsi bwa FPR bwatanze imibare muri Loni ko ngo jenoside yahitanye abantu 800.000. Aba barimo abatutsi n’abandi banyarwanda. FPR ku mpamvu izi yonyine yubakishije urwibutso hafi muri buri kagari n’imibare y’abahashyinguwe irandikwa. Byaje kuba urujijo kuko uteranyije iyo mibare usanga jenoside yarahitanye abasaga miliyoni enye. Nibwo hadutse Gacaca yaje yanzikiye gucukumbura, ihereye ku mibare yo kuri buri musozi. Hashize imyaka hafi 10 irangiye. Nyamara ikibazo cy’umubare w’abahitanywe na jenoside n’abarokotse cyakomeje kuba Vuguziga. Umwanzuro wabaye gusiba imibare yanditse ku nzibutso, na none ku mpamvu zizwi na FPR n’abayo!
Hagati aho imvaburayi Dogiteri Senateri Umwanditsi n’Umusesenguzi Bizimana Jean Damascène, mu mwaka wa 2014 yashyize ahagaragara igitabo gikubiyemo ubushakashatsi rutsindangogo. Cyitwa “Inzira ya Jenoside yakorewe abatutsi mu Rwanda”. Muri make ngo jenoside yahitanye abatutsi 1.364.020. (avec précision!). Igitangaje ni ukuntu Gacaca yakusanyije amakuru yaruciye ikarumira, none Bizimana aravumbuye. Ibi na byo utareba kure yagira ngo birarangiye. Nategereze ejo hazaza hahishe ibindi. Bizimana ni umusogongero, umusomyo nturaza.
Iyi mibare ya Bizimana ihabanye n’iyagaragajwe n’ubushakashatsi bwakozwe na Ben Barugahare mu mwaka wa 2018. Yagendeye k1ndi agereranya imibare y’abatutsi bazize genocide, asanga bidahira aribaza ati ivuguruzanya ry’imibare y’abahitanywe na Genocide rihatse iki? Mu byavuye muri ubwo bushashatsi, imibare itangwa n’ibarura ryakozwe na MINALOC igasohora icyegeranyo mu 2004, ivuga ko hapfuye abatutsi: 1.074.017 mu gihugu hose naho igiteranyo cy’imibiri ivugwa ko iri mu nzibutso ni 1.650.784 kandi hari inzibutso nyinshi umushakashatsi ataboneye imibare.
Mu rwego rwo kwirinda ko abanyarwanda babaza ibibazo kuri iyi mibare itekinitse, Leta yashyizeho itegeko rihana ingengabitekerezo ya jenoside. Mu ngingo yaryo ya 6 y’iryo tegeko Nº 59/2018 ryo kuwa 22/8/2018 ivuga ku gupfobya jenoside. Igika cya gatatu kivuga ko umuntu wese ushaka “kugaragaza imibare itariyo y’abazize jenoside aba akoze icyaha” cyo kuyipfobya. Aha hakavuka ikibazo. Ese uwanditse iro tegeko we azi imibare y’abazize iyi jenoside? Ni bangahe ?
Inkuru igezweho ni iy’umugabo Adham Amin Hassoun ukomoka muri Libani ubu waaze kugezwa mu Rwanda ngo ahature nyuma y’uko arangije ibihano by’ibyaha byamuhamye. Ibyo byaha by’iterabwoba, byakorewe ku butaka bwa Leta zunze ubumwe z’Amerika maze mu rubanza rwarangiye mu mwaka wa 2007, uyu mugabo Adham Amin Hassoun akatirwa igihano cy’imyaka 15 y’igifungo. Aho atangirije igihano , igihugu cya Leta zunze ubumwe z’Amerika cyanze ko aguma ku butaka bwacyo maze kimuha u Rwanda, na rwo rwemera kumwakira. Ni mu gihe igihugu cye cya Libani cyari cyamwanze cyane cyane ko igihugu cya Isiraheli kimufata nk’umuterabwoba, bityo uwamwakira wese yaba ahanganye na Isiraheli. Kumuzana mu karere k’ibiyaga bigari bivuze iki?
