The Equatorial Guinea’s dictator Obiang has gone to extra-ordinary length to host the AU Summit in Malabo.
He “cleansed” the streets of the Capital by banning any demonstrations by students, opposition leaders, and civil society.
He built a posh villa to host African heads of state in order to outdo previous summit, and in order to reinvent himself as an African statesman from the dictator he is.
Heads of multi lateral and bilateral agencies are also hosted in hastily polished up accommodation in the Capital city.
All in all, the EGuinea dictator is basking in glory – all eyes are on him as Chair and Host of AU Summit.
The ruthless trio opt out of Malabo
There is a ruthless trio – ultra dictators missing the party in Malabo.
Libyan dictator Ghadafi is not attending this year – his crumbling regime is on its last stage of collapse as his brave compatriots and NATO forces shrink the territory that remains under his control. His freshly drawn arrest warrant adds to his woes.
Sudanese dictator Bashir would rather be in China selling Sudan than risk an arrest warrant for his crimes against humanity ruthlessly perpetuated against his own people. He even recently invaded and occupied a border zone with South Sudan against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Rwandan dictator Kagame has many troubles – he has made enemies with almost everyone among his peers. He has alienated fellow East African heads of state. He is literally on trial in South Africa where his killing squads shot his former chief of staff during FIFA world cup. The leaked telephone conversations directly link hired killers in Johannesburg and a Kagame top general. Kagame would rather not mingle with his counterparts for this and other forms of unbecoming behaviour – including terrorising his compatriots world-over.
Two stories in one
What do we see here? A host dictator that is attempting to reinvest himself as an African statesman. On the contrary this predator should never have headed the continent’s premier body, the African Union. This is another shameful historical moment for our continent – as pathetic as when the butcher of Uganda Idi Amin chaired OAU in the 1970s.
Then there is the case of the trio drop-outs – Ghadafi, Bashir and Kagame.
These are birds of the same feathers that nearing their entry into the garbage dump of history. They are literally criminals. They should not be at the AU Summit in the first place.
The trio belongs to the Hague prisons alongside Charles Taylor, the former butcher of Liberia and his fellow travellers.
No sooner than the Rwandan dictator became unwelcomed to UK, than the case against his murderous trail opened in Johannesburg, South Africa on 28 June 2011.
Entire world watching
A year ago in June 2010, Kagame-Nziza hired killers shot Lieutenant General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, Rwanda’s former army commandant. Now three Rwandans and three Tanzanians stand accused of this crime.
The Rwandan dictator’s murderous crusade has strained Rwandan-South African relations. South Africa’s ambassador has not returned to Rwanda since he was recalled last year.
Jack Nziza’s man appears in court
Appearing in court was the main archtect on the ground – Pascal Kanyandekwe, a Rwandan “businessman”. In addition to charges stemming from the shooting, Kanyandekwe is accused of plotting to kill Nyamwasa while recovering in hospital. This is the infamous character heard in leaked audios planning the killing of Kayumba in hospital and even wiping out the entire hospital staff if necessary.
Kanyandekwe and four men not linked to the shooting are to stand trial in the hospital plot later this month.
Kanyandekwe is also accused of bribery after two police officers said he offered them US$1million to let him and his hired killers go when they arrested him in July 2010.
The other two Rwandans accused are Kayumba’s driver and a former Rwandan soldier.
Kagame’s luck has run out
Kagame’s killings have finally caught up with him. We have previously published long lists of lives the Rwandan dictator has taken.
The rest of the world has taken notice.
The dictator is totally naked now – and will be even more exposed at the end of this trial, no matter the outcome.
Dore amahame remezo dushingiyeho. Tukaba tunanejejwe ko ali n’ayo twumvikanyeho n’Ihuliro Rwanda National Congress – RNC mu bufatanye twashyizeho umukono kuli 25 Mutarama mu Busuwisi.
Dushaka U Rwanda rwigenga rubereye abanyarwanda rugendera kuri demokrasi n’amategeko, ku bwisanzure n’ubutabera, ruha agaciro buri munyarwanda, ruzira ivangura iryo ari ryo ryose, rushyira imbere ubwiyungebushingiye ku kwibuka abazize bose itsembabwoko n’itsembatsemba no kwumva akababaro k’undi ntawupfukiranwe, ubwisanzure n’ubwubahane hagati y’abanyarwanda.
Komite Mpuzabikorwa ya FDU Inkingi twemera ko muri 1994, Abatutsi basigaye mu Rwanda bemeraga ubutegetsi bwaturutse muri iyo Revolisiyo yo 1959, kandi babutezeho ko bubarengera, abenshi muri abo Batutsi bishwe, bazira ubwoko bwabo ko ali abatutsi. Ubwo bwicanyi ni itsembabwoko ryakorewe Abatutsi rigomba kwamaganwa buli gihe. Dusanga rero mu gihe tugezemo nta mpaka zikiriho ku kibazo cy’itsembabwoko ryakorewe abatutsi. Iryo tsembabwoko ryitwa genocide y’Abatutsi rizwi kandi ryemerwa n’Abanyarwanda b’ingeri zose, rikaba ryaranemejwe n’inzego za ONU zibishinzwe zishingiye ku maperereza n aza raporo zakozwe n’impuguke hamwe n’imiryango mpuzamahanga inyuranye iharanira uburenganziramuntu.
Komite Mpuzabikorwa ya FDU Inkingi twemera kandi ko hari ubwicanyi bwakorewe Abahutu mu gihe cya mbere ya genocide, muri genocide na nyuma yayo, haba mu Rwanda, haba no muli Kongo. Ubwo bwicanyi nabwo bwemezwa n’iperereza n’ubushakashatsi byakozwe n’abahanga muby’amategeko, imiryangompuzamahanga iharanira uburenganziramuntu na ONU. Ku mwihariko Mapping Report ya ONU yakozwe ku bwicanyi bwabereye muri Kongo bwibasiye impunzi z’abahutu ivuga ko ubwo bwicanyi bushobora kuba ali itsembabwoko. Uretse ibyaha birebana n’itsembatsemba iyo raporo ivuga kandi twemera, natwe tubona ko halimo ibyaha koko birebana n’itsembabwoko. Si Abatutsi barokotse itsembabwoko ryo muri 1994 bagiye kwica izo mpunzi z’Abahutu, ubwo bwicanyi bwakozwe n’agatsiko kari ku butegetsi ubu mu Rwanda. Dushyigikiye ko ubwo bwicanyi bukurikiranwa n’inkiko mpuzamahanga.
