RWANDA:Thomas Kamilindi: Témoignage d' un survivant à l' Hotel des Mille Collines (avril 1994)

Rusesabagina et l'hotel des Mille Collines

Thomas Kamirindi

Je lis ces derniers jours beaucoup de choses sur Paul Rusesabagina et l’Hôtel des Mille Collines. J’apprécie les gens qui recherchent la vérité sur ce qui s’est réellement passé en 1994. Mais il me semble n’avoir vu aucun témoignage direct de quelqu’un qui a vécu dans cet hôtel durant cette période sombre de notre histoire personnelle, individuelle, familiale et nationale. C’est à ce titre que je voudrais apporter ma modeste contribution à l’éclairage des faits.

Je me bornerai uniquement aux choses que j’ai vécues avec les autres réfugiés, parce que, en toute honnêteté, je me sentirais très mal à l’aise pour dire ou commenter ce que je ne connais pas ou que je connais mal.

Je suis arrivé, après trente six mille et une péripéties, à « atterrir » à l’hôtel des Mille Collines le 14 avril 1994 dans l’après-midi. Aussitôt arrivé dans la chambre 211 qu’on m’a attribuée, j’ai pris le téléphone, j’ai appelé la rédaction de RFI à Paris. Dieu a fait qu’au moment de mon appel Madeleine Mukamabano, par bonheur, était là dans la salle de rédaction à Paris. Elle m’a demandé qui était réfugié à l’hôtel ? J’ai répondu que je ne savais pas parce que je venais à peine d’arriver. Elle m’a cité quelques noms. Mais je ne savais vraiment pas qui était à l’hôtel.

Elle m’a alors dit : « Est-ce que tu peux essayer de faire une liste de ces réfugiés et me la faxer ? Les confrères et moi ici à Paris allons sensibiliser le gouvernement français, et à travers lui et avec lui sensibiliser l’ONU et les gouvernements des autres puissances, pour une éventuelle évacuation des réfugiés de l’hôtel des Mille Collines ». Les étrangers venaient alors d’être évacués quasi-totalement de Kigali et on refusait de prendre des fugitifs rwandais sur les convois. J’ai accepté la mission.

Je suis allé taper à diverses portes, comme ça au hasard, ne sachant même pas comment j’allais être accueilli. J’ai expliqué ma démarche et proposé qu’on tienne une réunion. Parmi les sept premières personnes avec lesquelles j’ai tenu la première réunion dans ma chambre et qui m’ont aidé à mettre les idées au clair sur ce projet, je citerais l’ancien président d’Ibuka, Jean-Bosco Rutagengwa. Ces personnes m’ont ensuite aidé à faire circuler l’information parmi les réfugiés de l’hôtel et à mettre Paul Rusesabagina au courant.

Tout l’après-midi et toute la nuit de ce jeudi 14 avril 1994, nous avons travaillé sans une seule seconde de repos, sans même être sûr que nous allions avoir la chance d’être évacués. Paul Rusesabagina nous a ouvert la ligne fax qui était dans le bureau de la direction au rez-de-chaussée. Nous avons faxé les listes à RFI. La dernière est partie le lendemain, vendredi 15 avril 1994, à 7h15 du matin, avec des centaines de noms des réfugiés et nos familles, ainsi que les adresses et autres contacts possibles de parents, amis ou connaissances qui pouvaient être à même de nous accueillir chez eux une fois à l’étranger.

J’étais très très fatigué même pour me réjouir de l’arrivée de ma famille ce jour-là, évacuée de chez nous par le major Cyiza Augustin, ce brave homme, intègre, franc, honnête, courageux, dévoué, intelligent … que les méchants ont ignominieusement enlevé et assassiné récemment.

A RFI à Paris, Madeleine elle-même et ses collègues de travail s’étaient organisés de façon que le contact est resté régulier et permanent par téléphone et par fax. Une jeune fille du nom d’Inès, du reste que je n’avais jamais vue auparavant, m’a été envoyée par ses parents et m’a apporté une assistance inestimable à mettre de l’ordre dans les listes.

A partir de cet instant, les réfugiés de l’hôtel devaient téléphoner et envoyer des fax à ces parents, amis ou connaissances et les mettre au courant de ce que nous étions en train d’envisager. Personnellement, je n’ai payé aucun franc pour ce travail, et à ma connaissance, personne n’a payé pour les téléphones et les fax que nous avons envoyés, ou pour les fax que nous avons reçus. A la suite de ces actions, l’hôtel des Milles Collines a été appelé par RTLM « Indili y’Inyenzi », c’est- à -dire « Nid de Cafards ».

Dans la suite, nous avons tenu beaucoup d’autres réunions informelles, dans ma chambre ou dans d’autres différentes chambres, pour rédiger des fax, notamment à l’intention des grands de ce monde. Mr François-Xavier Nsanzuwera, parce qu’il réfléchissait beaucoup plus rapidement que nous les autres, est devenu, de facto, notre rédacteur. Au moment où nous nous en étions encore aux salamalecs, lui avait déjà accouché des paragraphes sur le papier et généralement nous ne faisions qu’apporter quelques petits plus à son travail. Pour les nombreux fax que nous avons envoyés, nous n’avons payé aucun franc. Chaque fois, le bureau de Paul Rusesabagina était ouvert pour nous, lui-même était toujours là, disponible pour nous.

Durant près de deux semaines après mon arrivée à l’hôtel des Mille Collines, j’ai tous les jours utilisé le téléphone de ma chambre pour appeler des confrères journalistes que je connaissais à l’étranger. Je n’ai payé aucun franc. Puis les Télécoms rwandais ont coupé les téléphones de l’hôtel. Nous ne pouvions communiquer qu’entre chambres, mais pas avec l’extérieur.

Le 26 avril 1994, les lignes ont été rétablies. Je l’ai su quand de nombreux réfugiés m’ont appelé dans ma chambre pour, excités, me dire : « Thomas, les téléphones fonctionnent à nouveau. Rappelles tes amis de RFI ». Je l’ai fait. De ma chambre. Pour dire que nous étions encore en vie, mais hypothétiquement. Puis les journalistes m’ont dit : « Est-ce qu’on peut faire une interview avec toi ? Parce qu’on ne sait pas ce qui se passe au Rwanda. Est-ce que les massacres continuent ? Est-ce que la guerre continue ? ».

En effet, les seuls journalistes qui travaillaient à Kigali et qui pouvaient le faire, c’était uniquement ceux de RTLM, de Radio Rwanda et des autres média reconnus aujourd’hui comme ayant été les « média de la haine ». Il n’y avait aucun journaliste international à Kigali.

J’ai alors mesuré quelles pouvaient être les conséquences de cette interview. Avant d’accepter de la faire, j’ai pris quelques temps pour en discuter avec ma femme, et ensuite avec d’autres réfugiés. L’avis général a été : « Fais-là. De toute façon, au point où nous en sommes, nous n’avons rien à perdre ! ». J’ai rappelé à Paris et j’ai donné l’interview. La journaliste qui l’a prise est Corinne Manjou. L’interview est passée sur les antennes non seulement de RFI mais aussi de plusieurs autres radios.

A partir de cet instant, je suis devenu l’homme le plus recherché de l’hôtel des Mille Collines. Pour la simple raison que j’avais, en particulier, décrit comment les FAR perdaient du terrain, comment le FPR gagnait, et ce que le FPR occupait déjà dans la capitale comme terrain, et parce que dans cette interview j’ai regretté que le FPR n’avançait pas assez rapidement pour mettre fin au cauchemar de quelques rares survivants encore en vie. Dace Des tueurs ont été envoyés pour m’exécuter. Ca n’a pas marché. Paul ne m’a pas jeté à la porte. L’armée a alors réellement décidé de bombarder l’hôtel.

La situation était telle que certains de mes amis d’infortune, réfugiés comme moi, en sont arrivés à m’appeler dans ma chambre pour m’insulter, me qualifiant d’irresponsable. Mais Paul Rusesabagina m’a appelé dans sa suite et m’a intimé l’ordre de ne pas bouger de l’hôtel. Il m’a dit qu’il était en contact avec le général Dallaire sur cette menace. Le capitaine sénégalais Mbaye Diagne, ce brave mort en héros, m’a tenu le même discours. Ils m’ont dit d’enlever le numéro de ma chambre. Par la suite, le lieutenant-colonel Laurent Munyakazi est venu en personne dire à Paul Rusesabagina : « Nje gushaka iyo mbwa Kamilindi », autrement dit « je viens chercher ce chien de Kamilindi ». Paul Rusesabagina ne m’a pas livré. Il a négocié avec lui deux heures durant. Il lui a offert des choses. Pourtant, ce Paul Rusesabagina qui m’a ainsi acheté, je ne l’ai vu pour la première fois qu’à l’hôtel des Mille Collines une fois que j’y ai pris refuge. Je ne l’ai jamais connu avant. Lui non plus ne me connaissais pas avant Mille Collines. Et je crois que je serais resté anonyme pour lui si je n’avais pas donné autant de tournmants à autant de monde. Mais il m’a acheté, et acheté sans savoir qui réellement j’étais, sinon qu’un jeune homme, un tout jeune journaliste.

