Rwanda will lose close to $60 million annually. However, Trump administration will still send about $200 million to Rwanda under Economic Assistance program. Obama used to send more than $200 million. Military cooperation funding for Rwanda will be kept to bare minimum.
Unfortunately, Rwanda's most "juicy" peacekeeping mission , the Haiti Peacekeeping mission, will close in October, 2017. The Central African Republic and South Sudan peacekeeping missions are expected to downsize.These two peacekeeping missions are a substantial source of foreign currency for Rwanda.
Trump Administration has increased funding for Somalia and South Sudan but reduced funding for Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Burundi, which previously received less than $2 million from the US, is not on the list of recipients.
I hope, probably against hope, that the European Union will be more " generous" to Rwanda.
"Three months ago, President Kagame's personal doctor was shot in a police cell. Killed. Gustave Makonene, this is the coordinator of Transparency International. Strangled. Kagame's personal driver. Killed. The Canadian government itself monitors me and other colleagues because we are not safe." - David Himbara testimony at a U.S. Congressional Sub-Committee
David Himbara is a Rwandan dissident, and a Canadian citizen. He was once a close advisor to Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame. But his words -- together with those of others -- paint a picture of Mr. Kagame's increasingly authoritarian rule.... both inside his borders, and out.
There is mounting evidence that president Kagame has ordered the assassinations of Rwandan dissidents, at home and abroad. At least half-a-dozen Rwandan dissidents have been attacked, or have died under suspicious circumstances, over the last five years.
On New Year's Eve, 2013, Rwanda's former intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya was found strangled to death in his hotel room in Johannesburg, South Africa.
David Himbara was living in Johannesburg at the time, but visiting Canada. When he learned of Patrick Karegeya's death, he decided to stay here. The former presidential advisor lives in Toronto now, and David Himbara joined us in studio.
We contacted the Rwandan High Commission in Ottawa about this story and asked for an interview or a statement. We did not receive either. In the past, the Rwandan government has denied any involvement in attacks on dissidents.
Some of the most damning evidence of President Kagame's complicity in the attacks on Rwandan dissidents has been turned up by Canadian journalists. The Globe and Mail's Geoffrey York, together with Montreal-based freelance writer Judi Rever, have worked together on a months-long investigation into this story.
Geoffrey York is the Globe and Mail's Africa Bureau Chief. He was in Johannesburg.
This segment was produced by The Current's Gord Westmacott.
The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim launching Kagame’s blood delivery drone 21 March 2017
On a visit to Rwanda on March 21, 2017, the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim was impressed by President Paul Kagame’s drones that purportedly deliver blood across Rwanda. I wonder if Jim Yong Kim discussed with Kagame how much blood the drones have delivered so far. Or how the blood is handled on arrival in a country of nearly 12 million but with less than 700 medical doctors. Or if there is electricity and refrigeration facilities in rural Rwanda to preserve the blood.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has come up with Regulatory Indicators For Sustainable Energy (RISE). RISE is based on a vast of primary policy and regulatory documents and is published biannually – the next one being due in 2018. The inaugural 2016 RISE Report covers 111 countries across the developed and developing world.
RISE has three pillars – but I limit my comments here to Pillar 1, which assesses policies relating to energy access. In this pillar on energy access, RISE scrutinizes the following national policies and regulations:
“Existence and monitoring of officially approved electrification plan.
Scope of officially approved electrification plan.
Framework for grid electrification.
Framework for minigrids
Framework for stand-alone systems.
Consumer affordability of electricity.
Utility transparency and monitoring.
Utility creditworthiness.”
So how does the World Bank score Rwanda on Pillar 1? Rwanda’s score out of 100 points is the lowest in East Africa:
Kenya – 82
Uganda – 78
Tanzania – 75
Burundi – 45
Rwanda – 41
Dear President Jim Yong Kim, please tell your pupil President Paul Kagame to shape up. Remind him that energy is the cornerstone of every country’s development – not gimmicks like drones.
Review of Diane Shima Rwigara press conference on February 23rd 2017 in Kigali, Rwanda. She talked about issues such as poverty, injustice and insecurity in the country. She asked for the right to freedom of expression for Rwandans.
In summary: Rwanda’s fallacious women empowerment and how the RPA sacrificed women combatants in the struggle:
There is no country that divides the world opinion as Rwanda; A success model of post-conflict recovery yet a renowned repressive police state at the same time. Prime of what makes Rwanda a global star is a facade of women emancipation, but as Lieutenant Jeanne Umulisa; in a personal testimony; portrays; Rwanda’s women empowerment is simply a PR stunt.