Ayo mahano arenze ubwenge yakorewe Abatutsi, agakorerwa Abahutu ntibigomba na gato guhinduka ikintu ngo cya “match nul”. Ahubwo ni agahomamunwa n’akaga ka kabili kaguye ku Banyarwanda, akaba aliyo mpamvu dushyigikiye ko nta muntu n’umwe, yaba Umuhutu se cyangwa yaba Umututsi, wavutswa kwibuka abe baguye muli ayo marorerwa, kimwe n’uko dusaba ko buli wese yumva akababaro k’undi. Twongere tubabwire ko iyi myumvire y’ibyaha bikomeye byibasiye inyokomuntu tuyihuje na RNC.
IV.Inzira twahisemo ngo twimakaze demokrasi
Komite Mpuzabikorwa ya FDU Inkingi twemera ko uko ugiye ku butegetsi akenshi aliko uyobora. Ugiye ku butegetsi n’imbunda ayoborana imbunda, ugiye ku butegetsi mu matora afifitse ayoborana igitugu, ugiye ku butegetsi anyuze mu nzira y’amahoro no gupiganwa nyakwo hagati y’amashyaka ayoborana ituze no kwubaha abaturage bamutoye n’abatamutoye. Dufata icyemezo cyo gucyura Ishyaka ryacu mu gihugu, Madamu Victoire Ingabire udukuriye agashingwa kuryandikisha no kwiyamamaliza mu mwanya wa Perezida wa Republika, ni uko twemeraga kandi tugishimangira ko inzira y’amahoro, imishyikirano no gupiganwa mu matora aliyo nkuru.
VI.Gushingira politiki yacu mu gukorera mu Rwanda.
Komite Mpuzabikorwa ya FDU Inkingi tuzakomeza gushyigikira ko kurwanira ubutegetsi bushingiye kuli demokrasi ali mu gihugu bugomba gukomeza kubera. Ni yo mpamvu tuzakomeza :
ØGushyigikira ko icyicaro cy’ishyaka ali mu Rwanda, atari mu mahanga
ØGushyigikira kw’ishyaka FDU Inkingi ryemerwa n’ubutegetsi rigakora mu gihugu nta nzitizi zo kugera ku baturage no ku binyamakuru ali ibya Lata, ali iby’abikorera ku giti cyabo
ØKwemera ko ali Madamu Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza ukuliye ishyaka
ØKurwanilira ko Madamu Victoire Ingabire, Prezidante wa FDU Inkingi, arekurwa vuba n’ubutegetsi bwa nta yandi mananiza
ØKwemera ko nta rundi rwego rukuru rw’ishyaka FDU Inkingi ruriho uretse Inama y’ubuyobozi bw’agateganyo (Comité exécutif provisoire ) iyoborwa na Prezida wayo Madamu Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
ØKwemera ko muli iki gihe ali ku ngoyi nk’imbohe asimburwa na Visi Prezida wayo, Bwana Twagirimana Bonifasi
ØKwemera ko Komite Mpuzabikorwa (Comité de coordination) iyobowe na Bwana Nkiko Nsengimana ikuriwe n’Inama y’ubuyobozi bw’agateganyo ili mu Rwanda
ØKwemeza ko Komite Mpuzabikorwa izacyura igihe umunsi ishyaka rizaba ryemewe burundu n’amategeko n’abarwanashyaka bari hanze bemerewe gutahuka
ØGushyigikira mu rwego rwa politiki, guhoza ku mutima no gushaka uburyo bushoboka bwose ngo intwari ziri ku rugamba rwa demokrasi mu gihugu zigere ku nshingano zose dufatanije.
VII.Umwanzuro
Mutubabarire kuba tubageneye inyandiko ndende nk’iyi ibereka ibyo Komite Mpuzabikorwa yemera n’uko ihagaze. Byali ngombwa kugira ngo musobanukirwe, mumenye icyo dupfa n’agakipe duhanganye, katwandagaje, mukaba mwakeka ko guceceka kwacu ali ukwemera ibyo bavuga. Twashatse kubabwira ibyo twemera n’uko tubona ibintu. Twanze kuvuga ibyo ako gakipe kemera hato katazavuga ko tukabeshyera, dore ko kanahindura buli gihe imvugo n’inyandiko.
Komite Mpuzabikorwa ya FDU Inkingi ikaba isaba Eugene Ndahayo na bagenzi kuvuga niba bafite imyumvire imwe natwe kuli izo ngingo zose zavuze hamwe. Tukaba tubijeje ko, niba nabo ali uko babibona, tubahaye ikaze kwinjira muli Komite Mpuzabikorwa ku mwanya wose abarwanashyaka bazabagenera.
Baramutse aliko badafite imyumvire nk’iyacu, kuko ali nayo y’ishyaka FDU Inkingi, tubasabye gushaka ku giti cyabo andi mashyaka bakorana nayo, cyangwa se bakishingira iryabo uko babigena bakishakira abayoboke batitwaza aliko inyito ya FDU Inkingi. Tuzabibubahira.
Murakarama.
Bikorewe i Lausanne, mu Busuwisi kuwa 30 Gicurasi 2011.
The document was published in the De Paul Journal of Social Justice in the fall of 2010. It reveals some facts significantly worth highlighting, particularly for those that RPF propaganda has lied to for years. Among those lies one is about the former president Habyarimana and his regime’s relationship with Tutsis inside Rwanda particularly during the RPF guerrilla war which lasted almost three years and half, from October 1, 2010 to July 4, 1994.