A la suite de toutes ces menaces, qui se sont conclues par le tir d’un boulet de canon sur l’hôtel, heureusement sans faire de victime ni de blessé, Mille Collines a été déclaré propriété des Nations-Unies. Un drapeau de l’ONU a été hissé au sommet de l’hôtel et deux véhicules blindés de la MINUAR ont commencé à y stationner.

Quand l’eau a été coupée dans la capitale, nous avons bu l’eau de la piscine de l’hôtel des Mille Collines. Quand nous l’avons épuisée, je ne sais pas comment Paul a pu avoir un camion citerne, et chaque jour il est allé nous chercher de l’eau. Je ne sais pas où il la puisait, mais le fait est que le camion nous a approvisionnés tous les jours.

Quand l’électricité est elle-même devenue un grand problème à Kigali, les génératrices (groupes électrogènes) de l’hôtel ont toujours fonctionné pour nous. Nous avons pu faire la cuisine. Nous avons pu suivre à la télévision la cérémonie d’installation du président Nelson Mandela. Nous n’avons payé aucun franc pour l’électricité de l’hôtel que nous avons consommée ni pour le carburant des génératrices. Et durant tout le temps que j’ai été réfugié aux Mille Collines, je n’ai vu personne parmi les réfugiés faire la cuisine au charbon comme de coutume dans de nombreuses familles dans la capitale.

Le 3 mai 1994, en fin de matinée, deux Casques Bleus ont tapé violemment à la porte de ma chambre. Ils nous ont dit de descendre en catastrophe avec nos effets. Quand nous sommes arrivés dans le lobby ma famille et moi, il y avait foule et d’autres soldats de la MINUAR étaient en train de lire des noms sur une liste, dont les miens, ceux de ma femme et de notre petite fille. Ils nous ont fait monter sur des camions de l’ONU, et nous sommes partis. Paul Rusesabagina ne nous a jamais retenus pour nous faire payer quoi que ce soit avant de quitter l’hôtel. A la fin de la journée, nous sommes revenus à l’hôtel dans les circonstances que plus d’un connaissent.

Durant tout le temps que ma famille et moi avons été réfugiés à l’hôtel des Mille Collines, nous n’avons payé rien du tout. Ni pour la chambre, ni pour la nourriture, ni pour l’eau, ni pour l’électricité, ni pour les téléphones et les fax que j’ai continué à utiliser jusqu’à mon évacuation le 29 mai 1994 sur Kabuga dans la zone du FPR. Il est vrai qu’au milieu de ce mois de mai 1994, un des employés de l’hôtel m’a apporté une facture dans ma chambre. La somme était colossale. Il m’a expliqué qu’il s’agissait simplement d’une reconnaissance de dette. Mais j’étais très préoccupé par la question de savoir comment j’allais, si je survivais, travailler éternellement pour payer cette dette. Nous en avons discuté entre refugiés et nous avons su par la suite que « Sabena ou l’ONU allaient tout prendre en charge ». A la fin, et ça avant même notre retour dans la capitale, j’ai effectivement appris comme tous les autres que Sabena avait payé tous nos frais de l’hôtel des Mille Collines : des millions.

Voilà mon humble témoignage. Je reste à la disposition de quiconque voudra des éclaircissements. Mais de grâce, n’entrons pas dans les polémiques inutiles. Les faits parlant d’eux-mêmes, je propose que nous nous en tenions uniquement aux faits. Cela nous évitera de galvauder la vérité.

D’autre part, n’ayant pas la qualité d’ubiquité, j’invite les autres réfugiés de l’hôtel des Mille Collines qui le veulent à faire leurs propres témoignages. C’est d’ailleurs une façon de restituer l’histoire, mieux la mémoire. Qui oublie revit ce qu’il a vécu.

En conclusion, les réfugiés de l’hôtel des Mille Collines étions tous vivants quand le FPR a mis fin au génocide des Tutsis du Rwanda. Personne n’a été tué, blessé, battu, torturé, expulsé ou extrait de l’hôtel tout le temps que nous y étions réfugiés. Paul Rusesabagina est parvenu à faire l’impossible pour préserver nos vies au moment où d’autres étaient en train de massacrer leurs propres enfants, leurs propres femmes, et que sais-je encore. Qu’est-ce que nous étions pour Paul Rusesabagina ? Bien peu d’entre nous étaient peut-être ses amis ou proches parents. Mais nous ne l’étions pas tous, tous les 1.200 et plus qui sommes passés par l’hôtel des Mille Collines au moment où il en avait les rennes en main.

Enfin, si l’hôtel des Mille Collines est devenu mondialement connu, je dirais meme célébrissime, et si nous tous ses réfugiés avons été préservés, beaucoup de personnes y ont absolument contribué. Paul Rusesabagina n’était heureusement pas seul. Justement, que dire du rôle de Madeleine Mukamabano ? Une très très petite poignée de gens le savent et l’apprécient. Nous étions tous vivants à la fin du cauchemar, c’est le plus grand essentiel. Et merci infiniment pour tous ces anonymes qui y ont contribué de pres ou de loin. Que Paul Rusesabagina soit leur porte-drapeau, ce n’est que le commencement d’un processus qui les fera connaître. Ca aussi ça compte, non !


Thomas Kamilindi

Hotel Rwanda film director Terry George speaks out – Smearing a Hero

By Terry George 

Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero of the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” is being denounced by some in his country as a traitor and a criminal. Perhaps he helped bring some of this abuse on himself, but none of it is deserved. As director and producer of the film, I’d like to explain.

To make a film of a true story you must compress timelines, create composite characters and dramatize emotions. When it came to making “Hotel Rwanda” — the story of how Paul Rusesabagina saved the lives of hundreds of people who took shelter from the 1994 genocide in the hotel he managed — I was obsessed with getting it right. The Rwandan episode was a slaughter of unimaginable horror and magnitude, yet I firmly believed I had found a story that showed that even in the midst of such horror the human capacity for good can triumph.
Before making the film, I grilled Rusesabagina and read all I could about his experience. I traveled to Brussels and Rwanda, and I met survivors from his hotel, some of whom still worked there. No one contradicted his story.
When the film was released, Rusesabagina was acknowledged as a hero not just by ordinary people across the United States and Europe but also by diplomats, politicians, journalists and Rwandan officials in diplomatic posts here. Rwandan expatriates gave testimony to the veracity of the film, as did people who had been in the hotel and who tearfully acknowledged Rusesabagina’s role.
Last May I had the chance to meet Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Rwanda. I sat beside him as he and his wife and most of Rwanda’s parliament watched the movie. Afterward he leaned over to me and said the film had done much good around the world in exposing the horrors of the genocide. The next evening, I screened the film at Amahoro Stadium for some 10,000 people. It was the most emotional screening I have ever been at. I spent close to an hour afterward accepting thanks and congratulations.
But there was one empty seat at both screenings — the one reserved for Paul Rusesabagina. Two days before, as I waited for him to join me at the boarding gate in Brussels for the flight to Kigali, he called to say he had decided not to travel to Rwanda. On his speaking tours around the United States and Europe, he had begun to criticize Kagame’s government, saying that the last election in Rwanda, in which Kagame received 90.5 percent of the vote, was not democratic and that true peace would come to Rwanda only when it had an inclusive government. Because of his criticism, Rusesabagina said, he had been advised that it would not be safe for him. I could not persuade him to come.
Last fall his fears were borne out when Rwandan journalists and politicians began a smear campaign against him. On Oct. 28 a reporter for the Rwandan daily newspaper the New Times ran a long story on the “true nature” of Rusesabagina, which quoted a former receptionist at the hotel as saying that he had saved only his few friends, and that he had charged people to stay in the rooms (a fact we had highlighted and explained in the film). Buried at the end of the piece was probably the true fear of the Rwandan authorities: that Rusesabagina planned to form a political party.
The newspaper attacks on Rusesabagina have steadily escalated. In November he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bush. Six days later a New Times editorial said he would “go down in the annals of history as a man who sold the soul of the Rwandan Genocide to amass medals.”
In February Kagame joined the campaign — cryptically at first. In a speech at Amahoro Stadium to mark National Heroes Day, Kagame said Rwanda’s heroes are not made in America, Europe or in Asia; cinema or film stars have no place on the list of national heroes. He went on to make several veiled comments about “a manufactured hero.”
A few days later Rwandan Radio ran a two-hour live talk show about Rusesabagina. The speakers included genocide survivors and, sadly, some old friends of Rusesabagina’s. Francois Xavier Ngarambe, the president of Ibuka, the umbrella body of genocide survivors’ associations, ended the show by claiming: “He has hijacked heroism. He is trading with the genocide. He should be charged.”
I called Rusesabagina in Brussels to discuss what was going on. He said he saw the smear campaign as confirmation of his previous fears and of his reservations about the Kagame regime. His new autobiography, “An Ordinary Man,” will only make things worse, as in his last chapter he writes, “Rwanda is today a nation governed by and for the benefit of a small group of elite Tutsis. . . . Those few Hutus who have been elevated to high-ranking posts are usually empty suits without any real authority of their own. They are known locally as Hutus de service or Hutus for hire.”
On April 6, the 12th anniversary of the genocide, Kagame launched his first attack on Rusesabagina, saying, “He should try his talents elsewhere and not climb on the falsehood of being a hero, because it’s totally false.” I pray that this situation can be resolved. The millions who saw “Hotel Rwanda” and received its message of hope ought to know that they were not duped.
I understand Paul Rusesabagina’s desire to foster inclusiveness in Rwanda. I understand, as well, Kagame’s legitimate fear that the country has suffered too much, too recently, to allow divisions to be fostered. There are many politicians here and abroad who could mediate this clash. “Hotel Rwanda 2″ is a sequel I never want to make.
Terry George was co-writer, director and producer of the film “Hotel Rwanda.”

