Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch

Welcome to Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch Blog. Our objective is to promote the institutions of democracy,social justice,Human Rights,Peace, Freedom of Expression, and Respect to humanity in Rwanda,Uganda,DR Congo, Burundi,Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya,Ethiopia, and Somalia. We strongly believe that Africa will develop if only our presidents stop being rulers of men and become leaders of citizens. We support Breaking the Silence Campaign for DR Congo since we believe the democracy in Rwanda means peace in DRC. Follow this link to learn more about the origin of the war in both Rwanda and DR Congo:http://www.rwandadocumentsproject.net/gsdl/cgi-bin/library

Monday, February 21, 2011

Rwandan opposition politician jailed for exercising rights

Amnesty International has called for the unconditional release of Rwandan opposition leader Bernard Ntaganda jailed today on politically motivated charges.

Bernard Ntaganda, president of the Ideal Social Party (PS-Imberakuri) party, was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment after being found guilty of breaching state security, of "divisionism" for holding public speeches criticizing government policies ahead of last year's elections, and attempting to plan an "unauthorized" demonstration.

Ntaganda had been arrested at dawn on 24 June 2010 - the first day that presidential candidates could register for the elections - and remanded in pre-trial detention.

Restrictions on freedom of association and expression prevented new opposition parties from contesting the August 2010 presidential elections.

Ntaganda's prosecution for threatening state security and "divisionism" was based solely on his speeches criticizing government policies.

The prosecution had requested a 10 year jail sentence for these two charges and contended that "paint[ing] a negative image of state authority" could cause the population to rebel and create unrest.

"Today's ruling once again criminalizes peaceful dissent", said Amnesty International's Africa Programme Director, Erwin van der Borght.

"The growing trend in Rwanda to convict individuals of threatening national security for criticizing government policies is deeply concerning and in violation of Rwanda's obligations under international human rights law".

Last week, two Rwandan journalists, Agnes Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi, were found guilty of threatening state security for opinion pieces critical of government policies published before last year's elections. They were sentenced to 17 and 7 years respectively.

Vague and sweeping laws on "divisionism" and "genocide ideology" were introduced in Rwanda in the decade after the 1994 genocide.

Up to 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the genocide, mostly ethnic Tutsi, but also Hutu who opposed the organized killing.

The laws prohibit hate speech, but are broadly drafted so that they criminalize expression that does not amount to hate speech, including legitimate criticism of the government.

The Rwandan government expressed a commitment in April 2010 to review the "genocide ideology" law, but it is unclear whether the "divisionism" law will also be revised.

Alice Muhirwa, Martin Ntavuka and Sylvain Sibomana of the United Democratic Forces-Inkingi (FDU-Inkingi) were found guilty of conspiring to participate in demonstrations on 24 June 2010 without authorization. They were fined 100,000 Rwandan francs.

The prosecution had requested a two month jail sentence.

Jean Baptiste Icyitonderwa of PS-Imberakuri was acquitted of conspiring to participate in the same demonstration without authorization.

Theobald Mutarambirwa of PS-Imberakuri and Theoneste Sibomana of FDU-Inkingi, also charged with conspiring to participate in demonstrations without authorization, will be tried separately.

The opposition politicians were arrested on 24 June 2010.

Some of the FDU-Inkingi members were arrested near the Ministry of Justice in the capital, Kigali, where they had gathered to request the registration of their party.

Some of the PS-Imberakuri members were arrested outside the US Embassy, where they had gone to enlist help following Ntaganda's arrest.

Although the opposition members were convicted of conspiracy to participate in demonstrations without authorization, Amnesty International has found no evidence that they either resorted to, or intended to resort to, violence.

The government failed to put forward any legitimate justification for banning the demonstration.

Ntaganda had requested authorization to hold the demonstration.

The prosecution said the authorities had attempted to notify Bernard Ntaganda that the demonstration was banned, the day before it was due to take place.

But the defence said the demonstrators were unaware of the move.

Those arrested were later released on bail, after spending days in police detention and reportedly being subjected to ill-treatment such as being beaten and handcuffed to each other, even when they went to the toilet.

"Instead of jailing individuals for planning a demonstration, the government should have taken steps to allow for peaceful protest before the elections," said Erwin van der Borght.

Restrictions on freedom of association prevented new opposition parties from contesting the elections, which President Kagame won with 93 per cent of the vote.

PS-Imberakuri had secured registration, but was subsequently infiltrated by dissident members, who decided not to field a candidate.

Ntaganda was called before the Rwandan Senate in late 2009 to respond to "genocide ideology" accusations. In April 2010, the Senate's political commission said they felt such accusations were well-founded.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Did America Conspire to Cover Up a Genocide in the Congo?

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The Man Who Kills Even a Fly with a Hammer

by the Kros Community ...Last week, Bernard Ntaganda was sentenced to four years imprisonment for “endangering state security” and “harboring ethnic divisionism.” The former charge is all too familiar to human rights activists and is little different from similar politically-motivated prosecutions across the globe. The crime of “divisionism,” however, codified as “sectarianism” under Rwandese law, is relatively unique. The closest parallels to these laws are probably most familiar to Americans as “hate speech” laws common to Europe, but prohibited by the First Amendment in the United States.
    International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have concluded that Mr. Ntaganda was almost certainly targeted for his opposition to the regime of President Paul Kagame. President Kagame is not well known in the United States, but he owes his prominence to the role he played in ending the 1994 Rwandan genocide as leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF. The sanitized version of this story was distributed to American audiences briefly in the award winning film Hotel Rwanda. Unfortunately, the politcally correct version omits several important facts, omissions that help explain the current political climate in Rwanda and the slide toward authoritarianism on the part of Kagame and the rest of the political leadershipWriting for Foreign Policy magazine last August, former Democratic Senator Robert Krueger, who served as ambassador to Burundi, a neighbor of Rwanda with similar laws and ethnic divisions, offered some personal insight into Kagame that was far from flattering. He describes a man engaged in a retaliatory, politically-charged campaign of revenge against Rwandan Hutus. Indeed, the Rwandan genocide and subsequent RPF campaign would ultimately trigger the Second Congo War, an event with a staggering if still disputed death toll. Although he does not mention Clinton by name, the passing reference to the complicity of the United States speaks volumes.
    Enter Peter Erlinder. After failing to prevent the genocide or to effectively manage the humanitarian and security crises that followed in its wake, the international community decided to prosecute those responsible. Security Council Resolution 955, passed in November of 1994, established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. China abstained, and Rwanda opposed the resolution as enacted. Nevertheless, the vote of the Security Council was final, and the ICTR was made manifest. Eventually, Erlinder would join the defense team.
    As a defense attorney, he has been relatively successful. One of his more high profile clients, General Gratien Kabiligi, was acquitted of all charges two years ago, in a decision that infuriated the Kagame regime in Rwanda. His success has not been free of controversy. The emerging version of the Rwandan genocide brought out by the publication of the tribunal’s decisions as well as academics, witness accounts and the memoirs of Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor, conflicts with the prevailing narrative preferred in the United States, a version that first embraced by the Clinton administration in an effort to minimize its complicity with both the onset of the Tutsi mass murders and the retaliatory campaign waged by Kagame against Hutus and “traitorous” Tutsi. This transnational terror campaign helped provoke the Second Congo War, a mass ball of suffering that has snuffed out the lives of nearly six million Africans by some estimates.
An ICTR exhibit, a memorandum issued by George Moose to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, shows that the Clinton administration was aware of this retaliatory campaign by at least September of 1994:

ICTR Military-1 Exhibit, DNT 264, September 10, 1994 Memo from George Moose to Warren Christopher, U.S. Secretary of State: A UNCHR investigative team that spent July and August in Rwanda [i.e. Gersony] has reported systematic human rights abuses by the GOR (i.e. RPA/F) forces – including systematic killings – in the south and southeast of the country. The team has concluded that the GOR is aware of these reprisals against Hutu civilians and may have sanctioned them
On the basis of interviews with refugees/individuals, the UNCHR team concluded that a pattern of killing had emerged. The RPA convened meetings of displaced persons to discuss peace and security. Once the displaced persons were assembled, RPA soldiers moved in and killed them. In addition to these massacres, the RPA engaged in house to house sweeps and hunted down individuals hiding in camps. Victims were usually killed with hoes, axes, machetes and with fire. Although males 18-40 were at the highest risk the young and elderly were no spared. The team estimated that the RPA and Tutsi civilian surrogates had killed 10,000 or more Hutu civilians per month, with the RPA accounting for 95% of the killing.
The UNCHR team speculated that the purpose of the killing was a campaign of ethnic cleansing intended to clear areas in the south of Rwanda for Tutsi habitation. The killings also served to reduce the population of Hutu males and discouraged refugees from returning to claim their land.

Reducing poverty or a new breed of eugenics? Sterilization in Rwanda.

crimes against humanity, eugenics, forced sterilization, genocide, population control, Rwanda
By In Africa , Human rights abuses , rebecca sargent's posts A recent announcement calling for vasectomies (sterilization) of 700,000 males over the next two years by Rwandan authorities has many fearing a new eugenic depopulation attempt in Rwanda. The target group is said by critics to be men who cannot pay bills for their children’s upkeep as an effort to somehow reduce poverty, though the government sees it as necessary to keep the population in line with the growth of the economy. The vasectomy operation takes about 15 minutes and can be carried out in a clinic under local anesthetic.
One has to wonder why Rwanda would deem such drastic measures to reduce its population as necessary. Rwanda is certainly not the most population dense country in the world, and currently sits around the 30th most dense country in the world with approximately 380 persons per square kilometer (2009). That’s less dense than the Netherlands, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, Bahrain, Palestine, Bangladesh, Singapore and Macau, among numerous other countries. Macau has nearly 18,534 persons per square kilometer, nearly 50 times that of Rwanda. Singapore has approximately 7,148 persons per square kilometer, nearly 20 times that of Rwanda and is one of the richest countries in Asia because of its export driven economy. Rwanda has a GDP of some $5 billion, while Singapore sits at around $182 billion. Both countries are said to have limited natural resources, but differ significantly in the makeup of their workforce, with Rwanda primarily engaged in agriculture and Singapore primarily engaged in services and industry.
Forced sterilization against a civilian population constitutes a crime against humanity according to Article 7 -1 (g) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and thus the possibility of this occurring is rather alarming. The vasectomies are said to be voluntary, but a look into the history of the country’s previous so-called voluntary policies is a cause for concern. The imidugudu land reform policy had people abandon their traditional homestead to live in settlement centres– – and was originally touted as voluntarily, but later resulted in resettlement through coercion and force. This also would certainly not be the first time Rwanda has attempted eugenic laws or has been subjected to eugenic practices.
The eugenics movement in Europe and the US during the colonial years led western scientists to study the differences between Tutsi and Hutu ethnicities within Rwanda, measuring their skull size, skin colour, etc. and promoting the belief that Tutsis had Caucasian ancestry and were thus “superior” to the Hutus. These practices had a devastating and lasting effect on the population for generations to come, including helping to create structural conditions that would fuel the 1994 genocide. In 2007, the country enacted a law to legally limit family size to no more than three children, similar to China’s one child policy (though President Kagame is said to himself have four children). More recently, in 2009, Human Rights Watch reported that the Rwandan parliament was considering a draft law that would forcibly sterilize people who are mentally disabled, a move contrary to human rights practices, though the Rwandan government again denied that the law would be forcible. According to statistics, the fertility rate in the country is still currently closer to 5 children born per woman (2010), though it has decreased significantly from the 80s when the rate was closer to 8.5 children born per woman.
The Population Research Institute (PRI) cites major concerns with this plan and puts the numbers into perspective. The UN Population Division estimates the entire male population of Rwanda to be only around 5 million, with 70% under the age of 20 or over the age of 50 (making them ineligible as candidates for sterilization). That leaves half of the eligible-aged men in the country to be sterilized. That’s a BIG chunk of the population. The PRI also have concern that army and police may be first to receive vasectomies, and may regard the “voluntary” request as an order when it is directed at them from superiors.
Two USAID-funded special interest groups, Intrahealth and Family Health International, are backing the campaign. This is quite controversial as American law makes it illegal for tax monies to fund forced abortion or sterilizations and experts cite that campaigns that involve quotas, such as this one, have always been considered coercive. This risks the possibility that American tax payers could fund and thus be complicit in a crime against humanity. A Rwandan NGO Urunana has also been heavily promoting reproductive health programs, such as the sterilization projects, through local radio dramas aimed at making the population more receptive to the idea. The BBC reported that the men they interviewed on the streets were cautious about sterilization, but a worker at Urunana suggested that given the option and the “right advice”, men might be willing to consider the procedure.
Given the troubled history of Rwanda, one has to think that a sterilization policy, regardless of whether it is voluntary or coerced is not the best idea. The genocide left many vulnerable populations, who have a great concern of being culled out of existence; and many now fear that this is just the latest RPF program used to try and reduce the number of specific ethnic groups of Rwandans. Some Hutus fear the Tutsis want to wipe out the Hutu majority, as they are blamed to be the cause of overpopulation. Given the history of the region, this is not an entirely irrational fear.
Most attempts at population control have had problematic results, as the Chinese one child policy can clearly attest. Moreover, though many economist believe that the reduction of the population is a key to economic growth, a growing number are now left doubting that a correlation between population reduction and economic growth actually exists and instead blame poverty and famine as being caused by bad government and bad economic policies (see Walter E. Williams or Thomas Sowell). Perhaps if Rwanda is so concerned about economic growth, it should focus more on moving away from an economy based in subsistence farming to work on corruption, poor governance, education and investment, instead of ensuring that half the breeding males are incapable of repopulating.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Uganda's Museveni says he's not sweating 'Egyptian-like revolution'