As a lady who lost her youth in order to bring peace in my country despite the fact that our efforts and hard work were hijacked by the opportunists in the RPF /RPA and later the Rwandan Government, I feel duty bound to dispute the lies peddled by the government of Rwanda that she respects the values of women and considers them the foundation of national development.
To understand the pose and posit of a woman in Rwanda’s contemporary political dispensation, it is prudent to reflect on the value the RPA/F attached to women during the 1990-1994 war that later brought the RPA/F war to power. It is this value attachment that the RPA/F would later re-concretize while in power.
During the war, women in RPA were treated as commodities not human beings. For instance we were called ‘dry ration’- a term describing the tins of beans and dry food that soldiers ate while on mobile. So women were regarded as those tins of goodies. Women in RPA ceased to be human beings but rather seen as war equipment such as 120 mm mortar, 107mm Katyusha, 75mm recoilless and many more What does this mean?
In clearer terms, for example, young women soldiers who were based in the sick bays as nurse, doctors, assistants were named all sorts of abusive names to the extent of naming their bases as ‘Sodoma and Gomora’. In essence, the RPA commanders took us as sexual objects despite the fact that we were the ones who helped wounded soldiers. Constantly harassed and abused, women soldiers during the war faced both physical and psychological and mental degradation. At the climax of it all was that senior women soldiers started harassing their fellow junior women soldiers because of competition for men.
As early as 1991, I witnessed one of my colleagues spending a whole night tied up on a banana trunk in a Candoyi style, simply because she refused to sleep with a senior male officer Afande Kizza. Disturbed and helpless, I went to see the then Chief Political Commissar Afande Frank Mugambage. I explained to him the problems we were suffering and asked him what he thinks of the plight and future of us in our struggle. To my dismay, Mugambage only told me that he will answer my question in three years to come.
In early 1992 I was posted as welfare officer in one of our Sick Bay On arriving, I was called to go and see the Commanding officer Afande Charles Nzaramba. I was impressed by his disdain of the commanding officer he had just taken over, having characterised him as a “reckless, womaniser”, and that “all the nurses were carrying their knickers on their head”. But to my shock, when I later got up and saluted him in preparing to take my leave, he said to me that he thought I was going to spend a night with him.
Rose Kabuye, pictured in 1994 when she was a major in the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Once the RPF took power, she was appointed mayor of Kigali and later served as a member of parliament and a government official. She was arrested in 2008 having been charged by a French court for alleged involvement in the incident that sparked the genocide in 1994.
To say I was dumbfounded is an understatement. To say I was shocked would be an injustice. No words can explain how I felt of a man who, in front of me, had castigated his predecessor of being sexually reckless. Having out rightly declined his advances, he ordered his escorts to take me to Mabuso (code word for a prison in a military jargon). When I got there, I asked an intelligence officer to give me a paper and pen to write my statement. In my statement, I requested him to forward it to the high command, but before I handed over to the intelligence officer Afande Byarugaba, a political officer called Afande Nyagatoma (RIP) came in and read through the statement. He promised me that he was going to handle the case himself not Intelligence Officer because the Commanding Officer would be in trouble. Afande Nyagatoma left and came back after an hour, immediately asking me to return to my base. Since that time my relationship with the commanding officer Charles Nzaramba only graduated from bad to worse, and yes, to worst.
A Month later, we were invited by civilians to attend international women’s day The CO, Admin, doctors, nurses and myself went there. On arrival, the CO introduced all other people and did not introduce me. Later we were joined by Afande Muzungu Munyaneza. After the women chairperson had made her speech, she asked us if we have anything to say on that special day. Others silent, a nurse colleague named Candari one of the senior nurses sent me note asking me to be their ambassador.
Not unfamiliar to challenges, I stood up to the embarrassment of the CO who had not introduced me; and intentionally so. My short speech that day focussed on the role of women in the development of their societies and nations and how women in unison should raise the bar and do more; especially in hostile patriarchal-dominated African societies. In a rare display of admiration, on our way going home and in reference to my speech, Afande Muzungu Munyaneza told me he didn’t know that out there they are girls who are smart and intelligent. He then told me that I should get up and fight for our rights because our image as in women in the struggle was tarnishing.
Towards end of 1992, I got a chance to visit Umutara region and interact with my fellow women combatants.
As they narrated the horror they were going through, not from the enemy fire but from their fellow men combatants, a sense of hopelessness and helplessness took the part of me. One of them names withheld due to security reasons told me that she is no longer a human being but rather a “120 mm mortar”. Another one names withheld due to security reasons said that she is 75 recoilless and went on to say that she only wishes to meet her old Dad and Mom and apologise for having left them alone.