Lantos Foundation to Honor Rwandan Humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina

from Lantos Website

2011 Lantos Prize to be awarded in November

WASHINGTON, DC – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is proud to announce that Rwandan humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina will be the 2011 recipient of the Lantos Human Rights Prize. The formal presentation of the award will take place in Washington, DC on November 16th, 2011.

Paul Rusesabagina is widely hailed as a hero of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. As a hotel manager during the time of the conflict, Rusesabagina was able to provide shelter to 1,268 people, both Hutus and Tutsis, ultimately saving them from certain death. His efforts were chronicled in the 2004 Academy Award nominated film Hotel Rwanda and his autobiography “An Ordinary Man”. Today, Rusesabagina continues his efforts for truth, reconciliation and sustainable peace in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region of Africa through his work as President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (www.hrrfoundation.org).

“We are so proud to award this year’s Lantos Prize to Paul Rusesabagina. I was raised on the idea that we are all our brothers’ keepers, and Paul is the living embodiment of that idea,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “My father, Congressman Tom Lantos, survived the Holocaust in one of Raoul Wallenberg’s safehouses and understood all too well that the actions of one man can change the arc of one’s life story. Nearly 50 years later, Paul Rusesabagina’s heroic efforts to shelter those in harm’s way changed the life stories of more than 1,200 Rwandans. We look forward to honoring his historic humanitarian actions.”

The Lantos Foundation established the Lantos Human Rights Prize in 2009 to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. It is awarded annually to an individual or organization that best exemplifies the Foundation’s mission, namely to be a vital voice standing up for the values of decency, dignity, freedom, and justice in every corner of the world. The prize also serves to commemorate the late Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a prominent advocate for human rights during his nearly three decades as a U.S. Representative. Former recipients of the Lantos Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

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RWANDA:Spying scandals force reshuffle in Rwanda’s spy machinery.

Chief Spy sacked after frustrating International Terrorism efforts of his bo

From UMUVUGIZ NEWSPAPER
After the controversial suspension of the Rwanda Convention in the United Kingdom which was scheduled for this month over the leaked Rwandan spy-network in the country, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame in his capacity as the Commander in-Chief has reshuffled his intelligence machinery.
This comes after the British intelligence services warned Rwanda against reports of having a network of hit men that target the opposition politicians living on the British soil with intension of killing them.
Rwandan government had accused the British Intelligence of being unprofessional basing its allegation on uninformed sources. After the British proved to the President that the information was indeed credible, Mr. Kagame denied his knoledge on this diplomatic Incidence and  promised to punish those who spoil the name of the country. The reshuffle in the Rwandan intelligence proves the president’s commitment to repair the damage caused by his Intelligence officers .
The Wednesday reshuffle saw the sacking of the chief spy Col. Dr Emmanuel Ndahiro who has headed the intelligence machinery for years being replaced by  Major General Emmanuel Karenzi Karake while Lt Col Gatete Karuranga was replaced by Col. Dan Munyuza as the Director of External Security  replacing Colonel Doctor Emmanuel Ndahiro.
Brigadier General Richard Rutatina is the new Head of J2- Military Intelligence while Col. Tom Byabagamba is the head of the Counter Terrorism unit in the Ministry of Defence and RDF, Captain Patrick Karuretwa replaced Brig. Gen Rutatina as the Defence and Security Advisor to the President.
The losers in the reshuffle
The reshuffle comes as a punishment to Col Dr Emmanuel Ndahiro and Lt. Col Gateete who frustrated the Commander in-Chief’s international terrorism efforts when they failed the missions in South Africa, US and Europe.
Winners .
Col.  Dan Munyuza was rewarded for trying to finish Kagame’s enemies like during the failed assassination of the renegade General Kayumba and failed plots on Col. Patrick Karegeya as has been heard on recorded conversations in this newspaper. Audio voice of President Kagame\’s killing squad!
Captain Patrick Karuretwa who is also an in-law to Col Ndahiro is said to have been rewarded for keeping trusted security guard to the first daughter Ange Kagame. With exception of Gen Rutatina and Gen Kamanzi others from Gen Kabarebe, Lt Gen Kayonga Charles, Brig Gen Kazura Jean Bosco and  Col Dr Emmanuel Ndahiro  have been presidential guards.
Prior to his appointment, Maj. Gen Karenzi, who replaces Col. Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro, was the head of the Rwanda Military Academy-Nyakinama, an appointment he got after serving some time in prison. He was the Commander of the UNAMID before Nyakinama assignment.
Those close to the Kagame’s intelligence network see the appointment of Gen. Karenzi a chief spy as trying to keep him close to his boss since he is known for his divergent views on RPF security operations which are always seen as being sympathetic to those opposed to Kagame’s ideology.
Therefore his heading the spy-network puts him at spotlight for close monitoring that any divergence can lead to a crime that can justify his imprisonment and end of his career.
Attached is the recorded conversation of Col. Dan Munyuza in the plot to assassinate reneged col. Patrick Karegeya
Audio Voice of Head of President\’s Kagame\’s Killing Squad
Kagabo, London.

RWANDA:Rwanda butcher Kagame invades France

  by: Herman from the AFRICAN DICTATOR

A Kagame killing cell has been discovered in France. French security officials say that two former RPA soldiers, former Sgt. Jean Bosco Sasita and Second Lt. John Bosco Murenzi have been hunting opponents to tyrant Kagame.
Four major French towns –  Orleans, Lille, Rouen and Toulouse, are a target and Rwandan  living there have been warned.
Sgt Jean Bosco Sasita was an RPA, soldier and eventually worked as an accountant for the G3 department.
He arrives in France in 2006, as a refugee of convenience, with the support of the Kagame intelligence which was using hm to spy on the RPF dissidents based in Uganda and mostly members of the RPR -Inkeragutabara opposition party.
Second Lt John Bosco Murenzi, is a former bodyguard seconded to president Pasteur Bizimungu. He worked for Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) services, under the authority of General Jack Nziza,the butcher of Kabgayi, who was personally involved in the killing of at least 3 bishops of the Rwandan catholic church during the 1994 genocide.
While working as a military intelligence operative, Lt Jan Bosco Murenzi also  attended Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). He is now on an impossible mission in France to assassinate, terrorise, or poison Kagame’s opponents.
Observers say that Paris would retaliate to any attack from the “evil of the Great Lakes.” All Eu security services are on a maximum alert, to thwart Kagame’s plans.
Rwandans stand up! Stop this evil of the Great Lakes before he destroys our beloved mother land.

RWANDA:Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame digs himself into deeper hole in UK

  by: Herman from the African Dictator

The British have a saying that “wonders never cease”. This is especially true with the actions of the Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame. Just when you think you have seen his worst turn, a more shocking one emerges.
When Kagame jetted to London to receive his medal for his “great leadership” from an NGO that does not even operate in Rwanda, there was nothing particularly unusual about that. Kagame has a bottomless hunger for awards and medals. He will travel to the North Pole to receive one – even if given by the penguins, as long as it is a medal.
It turns out, however, that Kagame got more than he bargained for in London this time around.
Kagame Falls in M15 trap

• When dictator Kagame went to receive the bogus medal from a charity, he fell in trap. The British M15 used the visit to have a chat with the dictator, and showed him hard evidence of taped conversations between Rwandan high level intelligence officials in Kigali and operatives sent to harass and possibly kill Rwandans in UK. It was on the basis of such evidence that the British government informed Kagame in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome to hold a convention in UK that was originally supposed to take place this July.
• Typically, the Rwandan dictator stormed out of the M15 meeting.
• The dictator was so annoyed that he almost did not sleep – rushing to the airport earlier than planned, also due to the fact that the British had not provided security for him to clear traffic since the dictator was on a private visit to receive his medals.
• This is the same Kagame who had earlier at his press conference told the entire world that the Scotland Yard and British intelligence were “incompetent.”
• When confronted with the taped telephone conversations between top Kagame civilian and military intelligence officials and the operatives in London to do harm to Rwandan Diaspora, Kagame was no longer singing “you are incompetent”. He was now singing, “these Rwandan intelligence were not acting on my behalf”. Of course this did not wash. The Dictator was cornered, and had nowhere to hide, except to storm out of the M15 Meeting.