Mu mibanire y’ibihugu habamo guharanira no kurinda inyungu. Ibihugu by’ibihangange ntibijya byibeshya ngo bitsimuke kuri uyu murongo. Nyamara ibihugu bikishakisha akenshi byubakiye ku butegetsi bw’ikandamiza, butagira demokarasi, bihura n’ingorane kuri iyi ngingo. Usanga abategetsi bareba inyungu za bo nk’abantu aho kureba inyungu z’abenegihugu muri rusange.
Bene aba bategetsi barenga ku mategeko bishyiriyeho, kenshi bagasinya amasezerano adafitiye abenegihugu akamaro bagamije gushimisha ibihugu by’ibihangange. Kuzana uyu Adham Amin Hassoun mu karere k’ibiyaga bigari byareberwa muri iyi ndorerwamo. Abenshi bamenyereye ibijyanye na géopolitique barabona ko uyu mugabo afite mission imuzanye, ishobora kuba ijyanye no kubiba intambara izatuma ubukungu bwo mu karere busahurirwa mu nduru.
Mu mateka ya hafi, Leta zunze ubumwez’Amerika zikoresha abantu nk’uyu Adham Amin Hassoun mu ntambara nk’izo. Abazwi cyane ni nka Charles Tylor, Paul Kagame, n’abandi. Reka tuvuge kuri Charles Taylor na Paul Kagame.
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Yafashije Samuel Doe mu gukora cou d’Etat muri Liberia mu mwaka wa 1980. Coup d’Etat irangiye, Charles Taylor yagizwe umuyobozi mukuru wa General Service Agency (GSA) ikigo cyari gishinzwe kugura ibikoresho bya Guvernoma. mu mwaka wa 1983, Tayolor yarirukanywe azira kurigisa amadolari miliyoni y’amanyamerika. Icyo gihe yahise ahungira muri Leta zunze ubumwe z’Amerika. Samuel Doe na Leta ye bakoze ibishoboka byose ngo bagarure Taylor ariko USA yanga kumutanga. Taylor yafungiwe muri Gereza ifite umutekano ukajije yitwa Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Mu mwaka wa 1985, abifashijwemo n’abakozi na CIA, Charles Taylor yatorotse gereza anyura Newa York nyuma aburirwa irengero. Mu mwaka wakurikiyeho, yagaragaye muri Libya afite umutwe urwanya Liberia waje no kumugeza ku butegetsi. Byose byari mu mipango ya USA. Amaze kugera ku butegetsi Abanyamerika babonye uko bakoza intoki kuri zahabu ya Liberia. Nyuma Taylor yaje kwegura ku butegetsi, arahunga, biranga arafatwa aregwa ibyaha by’intambara mu rukiko mpuzamahanga akatirwa imyaka 50 mu rwego rwo kumubuza kuzamena amabanga ya CIA.
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame
Nk’impunzi y’umunyarwanda yari afite ubwenegihugu bwa Uganda, Kagame yageze muri Amerika agiye kwiga mu ishuri rya gisirikare aho bivugwa ko yahuriye na CIA igatangira kumuha mission. Mu gihe u Rwanda rwaterwaga na FPR Inkotanyi, Paul Kagame yoherejwe kuyobora urugamba. Kugora ngo azabigereho nta nkomyi, Kagame yishe abasirikare bamurushaga ubuhanga, kumenywa no gukundwa mu Nkotanyi: Rwigema, Bunyenyezi, Kayitare, Bayingana, n’abandi bari bagifite gahunda ya gi komunisiti mu mitwe yabo. Aba bari bari barakuriye mu ntambara zashyiraga imbere amatwara ya gikomunisti yari ateye ubwoba Abanyamerika.
Hashize imyaka ine, Kagame yaje gufata ubutegetsi mu Rwanda amaze kwica abaperezida babiri, uw’u Rwanda n’uw’u Burundi mu gikorwa cy’iterabwoba cyabaye tariki ya 6 Mata 1994. Abanyamerika bakoze ibishoboka byose barinda Kagame inkiko mpuzamahanga zimurega kuba yarishe abantu abatagira ingano. Kubera Kagame mu Rwanda, Abanyamerika bemerewe kuzana ingabo zabo mu Rwanda, ibintu Kayibanda na Habyarimana bari baranze. Ndetse na Mobutu, Kabila père bari barabyanze. Muri make nta kintu Kagame yahakanira Abanyamerika (CIA) kuko azi ko bazamwica byanze bikunze. It’s a matter of time.
