Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Rwanda – RNC: The concerns of Kigali

By Grégoire Karekezi
Jambonews
March 16th, 2011

Photo:
Mr. Theogene Rudasingwa, a founding member of RNC.

Theogene Rudasingwa, Kagame’s former chief of staff, together with his friends, all of which are members of the opposition party, Rwanda National Congress (RNC), continue to worry Rwanda of Paul Kagame.

Indeed, the Kigali regime, which is known to stigmatize and treat its opponents with great contempt, seems to take seriously the threat posed by dissident members of the RNC.

There are reliable signs showing that the Rwandan government which usually expresses its agenda, ideology and attacks against its opponents through the daily newspaper “The New Times” is also disclosing these concerns through the same newspaper.

Indeed, this newspaper last week published an article written by the spokesperson of the Rwandan army, Lt. Col. Jill Rutaremara.

In his article, the spokesperson of the Rwandan army expressed regret about having been a schoolmate of Major Theogene Rudasingwa in the 80s. “Some of us have had the misfortune to study and live together with Major Rudasingwa at Makerere University in Uganda,” he declared. The question one should ask is why these spokesperson’s regrets only occur now given that Major Rudasingwa held several senior positions in Rwanda, including Paul Kagame’s chief of staff until 2004. Why the spokesperson of the army did not express his displeasure long before Rudasingwa and his friends found a political party, the RNC, which is opposed to the current regime in Kigali? The arguments advanced by the spokesperson to discredit his former comrade are primarily based on Rudasingwa’s private life rather than his professional career in the army, the civilian life or as a diplomat or Kagame’s chief of staff.

The day after the publication of Rutaremara’s article it was the turn of the former member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) high command, Major General Jerome Ngendahimana. The General surrendered and returned to Rwanda in 2003. Before surrendering, Major General Jerome Ngendahimana, as a leader of the FDLR, had been automatically accused of genocide by the Kigali regime. In his interview with the same newspaper, “The News Times”, the former member of the FDLR high command gave lessons of patriotism to General Nyamwasa and Colonel Karegeya and accused them of collaborating with the FDLR.

On Monday, March 14, 2011, Professor Manasseh Nshuti, often blamed by articles from the newspaper “Umuvugizi” (a tabloid banned from publication in Rwanda since last year) for complicity in embezzlement with President Kagame, published an article on Kayumba and Rudasingwa, still in “The New Times”. In his article, Professor Manasseh tries to demonstrate that the RNC by signing a compact of collaboration with the FDU-INKINGI, it de facto works with the FDLR because according to him, Ms. Victoire Ingabire, the Chairperson of FDU-INKINGI, is associated with the FDLR. It is important to recall that according to many observers, the Kigali regime has been trying by all means to associate Ms. Victoire Ingabire with the FDLR in order to justify her continued incarceration.

The media campaigns waged by Rwandan officials against their former comrades clearly show that the regime is deeply concerned about the existence of RNC, a political party mainly composed of former high ranking officials of the Kigali regime.

Translated by Amani Tuyishime
Original french version by Grégoire Karekezi
JamboNews.net

Related Materials:
Kayumba Nyamwasa fails to absolve himself from Links with FDLR

Theogene Rudasingwa’s credibility problem

Rwanda: Lessons for Kayumba And Co.

Rwanda: Renegades - the Real Kayumba And Rudasingwa

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 11:05 PM