Mushikiwabo Impossible Mission
Today (Tuesday 12 July 2011), Rwandan Foreign Minister Mushikiwabo is in London on an impossible mission – to control the damage. Here is why she will not succeed.
The British government has banked so much on Kagame’s development agenda. They want an African success story. The Cameron government has recently cut off aid to such countries as Burundi due to corruption. They did not touch a cent of aid to Rwanda of over 80 Million British Pounds annually. But how does Dictator show his appreciation of these millions of Pounds of budget support that goes directly into the Rwandan treasury?

• Kagame sends his killing machines to the UK. Before he was stopped, he was about to hold a highly intimidating convention where he would award his operatives for the job well-done, namely harassing the Rwandan Diaspora in UK and all over the world.
• The head of DFID Rwanda office was recently assaulted in Rwanda by Rwandan police during the period where the UK government was warning Rwandans in Britain to improve their own security as Kagame killing machines were likely to do harm. The Kigali regime says it is investigating.
• Kagame calls British police and intelligence “incompetent” for doing their work.

The Rwandan dictator has lost the plot
Everything around Kagame is in free fall and in a melt-down mode. His PR machine in America and Britain has collapsed, mainly because the dictator has lost his mind, and will only listen to Jeannette Kagame and her government made up of Jack Nziza and Ines Mpambara and other sycophants. This collection of misfits tells the Rwandan dictator what he wants to hear, and not what is right.
The Dictator’s empire is crumbling, and the strategy to save it is in tatters. Jeannette Kagame’s begging mission to Uganda to win over President Yoweri Museveni flops miserably. Mushikiwabo’s mission impossible to the UK will meet the same fate. It is in fact a non-starter.
Free advice to the Rwandan dictator
No matter how hopeless the situation appears, the Rwandan dictator can save his regime – but more importantly save Rwanda from another disastrous episode. Here is free advice to the Rwandan dictator.

• Have courage for once and take charge of the Rwandan government for which you were supposedly elected to govern for seven more years. Forget your preferred candidate who will succeed you. You do not know if you will survive your term.
• Put Jack Nziza and company on trial for national and international terrorism – after all you claimed in your M15 meeting that such people were acting on their own without your knowledge when they sent killers to eliminate Rwandans abroad.
• Tell your wife to stay out of governmental affairs. She is not an elected official. Let her stay in the business of running NGOs, if she is any good at that anyhow.
• Remove Jeannette Kagame’s stooges from your office, beginning with Ines Mpambara. Such persons cannot run their own homes let alone complex government machinery.
• Instead of the pathetic conventions that supposedly showcase you as a world leader, prepare for a genuine national convention of all Rwandan leaders, including those you have imprisoned and exiled, and together share wisdom as to how you can save Rwanda.
• Seek for forgiveness from Rwandans who you betray every day by, among other things, living far beyond available national resources, and lastly:
• Stop New Times from pedaling vulgar PR on your grand achievements – accomplishments are best experienced than shoved in peoples’ faces. Most people do not believe this garbage. They laugh at you and your newspaper. Whatever you think you may have accomplished, Rwanda is still the poorest nation in East Africa by any definition, save for Burundi