From Foreign Policy
Uganda is holding elections on Friday and increasingly autocratic President Yoweri Museveni has made it clear he won't tolerate any street protests like those that have swept the Middle East recently:

Most analysts expect Museveni to win, though his share of the vote dwindled at each of the last three elections. The opposition alleged vote-rigging at each of the polls.
"There can be no Egyptian-like revolution here," Museveni told a final news conference ahead of polling day. "Someone taking power by extra-constitutional means? That one is out of the question. It will not happen."
Besigye, who is facing former ally Museveni for the third time, told Reuters in an interview last month that a popular uprising in Uganda was "even more likely" than in either Egypt or Tunisia after what he says are years of corruption.[...]
Museveni also warned his security forces were ready to deal with violence.
"Very simple, just lock them up," he said when asked how the government would deal with rioters. "In as humane a manner as possible, bundle them into jails. And that will be the end of the story. And to the courts."

Museveni, who first took power in 1986, has now been president almost as long as Hosni Mubarak. Also like Mubarak, he's been a strategically important U.S. ally -- Uganada is the primary contributor to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Somalia and has carried out a U.S.-backed effort to eradicate the brutal Lord's Resistance Army rebel group -- and a major recipient of U.S. aid. If anti-government demonstrations erupt this weekend, the White House will again be in a tough spot.
My colleague Elizabeth Dickinson wrote recently on how sub-Saharan Africans are reacting to the news coming out North Africa and the Middle East in recent weeks. Another country to watch, which has been almost entirely ignored by the international media, is Gabon, which is in the midst of a popular uprising against President Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of longtime strongman Omar Bongo, who won a widely-disputed election in 2009. Julie Owono's blogging on Global Voices is a valuable source for following the latest developments.

Sircus: Rwanda’s George Washington?

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Hope Springs Eternal By Joel Sircus Staff Columnist adopted from Yale Daily News

This past Friday, Bernard Ntaganda was sentenced to four years in a Rwandan prison, marking the second time in the past year that a former presidential candidate has been sent to jail. The verdict underscores severe corruption problems within President Paul Kagame’s administration. Though revered by many, the former general who brought Rwanda out of her darkest hour has since ruled the central African nation with an iron fist. While the country has made great strides in reconciling the internecine strife between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples, the future for the country appears bleak if President Kagame is allowed to continue to bully his opposition into political irrelevancy. It’s high time for the Kagame administration to change course, and adopt a greater degree of political openness — indeed, an about face may be the only thing that can put Rwanda back on the right path.
Three summers ago, I spent a month traveling around Rwanda, volunteering at a number of different hospitals and health clinics. Thanks to the ubiquity of English across the country, I was able to connect with many Rwandans on a substantive level. Our conversations ran the gamut from food to family to football (their version). But there seemed to be a palpable aversion to discussing what was most directly on my mind — the genocide. Rwandans are, by and large, an astoundingly gregarious people. Yet, without fail, conversation became terse when the topic turned to 1994. It was almost as though, in an effort to expedite the reconciliation process, now 17 years in the making, it was nationally understood that the less one discussed the genocide, the greater the chance it would be forgotten. My travel companions and I noticed that the country had taken the phrase “never forget” and turned it on its head — in Rwanda, it was, more appropriately, “forget ASAP.”
Throughout the trip, two things continued to fascinate me — the speed and success of the genocide reconciliation process, and the reverence that so many citizens paid to President Paul Kagame. The admiration, bordering on idolatry, was appropriate; the man was the greatest war hero the country had ever known. I thought of him as a modern day George Washington. But unlike our founding father, Kagame did not forfeit the sword upon taking political office. He won the trust of his citizens, but has maintained and fortified said trust by thuggish intimidation, not political benevolence. Paul Kagame has spent the last decade fortifying his regime through strong-arming, violence and chicanery. Supposed political transparency and freedom of speech in Rwanda are both shams. Though I do actually believe that those who support Kagame do so for legitimate, laudable reasons, I cannot condone the practices that Kagame and his thugs employ to silence any semblance of opposition. Ntaganda and the others imprisoned are, if you can believe it, the lucky ones. This past July, Gakwe Rwisereka, the Vice President of the opposition Green Party, was found decapitated on the Rwandan-Burundi border.
Though one can argue that strong leadership was essential for bringing Rwandans out of the bloodshed that resulted in the death of some 850,000 victims, business as usual is not sustainable. One need only look to the northern coast of the African continent to see what can happen when scores of people become dissatisfied with years of authoritarian rule. If Paul Kagame wants to avoid the same fate of Hosni Mubarak, he would be prudent to welcome in dissenting voices, not send thugs to shut them up. It’s time for Paul Kagame to open up, unclench his fist and accept the voices and demands of political opposition. Only then will the country truly move past its horrific past.
Joel Sircus is a freshman in Trumbull College.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

DR Congo: UN Report Exposes Grave Crimes

International Efforts Needed to Create Mechanisms to Ensure Justice

October 1, 2010

This detailed and thorough report is a powerful reminder of the scale of the crimes committed in Congo and of the shocking absence of justice. These events can no longer be swept under the carpet. If followed by strong regional and international action, this report could make a major contribution to ending the impunity that lies behind the cycle of atrocities in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Kenneth Roth, executive director

