RWANDA: Theogene Rudasingwa Says Truth Can Be Both Powerful and Dangerous

Theogene Rudasingwa

Here is a lesson we learn from this episode: truth is both a POWERFUL and DANGEROUS weapon. It is dangerous because it is disruptive. Once we speak truth to power-as in 1959, 1973,1990 and now in 2012-our society is gripped with fear and change. It is also dangerous because if often has unintended consequences. It is powerful because in face of truth, empires and tyrannies have finally crumbled as a stack of cards.

My lesson from the temporary presence on a list of the accused in the Iowa case against Kagame, is that truth is also a liberator. It sets us free. That in itself is powerful. The families of the victims of the crime stood in for me, and said, "Theogene is a witness, not a criminal." Yet, we were formerly enemies. My former friend, Paul Kagame is the accused and I bear witness against him. Such is the irony of life.

This could only happen when we begin to embrace truth and invest in a "trust account" among us Rwandans. Truth is a multiplier that increases trust among us. With trust, together we can imagine and build a better future for all of us-Hutu, Tutsi and Twa: one united nation, of free men and women, democratic, peaceful and prosperous. That is what our children and grandchildren expect from us. Nothing less.

This is what RNC and the peaceful revolution we are involved in is all about. Previous revolutions have produced winners and losers, but at the end we have all become losers. We are trying to convince Kagame and a small group of people under him to make a choice. They can abandon the fruitless and dangerous course of resisting peaceful change. Together, we could become the most free and the most forgiving nation in history. Alternatively, Kagame et al might choose to continue to resist peaceful change, and rely on brutal force, deception and lies like all dictators before him. This path leads to unnecessary and preventable violence and bloodshed. Even on this violent path he will inevitably emerge as the loser, and , like all dictators before him, he will be assigned a shameful seat on the dung heap of history.

Can we unleash maximum peaceful revolutionary energy to make all Rwandans winners?

YES , WE MUST, NOW!!