Rwanda: RWANDA’S OPPOSITION LEADERS CRITICIZE TONY BLAIR

From the NGO NEWS AFRICA
In London on July 1, 2011 President Paul Kagame received the Humanitarian award from The Chello Foundation for his work in the areas of children’s education and healthcare and the promotion of women’s rights.  Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s introduction of President Kagame came via video where he praised the Rwandan President in the above listed areas as well as his leadership of Rwanda.  President Kagame then spoke for just over fourteen minutes thanking The Chello Foundation, Tony Blair and the ongoing support that the UK provides to Rwanda. The Rwandan President emphasized
“meaningful and productive relationship over many years.”   Attenders at the event looked on with admiration, smiles and nods as President Kagame spoke of the progress Rwanda has made in the areas of children’s education, HPV vaccine for girls and sanitary supplies so they do not have to miss school.
While President Kagame receives this prestigious award many are left wondering why his record on humanitarian abuses continues to be ignored by the former UK Prime Minister and the international community as widespread reports continue to circulate regarding President Kagame and the RPF as they systematically create chaos and destabilization within Rwanda and the DRC.
This journalist uncovered a letter addressed to former Prime Minister, Tony Blair from Oppositional Rwandan Leaders requesting peace talks with him regarding his relationship with Rwanda. These leaders asked Mr. Blair to withdraw his support until peace can be established as well as a cease in humanitarian rights abuses.  As of this publication confirmation has been established regarding the former Prime Ministers receipt of this letter.
The letter in its entirety has been published below in its original format with no editing by this writer.
Confidential letter to The Hon. Tony Blair
January 7, 2011.
Hon. Tony Blair
Africa Governance Initiative
London
United Kingdom.
Your Excellency,
Re: Political Situation in Rwanda
An article entitled “‘Tony Blair defends support for Rwandan leader Paul Kagame” that
was published in the December 31, 2010 edition of the Guardian newspaper highlighted
your support for President Kagame and your unequivocal endorsement of his stewardship
of the post—genocide Rwanda state. The article reports that you consider President
Kagame to be a visionary leader, and that allowance ought to be made for the Rwanda
Government’s record on governance and human rights issues on account of the country’s
recent experience of genocide. The article also states that you regard the use of charges
of crimes of ‘divisionism’ and ‘genocide ideology’ to silence critics of the Rwanda
government as legitimate; and, that you share President Kagame’s view that economic
development should take a priority ove1· democracy and respect for human rights and that
you consider Rwanda’s military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo
during the 1990s and early 2000s, that has caused immense human suffering and loss of
more than 5 million lives, as justified. We note with deep regret that the article also
reports that you would appear to discount the gravity of the allegations of violations of
international humanitarian law established by the Report of the Mapping Exercise
documenting the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law
committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March
1993 and June 2003.
The writers of this letter represent Rwandan political and civil society organizations that
have long had concerns about the policies of the United Kingdom government in relation
to Rwanda and your Excellency’s support for President  Kagame’s policies. We
acknowledge that you are entitled to your personal opinion on the situation in Rwanda.
We do not in any way seek to question your good faith or noble intentions in the work
that you do to support Rwanda. We also appreciate the very significant humanitarian and
development assistance that the United Kingdom has provided to Rwanda since 1994.
Nevertheless, we find ourselves compelled to address this letter to you in order to bring to
your attention the views of our respective organizations and members as well as many
other Rwandans on the situation in Rwanda. We seek, in particular, to communicate our
concerns over the damaging impact of your Excellency’s public pronouncements and
unqualified support for President Kagame’s leadership and conduct.
Rwanda is a one party regime governed by one man who controls all organs of the state.
President Kagame does not allow opposition parties to be registered, let alone operate
freely. Media outlets that are critical of the government are either shut down by the
government or forced to close operations as a result of attacks against their journalists.
Civil society organizations independent of the government operate under draconian
restrictions that make the exercise of their role as watchdogs over government all but
impossible. The people of Rwanda have no liberty to discuss, let alone decide, how they
should be governed. The political system marginalizes the majority of the population
from political participation.
President Kagame maintains his grip on power by severe repression, including arbitrary
arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions of political
opponents of the regime. Institutions of the state continue to subject real and imagined
critics of the government to a wide range of human rights violations, including arbitrary
arrests and detentions, involuntary disappearances and extrajudicial killings. President
Kagame does not respect the sanctity of human life. Over the course of the last several
months, several members of opposition parties, civil society groups, independent media
outlets and individuals suspected of being opponents of the regime have been hunted
down, arrested, tortured, imprisoned or killed. Agencies of the Rwandan state have made
multiple attempts to kill opposition leaders such as Col. Patrick Karegeya and Gen.
Kayumba Nyarnwasa. Victims of state sponsored terror who have lost their lives over the
recent past include Andre Rwisereka (Vice President: of the Democratic Green Party of
Rwanda), Jean—Leonard Rugambage (deputy editor of the Umuvugizi newspaper) and
John Rutayisire. As we write, many members and leaders of opposition parties (including
Hon. Charles Ntakirutinka of Ubuyanja Party; Bernard Ntaganda, President of the Social
lmberakuri Party; Victoire lngabire, President of the FDU-Inkingi party and Deo
Mushyayidi of the PDP Imanzi Party) remain in detention, as do some innocent relatives
of opposition leaders. The climate of repression that prevails in Rwanda has made it
impossible for tens of thousands of refugees who remain in exile after the events of 1994
to return to Rwanda. Indeed, the human rights situation in the country continues to force
Rwandese from all levels of society to take the road to exile.
President Kagame’s appalling record on human rights and governance in general is not a
result of the legacy of the genocide. It was not inevitable that Rwanda should end up as a
dictatorship after the genocide. The Arusha Peace Agreement provided a framework that
could have led to a successful transition to democracy under a broad based government.
The RPF, and President Kagame in particular, derailed Rwanda’s transition to democracy
after the genocide by driving other political forces from government in 1995. President
Kagame has used his control of the ruling party (the RPF), the government, and security
institutions to entrench authoritarian rule, The restrictions on the exercise of fundamental
liberties that the Rwanda government has established aim to protect President Kagame’s
monopoly of political power, not to promote peace. Peace and stability in deeply divided
post conflict societies are best protected and promoted by inclusion and genuine power
sharing. Peace maintained by a dictatorship through violent repression is not enduring.
Democracy and respect for human rights are not a luxury that any government is free to
dispense or withhold at its discretion. Nor is development aid necessary to purchase
freedom, an inalienable right for every human being, rich or poor. Your views on
President Kagame’s accountability for human rights abuses is at variance with the values
that the United Kingdom has espoused in its long history, and the positions that it has
always taken on accountability in other post conflict situations, such as Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Iraq. Your stand on the relationship between human rights and development in
the context of Rwanda contradicts the policies and approaches that your own
governments Department for International Development and the international
community have long championed. We are fortified that our organization’s concerns
about the broad human rights situation in Rwanda are shared by all major human rights
organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
We firmly believe that the violent conflicts that Rwanda has experienced over the past
half century are rooted in issues revolving around governance. The only path to
sustainable peace in Rwanda is a system of government that has popular legitimacy,
includes all communities of Rwanda and is committed to respect of fundamental human
rights, especially the integrity of the person and the right to political participation.
Economic development in post conflict societies that is not rooted in democratic values,
respect for human rights, and broad inclusion is not sustainable. The tolerance that the
international community has exhibited towards President  Kagame’s excesses continues to
fuel impunity. The endemic impunity that still thrives in Rwanda is an insurmountable
obstacle to lasting peace and sustainable development. We strongly believe that
accountability for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,
including the crimes disclosed in the Report on the DRC mapping Exercise, is a pre-
requisite for national reconciliation and lasting peace.
Rwanda is in a situation of serious crisis. We are convinced that violent conflict is
virtually certain to return to Rwanda if the present government does not heed calls for
dialogue and agree to a process of peaceful political reform leading to democracy. The
results of the substantial development assistance that your government and others have
extended to Rwanda since the end of the genocide could be very swiftly undone in the
event of such conflict, with grave implications for the whole Great Lakes region and
international peace and security.
The climate of fear and terror that prevails in Rwanda does not permit Rwandan society
to freely discuss the very grave problems facing the country and to find solutions to those
problems. The people of Rwanda count on Rwanda’s development partners, especially
the United Kingdom and the United States (the two countries that are widely perceived as
being Rwanda’s principal allies in the West) to support the promotion of respect for
human rights and advancement of democracy. We believe that Rwanda’s development
partners, especially those who have close relations with the current government such as
Your Excellency, have a unique role, if not responsibility, to advance the cause of
peaceful change in Rwanda by President Kagame on the need for progress in
guaranteeing for fundamental human rights and for national dialogue to resolve the
country’s crisis. It is in this spirit that we write to urge you to keep an open mind about
the situation in Rwanda; to have empathy for the suffering of the victims of past and on-
going human rights abuses for which President Kagame bears personal responsibility; to
put the long—tern1 interests of Rwanda and of the majority of her people above loyalty to a
President you say is a personal friend and to hold him accountable to the values and
V standards of conduct that the international community ought to require of leaders
exercising the responsibility of national leadership, particularly leadership that citizens ,
have not freely chosen and are powerless to change.
We hope and trust that this letter will be the beginning of a necessary engagement
between you (and others in the international community who want to help Rwanda attain
stability and lasting peace but are at the same time still supportive of President Kagame’s
leadership) and individuals and organizations whose views on the situation of Rwanda
and vision of our country’s future can not be freely articulated inside Rwanda on account
of the prevailing climate of repression. We assure Your Excellency of our respective
organizations’ commitment to unconditional dialogue with both the Rwanda Government
and Rwanda’s development partners on the way to avert the crisis that is engulfing our
motherland.  Some of the organizations that are signatories to this letter have already
demonstrated commitment to inter-Rwandan dialogue by establishing a mechanism to
advocate for such a dialogue. We take this opportunity to request Your Excellency to
grant the writers of this letter audience to enable us discuss the issues raised in the letter
with you in person and to brief you on our work in pursuit of peace change in Rwanda.
Accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest considerations.
Dr. Nkiko Nsengimana
Premier Vice President
Comite de Soutien
Forces Democratiques Unifiees
Paul Rusebagina
President
Dialogue inter Rwandias
Hautement Inclusif (DIRHI)
Paul Rusebagina
President
Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation
Gen. Habyarimana Emmanuel
Convention Nationale Republicaine-Intwari
Ambassador Jean-Marie V. Ndaguimana
President FEIDAR-Federation Internationale des Associations Rwandaises
President IBUKABOSE-Memoire por tous
Karangwa Semushi Gerard
Vice  President
PDP-Imanzi
Matata Joseph
Centre de Lulle Contre Impunite et L’ Injustice au Rwanda
Dr. Rudasingwa Theogene
Coordinator
Interim Coordination Committee
Rwanda National Congress
BY: Jennifer Fierberg, MSW

Sircus: Rwanda’s George Washington?

Image via Wikipedia

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.

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• Opposition Leader in Rwanda is Sentenced to 4 Years (nytimes.com)
• Tweeting with Paul Kagame (one.org)
• Pia Sawhney: Blaming the Messenger: A Response to 'One Man's Rwanda' by Tristan McConnell (huffingtonpost.com)
• Kagame's authoritarian turn risks Rwanda's future | Stephen Kinzer (guardian.co.uk)
• Rwandan president pressures exiled opponents (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
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Rwanda will not be destabilised - Kagame

By Edmund Kagire

President Kagame chaired the National Dialogue that kicked off yesterday. Senate President, Vincent Biruta (L) and the Speaker of Parliament, Rose Mukantabana look on. (Photo Village Urugwiro)

PARLIAMENT - President Paul Kagame, yesterday, said that Rwanda will not allow anyone, whether inside or outside the country, to interfere with the progress that the Rwandan people have registered. He warned that anyone who attempts to distablise the country, will regret their actions.
The President made the remarks, yesterday, while officiating at the opening of the 8th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano), at the Parliamentary buildings.
Kagame said that Rwanda, through hardship and sacrifice, has registered a lot of progress over the last 16 years and will not allow anyone to destroy the achievements.
He told those who want to dictate Rwanda’s direction, that the Rwandan people alone can define their destiny and make their own choices.
In reference to the Rwandan fugitives who seek to portray themselves as politicians, including, Paul Rusesabagina, Kayumba Nyamwasa, Patrick Karegeya, Theogene Rudasingwa and Gerald Gahima, President Kagame said that the indicted criminals are like a few “useless cards” in a deck of “Aces” whose intentions are to mislead the over 11 million Rwandans who have chosen the right path of nation building.
Kagame said that as much as they are now trading falsehoods, they know where the country has come from and the challenges it has overcome, including ensuring food security, quality education and socio-economic development.
He assured the people that no one has the capacity to cause any sort of threat to the peace and stability of the country.
Kagame, pointed out that the government is focussed on protecting the people, and any attempts to cause instability will be dealt with decisively.
The President went on to caution countries that support the Rwandan fugitives, saying that any African country that supports such ill intentions would end up in a similar predicament.
“When you live in thatched house, you don’t play with fire, lest it will get burnt,” he said.
Kagame criticised foreign countries that apply double standards to Rwanda. He cautioned against supporting development efforts in the country while at the same time supporting groups and individuals bent on destroying the development of the country.
He said, it is like giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
Amidst applause, Kagame noted that some foreigners want to “live their lives” and the “lives of the Rwandan people” at the same time. He noted that it is impossible to live your own life and someone else’s at the same time.
Citing the National dialogue as one of the platforms where Rwandans, both inside and outside the country, deliberate issues related to their country, Kagame pointed out that critics don’t acknowledge such foras and they are quick to conclude that there is lack of political space.
“The only way to express it properly, is for us to continue doing what we must do and that is provide this political space---this dialogue is political space,”
The President noted that those who seek to portray that there is no political space are instead invading the political space of the Rwandan people.
“We owe you nothing. We owe ourselves and our people everything,” Kagame said.
Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, presented a report on the implementation of the resolutions of last year’s dialogue, noting that most of them had been implemented, citing  the Girinka Programme, the 9 Year Basic Education and Doing Business in Rwanda.
The Minister of Local Government presented a report on good governance, disclosing that the local government will soon undergo major reforms that will bring leadership closer to the people.
He highlighted the achievements in eliminating thatched housing (Nyakatsi), as well as the implementation of the programme to settle people in planned villages (Imidugudu).
An insight into the progress in the unity and reconciliation programme, as well as the fight against the genocide and its ideology, dominated the afternoon session.
The education sector also took centre stage with Ministers, Dr. Charles Mulingande and Dr. Mathias Harebamungu taking turns to explain the progress.
In attendance were representatives of the central and local government, legislators, the private sector, civil society, religious leaders, development partners, the Rwandan Diaspora as well as Diplomatic corps.
The Dialogue was broadcast live on national radio and television with over 70,000 participants following the proceedings online.