(New York) - United Nations members should make a concerted international effort to initiate judicial investigations into grave human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo documented by the UN and bring those responsible to justice, Human Rights Watch said today.
On October 1, 2010, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published the report of its human rights mapping exercise on Congo. The report covers the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in Congo between March 1993 and June 2003.
"This detailed and thorough report is a powerful reminder of the scale of the crimes committed in Congo and of the shocking absence of justice," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "These events can no longer be swept under the carpet. If followed by strong regional and international action, this report could make a major contribution to ending the impunity that lies behind the cycle of atrocities in the Great Lakes region of Africa."
The report documents 617 violent incidents, covering all provinces, and describes the role of all the main Congolese and foreign parties responsible - including military or armed groups from Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Angola.
An earlier version of the report was leaked to the news media in August. The Rwandan government, whose troops are accused of some of the most serious crimes documented in the report, reacted angrily, threatening to pull its peacekeepers out of UN missions if the UN published the report.
"The UN has done the right thing by refusing to give in to these threats and by publishing the report," Roth said. "This information has been stifled for too long. The world has the right to know what happened, and the victims have a right to justice."
The UN had tried to investigate some of the events described in the report, notably in 1997 and 1998, but these investigations were repeatedly blocked by the Congolese government, then headed by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, father of the current president, Joseph Kabila. Despite those efforts, information about massacres, rapes, and other abuses against Rwandan refugees and Congolese citizens in the late 1990s was published at the time by the UN and by human rights organizations. However, no action was taken to hold those responsible to account.
"The time has come to identify and prosecute the people responsible for carrying out and ordering these atrocities, going right up the chain of command," Roth said. "Governments around the world remained silent when hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians were being slaughtered in Congo. They have a responsibility now to ensure that justice is done."
One of the most controversial passages of the report concerns crimes committed by Rwandan troops. The UN report raises the question of whether some might be classified "crimes of genocide". The possible use of the term "genocide" to describe the conduct of the Rwandan army has dominated media coverage of the leaked report.
"Questions of qualification and terminology are important, but should not overshadow the need to act on the content of the report regardless of how the crimes are characterized," Roth said. "At the very least, Rwandan troops and their Congolese allies committed massive war crimes and crimes against humanity, and large numbers of civilians were killed with total impunity. That is what we must remember, and that is what demands concerted action for justice."
The report has received widespread support from Congolese civil society, with 220 Congolese organizations signing a statement welcoming the report and calling for a range of mechanisms to deliver justice.
The mapping exercise has its origins in the UN's earlier investigations into crimes committed in Congo from 1993 to 1997. In September 2005, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, discovered three mass graves in Rutshuru, in North Kivu province of eastern Congo, relating to crimes committed in 1996 and 1997. The gruesome discovery acted as a trigger to re-open investigations. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the support of the UN Secretary-General, initiated the mapping exercise and broadened the mandate to include crimes committed during Congo's second war from 1998 to 2003.
The mapping exercise was conducted with the support of the Congolese government. However, the Congolese justice system has neither the capacity nor sufficient guarantees of independence to adequately ensure justice for these crimes, Human Rights Watch said. The report therefore suggests other options, involving a combination of Congolese, foreign, and international jurisdictions.
These could include a court with both Congolese and international personnel as well as prosecution by other states on the basis of universal jurisdiction. Human Rights Watch supports the establishment of a mixed chamber, with jurisdiction over past and current war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Congo.
Countries in the region whose armies are implicated in the report should carry out their own investigations and initiate action against individuals responsible for crimes, Human Rights Watch said.
The report is both important for highlighting past injustices and relevant to the situation in present-day Congo, Human Rights Watch said.
"This is more than a historical report," Roth said. "Many of the patterns of abuse against civilians documented by the UN team continue in Congo today, fed by a culture of impunity. Creating a justice mechanism to address past and present crimes will be crucial to ending this cycle of impunity and violence."

Source Describes Second Attempted Assassination

Published by the Black Star News

Dr Olara Otunnu, the Ugandan Politician

Source Describes Second Attempted Assassination

Olara Otunnu, the president of Uganda People's Congress (UPC) and candidate in the East African country's presidential election this coming Friday was involved in a "suspicious" automobile incident today, The Black Star News has learned.

Otunnu has been hospitalized but details of his condition were not available. A female passenger traveling with the presidential candidate suffered a broken collar bone. A person familiar with the matter described the incident as another attempt on Otunnu's life.
Details of the incident were not yet available.
On December 21, 2009, Otunnu, a former United Nations Under Secretary, said he was the victim of an assassination attempt by the Gen. Yoweri Museveni regime when vehicles of the notorious Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) which is commanded by Museveni's son, deliberately veered in front of his car on a highway in Ugandan and forced his vehicle off the road. Otunnu escaped serious injury. At the time U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy asked that the alleged assassination attempt be investigated.

At the time, the Uganda authorities denied it was behind any attempt to kill Otunnu. During a visit to New York City last September, Uganda's minister for foreign affairs/international relations Oryem Henry Okello told The Black Star:
"The Ugandan government does not assassinate political opponents. If the government wanted to kill Otunnu why wouldn't the government just shoot him?"

Uganda is a major recipient of U.S. foreign and military assistance primarily because it's the only African country which has provided troops to prop the U.S.-installed government in Somalia. In cables leaked through WikiLeaks the U.S. ambassador described Gen. Museveni as an "autocrat" who was not in touch with changes in the country and also wrote of corruption by his senior officials.

Days after Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak was driven from office, Otunnu had this week called on Ugandans to "take back" their country. Otunnu, together with leaders of the other major opposition parties, the Forum For Democratic Change (FDC) headed by Dr. Kizza Besigye and the Democratic Party (DP) under Norbert Mao recently met with the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnny Carson during his visit to Uganda. The opposition leaders warned Carson that the elections would not be free and fair.

In December 2009, the U.S. Congress had directed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to monitor the Uganda elections and to issue periodic reports. Clinton's reports have been critical of the Museveni government's failure to level the playing field and was especially harsh in the Election Commission which was hand picked by Museveni.

In the leaked cables, the U.S. ambassador, Jerry Lanier, also warned of potential violent conflict if the Feb. 18 elections were not free and fair.