“I thought I am a human being, a Rwandan, with a right to fight for my country but now I regret,” she told me, with tears rolling down her cheeks. This sense of betrayal of a cause we had sacrificed so dearly for reignited my resilience to follow up on this issue of women harassment to its logical conclusion.
When I arrived at my base, I sent a message to CPC Frank Mugambage and reminded him of my pending question. I also sent another message Afande Rose Kabuye who was regarded as head of women in RPA, requesting for an audience, such that we could discuss women’s abuse- a cancer that was almost tearing up the struggle into pieces.
When she gave me that audience (dates please and place of meeting), I raised my concerns about women’s abuse and what i think should be done to avert the situation. Her reaction was not for the weak-hearted. She told me that we have failed her so she has nothing to do. I asked her that whom she is leaving us with then but a reply never came forth. To quote her in Swahili, which is actually the military’s lingua franca, Rose said: “Wamesikyana wa menishinda, sina cya kufanya’ then I responded ‘ sasa Afande umetuwaca, umetuwaciya nani?” With no response in sight, i got up, saluted her, and left not in peace but in bewilderment.
Meanwhile, the abused girls who got pregnant were sent back to Uganda and some of them were harassed by the commanders wives back home.
I remember one woman by the names of Joyce came to where the Girls who had had babies were based before there were sent home. On arrival, she sarcastically said: “We sent you to fight not to have babies.” I looked at her and didn’t say a word but in my mind, I had literally “killed” her seven times.
By mid-1993, I had literally run out options. I had approached some of the senior officers to help but they didn’t. Although some of them promised, others said that they didn’t want to get involved. Young soldier were concerned but had no way out to help, then I asked one of my colleagues if she knew Afande Kabarebe. In response, she said that he is a good man but she can’t predict his reaction on the issue. I told her that it is worthy to try. The next trial was writing to Afande James.
In the strongly worded letter, I raised my concern about how we were treated in the struggle and for that matter, I needed his audience. Without mincing words, I explained that if nothing is done to check the rampant abuse of women, a volcano would erupt anytime.
Afande James Kabarebe sent for me and my colleague withheld names to go and meet him the following day. On arrival, he received us and went away, came back later and asked us to talk to him. I asked him if we were not Rwandese that has all the rights to fight for our country. Without pausing, i asked further: “Why have you sacrificed our lives? Why are you abusing us? You have abused us psychologically, mentally, physically and you have abandoned us.”
He then agreed that it was true that they sacrificed our lives at the expanse of the war. He went on to say that when they tried to withdraw the women from the front line; and all the commanders threatened to put their guns down and asked Afande Paul Kagame to go and fight the war alone. James apologised and promised to forward our grievances to the high command.
Fast forward, i was after one week called to go and meet Afande Mugambage. We discussed women’s abuse in detail and I suggested that elsewhere in other struggles, women went through the same problems but had a good way of handling the problem. I gave him the example of Nicaragua, Eritrea and other places. When women got pregnant, they were pulled out of the front line and put behind with other responsibilities such as administration and production while looking after their babies. Because of that, women in the above mentioned struggles never felt abandoned as we were. I also explained to him that women who stayed on the frontline formed their own units and they exercised their own command and administration.
In those guerrilla movements, women that were promoted were never seen as favours from one of the commanders who were her boyfriend but rather seen as recognition of their abilities; contrary to our own struggle.
After few weeks around January 1993, we had a meeting with senior officers sent by Afande Paul Kagame. The delegation, led by Afande Stephen Nduguteye, had come to explain to us the new arrangements and also listen to our concerns, but, unfortunately, things hit a dead end.
Nduguteye explained to us that the reason they have come to meet us was that they have formed a women combatant unit which would serve as our base such that we don’t spread AIDS to our male commanders. Whether Ndugute hadn’t understood why he was sent remains unclear to-date but the rest of the commanders, who were present, like all of us women, were exasperated to the bone marrow.
My reaction was to look at other senior commanders like Afande Musitu Charles, Afande Karemera Joseph, Afande Rusagara Frank, Afande Shaban Rutayisire and Afande James Kabarebe, who all looked empty and embarrassed. Screaming in anger, which was interpreted as resent, we stood up and left.
After a week January 1993 we all women combatants and women cadres were called for a meeting with Afande Paul Kagame. We received him with chanting and dancing very happy saying finally we can see “mwenyewe”, literally meaning “himself”. Every woman felt that this was the time we had waited for, for a long time.
