A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to Paul Kagame-March 29

By Aimable Mugara
Toronto, Ontario,Canada
March 29, 2010


H. E. General Paul Kagame
Office of the President
Republic of Rwanda
P.O. Box 15 Urugwiro Village
Kigali - Rwanda
Fax: +250 572431

Copy:
Prosecutor General
Martin Ngoga
National Public Prosecution Authority
BP 1328
Kigali – Rwanda
Fax: +250 589501

Commissioner General Emmanuel Gasana
Rwandan National Police
Kigali - Rwanda
Fax: +250 586602

Chief Executive Officer
Editor-in-Chief
The New Times Publications SARL
Immeuble Aigle Blanc
P.O. Box 4953
Kigali - Rwanda

A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to General Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda

Dear General,

There are 20 weeks left before the elections. This is my third letter and there are 20 letters left. As usual, I have been following very closely news of Rwanda. I spend hours and hours every day finding out what has happened in Rwanda each day. Recently, everywhere I look, the situation looks extremely bleak. I see signs of a dictatorship using the state apparatus to quash any real opposition candidate. I do not know if the RPF agents currently harassing the opposition candidates are acting on your orders or whether they are just doing it on their own in the hope that they will make you happy. All I know is this: the buck stops with you!

I am really sorry to say this, but it really seems to me as if this so-called presidential election is just an opportunity for you to be crowned. If this continues, Rwanda might as well go back to being called a kingdom where only some are “born to reign” and others are “born to be servants.” It is becoming more and more apparent to me that this will be nothing but a waste of time and money. Worst of all, it appears that some innocent people will be jailed simply because they disagree with your political platform. How can the will of the people as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be expressed when every viable candidate is being eliminated by your people?

You may think that I have something against you. But let me make this clear: this is not about you; this is not about the RPF. It is about the future of Rwanda as a nation. It is about making sure that your war that you started in 1990; a war that 4 years later resulted in genocide should be the last war that Rwandans ever have to go through. It is about showing to the world that 16 years after the genocide, Rwandans are mature enough to have a real contested election. It is about showing that political disagreements can be solved through the will of the people at the ballot box. It is about showing that Rwandans are adult enough to stop jailing each other or killing each other for political reasons.

Next week we will be remembering the thousands of innocent lives that perished during the genocide. There is only one way to honor them, which is to establish true democracy and human rights for all Rwandans. These past 16 years should have been more than enough time to lay the foundation for democracy and human rights for all in Rwanda. Continuing to harass opposition politicians simply because they express a will to run against you in the upcoming presidential elections dishonors those innocent lives that were lost. Mr. President, it is time for your government and your police forces to stop dishonoring the dead. The ‘P’ in RPF is supposed to mean ‘Patriotic’. Show the world some true patriotism. Show the world that you care about the future of the country more than any greed for power. It is time for you and your subordinates to stop being scared of letting opposition politicians run against you in this election.

Thank you!

Aimable Mugara
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Related Materials:
Rwanda: A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to President Paul Kagame-March 15

Rwanda: A Citizen’s Weekly Open Letter to Paul Kagame-March 22

Rwanda: Rhetoric and the politics of genocide