[News Update]

Observers say Otunnu was miraculously almost unscathed after today's incident and after medical examination has resumed his campaign by heading to Lamwo in Acholi, as an act of defiance.
Three members of Otunnu's team who were in the car suffered "serious injuries" and were transferred to Kampala International Hospital, a person familiar with the matter told The Black Star News. Details are still sketchy but one person says the incident was caused when another automobile swung in front of Otunnu's, causing the candidate's vehicle to "roll over several times." U.S. officials in Kampala briefed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been directed by Congress to monitor the Uganda elections, about the incident.

"Speaking Truth To Empower."

Victoire Ingabire Calls for Reconciliation and Equal Distribution of Wealth for all in Rwanda

February 16, 2010 2:53 pm Written By Newstime Africa

Igabire Victoire Rwanda

President Paul Kagame affirmed last week that the “honeymoon” of hard-talking opposition politician Ms. Ingabire Victoire will come to an end at some point with the law taking its course. Just day after the Monday 8^th press conference, Ms. Ingabire was summoned by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), a meeting whose details remain sketchy. The Human Rights Watch slammed the Rwandan government for what it calls harassment of political opposition figures, urging the authorities to “loosen up control of the political space.” But the government stands its ground saying no one will be allowed to break the law and make mince meat of the country’s progress. Since her arrival on January 16^th this year, Ms. Igabire has continued to draw sharp criticism from various quarters with regard to her position on the country’s law on genocide as well as being accused of inciting the public with inflammatory remarks. She sat down with Newstime Africa where the presidential hopeful reiterated no amount of intimidation will make her back-track on her ambitions, of one day becoming president of the land of mountain gorillas.
Excerpts of the interview follow.
Igabire Victoire: The first day I came I visited the Gisozi Genocide Memorial (Kigali) where I talked about what happened back in 1994, the Genocide against the Tutsi. Our position as the United Democratic Forces (FDU) is that, we call for everybody who was involved in the genocide one way or another be made to face justice. But on the other hand we know that from 1990 to 1994 there were crimes against humanity committed against both Hutus and Tutsis and today the international justice and even justice here in Rwanda is only concentrated on the genocide crime. We cannot forget crimes against humanity committed in our country. If we want to achieve reconciliation for our country we need to understand and accept the pain of everybody in the country, which is the only way we will achieve total reconciliation.
The big problem we have in Rwanda; and that the difference between us and the regime of general (President) Paul Kagame, we think if we are to really achieve reconciliation of the Rwandese people, we need to fully talk about what happened, why genocide was committed in the country, why the crimes against humanity were committed, whose responsibility was it and what we have to do together as Rwandese people to avoid the same problem in the future.
Talking about it, we trust it is the only way to achieve total reconciliation. I don’t believe forbidding people to talk about what happened is the way to resolve the problem. You know the government denies the existence of ethnicity in Rwanda. We say ethnicity is not the problem here, the problem is the politicians. We have to find out a way to deal with this. We need an institution that provides security for all. We reiterate, there is no shame in saying I am Hutu or am Tutsi, there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem comes in when politicians exploit that difference to stay in power or acquire that power. We need to find a common ground, to work together. It should not be on the basis our ethnicity but on the basis of what we believe in. Now my talking about a taboo is what has caused all this criticism about me.
People must learn to accept the differences of the other person, if we have different visions or opinions; that doesn’t mean we are enemies; we can go ahead and see what common ground is there to work together. There is nothing wrong with having different ideas!
Newstime Africa: Your comments come out as you wanting to see the Hutus killed in that period also receive justice, elaborate?

Igabire Victoire: I never singled out any particular group as the ones to face justice. I said everybody who was involved in one way or another in the killing of the Rwandese people has to face justice. We don’t need to know which ethnic group he/she belongs to. That’s the only way to have equal justice for all and with it total reconciliation.
I am not a law practitioner, I am a politician and I see what is wrong; the situation that the law needs to deal with. As a politician, I maintain we need equal justice for all.
Newstime Africa: The president last week said you are just campaigning as an individual as the law hasn’t yet allowed you to be called an opposition politician, what is taking so long to register your party, I mean what is their course of action?
Igabire Victoire: I am the leader of the Rwandese opposition, the media calls me so. I am the leader of the United Democratic Forces, and in September last year we decided to come back to the country. I was the chairperson back then and am here now to ask for the registration of my political party that’s first.
Secondly before I left the Netherlands, the party chose me as their flag bearer, now this means if my party is registered I will be their presidential candidate. It is not yet official because we have to first register our political party subsequently, as a presidential candidate. It was decision of the party, to have me represent them at the polls.
It is taking long to register my party because I had to start from scratch; I lived outside the country as a refugee. So when I came back the first thing I needed was an identity card, when I got the ID on the second day as you are aware, I was attacked and they stole my bag which had the ID card. Well now I have it back and today (15^th Feb) I will send the letter to ask for authorization to meet the party members so as to collect signatures. With the signatures we can start the process of registration for our party. It takes two months to register a party and if we don’t have any more problems, we hope to make it for the June deadline.
Newstime Africa: Do you think the government is attacking you as a politician?

Igabire Victoire: Yes. What I saw when I came back to the country is that the government is not ready to accept opposition. We insist it is time to have a democratic process in our country. It is time people have freedom to say what they want, to freely organize meetings they need to discuss issues important to them, freedom of expression and freedom of association.
We need political space, which is the only way to hear everyone’s point of view.
Newstime Africa: What is your response to accusations that you are deliberately provoking the government to arrest you and in turn raise your profile?

Igabire Victoire: Nothing could be further from the truth. I wouldn’t like to be arrested because if I am imprisoned I cannot do anything. I am here to be an active politician. Nobody would like to be arrested and that includes me. That is a very wrong opinion they have of me.
Of course the government has an agenda of mudslinging me to the population. What is puzzling me though is why they are afraid, why are they doing this? I cannot understand. I have been away for 16 years, time in which they have ruled the country, now why are they afraid of me? I don’t understand why they take such measures, you see tomorrow (today) I have to go back to the CID office.
Newstime Africa: When you first went to the CID office what did you talk about?

