By EGARA KABAJI
The Daily Nation
Wednesday, April 28 2010
A great deal has been made of the so-called ‘‘Rwanda miracle’’. Rwanda is seen as a typical example of a country that has risen from the ashes. There is no doubt President Paul Kagame has steered his country to prosperity in just about 16 years after perhaps the most horrendous event in African history – The genocide which claimed about one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
However, going by new developments in the country, Rwanda’s greatest test is yet to come. This test will determine if the country fits the description of a democratic haven of peace in Africa. I worked in Rwanda between 2001 and 2002. This was a great experience. The country was just emerging from the most horrible era in its history. About then, very few people would dare take up a job in what was described as a graveyard.
I found the Rwandans very hard-working and friendly, struggling to come to terms with their history. A fact that emerged was that the genocide was a product of bad governance. The then leaders of Rwanda inherited a bad system from the colonialists, which was discriminative and oppressive, but they never tried to run the state democratically. They were, to say the least, petty and visionless.
Here is a great lesson for all African leaders. When a government is run by such naïve individuals, the possibility of the system giving in is always present. The Rwandan leaders simply failed to address the real issues affecting the country, and engaged in divisive politics.
Such leaders, unfortunately, are found all over Africa, and Kenya has a fair share of them. They are those who thrive on narrow ethnic ideologies that propel their countries to disaster. In Rwanda, I noticed fear, uncertainty, shame and nostalgia all mingled in the looks of the citizens traumatised by their own actions. My students at the Kigali Institute of Education showed clear signs of depression.
Many of them were orphans, having narrowly survived the genocide. A good number whispered that they hated the “other” tribe. Such sentiments are quite widespread, and they run deep. You have to hand it to President Kagame. Since taking over, he has stabilised the country. His critics, however, argue that internal democracy does not exist. But in less than two decades, the Rwandans have regained confidence.
What was graveyard is slowly becoming a wonderful vineyard. Rwanda is one of the few countries with a very high number of women legislators. The government is fired by a clear ideology that has radically transformed society.
It is engaging the West on its own terms and cannot accept to be dictated upon. The country has joined the East African Community and the Commonwealth. Kigali has become a very clean city, though excruciating poverty has consigned many people to slum life.
However, the Rwandans have yet to come to terms with certain things. The kind of tribalism I observed is subtle. No one talks about it, but a keen observer will not fail to notice the tension.
That is precisely why Rwanda’s democracy is yet to pass its greatest test. With the arrival of politicians like Victoire Ingabire, who are open about issues, the focus is on how Kigali reacts.
Ms Ingabire is a presidential candidate who argues that she is out to promote reconciliation. She posits that the Rwanda Patriotic Front has tarnished the country’s image. She accuses the government of engaging in unnecessary military ventures in other countries.
Ms Ingabire believes that both Tutsi and Hutu should be held responsible for the genocide, and that Rwandans have to engage in dialogue, analyse the genocide, and come up with solutions to this problem.
Her position is that the government is wrong in telling the Rwandans not to talk about ethnicity. She says that Rwanda’s biggest problem is the absence of the rule of law and lack of democracy, and faults the government over lack of freedom of the press.
She rightly argues that many journalists have been arraigned in court because they wrote political stories. What Kigali does with such voices and how the vote will be organised and conducted is perhaps the greatest test for the fledgling democracy, otherwise just like other ethnically volatile nations, Rwanda stands on a precipice, Kagame’s rhetoric notwithstanding.
Prof Kabaji teaches Communication and Literature at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
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