Despite the troubled and war time that the country experienced between October 1, 1990, date of RPF invasion of Rwanda from Uganda, and the day he died on April 6, 1994, President Habyarimana demonstrated a humanity towards Tutsis inside Rwanda that RPF would not dare to credit him for, because this would deprive Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, of claiming that he has been their saviour. Having said that, Robert Flatten, U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda who was in Kigali during most of the RPF guerrilla war, paints a portrait of Habyarimana’s security measures which significantly limited the impact of the war on Tutsis while he was still alive:
“…leaders from all sides have begun to realize the more terrifying implications of an RPF march to Kigali. No matter how many Hutus the RPF may have representing it, it is perceived in Rwanda as an essentially Tutsi organisation. Should this group break through to Kigali, all the fears of the Hutu majority of again being subjected to slavery or feudal vassalage will be resurfaced. When threatened with the restoration of the feudal system, the Hutus on the collines (hills) will begin to eliminate their Tutsi neighbours. When this happened in 1990….Habyarimana sent an army unit to stop it. When it happened in Bugesera in March 1992, the Gendarmes eventually arrived to encourage the restoration of calm. This was done with an administration and communications in place, neither of which would be the case should Kigali fall to the RPF.”
The assassination on April 6, 1994 of the two Presidents, Habyarimana of Rwanda and Ntaryamira of Burundi, when the airplane they were travelling in was shot down while attempting to land at Kanombe airport, was interpreted in many Rwandans’ understanding as the fall of Kigali in the hands of the attacker of the country – the Rwandan Patriotic Front of Paul Kagame. Ultimately Robert Flatten’s predictions became reality: Hutus on hills fearing a restoration of the feudal system and being subjected again to slavery, began eliminating their Tutsi neighbours.
The same way there is nothing like experience, as well there is nothing like bad experience. It is usually said that we learn from our past. But when it’s from an inconvenient one, our learning becomes unfortunate for those who turn into its victims. Peter Erlinder explains:
“The former Rwandan Tutsi aristocracy faced discrimination as foreigners in Uganda, and many of the children of the displaced Rwandan-Tutsi aristocracy (including a teenage Paul Kagame) threw their lot in with the National Resistance Army (NRA) of Yoweri Museveni, who led armed rebellion against the elected government of President Milton Obote that took some 500,000 lives between 1981 and 1986, particularly in the Luwero Triangle.”
Early 1994, the CIA Kigali desk predicted that between 300,000 and 500,000 lives would perish if President Habyarimana was killed. Such predictions were apparently based on the prevailing political and security situation in Rwanda and the whole region. The main supporting factor was particularly the impact of the assassination in October 1993 by Tutsi military extremists of the ever first Hutu President who had been democratically elected in neighbouring sister country of Burundi.
They had done it in the Triangle of Luwero a few years before. And as a consequence Yoweri Museveni got into power in 1986. If with a similar scenario of getting a near close number of casualties, they could get this time power in Rwanda, what could stop them? Paul Kagame and his RPF rebel movement played their cards and got the expected reward: leading the country since July 4, 1994. Now, they and their U.S. and U.K. friends have worked hard since to blame Hutus for most of the killings which occurred starting from the RPF’s invasion of Rwanda from Uganda. But truth and time are catching with the liars.
No one contests the occurrence of the Rwandan genocide. The only cloud remains around the narrative of Kigali about what happened and how events unfolded. The Rwandan government’s story has only so far served to protect its promoters from being prosecuted. On October 2009 the conclusion of the three judges’ panel at the ICTR in Militarly-I 98-41-T cleared of any conspiracy to commit genocide the four most sought after and supposedly master-minders. The judges’ conclusion implies that there are the real planners of the Rwandan genocide out there who are still enjoying impunity.
The 500,000 lives which were killed in the Luwero Triangle between 1981 and 1986 seem to have gone down in history without any justice since President Joweri Museveni of Uganda who was leading the NRA rebel at the time has today spent 25 years in power benefiting from total impunity.
The UN Mapping Report has made some dent in Kagame’s impunity about his numerous crimes since his time in Uganda as Chief Intelligence. However, there is a long way to go to make him accountable for his whole responsibility in the Rwandan genocide and many other crimes which characterise his personality. It is ironic how those among leaders in the Great Lakes who behaved humanly ended up and the criminals who got the upper hand. Evil has so far triumphed against good. Let’s hope for the better.
Join us for this film that gives a rare look at continued U.S. culpability in the devastation in the DR Congo.
Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering The Truth exposes the role that the United States and its allies, Rwanda and Uganda have played in triggering the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century.
The film locates the Congo crisis in a historical, social and political context. It unveils analysis and prescriptions by leading experts, practitioners, activists and intellectuals that are not normally available to the general public. The film is a call to conscience and action.
Material published and distributed by the Institute for Policy Studies represents the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of the board members or staff of IPS or its projects. IPS is committed to sponsoring a broad public dialogue about U.S. domestic and foreign policy and the role of the United States in the world.
President Kagame poses with a group of journalists after the press conference yesterday (Photo Willis Shalita)
What is wrong with this picture of a smiling and apparently relaxed Mr Kagame with Rwandan journalists?
This photograph taken immediately after Mr Kagame’s monthly press conference of 23 June 2011 speaks volumes of the man himself, the state Rwanda is in and that of the media in the country.
Kagame makeover
This version of a smiling Mr Kagame with the media appears to be a desperate makeover of a media predator and verbal abuser. Mr Kagame’s American PR Machine has made a breakthrough here. They have succeeded in coaching their man to be more human, less aggressive, less abusive and even friendly to the media. Gone is the angry head of state that sends journalists into shivers – here is a version of Mr Kagame usually reserved for overseas admiring fans falling over themselves to be seen with “visionary” and “new breed” of African leadership.
What Rwanda has become
The pictured gathering of Kagame and the media says even more about Rwanda than the man. Put this gathering in the context of the past month leading to Mr Kagame’s monthly conference and what the country has gone through.
UK’s Scotland Yard publicly warned Rwandans living in Britain to be vigilant as Kagame killing machines might harm them.
The planning sessions between General Nziza, Colonel Munyuza and operatives in South Africa on killing General Nyamwasa by any means possible, including harming hospital staff where he was recovering after being shot by same operatives, were revealed to the world via leaked audios.
Mr Kagame appeared shaking hands in Chicago with former Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Gasana and former Prime Minister Rwigema – the latter previously categorised as a fugitive from justice accused for genocide crimes.
Rwanda is thus becoming known once again for wrong reasons – state-sponsored terror, death squads, lawlessness and selective justice.