Another shock! Paul Kagame, in a satiated fury, started blasting us saying that we rebelled against their decision. He said that we have abused our role. He went on to say: “I heard that some of you said you will crawl and find men where they are in the units. I can shoot your asses.”
No words can explain how I felt. I convinced myself that there was no need of saying anything since it was going to fall into deaf ears. After that, he calmed down and started explaining the reason of forming women unit. When he finished talking, he invited questions. I looked around and all the girls were quiet and even women cadres looked very cold. I then gathered my guts and put up my hand. I was determined to tell him what I felt about them (officers and senior officers and was ready for any repercussion). I started by thanking him for coming to meet us and also for blasting us. I said that when children mess up, the parents tell them off or even punish them but it is too late, the damage is done already. I told him you blamed us that we as women in the struggle have abused our role, but to me it is the other way round. Leaders you have abused your role. I started reminding him how it feels like joining the army and going through the training; how all the ideology you come with is brain washed; and after that training, how you start picking up something else. I also reminded him the beginning of our struggle.
The struggle started with unexpected death of the leader of our struggle Afande Fred Rwigema with other top commanders. It was a blow to all the soldiers and this situation created disorganisation in the struggle.
There was no defined administration and everyone was using own initiative. I asked them who made the girls pregnant. I explained that it was the senior officers (viongozi). Who named all sorts of abusive names to women combatants? Senior officers (viongozi). Who named sick bay as Sodoma and Gomora? Senior officers (viongozi). Who failed to solve our problems even when we asked them to help us and stop such abuses towards women combatants? Senior officers (viongozi).
Not done and with intent to maximise such a God-given opportunity, I told them that leaders have abused us psychologically, mentally and physically. Such psychological and mental abuse has a big impact on us women combatants. To the extent that women senior officers have started fighting junior women combatants because of men as if that was what brought us. I told them that women combatants have not abused their role; we tried to the best of our ability to look for help but never succeeded simply because we were abused by our leaders. I narrated all I did to fight for women’ rights in struggle but failed. I then turned and looked at them and told them: “by the look of most of you, you qualify to be our fathers, if one of us was your own daughter, how would you feel?” They all looked down. I went on to tell them that the damage is done but let us forget the past and focus on our common cause for the sake of our struggle and its objectives. Concluding, i asked the senior officers never to take advantage of war situation and abuse us again; I saluted him and sat down.
I was waiting for a blast of a slap but to my surprise, Afande Paul Kagame looked calm and composed. He agreed that were sacrificed and explained again that all commanders threatened to stop fighting if he was to withdraw us so he had no option other than sacrificing our lives. He promised to support us and said to the commanders that if it happened again, he would imprison them and throw away the keys.
The creation of unit had good outcome. One, we were able to connect and support each other. We were able to exercise our administration and we had a chance to acquire some skills during cease fire. Women promotion was based on capabilities rather than one’s boyfriend.
But it was not going to be rosy anyway. Sooner than later, a downward spiral ensued again. A commander Lt Emmanuel impregnated a young girl of 15 who we had recruited in Byumba after capturing the town. I fought so hard for this officer to be punished but was in vain.
In the Promised Land
It was neither a bed of roses even after capturing state power in 1994. Women abuse persisted- graduating from a curse to be endured not a problem to be solved.
After the war, in 1994, most of the female combatant had a base in camp Kanombe. Some of them were mothers with their little ones. One day can’t recall the date Afande Rwahama Jackson evicted them with no warning and they were thrown outside the barracks with no accommodation at all. How they survived? Don’t ask. That no one cared in the face of such an inhumane act is beyond human comprehension.
Like I said, not all commanders were inhumane but at least 80% were inhuman. On the other side, women cadres faced the same problems but not as women combatants. These cadres- most of whom were graduates and professionals from different institutions- contributed a lot to our struggle, such as Anna Gahogayire, Inyumba Aloisea, Christine Nyinawumwami, Mary Baine, Francine from Burundi to mention a few. But all these ladies were abandoned and harassed by RPF and the government.
All these brilliant, brave, intelligent women are not seen in the parliament neither are they seen in the government. After the war, they all suddenly became incompetent. Obviously, the RPF and the government knew they can never manipulate them so easily and the only option was to harass them and frustrate them (some of these women were in the government and they fall out of favour, right?). How about women combatant who survived the war? Where are they and how are they surviving? I understand some of them suffered the post war trauma, they are often asked if they really fought in the struggle. It is so disheartening, but may be not to some.
This brings me to the crux of this testimony- that the RPA/F has never had any philosophy of emancipating women as a goal but rather using them for their own selfish interests. The same happened, and is still happening in the way the Rwandan government markets “women emancipation rhetoric” as a public relations strategy.