Igabire Victoire: They accused me of genocide ideology, that I am a divisionist and that I work together with the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda remnants of the Hutu militia highly blamed for the 1994 Rwanda genocide and still operating in eastern DRC). Of course I asked them what they mean by genocide ideology because it is vague, some word I cannot understand. They said I criticize Gacaca (locally organized courts that try category 2 genocide suspects, relying heavily on eye witness accounts and sentencing is mostly communal service) which amounts to genocide ideology, surely I don’t understand.
Regarding my criticism of Gacaca, as a politician I have to speak out when something is wrong. Now there are some innocent people tried by Gacaca and sentenced and they know of these cases. My criticism stems from the fact that genocide is a huge crime, one you cannot task people who know nothing about law to deal with. We say it is a heavy crime that has to be tried in normal courts not with people who know nothing about law.
On the other hand when something is good I appreciate it first. For example the Gacaca itself, I say it has allowed victims and perpetrators to meet. When someone meets the person who killed his whole family or a loved one, sit together, talk and find forgiveness; that is the reconciliation we need. That people can move on, is one tremendous achievement by the Gacaca courts that I laud and say is great.
Newstime Africa: When you talk to the people what do they tell you? And what is their response to your points of view?
Igabire Victoire: As we have not yet officially began the campaign period, I am limited to what I can say and do. But what I am currently doing, seeing I spent 16 years of my life outside the country, is going to market places and other public arenas to sit with the people and listen to them. Understand their problems, their queries and get to know what they need to see changed. I also need to understand really; what is problem in the country. I saw it fit to do things this way first because you know; when you’ve lived far and for so long, it is best to first listen to them and see things their way.
Now when the campaigns begin, I will talk to them about our party manifesto, our vision for the country as a party, for say education or development.
Newstime Africa: What is your cause exactly? What are you offering the Rwandese people?

Igabire Victoire My number one agenda is reconciliation, if the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) doesn’t want to talk about it, I will. We have to protect future generations. If we want to end the cycle of violence we know in Rwanda we have to achieve of reconciliation. We need to look at what is wrong with the politics of our country and of course how to deal with it. If RPF doesn’t accept it and start to talk about it, in 20 or 30 years we run the risk of future generations having the very same problem.
Secondly, I want development of the whole country. Poverty can be a source of conflict. Only 2% of Rwanda’s population has all the riches. The wealth of this country is with a few. The rest live in extreme poverty and for us this is a problem that needs to be addressed before it escalates into something bigger in the future. There must be an equal distribution of resources. People talk about how Rwanda is developing which to some extent is true, I mean look at the city of Kigali it is beautiful, but we need to do more.
Newstime Africa: As a woman politician in a country that has broken world record in empowering women in all areas, politics, business you name it, do you feel any support from your fellow women, and is this status of affairs making it any easier for you?

Igabire Victoire: To say Rwanda is a champion of women’s rights because we have many women in parliament and government, I don’t think that is the reality. In real sense I don’t think they have power to change anything, because when I see the pain of the Rwandese people and knowing as women we are sensitive beings, we relate easily to the other person’s pain; if really these women had power in government and in parliament, something ought to have changed.
And this is why I maintain if I win this election, something will definitely change, to reduce the pain the misery of our people.
Newstime Africa: Now do you see anything good done by the Kagame regime at all?

Igabire Victoire: Of course, Today Rwanda is a country recognized internationally for many great things. That is something they’ve really worked on. Look at Kigali; it is one beautiful city, the cleanliness. But behind the beauty many people live in extreme poverty.
In education, every child now has a chance to go to school. Due to poverty many parents weren’t able to pay the school fees but now the free nine year basic education is taking care of that.
Newstime Africa: What do you see as the future of Rwanda?

Igabire Victoire: My dream is to see a Rwanda where all differences are put together for the benefit of our nation. To work together despite our diversity, that nobody has to live in fear of being killed for who he is. I sincerely hope no more killings will happen here, I cannot understand why you would kill your neighbor because he is Tutsi or he is Hutu.
I also hope to see a situation where we have dialogue between ourselves, the political actors and the civil society. That we can sit down together and chart our way forward. That is the only heritage we can give the future generation.

When I came back, what was written in the media is that I only talk out is the ethnic problem, of course reconciliation is top on my agenda but we have many other problems to pay attention to, like poverty as I mentioned earlier, making healthcare affordable for all not a commercial sector for a few, agriculture and ensuring food security and what each and every one of us can do for the benefit of our great nation.

Apologies for the wrong spelling of the presidential candidates name. This has been rectified.

© 2010, Newstime Africa. All rights reserved. – Reproduction of Newstime Africa content on any other news medium without the prior consent or approval of the publishers is forbidden, and in direct contravention of International copyright laws. Violators will be pursued and prosecuted

RWANDAN MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, AND CULTURE, JOE HABINEZA WAS CAUGHT PANTS DOWN

by Habimana Rukundo on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 2:23pm

Nyamara uyu mugabo ngo afite urugo ra !

Nitwa Philippe Tuyisenge. Mfite imyaka 28. Nigaga muri Kaminuza ya Butare.Nahagaritse kwiga muri uyu mwaka wa 2011 kubera kwimwa inguzanyo ngo mbashe kurangiza amashuri. Nkaba rero mbanje gushima abashyizeho uru Urubuga Le Prophete -Umuhanuzirutwemerera kugeza ku Banyarwanda bose akarengane twibonera n’amaso yacu, tukakumva n’amatwi yacu, tukakabamo mu buzima bwacu bwa buri munsi, hano iwacu mu Rwanda. Ahari Imana yaba iduhaye ikinyamakuru cyigenga twajya tunyuzamo ibitekerezo byacu mu bwisanzure, dore ko imyaka yari ibaye myinshi twaraniganwe ijambo! Hari uyobewe se uko itangazamakuru ryigenga rifashwe muri iki gihugu? Umuseso ukorera he ? Umuvugizi, Imboni…ibyo binyamakuru byose byarigitiye he ? Abanyamakuru babyo babarizwa he? Ubashaka ajye abasanga muri 1930, niho bose Leta ya FPR yabahaye ikibanza! Ibyo byose, abaturage tuba tubireba ariko tukicecekera! None se wagira ute ? Nyamara sinyobewe ko amategeko yanditse mu bitabo yemerera buri muturarwanda kwisanzura akavuga cyangwa akandika icyo atekereza! Numva kandi bivugwa ngo igihugu cyacu kigendera ku mategeko! Uretse ko mu by’ukuri “amabwiriza atanditse” arusha amategeko gukurikizwa, mu Rwanda rwa FPR! Hoya, ntibakatubeshye, ikiranga abategetsi ba FPR ni iki : Iyo bihaye akabanga ntibatukane mu ruhame ,bavuga neza, bagakora nabi ! Muri make barabeshya gusa. Barabitumenyereje, twarabyakiriye, iyo bavuga baba batubeshya. Kandi nabo bazi neza ko tuzi ko baba batubeshya! Ariko igihe kirageze ngo natwe dufate ijambo, tubwire abategetsi bacu ko benshi mu rubyiruko, tutacyihanganira ubuyobozi buteye butyo!