Nziza, Munyuza and the audio
What is remarkable is that Kagame has not explained to the nation he rules what he intends to do with General Jack Nziza and Colonel Munyuza. If Kagame was a “leader” he claims to be, he would have to undertake at least one of the following actions:
Reject the authenticity of voices on the audios and categorically state that they are not Nziza’s and Munyuza’s;
Fire and try Nziza and Munyuza for engaging in cross-border criminal activity and assure Rwanda that he was not aware of and did not approve of such activity; or
Resign for unleashing terror across borders and for soiling the name of Rwanda, a country Kagame claims to love.
But Mr Kagame has conveniently chosen to remain silent which can only mean one thing – that he is himself part of the despicable act and exporter of terror. This is the man who brands himself as having ended the culture of impunity in Rwanda.
Enter former prime minister Rwigema
Then there is the extraordinary drama around former prime minister Celestin Rwigema. How did a genocide fugitive become part of the loving crowd welcoming Mr Kagame to Chicago’s Rwanda day? How does Mr Kagame become the three branches of government – executive, legislative and judiciary to brand someone a genocide fugitive one day and an upright citizen another day without due process? Rwanda it would seem is country run by a personality cult and impunity.
The world awaits to see how Rwandan parliament, predominantly female, and supposedly progressive will handle the Rwigema saga. Similalry, the Rwandan judiciary, supposedly progressive and led by a female has a lot to explain. Kagame never ceases to tell whoever will listen how the Rwandan institutions increasingly led by women are effective and models for others to follow.
The fourth estate in Rwanda
The above highlighted issues and events are what one would have expected the media in Rwanda to ask Kagame at his press conference. But there was instead silence on these matters.
The media in Rwanda has of course has been “cleansed” of any critical and investigative journalism. The judicial ink condemning the editor of Umuvugizi, Bosco Gasasira, to a prison term has yet to dry. True to form Kagame judiciary tried the editor in absentia, the draconian legal instrument used by most repressive regimes.
That is why the picture of a smiling Mr. Kagame with media is a cheap and sick propaganda that achieves the opposite of what is intended.
The smiling Mr. Kagame with the media is akin to the fable of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This fable comes from a sermon by Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Mathew 7:15: “Be aware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” The sermon conveys the message that the true nature of the wolves would in due course become revealed by their actions.
Kagame’s fate
Of late the Rwandan dictator is preaching that he will be replaced by a younger leader in 2017. The latest twist is that the younger leader should also be a female.
Here is free advice to Mr. Kagame. Forget 2017 and deal with the present.
Explain to Rwandans and the world the audio in which your senior military officials are heard planning to kill their fellow countrymen and hospital staff in Johannesburg. You have an incentive for doing this. The legal case of Rwanda-sponsored assassins in South Africa is coming to trial – so act fast.
Explain how previously you were hunting down former prime minister Rwigema as a genocider and suddenly he is a member of your Chicago entourage.
As for the seven year Mr Kagame still have to misrule Rwanda, and who might replace him, he will do well to think harder on this matter. In politics, seven years is equivalent to a century – it is a long time to say the least. The unexpected can happen, even to the most powerful and manipulative dictators.
As the saying goes, when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. The feud between Kayumba Nyamwasa et al. and Paul Kagame is likely to have a far from pleasant end. The peasants might once again be entangled into a conflict they little understand and as a result, forced to pay a heavy price.
The wrangle between the two heavyweights seems to have reached a point of no return. What is now left is a dog-eats-dog strategy, or an equivalent of the Darwinian survival for the fittest. This was the message directly implied when Kayumba was shot last year in the streets of Johannesburg. Kayumba and his family believe that the government is still trying to kill them. For Mr. Kagame, actions speak louder than words!
But is Kayumba hitting back as well? This is hard to tell. At the moment, there is no clear evidence that this might be the case, although the Rwandan government has accused him of forming terror zones within the country. Knowing that Kayumba was the chief of the Rwandan army for many years, and is still said to be very popular among the ranks of the military, everything is possible. Moreover, some claim that he enjoys very strong ties with the Ugandan government. The thought of him mobilizing a fighting force, no doubt exaggerated at the moment, is not a complete impossibility.
As of yesterday, the government of Rwanda claims to have arrested five dissidents, including a colonel in the Rwandan army. They are accused of planning sabotage attacks against Rwanda under Kayumba’s authority. Of course, such accusations need to be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, these are the exact same charges that are always leveled on political dissidents in Rwanda. If so, it might be the case of a boy crying wolf.
As expected, Kayumba’s vehemently denied any links to the arrested individuals. Because this is the first time that an insider of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) is wrestling with the regime, it might be hard to tell where the truth lies.
We know that an investigative report released by the United Nations earlier this month refuted any links between Kayumba et al and other fighting groups based in the DRC such as FDLR and RUD Urunana. We also know that it is in Kagame’s best interest to portray Kayumba as a military trouble maker who is threatening Tutsi hegemony by collaborating with Hutu extremists. In Kagame’s threatening words, he is “excrement” that must be eliminated from the body.
As I said in my post earlier, these are troubling times in Rwanda. The “warrior refugees” that once won the praise of Philip Gourevtitch now have guns pointed at each other. They threaten the stability of a country they fought for and some of them have already been exiled again. It is not a pretty sight.
To be honest, Kayumba’s opposition to Kagame bears more hope for democracy than an event in Rwanda’s recent history. Kayumba has challenged Kagame’s totalitarian control in a way that leaves the man humbled. He often likes to say that, “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. By extension, Kayumba, at least in rhetoric, wants the RPF to undergo a process of reformation; which will allow for competitive politics.
Part of Kayumba’s problem with the RPF party is that Kagame has personalized it. He has built a personality cult akin to that of the late Juvenal Habyarimana. As such, Kayumba and other RPF compatriots feel their vision betrayed. They are longing for change.
It needs to be emphasized that the RPF, under Paul Kagame, has been a major stumbling block to democratic reform. They have established complete control over the military, the church and the civil society. They are like the despot king who must die in order for democracy to arise. We also need to be aware that Kayumba et al. were the yesterday’s champions of this corrupted system. But human being can learn from their mistakes. And there are few untainted hands in Rwanda.
I may not be a fan of Kayumba et al., but I think they deserve a chance. After all, they are Rwandans as well and their love for the country is evident. So far, they have been busy trying to spearhead for reconciliation among the Diaspora of Hutus and Tutsis. They efforts seem to be wielding success. In particular, Theogene Rudasingwa, the group’s most vocal member, has shown the willingness to acknowledge the crimes committed by the RPF against Hutu civilians. This is a BIG and unprecedented step—one that needs to be celebrated. By any indications, Rudasingwa looks like a reformed man who is hungry for peace and reconciliation. Rwanda desperately needs more of his kind.