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Rwanda group pushes for release of politicians

Rwandan opposition politician Victoire Ingabire. Photo/FILE
By AFRICA REVIEW writer (email the author)
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Posted Friday, July 2 2010 at 17:40

A Rwandan group is pushing for immediate release of some of the country’s politicians arrested last week.

If not released, says the group, the politicians will not meet the deadline for submission of electoral papers, technically knocking them out of the process.

Those arrested include Mr Bernard Ntaganda and Mr Theobald Mutarambbirwa.

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* Rwanda presidential candidate arrested

Rwanda police spokesman Eric Kayiranga said opposition presidential hopeful Bernard Ntaganda had been taken in for questioning.

"The charges are divisionism based on ethnicity, gathering people without permission, creating groups of people that are suspected of being criminals and attempted murder," Mr Kayiranga told Reuters.

Elections

According to the opposition group, the Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda (PCC), those arrested are being denied a chance to participate in the forthcoming elections.

In a press release, the group said: “They are being persecuted because they are opposed to the ruling party and were demonstrating for their civil and constitutional rights, since the National Electoral Commission in complicity with other government institutions, have blocked the genuine opposition from participating in the country’s presidential elections.”

The group is also asking the government to immediately explain the arbitrary arrests.

The release was signed by Mr Frank Habinezaand and Ms Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who has declared interest in the presidential seat.

The Son Of Africa Dr. Shaka Ssali

When I was carrying out some academic research on my beautiful continet Africa. I came across an interesting email with a lot of facts about a person who has been of interest to me ever since I was a boy. This is a man whom I personally consider a mentor though we have never met face to face, but his African accent always reminds me home. It reminds me that you can be who you are and yet outdo the excellence and average performance. You can maintain your root and your love for Africa and still find your own place in the elite society. This man I am talking about is Dr. Shaka Ssali. Many people who developed the liking for him when we were still high school students, we continued thinking that he is related to Shaka of South Africa but when I discovered that he is a Ugandan from not far from home. I remembered my history teacher "Le Monsieur Mushakamba" who hailed from Butaro that he told me that the reasons why Zulu people of South Africa refer to the Cape Raven as Gatcha for Gatcha Butelezi is because they originated from Central and East African area.The word Gatcha in Zulu and AGACHA in Kinyarwanda translate the same kind of a bird called a Raven. He assured that might have been named after Shaka of Ishyaka pronounced as Ishaka by the people of Bakiga region. This includes Gisenyi,Ruhengeri,Byumba IN RWANDA and Bufumbira,and Kigezi in UGANDA.

When I read this email from the person who real knows him I learnt alot that I would have otherwise not known. I felt I should republish it so that you too can get a chance to know our African hero a man who sees no boundaries but Africa Dr.Shaka Ssali in action.

Salaam Waleikum! Ndugu A.K. I am grateful to you for having raised these issues about Shaka Ssali's background. I had never for a moment thought that his names would cause concern to anyone. I have known Shaka and his family since we were young boys. He was a very famous athlete and most people who grew up in Kabale in the 1960s knew him as one of those athletically gifted boys on the soccer and track fields. So it would not be hard to verify the truth about Shaka. All one needs to do is to call anybody from Kabale aged 45 to 80 yrs and they will verify the truth that I am about to tell you about the Kabale Kid. Here are the facts: His ethnicity: Shaka Ssali is a Mukiga from Kigezi. He has never, ever claimed to be a Muganda. This is the first time that I hear anybody suggesting such. The reason why he did not know the Kiganda clan or Muziro to which his name was assigned is very simple. He did not need to. Now, knowing Shaka, I am sure he would be very happy to be called a Muganda, Acholi, Mugisu, or Zulu or any other African nationality. Indeed I would not be surprised if he has at one time or other jokingly "claimed" to be related to the Baganda, something which many of us who have lived in Buganda do quite frequently. [Many people call me "Mulira", a name to which I answer with a smile and pride. I would rather be called Mulira than Michael. And by the way, I may be even be related to you! Now that you say it I better find out what "my" Kiganda Clan is.] What about his names? Shaka Ssali is the son of the late John MuSHAKAmba, of Mwanjari, Kabale, Kigezi. His father was a well-known and respected businessman who, among other things, had a bar [where many of us were introduced to the potent liquids], a stone/sand quarry and a big lorry. The man we know as Shaka Ssali was born in Kabale, at a time when the Archdeacon of the Native Anglican Church (later Church of Uganda) was a wonderful Muganda gentleman called Rev. Ezekiel Balaba. The very much loved Balaba had a son called Ezera Ssali, and it was after him that Mushakamba, a Mukiga, named his son. It was fashionable to give children names that were considered exotic, or belonged to important people. Just like people named their children Charles after the British monarch's son, Mushakamba, named his son after his hero's son, Ssali. So the Kabale Kid has been called Ssali since he was less than one week of age, after Balaba's son. [My own father, who worked in Balaba's home to raise his own school fees, was baptized Ezera, copying Balaba's son's name. Kigezi is full of Ezeras and Zekyeris.] It is impossible to put in words what Ezekiel Balaba meant to the Bakiga, especially Abakristaayo. Don't forget that Buganda had a significant influence on many parts of Uganda, especially during the colonial era. You might be interested to know that I, a Mukiga from Kahondo ka Byamarembo in Kigezi, had an uncle called Kabaka. That was his name, presumably borrowed from Buganda. A very prominent Kabale businessman is called Mr. Balaba. He is a Mukiga from near Lake Bunyonyi. You know that former presidential candidate Dr. Besigye's first name is Kizza. He is from Rukungiri and not a Muganda. One of my schoolmates at Makerere Medical School was called Kaggwa, a gentleman from Acholi. Furthermore, there is a transition area in the West where names are shared with Buganda. So you find Wamara,(Wamala) Kavuma, Mukooza, Kakooza who are Banyankore. My late brother-in-law, a Munyankore was called Kakooza, and his brother is called Mulindwa. Their Luganda is worse thine mine! All this to show you that to us the name "Ssali" is not an issue whatsoever. The name "Shaka" is derived from his father's name, and NOT from the Zulu king's. However, the fact that the SHAKA part of his father's last name was the same as the great Zulu king's name was perfect for him. From his childhood until the late 1980s, he was called Mike Ssali. I am therefore not sure what you mean by "derived names". The records at Kinkungiri Primary School, Kigezi High School (Primary), Kigezi High School (Junior), Kigezi College, Butobere and Kololo Secondary School will show that there was a boy called Michael Ssali. This is one of those facts that need not detain us any longer really. The FACTS: The Kabale Kid is a MUKIGA, who was once called Mike Ssali, but who, like very many of us, chose to discard his "European name", [slave name to be exact] and adopted an African name, a meaningful African name, derived from his father's last name. These are facts that I will very gladly attest to in any court of law and before any Mullah or Rabbi. The allegation that Shaka "assumed his Ssali name from using someone else's academic credentials from the ministry of education" is very false and can only be advanced by those who are either not familiar with his career or are informed by malice. You see Shaka DOES NOT have an O-level certificate, something that amuses him to no end. He has talked about it many times. I have written about it before. [Check the 1992 issues of the defunct Weekly Topic where a profile a wrote about him was published.] The only Ugandan certificates that "Mike Ssali" has are the Primary Leaving Certificate and the Junior Leaving Certificate. You see, he was expelled from Kigezi College when he was in Senior Two. He then went to Kololo Secondary School where he DROPPED out in Senior THREE to join the Uganda Army in 1968, during Obote I. He trained as an Officer Cadet, became a Lieutenant and served in the army until 1974. He was attending a course in Greece when his biological uncle, Mr. James Karambuzi, was publicly executed by firing squad. Karambuzi was one of then guerrilla leader Yoweri Museveni's collaborators in Kabale and a true hero of the struggle. {See: Sowing the Mustard Seed, by Y.K. Museveni.] James Karambuzi's execution greatly affected many of us, and it depressed Lt. Ssali. He would soon join those who plotted a coup to overthrow Idi Amin in 1974. The coup failed. Like many officers involved in that coup, he was not caught, though he was soon discharged from the army together with many other officers. [See Cross to the Gun, by Col. Rwehururu, published by Monitor Publications last year. It gives a very good account about the personal struggles of many professional soldiers/officers in the Uganda Army under Idi Amin.] Shaka spent the next two years trying his hand at business, mostly in the Kigezi area. He did not do well in this effort. So in 1976, Mike Ssali, a school drop-out, ex-soldier, unsuccessful businessman, left for Germany to find work, new opportunities and personal safety. He eventually arrived in New York City in July 1976, without any academic certificates of any kind, without much money, but with a determination to succeed. We must save that story for another time, except to tell you that it really is a classic poor immigrant's struggle in a foreign land. I mean how did this high school drop-out end up with an honours bachelor's degree and two masters degrees (SUNY, Albany) and a PhD (UCLA) - all in a mere 10 years? It is his unusual journey against all these odds that probably makes people who do not know him summon fiction to explain what is by all measures a very extraordinary life and journey. I can understand. May I also comment on your last point? You wrote: "Benon, I am not digging dart for a potential presidential candidate, but we need to be careful before we endorse him, and excite the Baganda when in fact his royalty may not include Buganda." I can state with great confidence that Shaka's loyalty is to the human race, to Africa and to Uganda. Ask those in Washington who know him and they will affirm this. It goes without saying then that his loyalty is to all communities [Acholi, Ashanti, Buganda, Gikuyu, Kigezi, ...........Zulu etc.] that constitute those entities. To be sure, Shaka has little interest in parochial nationalism. I mean it when I say that the man's loyalty crosses all boundaries and cleavages. While our ethnic identities are important building blocks for our African family, and while I believe that we should celebrate and value our various nationalities, I personally would never support a person just because he/she shares my ancestral heritage. Personally the questions that I always ask about an individual or group or cause are: Is the person good? Is his/hers/theirs a right and just cause? It is a view that I know Shaka Ssali shares. Let me reiterate that to my knowledge Shaka Ssali is not seeking the presidency of Uganda or any other elected office. He really does NOT need endorsement for anything at this time. And lastly, is it not interesting though that someone would quibble with an African being called an African name (from a nationality that is three kilometres from his birthplace), but that someone would have no quarrel with an African being called "Michael" or "Michelle?"
Thank you for sharing so openly and honestly. Let's keep in touch. Sincerely, Muniini K. MuleraOmunaBusiro!

