By Domitila Murorukwere
February 6, 2012
The Kagames and their newest friend from the Gambia
AD, excellent investigative reporting on the shameful lies that Jeannette Kagame addressed the 60th Annual Prayer Breakfast and the entire American elite including President Obama. The questions we need to ask however are: who is Jeannette Kagame? This determination to place her at all cost on both national and global centre stage: what does this mean for our country?
Almost every other day, you see headlines like these:
- First Lady Jeannette Kagame addresses the 60th Annual National Prayer Breakfast (oops!)
- Mrs. Jeannette Kagame addresses Goldman Sachs Global Leaders in New York
- Jeannette Kagame speaks about the new women of Rwanda
- Rwandan First Lady Jeannette Kagame honored by Oklahoma Christan University
- Jeannette Kagame, the First Lady of Rwanda and President of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), addresses the group in New York
I do not have answers to the above questions that I raised but we Rwandans must begin to seriously think about this. This woman is being positioned to take larger political roles in the future of Rwanda. In fact some say she is already running the country.
So who is Jeannette Kagame? Here is how her IMBUTO Foundation describes her:
“The First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda, Mrs. Jeannette Kagame personifies an active, relentless and passionate devotion to uplifting the lives of vulnerable populations in Rwanda…Mrs. Kagame, who holds a degree in Business and Management Science, has delivered keynote speeches at numerous national and international fora on various themes including leadership, economics, health, children’s welfare, and women’s empowerment, among others.”
Let us assume she did finish her “Business and Management Science “ BA Degree at KIST – fine. Let us also assume that she did finish her general secondary level courses in Nairobi before being swept off her foot and married by then Major Kagame. Fine.
But is this the real Jeannette Kagame?
She has a dark and sinister side. Begin with the running of her husband’s office. She is the one who runs the Rwandan presidency especially since 2009 when Jeannette’s own Deputy in the Imbuto Foundation, Innes Mpambara, suddenly became Kagame’s chief of staff.
- Kagame Chief of Staff and Deputy to Mrs Kagame – Mpambara
Innes Mpambara is pure evil and has now terrorised the entire nation – ministers, generals, and public servants shake when in front this 35-year old woman. The Rwandan presidency is now a place of fear, not a place for leadership.
Worse than this, Jeannette Kagame has a bottomless hunger for wealth.
With her brothers and business cronies, Jeannette Kagame is involved in grabbing properties. Richard Murefu is one of Jeanette’s brothers and front man for many of her businesses, including two of Rwanda’s largest privatized tea estates which the Kagame cabinet threw away for almost nothing. Richard is also the front man for their fuel supplier operations to the Rwandan army and commercial aviation at the Kigali International Airport – with Kagame government having kicked out a Multi-National Firm from the Rwandan market. Egide Gatera, a local businessman, is the partner of Mrs Kagame in fuel supply.
Most worryingly is Jeannette Kagame’s link to Jack Nziza. In Jeannette eyes Jack Nziza can do no wrong – she worships him. This infamous killer as caught on tape when discussing how to finish Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa is particularly close to the first lady. Indeed it is through Jack Nziza that Jeannette rules, disposing of enemies and planting her extensive network of spies in all sectors of Rwandan society.
General Nziza
In the Kagame government itself, Jeannette operates through two main personalities. There is Agnes Binagwaho, a truly terrifying Minister of Health and a die-hard fan of Mrs Kagame.
Agnes Binagwaho
It is through Dr Binagwaho that Jeannette sidelines many of her “enemies” in the public sector. Constance Mukayuhi Rwaka is a member of parliament and serves on many of the parliamentary commissions entrusted with making sure that all the Kagames’ bills are passed without objection. She is related to Jeannette Kagame by marriage.
These are the “basics” of this woman who is prepared to even lie that she addressed the American elite at the 60thPrayer Breakfast. She is essentially semi-literate with hunger for money and fame.
My sense is that Rwanda is doomed to remain in the situation we have been for centuries, repeated over and over again.
- Kanjogera 1 (1896-1933): Queen Mother Kanjogera and her brothers Kabare and Ruhinankiko who executed a coup d’état and ruled Rwanda with King Musinga a mere figure head.
- Kanjogera 2 (1972-1994): Agatha Habyarimana and her brothers Protais Zigiranyirazo, Colonel Elie Sagatwa, and Séraphin Rwabukumba, ruled Rwanda with tyrant Habyarimana a mere figurehead.
- Kanjogera 3 (1994-????) Jeannette Kagame and her brothers and cronies run the show with dictator Kagame a mere figurehead.
As I said I have no answers. Still we must figure out how to deal with this miserable situation. Cry my beloved country, as the title goes.
Domitila Murorukwere, Kigali
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