I view the confrontations as a necessary step for Rwanda’s rebirth. It is completely disheartening to think that the peasants will once again bear the brunt. However, can there be gain without pain? Are the peasants better off under a cruel dictatorship? I welcome comments from my readers.
Freedom of expression in Rwanda has been unduly restricted for many years. The killings of a political opponent and a journalist in 2010 indicate how people who criticize the authorities are often at risk.
We believe the Rwandan government should re-open the investigation into the killings of Jean-Leonard Rugambage and André Kagwa Rwisereka by establishing two separate independent commissions of enquiry.
One year ago, Rwandan journalist and deputy editor of the Kinyarwanda newspaper Umuvugizi, Jean-Leonard Rugambage, was shot dead outside his home in Kigali on 24 June 2010. There is no evidence that Rwandan police have explored those leads into the killing of Jean-Leonard Rugambage that pointed towards it being politically motivated.
20 days later, on 14 July 2010, André Kagwa Rwisereka, vice president of the opposition Democratic Green Party, was found dead in Butare, southern Rwanda. He had been beheaded. No-one has been brought to justice for André Kagwa Rwisereka’s murder. The police opened investigations, but the prosecution claim to have insufficient evidence to press charges.
The months leading up to the August 2010 presidential elections, which President Kagame won with 93 per cent of the vote, were marked by a clampdown on freedom of expression and association. Help us speak up for freedom of expression and mark these key dates.
Take action by…
Joining our call to allow criticism to be voiced in #Rwanda.
Copy and paste the messages below & send them to @PaulKagame on 2 key dates:
24 June
@PaulKagame: I’m calling on the Rwandan authorities to re-open the investigation into #Rugambage’s murder 1 year ago
With a follow-up tweet linking to the page with instructions for others who want to take the action:
Join me & message the Rwandan authorities to re-open the investigation into #Rugambage’s killing @PaulKagame. http://bit.ly/kagameAI
14 July
@PaulKagame: I’m calling on the Rwandan authorities to re-open the investigation into
#Rwisereka’s murder 1 year ago
With a follow-up tweet linking to the page with instructions for others who want to take the action:
Join me & message the Rwandan authorities to re-open the investigation into #Rwisereka’s killing @PaulKagame. http://bit.ly/kagameAI
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This Monday, June 20, 2011, begins at the High Court in Kigali, the trial against Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi, an opposition party that the Rwandan authorities still refuse to register. Officially, she is accused of: genocide ideology, collaboration with a terrorist group, divisionism, spreading rumors aimed at inciting the population to rise against the regime, and creating a rebel army aimed at overthrowing the government by force. However, behind that judicial makeup, there are in reality hidden political agendas for the RPF dictatorship as we shall demonstrate it below.
Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza was presented before the same court, on Monday, May 16, 2011, against the advice of her lawyers who had requested a period of three months so that they can be in possession of the translation in English of more than 2,400 pages of the court file; examine the file with their client which they have never met privately without the presence of elements from the intelligence services in Rwanda. She was presented to the court with four co-defendants: Tharcisse Nditurende, Jean Marie Vianney Karuta, Noel Habiyaremye and Vital Uwumuremyi. They were escorted by several prison agents, police officers and intelligence agents (CID: Criminal Investigation Department). The team was led by the chief of police in the district of Nyarugenge, M. Mutezintare, accompanied by the director of the Kigali maximum security prison, also known as "1930."
a. Political reasons
Since the installation of the regime led by the RPF-Inkotanyi, its leaders have established a culture of holding judicial proceedings in order to silence real or supposed opponents. Upon taking office, the regime of Paul Kagame has imprisoned hundreds of thousands of people wrongly or rightly accused of participation in the genocide. If among these prisoners there were people who could have participated in genocide, little by little, people were falsely accused of this crime in order to expropriate them or to silence them politically. This is also what essentially says the latest press release from Amnesty International (1).
All individuals who, at one time or another, tried to contradict those in power, were prosecuted either for genocide or for genocide ideology, even after many years of loyal service to the regime. There is no shortage of examples: former Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema, former Parliament Speaker Alfred Mukezamfura and former Senator Stanley Safari were prosecuted and convicted for genocide, even though they had occupied these high offices for several years. All those who tried to be critical or wanted to leave the RPF to create their own opposition party such as former President Pasteur Bizimungu, former minister Charles Ntakirutinka, former candidate for the presidential elections in 2003, Dr. Theoneste Niyitegeka, were prosecuted for fabricated crimes. Yet the reality is quite different: the political motives are the main reasons for the trial.
When Ms. Ingabire arrived in Rwanda on January 16, 2010, the regime was taken aback by the determination of this lady who does not mince words in denouncing the muzzling of the press, social injustice, unfair trials and discriminatory bereavement. To defy General Paul Kagame and aspire to be his challenger in presidential elections could only attract the wrath against the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi. The RPF regime spared no means to drag Ms. Ingabire in the mud while hiding itself behind the judicial reasons.
i. Persecution of Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza upon her arrival in Rwanda
When FDU-Inkingi announced its intention to go to implement itself in Rwanda in order to participate in the presidential elections of August 2010, acts of intimidation and other threats began right away. They were aimed at deterring FDU-Inkingi from returning to Rwanda. The first attempts were of course the refusal to grant passports to potential returnees in Rwanda in order to help implementing the party. This refusal did not alter the determination of FDU-Inkingi to return to Rwanda to exercise the political rights recognized by the current Constitution in Rwanda. The Rwandan government then appealed to the media under its control to demonize Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and to lobbying groups to accuse her of daring to participate, with representatives from the FDLR, in a meeting on the reconciliation of Rwandans. Ironically, the RPF had also been invited and was represented at that meeting which was organized by a Spanish NGO in Barcelona, Spain. Yet everyone agrees that the FDLR are part of the equation to be solved to ensure lasting peace in the Great Lakes region in general and in Rwanda in particular.
