Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

October 21, 2009

Photo: Denied Rwandan citizenship, UDF First Vice Chairman Eugène Ndahayo.

Officials in the Rwandan Embassy in Brussels have denied UDF-Inkingi’s First Vice Chairman Eugène NDAHAYO a passport in a move that observers describe as an attempt by Kagame’s regime to prevent the registration of the UDF as a legal political organization, a pre-requisite to its taking part in the forthcoming presidential election.

On 12th of June 2009, a group of UDF-Inkingi officials led by its First Vice Chairman Eugène NDAHAYO went to Rwanda House 1, Rue Des Fleurs in Woluwé-St-Lambert, in the Belgian capital Brussels to apply for passports ahead of the UDF-Inkingi’s participation in the planned presidential race.

Four months ago, officers in charge of consular affairs refused to handle application forms to UDF-Inkingi’s First VP pretending that he might not be a Rwandan citizen, stirring anger within his organisation.

Since then, his application remains in a stalemate, a situation that makes his deployment to Rwanda more than uncertain. Indeed, he is part of the UDF leading team to be deployed in Rwanda before the end of the year.

E. Ndahayo was Director of Cabinet of the then Minister of Information Jean-Baptiste NKULIYINGOMA in the first RPF led government put in place on July 19, 1994. At the moment of his fruitless attempt to get application forms, he produced a copy of the Presidential Order published by the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda appointing him Director of Cabinet among other papers.

He carried out his government assignment with that of Executive Secretary of the “Mouvement Démocratique Républicain (MDR)” that was part of the RPF led coalition until his resignation and subsequent flight to France in 1995, where he has stayed since 1995 as a political refugee.

E. Ndahayo is a renowned author of many books on Rwanda and an objective critic of the RPF regime. He had travelled from Lyon where he resides, to Brussels for there is no more any Rwandan representation in that country since the cut of diplomatic ties between Rwanda and France in December 2007 at the initiative of the latter.

Diplomatic ties with France were severed in the aftermath of the indictment of nine military officers and close collaborators of President Paul Kagame by French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguière for their presumed role in the shooting down of Rwandan presidential jet on April 6, 1994. That terrorist attack sparked off political and ethnic killings that climaxed in the infamous Rwandan genocide. The Director of Protocol Lt Col. (Rtd) Rose Kabuye was arrested in Germany last year and was deported to France where she is still under prosecution as a result of that indictment.

Out of more than twelve applications for passports submitted so far by UDF-Inkingi leaders and members whether in the Rwandan Embassy in Netherlands or in Brussels, only two were successful. Even though applications in Netherlands were submitted in the early days of May 2009, only one has been processed so far.

UDF-Inkingi officials consider that contesting their leaders’ citizenship and denying those passports was adding an insult to an offence, a trend that can seriously compromise their participation in the presidential race set for as early as the 9th of August 2009.

Nevertheless, proceeding with its own preparations, UDF-Inkingi Political Council held on September 26, 2009 in Brussels has elected its current Chairperson Mrs Victoire INGABIRE UMUHOZA as its flag bearer. She’s the only UDF leader that the RPF regime dared give a passport, an act interpreted by the general public as intended to hide its real intentions to block any serious competitor come August 2010.

Note:
E. NDAHAYO is author of “Rwanda: Le dessous des cartes, Ed. Khartala and of “Rwanda: Débaîllonner le Rwanda pour un nouveau Pacte Social, Ed. Khartala.

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