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| Colonel Patrick Karegeya |
By
Frank Samvura
Gicumbi District
Northern Province
Rwanda
Gicumbi District
Northern Province
Rwanda
A
few years ago, a young English-Canadian
journalist named Malcolm
Gladwell wrote a book called “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
(2000)”. He defined The Tipping Point as that dramatic
moment when little causes drive the unexpected to become expected
and propel the idea of radical change to certain acceptance. Could the
assassination of Colonel Patrick Karegeya be the dramatic moment the people of
Rwanda have been waiting for?
For
nearly two decades, the motto of the Kagame-led regime in Kigali has been very clear;
“you are either with us or against us. And if you are against us, you must face
consequences. You die like a dog”. These words were said by at least three Rwandan
cabinet ministers during the past two weeks. Last Sunday 12th
January 2014, President Kagame self-confessed of the killing of Colonel Patrick Karegeya on New Year eve in Johannesburg, South Africa. He said that those who undermine his country "usually face
serious consequences, wherever they are".
The
King is naked. General Kagame has finally shown his true colours. The firefighter
arson who drew sympathy and legitimacy from “stopping” the genocide and from the
collective guilt of the international community has turned out to be a
bloodthirsty tyrant. The killing of Colonel Patrick Karegaya that followed three assassination attempts on the life of General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is
unique. For over twenty years, most of the political assassinations inside and
outside Rwanda targeted the leaders of the downtrodden ethnic group. The
chickens have now come home to roost. It is the turn of those who supported Paul
Kagame’s rise to power to be eliminated; unless the magic moment saves the day.
Gladwell calls in his book a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the
boiling point". The Rwandan political opposition has reached the boiling
point or the threshold. Opposition
groups must unite for their own survival and remain divided for their own
peril. The assassination of Colonel Patrick Karegeya is what Gladwell would
call a “stickiness factor” or a “catalyst”. Rwandan political parties must build a cross-ethnic
movement geared towards removing Paul Kagame from power. The international
community would have no choice but to support this new unified movement.
As Jennifer G. Cooke of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC recently put
it “Cumulative evidence of egregious
human rights abuses or further allegations of planned political assassinations
could drive a major rethinking among donors”. Kagame’s strongest supporters such as Bill
Clinton, Tony Blair or Rick Warren have never believed in the stories of
pro-democracy activities. They now see a pattern of intolerance that includes
numerous political assassinations, closing down of newspapers and arrest of
critics. Ms. Victoire Ingabire’s sentencing to fifteen years in prison is Kigame’s desperate and pervasive move
to cling on to power. Unfortunately, his remaining days on the throne of Rwanda
are numbered. Celebrations which have already started in Goma are around the
corner. Related stories:
Rwanda: Karegeya's assassination may speed up political change
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