Kuzana Adham Amin Hassoun mu Rwanda biragaragaza ko hari ibintu birimo gutegurwa mu karere. Twabibutsa ko uyu mugabo bamuzanye hashize iminsi mikeya igihugu cy’u Burundi cyanze kwakira abantu Amerika yashakaga koherezayo ibita ko ari Abarundi. Kugira ngo wumve uburemere bwabyo, Amerika yafatiye ibihano igihugu cy’u Burundi ngo kuko cyanze kwakira abo bantu, cyakora Leta y’u Burundi yihagazeho.
Adham Amin Hassoun
Uyu Adham Amin Hassoun aje asanga undi uzwi mu ntambara zo muri Saheli witwa Moustapha Ould Lima wibera i Kigali. Bombi bafitanye umubano n’igihugu cya Qatar kimaze gushora amafranga menshi mu bukungu bw’u Rwanda, ku buryo gisa n’icyaguze igihugu! Icyo Paul Kagame azatuzanira tuzagifatisha yombi. Hejuru ya jenoside ni nde koko wari uzi ko hashobora kuba ibiyirenze? Uretse ko ngo Magayane yabivuze!
Moustapha Ould Lima (ibumoso) arasuhuza Emir wa Qatar
Reka dukomeze tubitege amaso, ntiduheranwe n’ubwoba ahubwo twishakemo imbaraga zo kurwanya ubutegetsi budashyira imbere inyungu za Rubanda.
Other countries have devised strategies to fight COVID-19. These include:
1. A Task Force to manage the response
2. A framework to coordinate funds /aids received as well as voluntary contributions from local and or non-local benefactors.
3. A reporting system to ensure transparency of the process.
Here is what Rwanda did:
1. No Task Force knwon. In fact, nobody knows who is in charge.
2. No independent body to manage funds and aids. The Government takes all monies, and nobody knows how much is received, how it is managed, where the monies are sent , and who to be held accountable.
3. Since there is nobody in charge, no reporting is made on regular basis, even the communiqués from Ministry of health are not signed, thus the people do not know who to hold accountable.
This is how far Rwanda is down. Where have all intellectuals, economists, scientists, doctors gone? Since when mediocrity is preferred over logic, common sense and knowledge?
Who knows whether these monies are not sent to fiscal paradises abroad?
The country cannot move forward in this state.
One last but not least point: do you know that Rwandans would chose COVID-19 over bad gouvernance? Why?
Because, with good governance, the preparedness is possible, well informed decisions are available, and efficient response is possible. Because of bad governance, the number of famine victims beats the number of the pandemic victims.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am ashamed to introduce to you the Banana Republic of Kagame .
Ingabire Marie-Immaculée est la représentante de l’organisation Transparency International au Rwanda. A ce titre, elle a voix au chapitre. Ses positions et ses prises de paroles sont très suivies. Elle est présente dans les médias et a fait partie de nombreux conseils d’administration des organisations des journalistes au Rwanda dont l’Association Rwandaise des Femmes des Médias (ARFEM), l’Association Rwandaise des Journalistes (ARJ) ainsi que la Maison de la presse du Rwanda… Elle a été un haut cadre de bon nombre d’associations féminines qu’elle a représentées à plusieurs reprises dans des conférences internationales. Comme toute femme moderne, elle utilise beaucoup Tweeter. Sur son compte, elle affiche fièrement qu’elle est « féministe, défenseur des droits de l’homme et promotrice du genre ».
Mais à y voir de très près, Ingabire Marie- Immaculée, loin de lutter pour la promotion féminine, a versé plutôt dans un fanatisme aveugle au régime du président Paul Kagame et semble imperméable même aux principes démocratiques.
La croisade qu’elle fait contre l’opposante politique, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, en est une illustration parfaite.
Tenez. Florilège !
En septembre 2019, parlant des opposants politiques en général et de Victoire Ingabire en particulier, Ingabire Marie-Immaculée les traite de « vauriens ». Elle reprend à son compte une insulte lancée par le président Paul Kagame le 20/12/2010 dans son discours d’ouverture aux Assises du Dialogue national à Kigali. Il avait traité ses anciens compagnons d’armes que sont le général Kayumba Nyamwasa et le colonel Patrick Karegeya d’« Ibigarasha » c’est-à-dire des « vauriens ». Ils étaient en exil et la suite, Patrick Karegeya fut assassiné et le général Nyamwasa fut mortellement blessé avec une arme par un tueur à gage.