Reba amacupa y'inzoga bamaze kwirenza!

1. Ikinteye kubandikira
Niba nongeye gufata ikaramu n’urupapuro nkandika ni uko ndi muri abo batagishobora kwihanganira akarengane babona muri iki gihugu, ku ngoma ya FPR! Mu cyumweru gishize nanditse inyandiko ivuga ngo “Umuyobozi w’Urwanda asigaye yitwa Ifaranga”. Ndahamya ko ariko bimeze. Nta bwo Leta yitaye ku baturage, habe na busa! Icyo ishyira imbere muri rusange ni ugushaka ifaranga. Iyo ribonetse abo baminisitiri n’ibyo bikomerezwa bararigabangana mu kwihemba ibitubutse, uboshye abagabana iminyago! Hari uyobewe ko imishahara bahembwa itagize aho ihuriye n’ubushobozi buke bw’agahugu kacu k’Urwanda ngo tuzamugezeho imibare nyayo y’ayo bihemba batitaye ku baturage b’abakene bakomeje kwicwa n’amavunja n’inzara ? Ni uko bamara kurengwa, bagahugira mu byo kwifurahira , bakazavumbukayo bajya gusenya amazu y’abaturage no gukona abakene!
Nyuma y’uko inyandiko yanjye isohotse ku rubuga www.leprophete.frnatangajwe no kubona hari benshi biha gutukana no guhuragura ibigambo byinshi ngo bararengera ubutegetsi! Nategereje ko hari uwanyomoza ingingo n’imwe mu zo nubakiyeho inyandiko yanjye ndaheba! Noneho nkaba niyemeje kubereka ikimenyetso gifatika cyerekana ko ikibazo dufite mu Rwanda atari uko turi Abahutu cyangwa Abatutsi. Ikibazo nyirizina ni Leta ya Paul Kagame yamunzwe kugera mu ndiba! Iyo mungu igaragara mu bitekerezo no mu bikorwa by’Abayobozi bakuru b’igihugu.

Dore uwo munezero ndagaca! Namwe mumbwire:
Nk'uyu koko ari fiyanse wawe, umutima ntiwaguhagararana ?!

Inyungu mu bitekerezo?

Mu bishobora kuvugirwa ahagaragara, Politiki FPR iyoboje Urwanda kuva muri 1994 yubakiye kuri gahunda yo gusopanya Abanyarwanda hashingiwe ku muco wo gutoranyamo bamwe bakitwa“Abanzi b’igihugu”.

Mu bitavugwa ariko bigaragarira buri wese, politiki ya Paul Kagame yubakiye mu gukusanyiriza ubutegetsi n’umutungo wose w’igihugu mu biganza by’agatsiko k’abaherwe bamufasha kuyobora igihugu mu buryo bw'igitugu giteye ishozi.

Koko rero FPR imaze gufata ubutegetsi, yatubwiye ko umwanzi w’igihugu ari “igipinga”, igipinga kikaba Interahamwe, interahamwe ikaba Umuhutu. Ni uko Leta yahuka mu Bahutu irica, irambuka ibasanga no muri Congo, ibicamo ibihumbi n’ibihumbagiza, abandi na n’ubu buzuye za Gereza, izizwi n’izitazwi.Ubwo ni nako Leta yatwerekaga ko ikibazo gihari ari icy’amoko (Hutu-Tusi) , cyazanywe na Parmehutu muri 1959.

Uwo ni Minisitiri w'urubyiruko n'umuco Yozefu Habineza ushinzwe kurarura urubyiruko !

Muri iyi minsi Leta ya FPR yahinduye imvugo n’ingiro. Bamwe mu bahoze bitwa Interahamwe bari ku ibere. Ni na bo kandi bakoreshwa mu gushinja no kwicisha Abanyarwanda bazira akamama. Ubu noneho umwanzi ni Generali Kayumba Nyamwasa, Patrick Karegeya, Gerard Gahima, Tewogeni Rudasingwa n’imiryango yabo ikomeje gutoterezwa hano mu gihugu. Kandi uko tubizi, muri abo « banzi bashya » b’igihugu, nta muhutu ubarangwamo ! Siniriwe mvuga abandi Batutsi nka Dewo Mushayidi bahabonera ishyano iyo batinyutse kuvuga ko FPR irenganya Abanyarwanda. Bene abo Batutsi babona ko ibintu byifashe nabi ni bo bipinga bigezweho, barahigwa bukware. Bahinduwe abanzi b’Urwanda kuko barebwa nabi na Leta ya Paul Kagame.

Kandi nyamara nk’uko bivugwa na bene byo, icyo bapfa cya nyakuri ni isaranganya ritagenze neza mu nda y’ingoma, bamaze gufata ubutegetsi. Ibyo byari bikwiye kudufasha kubumbura amaso, tukitegereza, maze tukabona ko ikibazo nyacyo kizatwika Urwanda rukaba umuyonga atari ubushyamirane hagati y’Abahutu n’Abatutsi. Ni ubusambo bw’abari ku butegetsi bakomeje kwikubira umutungo wose w’igihugu, bamara kurengwa bakaduka mu bakene, bakabirukana mu mugi wa Kigali, bakabatwikira utururi twabo twa nyakatsi, bakirukana abana babo mu ishuri ngo batiga bakajijuka, bakaba baraniyemeje kubakona ngo badakomeza kubyara bakororoka!

Uwo ni Minisitiri w'urubyiruko n'umuco Yozefu Habineza ushinzwe kurarura urubyiruko !