Calls for lynching the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi were launched by the highest state authorities. The only daily newspaper in Rwanda and government mouthpiece, The New Times (TNT), devoted itself to a series of editorials and articles, which every day, distorted, and transformed Ms. Ingabire’s speeches, denigrated her, called her all the names under the sun, accused her of defending the theory of double genocide, to spread the genocide ideology, to preach divisionism, to undermine national unity, to collaborate with the FDLR, etc.. Other state media or media that are close to the government followed the same path and took turns with TNT by relaying calls for lynching Ms. Ingabire. Her only crime: having dared to point the accusing finger to individuals that are responsible for massacres, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Hutus as this has been done with regard to individuals that are responsible for the genocide against the Tutsis. She is "guilty" of having called for the fight against impunity, by bringing up the crimes committed by the RPF army. Even though, these crimes have also been confirmed by the UN report "Mapping Exercise" published on October 1, 2010.
On February 3, 2010, she was attacked by a mob inside the administrative office of the Kinyinya Sector. As if this was not enough to discourage the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi, the police took over and began to summon her almost on a daily basis for interrogations that sometimes lasted for up to 10 hours a day. It was then the beginning of a psychological warfare. When she tried to take airplane to go to visit her family in the Netherlands, the police stopped her despite the fact that there was no order preventing her from leaving the territory. On April 22, 2010, she was placed under house arrest. In fact, the major wrong doings alleged against Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and FDU-Inkingi, are those of having dared to create an opposition party and having requested that political and military figures within the current regime that are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity be brought to justice.
ii. Persecution of members of FDU-Inkingi
When the campaign of demonization and aggression against Ms. Ingabire intensified, other party members who dared to affirm themselves as such or who were suspected of being so, in turn, were persecuted, fired from their jobs, were beaten and some of them were imprisoned or went missing. As they were getting ready to participate in a peaceful demonstration organized by the opposition (2) on June 24, 2010, hundreds of members of FDU-Inkingi were arrested and beaten by the police at Gishushu (Remera) and outside the Ministry of Justice in Kimihurura. They were converging for a peaceful demonstration outside the Ministry to ask the government to lift: the refusal to register FDU-Inkingi; restrictive measures and false accusations against their Chairperson Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza who was placed under house arrest since April 22, 2010 and therefore was deprived of her basic civil rights.
Two members of the Interim Executive Committee of FDU-Inkingi, Mr. Sylvain Sibomana, Secretary General, and Ms. Alice Muhirwa, were arrested and tortured by elements from the national police. Ms. Alice Muhirwa was hospitalized for several days after such abuses. Other officials of FDU-Inkingi including those within the City of Kigali were also beaten, arrested and put in jail along with members of the PS-Imberakuri including their Chairperson Me Bernard Ntaganda. Behind the criminal charges against these members there are hidden political motives: no citizen has the right to demonstrate peacefully against the regime and draconian laws tailored in order to remain in power indefinitely.
iii. Refusal to register the party FDU-Inkingi
FDU-Inkingi is an opposition party founded in exile. It decided to return to Rwanda to exercise its political rights recognized by the Constitution of Rwanda mostly owing to the fact that the Rwandan authorities keep appearing to the world that the doors are open for all Rwandan refugees who wish to return to their country. When she arrived in Rwanda, Ms. Ingabire directly began the administrative process aimed at registering FDU-Inkingi, which meanwhile had managed to recruit members inside the country. As provided in the Rwandan law on political parties (3), to be approved, each political party must hold a constituent assembly that brings together representatives of the party in each district, according to a distribution imposed by that law.
FDU-Inkingi has repeatedly requested a permit to hold the constituent assembly, but each time the permit was refused. Initially, local authorities claimed that FDU-Inkingi must first have a permit from the police. Such a request was later rejected by the police before falling back as usual on the alleged crimes of Ms. Ingabire, even though during those first applications she was not the subject of any previous charge. When the permit to hold a constituent assembly was requested by the first Vice Chair of the Interim Executive Committee, it was the same old song while he too, was not the subject of any prosecution. The evidence finally came to light: the regime did not want in any way to recognize a real opposition party. However, to mislead the public opinion, the government was always put ting forward the alleged criminal motives leveled against the Chairperson Ms. Ingabire.
b. Political motives became criminal charges
What everyone feared for quite a while, particularly since the interference of President Kagame finally arrived. Responding to yet another meeting of the anti-criminal police (CID), Ms. Ingabire was arrested on April 21, 2010 at 9 am GMT. Shock and dismay settled among the people fighting for democracy and who dreamed for the beginning of a democratic and peaceful change in Rwanda. On the same day she was presented to the prosecutor to let her know that she was charged with genocide ideology, divisionism and collaboration with a terrorist group, the FDLR. Her house was searched from top to bottom; computers, mobile phones, flash drives, SIM cards, CD's and various documents were taken away by the police and Ms. Ingabire was taken to jail where she spent that night. With these seized documents, the police were able to get some insights into the FDU-Inkingi operating system especially the names of its members that the police began to intimidate and harass. On April 22, 2010, Ms. Ingabire was released under judicial control. However, the harassment continued until her second arrest on October 14, 2010 after a week of siege. She was first held at the police station at Kicukiro before being transferred in Kigali maximum security prison, also known as "1930", where she is held up to date.
c. The charges
i. The ideology of genocide
"I and my party, FDU-Inkingi, founded in 2006, recognize that in 1994 there was genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsis. We also recognize that prior to 1994, in 1994 and after 1994, there were in Rwanda, war crimes and crimes against humanity that targeted the other components of the Rwandan population. These are the facts that we have witnessed and have been recognized by the United Nations in Resolution 955 of November 8, 1994. We also state unequivocally that anyone with a responsibility for these crimes, whether he/she is part of the former regime or the current regime, must answer for his/her actions in court. All these crimes are serious and are inalienable but we never tried to compare them or to exempt the responsibilities of some culprits by the responsibilities of others. We also recognize that genocide is the highest degree of inhumanity. We advocate that the sufferings of all survivors be adequately recognized and that they all be given special compensations," Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, FDU-Inkingi, Press Release of 03 May 2010.