The Irony of Rwanda's Economic Development: "Two steps forward, three steps back?

The Irony of Rwanda's Economic Development: "Two steps forward, three steps back?"

The Ironies of Rwanda’s Economic Development: “Two Steps forward, three steps back?”
I am lucky to have had a math teacher who combined philosophy and numbers. One of my favorite quotes from him reads as follows: “a fool is an individual who repeats the same mistake while expecting a different result”. Indeed, I have found this wisdom-pregnant phrase to apply in many instances of life. My passion being politics, and African politics to be specific, I continue to observe, in this wretched part of the world, politicians who promise change while visibly regurgitating policies that are guaranteed to cause havoc and misery. They loudly proclaim democracy while circumventing and undermining institutions that make democracy possible. They are too blind to recognize the irony of their claims, and will find the courage to announce economic growth while secretly partaking and spearheading in the looting of the government’s treasury. It is not uncommon for presidents in this milieu to own luxury jets, costing several hundred million dollars, which they shamelessly use during their ubiquitous begging trips to New York, Paris, London or Moscow.
In 1994, after the Rwandan civil war, Paul Kagame’s Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) emerged victorious, and gained credit for ending the genocidal carnage. The young rebels charmed and attracted friends from around the world. Foreign leaders, either guilty for not having done enough to end the genocide or for having a direct role in the massacres, pumped money into Rwanda in the hope of rebuilding a new society. From ashes, the Rwandan people quickly started showing signs of recovery. However, the politicians did not repent. For instance, the ruling RPF arrogantly continues to practice thuggish politics that is likely to return the country into the abyss that it once was.
It is impossible to completely discuss the dynamics of post genocide Rwanda—without having to write an entire book! However, in a nutshell, over the last 16 years, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) has centralized power into a one man dictatorship. The dictator, Paul Kagame, is surrounded by a tiny English speaking Tutsi elite, who grew up as refugees in Uganda. The politics of exclusion that marked the pre-genocide years is still intact albeit manipulated and subtalized. The Hutu community, comprising of more than 85% of the population, is excluded from most positions of power. Even more insulting, politics, business and the civil service are all dominated by military personnel or former members of the RPF rebel group. In Africa, military regimes are known for dilapidating the continent. There is not even a single recorded instance, where military regimes have either promoted democracy or economic development. Indeed, due to the lack of a precedence, it is both useless and naïve to speculate such an occurrence.
As I write this blog post, the internet is jammed with horrifying news headlines streaming from Rwanda. Just do a quick google search and you will see for yourself. To name a few, the British based Guardian has this “Editor Blames security forces after Rwandan journalist shot dead”, The Economist, “Who is out to kill the dissidents?” and the New York Times, “Rwandan Editor Who accused Government Is Shot Dead”. Even think-tanks are now raising the alarm. The respected International Policy Network, which for years has heaped praise on Paul Kagame says “…[Kagame is] using state powers to make life a living hell for political opposition and trampling over freedom of speech that forms the backbone of civil and open society”. Political violence remains the chosen strategy for dealing with opposition politicians.
There is a need and a reason to set the record straight. Kagame has gained a lot of undeserved praise around the world. At home, he is still a press predator, a stumbling block to free institutions and a military despot ruling with an iron fist. At the very least, the people of Rwanda deserve the right to choose their own heroes/leaders. Since dictators all over the world loathe free election, Kagame has done everything within his power to compromise the upcoming election (August 2010) and to further consolidate his clinging grasp on power.
First, he has single handedly appointed all the members of the National Electoral Commission. The members of this electoral body are all former and current members of the RPF. Although the opposition has launched a protest, Kagame has not show any signs of accepting reform. If undeterred, such an arrangement will make it possible for him to manipulate, rig and control the elections.
Secondly, Kagame has imposed a constitution on Rwandans that openly endangers democracy. The document is full of clauses that pose a direct threat to fundamental principles that are the basis for a free soceity. The laws on Genocidal ideology have been quickly embraced to silence dissent and weaken the opposition. In addition, the legal provisions governing elections, for instance, give prospective candidates only 12 days to carry out an election campaign. Even with the small size of Rwanda, this is hardly enough time to travel around the country seeking votes and educating the masses on a party’s policy. In another sad instance, the current constitution has made it criminal to speak or write about the crimes perpetrated by the RPF regime during the civil war. This is, despite the fact that these crimes are well documented by internationally recognized institutions such as UNHCR and Human Rights Watch.
Lastly, Kagame has abolished real opposition and manufactured his “fantasy opposition” to replace it. These are several “independent” parties that sing and praise the RPF. They [the fantasy parties] only come out during the election period and are otherwise unknown to the general public. When they contest, they openly campaign for Paul Kagame and eventually give up their votes to the RPF. This is what enables Kagame to win with a Stalinistic 95% of the vote. The blocked opposition candidates include madame Victoire Ingabire, the chairperson of FDU-inkingi, who is still under house arrests while the chief prosecutor investigates her for “genocide ideology”. Analysts worry that this crime is vague and misused for political purposes. The other candidates, Frank Habineza of the Green Party and Bernard Ntaganda of the PS Imberakuri are either in jail or their parties will not be registered.
Another myth that needs to be counteracted is the much praised Rwanda’s economic development. To be sure, Rwandans are hard working and have succeeded in rebuilding a country that, due to war and genocide had been reduced to ashes. However, Paul Kagame’s policies have neglected the rural peasantry. Take a trip to my village in Rugumba and you will hear cries of widows and orphans who no longer can afford to eat once a day. My village is in the agricultural belt of Rwanda. For all the talk on Kagame’s liberal economic policies, you will painfully learn that his economic policies have placed restriction on what peasants produce and how they sell it. In the past, the forces of demand and supply would dictate the price at which the rural folks sell their produce. However, today, those who produce potatoes can only sell them through a “co-operative”. The cooperative is run by corrupt RPF appointees who determine the price for these produce. In addition, they charge exorbitant taxes that are channeled to the RPF fund or into the pockets of corrupt officials.
In recent years, the ability of micro-finance to change the lives of the poorest has won praise around the globe. In Rwanda, despite an array of Not-for-Profit organizations, there is little fruit. Despite the fact that Kagame has gained awards for making Rwanda a fertile ground for foreign investment, the reality on the ground is that the government is completely anti-business and acts in a way that highly regulates and interferes with domestic enterprise. If RPF cadres are building mansions in Kigali, it is not because of an increase in profits accrued from industry. It is because of foreign aid, the millions of dollars coming from rich countries that are mostly diverted into “cooperatives” or sham, ghost businesses owned by these individuals. Otheriwse, business is still primordial and primitively underdeveloped.
Yesterday, as is expected, president Kagame was invited by the UN secretary Ban Moon to co-chair on the committee of millennium goals. There is consensus around the world that only business will alleviate extreme poverty—and I personally subscribe to this dogma. The irony is that, in Rwanda, there is very little will for the government to empower peasants towards this direction. Take another example: tales abound in Africa of how lives have been changed, children sent to school through micro-initiatives. The entrepreneur is mostly a woman who sells tomatoes, matoke (plantains) or sweet potatoes by the street side. If you are ever in Kigali, you will see for yourself the never ending confrontation between the police force and street vendors. Street vending has been declared illegal to keep the city clean. Once, I personally heard these vendors lament that, “if they don’t allow us to trade freely we will join the FDLR rebel group…otherwise, how will we feed our children?”
Another fact is that, in order to keep the streets “clean” the peasants are often discouraged to go into the city/towns. There are regulations on how they should dress and what shoes they should wear—doesn’t this sound like a commy state? By the way, these are very impoverished rural women who must carefully decide whether to purchase a pair of shoe—required to enter Kagame’s towns—or buy food for their children. The point is, in Rwanda, small business is an endangered species. Paul Kagame is only interested in foreign investment. Of course, foreign investment will enable him to earn more taxes which will finance the Rwandan elite’s high-end lifestyle.
Another problem is the existence of a local and unpaid militia known as the Local Defense Forces (LDF). The LDF in their red uniforms terrorize civilians and disrupt business in the local village markets. They demand levies and bribes from local business people. Those who refuse to give in to their demands are beaten up or imprisoned. Kagame has yet to explain the necessity of this evil force. In the context of Rwanda, where gangs of militias have perpetrated the worst forms of violence, tolerating this kind of behavior is highly precarious and deserves condemnation.
At the same time, Kigali is experiencing unprecedented growth. Skyscrapers are competing to dominate the sky. Large mansions are born every day. The city is home to some of the wealthiest men in east Africa. It is this kind of misleading economic indicator that has deceived the international community and some aid practitioners into believing in a Rwandan “economic miracle”. However, a proper analysis of Rwanda’s economic growth must be willing to distinguish between the “Rwandan elite” and the “Rwandan peasant.” The peasants are the drivers of the economy, they produce; the elites are the beneficiary of the economy, the consumers. Just because the elites drive the latest brands of European cars or have bungalows akin to those that exist in the American suburbs, does not mean that the economy is improving. The true test of Rwanda’s economic growth is in the rural areas. Are the lives of the peasants changing? Are the elites developing initiatives or businesses that will improve the standards of living for ordinary rural folks? Sadly, the answer to this question leans to the negative.
Several western academics and politicians, who will remain anonymous, should feel ashamed of praising and protecting yet another African tyrant. They know better that an orange tree will never produce apples. Kagame’s despotism cannot safeguard democracy; neither can it guarantee economic reformation. Ultimately, he and his policies are bound to fail. The latest attacks on basic human freedoms are just but the tip of the iceberg. At this juncture, before the situation worsen, it is important that the west stands in support of the Rwandan people for some meaningful democratic change.