Benshi mu rubyiruko turambiwe aya maco y’inda yahinduwe politiki iyobora igihugu kuko dusanga bizakomeza guhitana Abanyarwanda benshi ! Uwo murengwe w’Abayobozi b’abaherwe utabura kugira ingaruka zikomeye ku baturage b’abakene, ni wo niyemeje kwamagana nivuye inyuma. Nibidahinduka, turahaguruka tujye mu mihanda , tuzashirwe abo bayobozi b’inda nini bafashwe mpiri. Reka mpere kuri Minisitiri w’urubyiruko, mbereke uko benshi mu bagize Leta bameze. Ubutaha nzabereka n’abandi bamunzwe, namwe mwihere amaso. Nyamara uyu mugabo ngo afite urugo ra !

Minisitiri w’urubyiruko n’umuco ashinzwe kugira abana bacu ibyomanzi ?

Ibyo ngiye kuvuga aha ntabwo ari inkuru mbarirano . Minisitiri Yozefu Habineza ni we ubwe wampaye uburyo bwo kumumenya bihagije. Abatamuzi babona ko ari umutegetsi uzi gushyikirana n’urubyiruko. Simbihakanye. Ariko icyo minisitiri w’urubyiruko n’umuco ashinzwe mu gihugu ngira ngo si ukumenya kubyina neza mu bitaramo no kurara mu kabari!

Igiteye umujinya ni ukuntu ataniha akabanga! Umuntu uzi ubwenge ajya guhunahuna hanyuma akanifotoza ?

Jyewe ndamurega ko afite ingeso ikomeye, abamukuriye bakagombye gufataho icyemezo. Ndamushinja ko akoresha umwanya afite maze agashora urubyiruko ashinzwe mu ngeso z’ubusinzi, gukoresha ibiyobyabwenge no mu busambanyi. Iyo arangije akazi ko mu biro(uretse ngo ko hari n'abo afatira mu biro bye!), muzamutubarize aho arigitira! Ajya gushaka abanyeshurikazi atesha kwiga, akabararana iyo mu mahoteli dore ko we ashobora no kuryamana na batanu cyangwa barindwi icyarimwe!

Jyewe by’umwihariko yangiriye nabi kuko yanyiciye ubuzima ku buryo budasubirwaho ! Iyo tuba mu gihugu kigendera ku mategeko, mba naramureze mu rukiko! Ariko se narega uwo ndegaho? Muti yagutwaye iki ?
Umwari nakundaga (ari kuri ariya mafoto) twateganyaga no gushyingiranwa mu mwaka utaha, tumaze gutandukana kuko uriya muminisitiri yahoraga amutwara muri ibyo bigare byo kujya gusinda no gusambana. Nabanje kubyihanganira kuko uwo fiyanse (fiancée) wanjye yambwiraga ko atazasubira kugendana na Minisitiri uwo. Nyamara Minisitiri yakoresheje ingufu, amutera ubwoba, nuko amurundurira muri izo ngeso mbi.Ubu noneho yaranamutorokeje sinzi iyo yamwohereye, nabuze ihene n'ibiziriko ! Nabuze uko ngira, mfata icyemezo cyo guhirikira umutima ho ibuye ariko byanteye gutekereza ngera kure!

Uwo ni Minisitiri w'urubyiruko n'umuco Yozefu Habineza ushinzwe kurarura urubyiruko !

Abaminisitiri bo mu Rwanda bashinzwe iki? Ese bafite ububasha bwo kwikorera ibyo bashatse byose birimo no kurenganya abaturage, bigashirira aho nta rubanza ? By’umwihariko se Minisitiri w’urubyiruko afite uburenganzira bwo kurarura abana bigeze hariya, akabagira ibyomanzi, abamuyobora bamushyize muri uriya mwanya ntibagire icyo babivugaho?! Ubwo se ntibyerekana ko yenda ari ko kazi Leta yamushinze twe tukaba tutabizi ?

Ubwo kandi si ibyo gusa. Birazwi ko Minisitiri Yozefu Habineza abana n’agakoko k’ubwandu bwa sida! Ariko ibyo ntibimubuza kuryamana n’imbaga y’urubyiruko ntacyo yishisha! Muri ayo mage nahuye nayo, nahamenyeye ko, muri iyo mibonano mpuzabitsina ibanjirijwe n’ikivu cy’inzoga zikomeye ndetse n’ibindi biyobwabwenge, Minisitiri Yozefu Habineza atajya yemera gukoresha agakingirizo ngo nibura arengere ubuzima bw’abo bana! Ubwo se ubwicanyi burenze ubwo ni ubuhe? Igiteye umujinya kurushaho ni uko muri abo bana b’abakobwa arindagiza harimo rwose n’abato cyane batagejeje ku myaka 18(turacyabikoraho anketi yuzuye tuzabibagezaho neza ubutaha). Ubugome burenze ubwo ni ubuhe? Ubwo rero abo bakobwa babyuka kwa minisitiri bakajya gukongeza ba “copains” babo, bagahererekanya ubwandu batyo : ubwo se icyaha cy’itsembambaga si bene icyo? Nyamara intebe ye akomeje kuyicaraho nk’aho nta kibazo na busa ateye! Yemwe, Leta ziragwira!

Andi mafoto. Mfite andi arenga 80, siniriwe nyashyira ahagaragara! Ngiriye akabanga uwo bashakanye.

Umwanzuro
Simpamya ko abakuriye Minisitiri Yozefu Habineza hari icyo bazamubaza kuko nta gaciro bajya baha akababaro k’umukene. Kandi , nk’uko tuzabyerekana mu nyandiko yacu itaha, tuzi neza ko hari n’abandi bagenzi be b’abayobozi bikorera ibyo bashaka mu gihugu, bakica, bagakiza, bakarengaya umukene nta cyo bishisha kuko bibwira ko nta gaciro afite kandi atagira kirengera. Niba ubwo buryo bwo kuyobora igihugu budahindutse, ndasaba urubyiruko ko twebwe twakwikuramo bwangu politiki ya munyangire abaherwe batuyobora bamaze igihe baducengezamo. Ahubwo twebwe ubwacu twari dukwiye guhaguruka tukajya mu muhanda, tukirwanaho dukora revolisiyo. Naho ubundi abo bakire bacu badusuzugura bakadufata nk’amatungo bazaduhindura abasazi twiruke ku gasozi, cyangwa bazakomeze badutindahaze kugera twimanitse twese mu kagozi!

Igiteye umujinya ni ukuntu ataniha akabanga! Umuntu uzi ubwenge ajya guhunahuna hanyuma akanifotoza ?

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