Le 07/02/2020, alors que Victoire Ingabire, dans une vidéo postée sur Youtube, se plaignait des tortures psychologiques que lui font subir les enquêteurs de Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Ingabire Marie-Immaculée est montée au créneau et a écrit sur compte Tweeter : « Madame, tu veux que les enquêteurs du RIB mettent à côté leurs occupations pour venir s’occuper de toi. Tu parles de tortures ? Vas demander à ta maman car elle a torturé beaucoup de gens ». Méchamment, Ingabire Marie-Immaculée ressasse une histoire montée de toutes pièces par les services rwandais de propagande selon laquelle la maman de Victoire Ingabire serait une « génocidaire » et le gouvernement rwandais a même lancé un mandat d’arrêt contre cette maman. Cette campagne visait à décourager Victoire Ingabire qui venait d’arriver au Rwanda et qui voulait se présenter aux élections présidentielles 2010. Comme cette campagne n’a pas été suffisante pour la dissuader, elle a été jetée en prison pendant 8 ans.
Pour revenir à son message mettant en cause le RIB, Victoire Ingabire montrait comment les enquêteurs de ce service la convoquent intempestivement, la font asseoir dans une salle de puis le matin jusqu’à la fin de la journée, sans boire, ni manger. C’est quand elle n’en pouvait plus de ce traitement inhumain et régulier que Victoire Ingabire a décidé de dénoncer ces agissements indignes d’un service chargé de la recherche de la vérité et de l’équité. Le RIB n’a pas réagi mais Ingabire Marie-Immaculée a pris les devants et a lancé des insultes à Victoire Ingabire.
Le 19 mars 2020, Victoire Ingabire a donné une interview à bon nombre de TV rwandaises opérant en ligne. Elle dénonçait entre autres la destruction sauvage des maisons des quartiers pauvres de la capitale, sans aucune compensation pour les propriétaires. Ingabire Marie-Immaculée est revenue à la charge et répondant à un tweet d’une autre personne de son acabit qui se demandait quelle était la relation entre Umubavu TV Online et Ishema TV et Victoire Ingabire, elle a repris son insulte favorite : « Ce qui les unit, ce sont toutes des « vauriens » (ibigarasha) ».
Le 02 avril, en bonne opposante politique, Victoire Ingabire a rappelé aux gouvernements la catastrophe causée par le confinement à la tranche de population vivant de l’économie informelle et dont les activités quotidiennes étaient arrêtées à cause des mesures contre le corona virus. La question méritait bien d’être soulignée car c’était une réalité. De sa bulle, Ingabire Marie-Immaculée, au lieu de critiquer les idées de Victoire Ingabire, s’attaque plutôt à sa personne. Elle ressasse encore : « Qu’elle aille demander à Butamwa où sa maman a commis le génocide avant qu’elle n’ouvre la bouche pour dire n’importe quoi ».
Pourquoi cet acharnement contre Victoire Ingabire venant de quelqu’une qui se définit comme féministe et promotrice du développement de la femme ? Cela ne peut s’expliquer que par un fanatisme politique en faveur du régime Kagame qui pousse Ingabire Marie-Immaculée à un excès de zèle à justifier les violations des droits de l’homme commises journellement au Rwanda et impunément.
Pourtant, l’éthique de Transparency international, organisation qu’elle représente, reprend dans sa charte la défense de la bonne gouvernance et des principes démocratiques ainsi que la sauvegarde des droits de l’homme. Ingabire Marie-Immaculée trahit les idéaux d’une organisation qui, jusqu’aujourd’hui, a fait ses preuves dans la lutte contre la corruption dans bon nombre de pays du monde.
S’il y a une chose de précieux qui manque aux Rwandais, c’est le débat au sujet de gestion de la chose publique. Le régime en place n’offre pas l’espace propice aux échanges et débats contradictoires constructifs. Et par peur d’être tenu responsable de ses actions, le régime préfère les ténèbres à la lumière, l’opacité à la transparence.