This statement could not be clearer; it resumes everything FDU-Inkingi and its Chairperson have been saying publicly. There is no doubt about the recognition of the genocide by FDU-Inkingi and its Chairperson. Ms. Ingabire is a victim of false denunciation of the RPF which would like to liquidate any opposition leader by using the law No. 18/2008 of 23/07/2008 on genocide ideology. This law was designed in a vague and ambiguous way intended as a tool for blackmail, to use as the sword of Damocles over anyone who disagrees with the sole thought of the RPF or anyone who ventures to assert that the RPF committed crimes against humanity and acts that could be classified as genocide against the Hutus (trial of Peter Erlinder, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Deo Mushayidi, Paul Rusesabagina, Bernard Ntaganda, etc.).
Any difference of opinion on facts that were proven in our recent history, any mention of the crimes and victims of the RPF during the conflict from 1990 to 1994 and beyond can be equated with genocide ideology. The Rwandan Minister of Justice Tharcisse Kagarurama himself acknowledged that the law on genocide ideology was problematic following strong reservations in this regard expressed by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International had, but since then nothing has changed (4).
ii. Divisionism:
FDU-Inkingi is an opposition party. It is not a mystery in terms of the country’s governance and national cohesion for FDU-Inkingi to be in total opposition to the current regime. Our party cannot accept to stand behind the ruling party under the pretext that to not have the same vision as the RPF is deliberately equated to divisionism. The Constitution of our country, which the RPF regime set up itself, recognizes the multiparty system; the citizens have de facto the right to political projects competing with those of the ruling party.
To tell the world that the Rwandan people are under the yoke of fear and a political totalitarianism of another age; to denounce a justice that is under the dome of the executive and the traditional courts "Gacaca" which do not allow assistance by a defense counsel; to denounce the blatant hunger in rural Rwanda and slums; to regret that the basic health cares are lacking despite the compulsory affiliation to the so-called universal healthcare system (mutuelle de sante), and that the access to high schools and universities is subjected to discriminatory criteria; to condemn serious violations of humanitarian law and massive looting of the Congo's natural resources and to request that the perpetrators of such crimes be prosecuted, that is what the current regime in Rwanda calls divisionism and this is what the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi is being accused of.
iii. Collaboration with a terrorist group:
The decision to return peacefully to exercise our political activities in Rwanda against a regime that we knew was dictatorial and disrespectful of basic human rights of its citizens has not been easy and has not been taken lightly. All scenarios to solve the political problems of Rwanda were examined with their consequences. Although we found that the peaceful way was strewn with many pitfalls, it appeared to us to be the best solution in the long term because it is the only way capable of ensuring regime change without further bloodshed and preserving the social fabric of Rwanda.
As a matter of politics, Ms. Ingabire effectively met with a representative of the FDLR, in Barcelona, Spain; the meeting was facilitated by Non-Governmental Organizations in this country. Many participants took part in this meeting, including a delegation from Rwanda whose one member openly declared that belonged to the RPF (5). The FDLR are like any other Rwandans; they need to be reassured so that they can return home without fear of being charged arbitrarily; there is nothing wrong that they participate in a meeting aimed at reconciliation.
FDU-Inkingi is in total disagreement with the government policy of "poaching" some leaders of the FDLR while emphasizing the use of force against the others, as if the government has no interest that the FDLR problem be resolved once and for all. We know from experience that the sole use of force has never helped to solve problems of political origins. It is this political position that makes it possible that the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi is accused of collaboration with a "terrorist" group.
iv. Spreading rumors aimed at inciting the population to rise against the government
FDU-Inkingi is a political party that is primarily concerned with the population. When we point out all the problems the population is facing, it should not be us who must be accused of stirring up the population against the government. Rather, it the regime that is the source of public discontent must be denounced because of its policies that favor special interests of a group of individuals at the expense of the rest of the population; the regime that has a political justice that favors the witch hunt; promotes informers in order to sow hatred and resentment among citizens so that it can continue to rule over divisions; destroys farmers' crops so that they can go hungry and hence keep them in dependency. It is not a crime for an opposition party to point out the major problems facing the population and to which the party wishes to propose alternative solutions.
v. Creation of a rebel army aimed at overthrowing the government by force
Knowing the history the RPF created itself, contrary to the assertion claiming that it cares about the interests and safety of the Rwandan people, the RPF seeks to protect its system at any price, and it cries wolf each time an opponent dares to openly stand against its totalitarianism. Indeed, the RPFregime, because it does not believe at all in political change through peaceful and democratic ways, is afraid that another political organization may seek to repeat its feats of conquest of power by arms. General Paul Kagame, because of his dictatorial governance and serious crimes against humanity he is suspected of having personally committed, knows well that he cannot win free and fair elections.
The accusations that the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi may be involved in military actions and creation of a terrorist group are false and pure fabrications. The nation’s prosecution founds his accusation on statements of another defendant now turned key witness, Vital Uwumuremyi, who said that he had proposed to Ms. Ingabire the creation of a rebel movement, CDF, and that she might have accepted the plan and paid several thousand of dollars for a feasibility study. No one in the region is aware of this movement. The same key witness has provided a list of accomplices, all of which former members of the FDLR, who by chance were already in prison before the return of the main defendent in Rwanda.
Around the statements of these defendent-turned-witnesses, the prosecution has built a double charge of creating a rebellion and complicity in acts of terrorism in an attempt to overthrow the regime by force. Fortunately, “ridiculousness does not kill”! The Rwandan prosecution even claimed that the cesspool of Ms. Ingabire rental home designed to collect rainwater would be a military bunker. Additionally, these accusations that are supported by prisoners who are bought and paid big bucks by secret services, are baseless and have become commonplace to neutralize or imprison all opponents of the regime of General Kagame (6). This is why Deo Mushayidi, Bernard Ntaganda, Paul Rusesabagina, etc. are all subjected to the same charges as Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
vi. Complicity in acts intended to overthrow the government by force
Any political party of the opposition is in line to replace the regime to which it is opposed. By choosing to return to Rwanda to exercise political activities, we announced our clear intention to replace the RPF regime by a regime issued from the polls. That means a regime issued from the people's choice. For the reasons we have already explained, however, we excluded the use of force and have chosen the peaceful way, the only way that seems to be our best long term solution. Therefore, we have nothing to do with those who may be preparing the overthrow of the regime by force. It is once again a fabricated crime to prevent FDU-Inkingi from competing for power.
d. Interferences of the executive and political authorities in the court file
In a rule of law system worthy of its name, the executive branch guarantees the respect for the Constitution. The Rwandan Constitution recognizes the independence of the judiciary and the equality of all citizens before the law. The presumption of innocence is also recognized by the law as long as there has been no conviction by a competent court.