Posted by Nkunda at 6:56 AM
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post! You touched on some very key points. It is sad how westerners see the skyscrapers in Kigali and they apply that to the rest of the country! Meanwhile, poor peasants can hardly eat! My aunt who lives in rambura, gisenyi, can barely eat once a day! Kagame has somehow managed to fool the west that he and his acolytes are not stealing aid money!
June 26, 2010 5:29 PM

As Rwanda's August election nears, critics fear country's president is smashing dissent

NAIROBI, Kenya - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton presented Rwanda's leader with a global citizen award last fall and lauded him for freeing the minds of his people. Now as an election approaches, critics fear Paul Kagame's government is instead smashing dissent.

Jason Straziuso, The Associated Press

In this photo of Sunday, May, 16, 2010 Victoire Ingabire, a presidential hopeful and an ethnic Hutu, is seen at her home in Kigali, Rwanda. An ethnic Hutu opposition candidate who hoped to run for president in Rwanda has been denied the right to appear on the ballot because of charges of denying the country's genocide, party officials said Friday June 25, 2010. Victoire Ingabire returned to Rwanda in January after 16 years, a return she says she made because the country needs an open discussion to promote reconciliation. Ingabire's party and other opposition parties tried to demonstrate against Rwanda's electoral commission on Thursday, but police shut down the protest, calling it illegal. The opposition parties say they tried to apply for a permit but were never given a response from the government. (AP Photo/ Jason Straziuso.

A former dissident general has been shot, an opposition Rwandan journalist killed and an American lawyer jailed in the run-up to the August presidential vote. A top opposition political party says some of its members have been beaten by police while in detention and that one is missing.

Rwanda's government insists it played no part in either the general being shot or the journalist being killed, and the country's top spokeswoman accused "frustrated" politicians of suggesting that a crackdown is under way.

But human rights groups say the government is ensuring that opposition parties are excluded from the political process.

"It has been extremely worrying for quite some time," said Carina Tertsakian, a researcher at Human Rights Watch who specializes in Rwanda. "Rwanda is a country where there is not much freedom of expression, but in the months leading up to the August elections we really have seen a further crackdown on any form of opposition, dissent or criticism," she said.

International accounts of Rwanda's 1994 genocide say at least 500,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. The violence ended when Kagame led a Tutsi-dominated force into the country and he has been in power ever since.

The government has tried to reduce the role ethnicity plays in society today, fearing a return to violence. Rwandan authorities have likened their laws against genocide denial to Germany's laws against Holocaust denial, and defend them as necessary for keeping the peace.

The country's most prominent opposition politician, Victoire Ingabire, believes Kagame's government is marginalizing ethnic Hutus. Ingabire, who is under house arrest and faces charges of genocide ideology, said Monday that members of her party have been "tortured" while in police custody.

"Our country is on the brink of chaos," Ingabire said. "The rising tension, nervousness, repression and the shrinking of the political space call for the postponement of the presidential elections. Otherwise the elections masquerade (parade) only the ruling party and its allied groups while excluding the opposition leaders."

A dissident former Rwandan general, Kayumba Nyamwasa, was shot near his home earlier this month in South Africa by assailants who did not attempt to steal anything. Opposition journalist Jean-Leonard Rugambage was killed in the Rwandan capital late Thursday.

The paper Rugambage worked for, Umuvugizi, last week published an article online alleging the Rwandan government was behind the attempted murder of Nyamwasa, an allegation the government denies. The former general, once a close ally of Kagame, had become an increasingly outspoken critic of Rwanda's government.

Louise Mushikiwabo, the minister of Foreign Affairs and the government spokeswoman, said Rwanda does not kill its own people, and that if it has a problem with someone it will take them to court.

"There is this whole psyche that there is a crackdown in Rwanda, that tensions are reigning," said Mushikiwabo. "People are taking advantage of the forthcoming elections to project this kind of situation, but I can assure you that the situation is created."

Rwandan police said two suspects in Rugambage's killing were arrested over the weekend. A statement from police said one suspect was related to a person said to have been killed by Rugambage during the 1994 genocide, "implying that the killing might have been conducted as revenge," the police statement said.

Tertsakian said she believes the theory that the government killed Rugambage should not be ruled out. Human Rights Watch noted over the weekend that Mushikiwabo, the government spokeswoman, said last July that the "day of the destructive press are numbered." Soon afterward two papers, including Umuvugizi, were suspended for six months.

Tertsakian herself earned the wrath of Rwanda's government earlier this year and was kicked out of the country. The government said that Tertsakian falsified information on her visa application, an allegation the researcher denies. Human Rights Watch said in April that the Rwandan government has increasingly obstructed the work of its organization.

Erlinder, the American lawyer, was released earlier this month on medical grounds but he said he believed the government wanted to make him "disappear."

"Did I fear for my life? Only every minute," Erlinder told The Associated Press about his time in prison.

Erlinder disputes the generally accepted version of Rwandan history, which holds that the vast majority of victims were ethnic Tutsis massacred by extremist Hutus. He contends large numbers of Hutus were killed too, maybe more Hutus than Tutsis — a claim not supported by research done by international human rights organizations.

Erlinder has been involved with Rwanda since 2003 through his work as a defence lawyer with the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which was created by the U.N. Security Council to prosecute those accused of responsibility for the genocide.

He travelled to Rwanda to represent Ingabire but says he can no longer effectively represent her.

Ingabire's opposition party, FDU-Inkingi, and one other have not been able to register, meaning their candidates cannot run. A third opposition party has been "hijacked" by a group manipulated by Kagame's political party, Tertsakian said.

Security in African countries tends to be a concern around election time, said Nyambura Githaiga, a researcher for the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies. She said that given the history of Rwanda's genocide, it's not surprising the government would respond to any perceived threats to national stability.

"My view is that the Rwandan government may be heightening security ahead of the August polls but only time will tell if this is inordinately so," Githaiga said.

___

Associated Press Writer Edmund Kagire in Kigali, Rwanda contributed to this report