Depuis quelques jours, un débat est soulevé par un citoyen concerné, engagé à la promotion de la culture du débat autour des affaires d’intérêt national. Soucieux de voir un jour la transparence régner dans tout ce qui (n’)est (pas) fait pour le peuple, l’auteur de ce blog , basé sur la situation inquiétante du Coronavirus, a posé la question qu’il partage avec des milliers d’autres Rwandais: Kagame est-il vraiment confiné?Et pour cause, un document dit “Ingamba nshya zo gukumira icyorezo cya Koronavirusi” (nouvelle mesures contre la propagation de la pandémie Corona Virus). Ce document signé par Dr Edouard NGIRENTE, Premier Ministre rwandais, met en place les mesures à mettre en exécution à partir de 23 heures 59 du même jour.
Après l’analyse approfondie de ce document, il s’est avéré qu’il soit anticonstitutionnel. En effet, la partie “visa” du document ne fait référence à aucune loi, à aucun instrument légal, plutôt “aux mesures prises par d’autres pays dans la lutte contre le même virus”.
Or ces pays ont décrété l’état d’urgence sanitaire. Pourrait-on en déduire que le Premier Ministre l’a fait aussi?! Peut-être oui, peut-être non, même le Premier Ministre n’en sait rien!
S’il a fait comme les autres pays, c’est dire qu’il a mis le pays en état d’urgence mais sans suivre la procédure prévue par la Constitution rwandaise.
Pour l’Ambassadeur Nduhungirehe, “Cette mesure d’état d’urgence implique la suspension de la Constitution et l’octroi à l’exécutif de pouvoirs exceptionnels pour faire face à une crise où un désastre. Et cela n’est pas le cas au Rwanda. Aucune provision de la Constitution n’a été suspendue et les trois (3) pouvoirs, ainsi que la population, maintiennent leurs prérogatives, droits et obligations”
Il nous est commode de faire remarquer la note suivante à l’Ambassadeur Nduhungirehe.
Les autres pays auxquels se réfère le Premier Ministre et dont il imite les mesures sont en état d’urgence. Pourquoi auriez-vous appliqué les mesures de l’état d’urgence sanitaire si ce n’était pas les cas?
Les provisions de la Constitution ont été suspendues jusqu’à nouvel ordre par le document du Premier Ministre. Les déplacements suspendus, les marchés aussi, les taxis moto, les bars et restaurants.
Ci-après quelques articles de la Constitution qui ont été suspendus par le document du Premier Ministre.
Article 26: Droit à la liberté de circulation et de résidence Tout Rwandais a le droit de se déplacer librement et de résider dans n’importe quel lieu du territoire rwandais.
Article 30: Droit au libre choix du travail Toute personne a droit au libre choix de son travail.
Le cas du Rwanda est un état d’urgence sanitaire. Si votre Premier Ministre n’a pas écrit exactement “état d’urgence sanitaire“, il s’est référé aux autres pays en état d’urgence et pour la même pandémie. L’Italie est en état d’urgence sanitaire, la France aussi, les USA, l’Espagne, pour ne citer que ceux-là. Tous en état d’urgence sanitaire! Et vous avez copié-collé leurs mesures tout court. Sauf que eux, ils ont suivi les procédures légales selon les lois des pays respectifs et ont prévu les packages pour pallier la perte subséquente à ces mesures.
Maintenant dites nous, sur quelle base, Dr Ngirente a décidé de prendre les mesures qui violent les droits de circulation des Rwandais? Sur quelle base légale, deux hommes ont été tués parce qu’ils ont violé la mesure de confinement publiée par le Premier Ministre. Et enfin, pourriez-vous dire que ce que le Premier Ministre a FAIT EST JUSTIFIABLE LÉGALEMENT ? J’ai l’impression que vous vous entêtez, juste que pour défendre votre gouvernement, mais dans des moments comme ceux-ci, l’intelligence qui une fois vous a défini, devrait obliger. Il faut qu’on crée un espace du débat et de transparence? surtout en ce qui concerne la gestion de la chose publique.
Chaste Gahunde
Avis aux lecteurs:Nos articles peuvent être reproduits à condition de citer le nom d’auteur et le site web source.
Notice to readers: Our articles may be reproduced provided the author’s name and the source website are cited.