While the independence of the Rwandan justice system is questionable, the highest Rwandan authorities, starting with the most prominent among them, the President of the Republic, General Paul Kagame did not wait for the justice to decide on the case of Ms. Ingabire to openly accuse her of fabricated crimes.
The ballet of the attacks was initiated the day after her arrival in Rwanda by the Minister of Internal Security and Chairman of the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI), a satellite party of the RPF, Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana. In his interview in the government supporting daily newspaper, The New Times (7), the Minister Harerimana accused Ms. Ingabire of revisionism and denial and threatened her of prosecution for the simple reason that she dared to say that the Hutu victims of the Rwandan conflict also deserve honor and dignity just as the Tutsi victims of the genocide. This is the dialectic of the RPF: to talk about Hutu victims equals denying the genocide of the Tutsis!
In the same vein, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), Jean de Dieu Mucyo violently lashed out at Ms. Ingabire by accusing her of divisionism and called upon the authorities to take appropriate actions. The same speech was then continued by RPF satellite parties. Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Spokesman for the Senate insinuated that Ms. Ingabire sowed doubt about the existence of the genocide committed against Tutsis. Next, Protais Mitali, Chairman of the Liberal Party (PL), accused Ms. Ingabire of playing the ethnic card (8).
As the saying goes, credit where credit is due: the Golden Palm went finally to President Paul Kagame himself. In a speech delivered on April 7, 2010, on the occasion of the commemoration of the genocide, President Paul Kagame publicly treated Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza of "hooligan that Westerners want to place at the head of the country." (9)
In several public appearances, the President began to harass her and went on to declare that Ms. Ingabire would face a "wall of laws" that would prevent her from running for president. He did not hesitate to declare that "we [the RPF] fought and what we obtained by force, they won’t take it back from us through the ballot box." In a separate speech, he declared that the political space in Rwanda was fully occupied. Once the President of the Republic speaks in these terms, one can easily understand the link between politics and justice and the flexibility that remains to the later, which can now begin working to implement the orders from the President of the Republic.
e. Conclusion
As we have just shown throughout this document, the trial against Ms. Ingabire Umuhoza is a political process designed to silence a political competitor in order to perpetuate the dictatorship of the party-state, the RPF. Once FDU-Inkingi announced its intention to return to exercise political activities in Rwanda, the attacks of all kinds began and no action has been left out to deter FDU-Inkingi from returning to Rwanda. From the refusal to deliver passports to members of the party who wanted to return to Rwanda with the Chairperson to implement the party, to unfounded accusations of collaboration with the FDLR rebels operating in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, nothing was left at random. Confronted with the intact determination of the Chairperson of FDU-Inkingi, policy makers opted for the devious transformation of political motives into criminal charges to bar the way to FDU-Inkingi and to Ms. Ingabire, the party Chaiperson. The distortion of her speech delivered at the Gisozi genocide memorial site, hate media campaign conducted by a partisan press of the regime, the interference of authorities in the court file, physical attacks directed against Ms. Ingabire with the administrative building of Kinyinya Sector despite the fact that she was invited by the authorities for administrative procedures, the never ending change of the charges leveled against her, the manipulation of witnesses and evidence by the prosecution and the secret services, the refusal to let Ms. Ingabire talk to her lawyers in privacy, etc. are all elements that allow us to conclude that Ms. Ingabire trial is political and that it only requires political solutions.
As Professor Filip Reyntjens once pointed it out (political column on Rwanda from 2009 to 2010, Antwerp, May 2010), Ms. Ingabire is ultimately the victim of having publicly challenged the very foundations of the regime by addressing three RPF monopoly: a) the status of the RPF as the "moral authority", b) the status of the Tutsi as the "only victims" of the Rwandan genocide, c) the status of the Hutus as the "criminals." These three pillars are in fact the basis of internal and international legitimacy of the RPF. Its regime has seen the emergence of a real opposition inside the country claiming the opening of political space as a threat to a situation that the RPF used to take for granted, namely: the total control of politics and the Rwandan society.
But then, a regime that was imposed by force and therefore illegitimate, can it render justice? An obsolete totalitarian regime, criminal, nepotist, clientelist, unable to solve the thorny issue of national reconciliation and most of the problems facing our citizens, doesn’t rather deserve to be replaced by a regime chosen by the people? Next time we will try to make a sketch of answers to all these questions.
[2] The event for which the authorization had been requested by the party PS-Imberakuri founded by Me Bernard Ntaganda, currently also in prison, was brutally repressed by the police before it happened.
[3] Organic Law No 19/2007 of 04/05/2007, complementing Organic Law n ° 16/2003 of 27/06/2003: even though this law is tailored to deter other political parties to be created, FDU-Inkingi had decided to respect it and had been able to meet the stringent conditions imposed by the law.
[4] "In response to this text, the Rwandan Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama said that these laws were passed in the interests of Rwanda to avoid the repetition of genocide against Tutsi in 1994.
"Like other countries around the world, Rwanda has laws on genocide ideology so that we will never return to hatred and divisionism of the past," said Mr. Karugarama in an official statement denouncing a report that is "inaccurate and partisan." "However, in the process of rebuilding our country and development of our system of justice, we're amending our legislation," he said. "Thus, the laws on genocide ideology and divisionism are currently being revised and we will amendment them in the interests of Rwanda," the official said, without specifying the nature of this review".
I am an African-American who grew up in the African Great Lakes Region and Western Africa.
I am strongly committed to human rights across the African Great Lakes region and beyond.
I strongly believe that spreading the untold truth about the ongoing crisis in the African Great Lakes region, no matter how unpleasant it might sound to many people, will surely lead my people to a better future in a timely manner.
I am a rare voice of the voiceless people currently living in Rwanda and in DRC.
My crucial duties consist in raising awareness about current political deadlock in Rwanda and its tragic consequences to the Rwandan people and the Congolese people as well.
Please keep in mind that this is NOT a hate blog. I will not tolerate hate speech or ignorant comments of any kind. All comments are moderated prior to publication.
At Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice (HTPJ) Blog, there is no room for ignorance or hatred.