On March 21, 2020; Victoire Umuhoza received in her residence Aimable Karasira, a university professor who also manages a Youtube channel during his spare time. In his videos, Mr KARASIRA carries analyses on social phenomena, and counts many followers.
A gesture of washing hands
Before granting an interview to Karasira, Victoire Ingabire washed her hands with soap, following the example of President Paul Kagame, who in a video, had invited Rwandans to protect themselves against the corona virus by washing hands regularly.
The journalist filmed this sequence before he, himself washed his hands. The interview focused on a unique topic: The corona virus and its consequences in a country like Rwanda in general and in the city of Kigali in particular. Karasira made it clear that he is not in politics, that he does not belong to Ingabire’s DALFA (Development And Liberty For All) party or to Paul Kagame’s RPF. He invited Victoire Ingabire to limit herself only on this one topic in her statements.
During the interview, Victoire Ingabire drew attention to the damage caused by the corona virus to the Rwandan economy. She notably pleaded in favor of small self-employed people (hairdressing saloons, motorcycle and car taxis, repairers of all kinds, vendors at markets, etc.) who saw their activities closed while tha was their onlys source of income and daily bread. She suggested that the state provide assistance unto them.
In fact, the quarantine measures decreed by Rwanda are extreme since they go as far as the closing of all borders, which will weigh heavily on the supply of essential goods from neighboring countries. Meanwhile, the authorities are asking traders not to raise prices and have even ordered rationing.
War dogs unleashed
Instead of criticizing this proposal by Victoire Ingabire, the presidnt’ daughter, Ange Kagame and her team, via Twitter, launched an action to denigrate the political opposition, focusing on the gesture of washing their hands made by Victoire Ingabire. The attacks were virulent and some suggest that Victoire Ingabire be taken to the psychiatric hospital for examination (1).
Among the eminent members of the team include not only Ange Kagame but also another figurehead of the entourage of the president, a certain Yolande Makolo, ex- director in charge of communication of president Kagame ; Lucy Mbabazi, another important woman in Kagame’s system; or Edwin Mukiza, a lawyer and legal adviser to cabinet offices.
Like father like daughter ?
Since her arrival in Rwanda in January 2010 to stand for the presidential elections, Victoire Ingabire has been designated as the person to be killed by all means. It didn’t take long, and in his official speeches, President Kagame verbally attacked her, calling her a hooligan in particular and predicting her imprisonment. It didn’t take long, Ingabire was taken into prison the same year. The appeals were unsuccessful and in 2013 the Supreme Court sentenced her to 15 years of prison, for “conspiracy against the authorities by terrorism and war”, inter alia. She was released after eight years by presidential pardon. Recently, she founded a new political party: DALFA (Development And Liberty For All)but her troubles are far from ending. In fact, in one of his legendary angers, the president threatened to have her put back in prison.
It is worrying that Ange Kagame joins his father in harassing political opponents. Young, and holder of American universities degrees, one would wonder what what she has learned from the country pionneer of the modern democracy. How comes she cannot understand and measure the importance of political opposition in a country for the promotion of a true democracy and a real respect for human rights?
B. Ndengeyingoma (left) and A. Kagame (right)
But the dice are loaded and therefore it cannot be otherwise. Isn’t Ange Kagame’s husband Bertrand Ndengeyingoma (2) cited in the Panama Papers, an investigation in which the world press denounced the owners of bank accounts hidden in tax havens! The couple therefore rolls on gold. The couple has millions of dollars in blocked bank accounts, especially in Panama. Ange Kagame has an interest in seeing no political changes in Rwanda, scared that she migh lose her colossal fortune stolen from Rwandan taxpayers. If Ange Kagame unleashes her war dogs to silence any dissident voice according her father’s policy, she knows that by the time she won’t be in power any longer, the castle will collapse. When that time comes, it will be “la fin des haricots”!
(1) This means a lot to Rwandans, since recently another political opponent was sent to the mental health facility and injected drugs in order to silence him. A new strategy to fight the dissenting views.
(2) There are unverfied information that Ndengeyingoma cited in the Panama Papers might be Ange Kagame’s brother-in-law, not her husband.
Avis aux lecteurs:Nos articles peuvent être reproduits à condition de citer le nom d’auteur et le site web source. Notice to readers: Our articles may be reproduced provided the author’s name and the source website are cited.
GAHUNDE 