It is not in dispute that Rwanda has one of the highest rates of women representation in the parliament. However, beneath the surface lies intriguing facts that rewind us far back during the struggle. These women parliamentarians are katyushas and recoilless like we were then. 90% of these MPs are incompetent lots who are simply nominated; not elected. Some of them were primary teachers, nurses with no administration skills, not even on local level. How do you expect these women to participate in government affairs? They are simply there for numbers; for PR purposes, and if you allow me throw my modesty away; for caving in on the sexual advances of RPF big men who own power in Rwanda.
This is not to say that all women leaders in Rwanda are an incompetent lot. Some of them are bright but they are not allowed to make any decision. They are all there as flowers decorating Rwanda as the premier government to respect women participation. Others are used and abused like foreign affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo who, at some point, will find it hard to answer all the propaganda she said on behalf of the government of Rwanda. Take a glance at any demonstration of any kind and discern. It is women you will see most- a large majority of whom have no idea of why they are demonstrating.
And if you are wondering about the crux of the matter, it is seeing old women demonstrating at the parliamentary building in support of President Paul Kagame’s third term. One elderly woman from Gatsibo, in an interview USA’s premier news channel- the VOA- said bluntly that “My local leader signed for me and they packed us in a bus to here to support amending the constitution.” If this is not abuse, then what is it?
My personal appeal to all Rwandan women, both inside and abroad and also other women in the whole world, to stand up and fight for peace and their dignity. Look at the wars around the world and ask yourself who the causers are and who suffers most when men mess up the world. We should chose to keep quiet and suffer for ever or get up and fight with the help of few men who have a heart to bring peace in the world.
Jeanne Umulisa is a former RPA officer.
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Inyenyeri News
In an extraordinary speech delivered at the end of the 2017 National Leadership Retreat, Rwanda president, Paul Kagame was merciless with his words. Not merciless towards his real or perceived political enemies but towards his own government. Kagame said that sooner or later, the world will see the lies his government has been spreading about security, and socioeconomic development. In Kagame’s own words:
“You can not keep telling lies and get away with it…When you say you eradicated poverty, it will find you on your doorsteps and you have nowhere to hide…Our ambassadors spread stories in Japan, China, Europe and America that we are in Rwanda enjoying peace and security to the fullest. But when these people visit Rwanda, they read that people are scared of going out at night because their chances of getting to their destination is 50%; they may disappear or get killed…”
According to the Rwandan president, the world will soon discover that:
People are killed or simply disappear in Rwanda – and yet the government is always boasting of high security in the country.
Hunger is ravaging Rwanda – and yet the government boasts of improved conditions in the country.
Poverty claims lives prematurely – people barely live beyond 40 years, but yet government boasts of prosperity.
Hospitals are without doctors – yet the government boasts of improved health for all Rwandans.
Corruption is rampant – yet the government boasts being clean but by comparing with more corrupt neighbouring countries.
The Rwandan leaders listening to Kagame appeared lost and confused – because the president is the boaster-in-chief. He barely lives in Rwanda – travelling around the world telling the very lies he is now disclaiming.
Even Kagame’s sycophants must realize what we all know – Rwanda is trapped with a leader who simply will never take responsibility for his own failures. Here is a man who is openly conceding that his regime kills people, lies about development achievements, and is corrupt – but is preparing to grab power for the next 17 years, after ruling for 23 years.
The two women lived in different times. One passed away on October 24, 2005. The other is in her prime. They lived in different countries. One lived in America. The other lives in Rwanda. But they both acted in the same way when they reached a tipping point – they got “tired of giving in.”
Meet Rosa Parks and Diane Rwigara.
In December 1955, Parks refused to obey racist laws in America. Her defiance became an important catalyst of the Civil Rights Movement. Parks soon became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation in her country – she simply “got tired of giving in” to injustice and repression.
What gave Parks the courage to stand up for her rights when most feared the brute force of the state? This is how Parks explained it:
“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
Fast forward to February 2017. A young Rwandan woman named Diane Rwigara, too, got tired of giving in to a repressive state of her country, Rwanda. While most Rwandans hide under their beds rather than confront the Rwanda regime that has beaten them into submission, Rwigara stood up and said no. And she said no to several characteristics of the repressive regime in Rwanda including:
No to the hunger that is ravaging Rwanda while the country’s rulers live like kings.
No to mysterious disappearances of innocent Rwandans whose crime is to exercise their basic human rights.
No to wealth concentrated in a tiny ruling elite while the rest live in dire poverty and unemployment, especially the youth.
No to the so-called “development” of buildings designed to impress visitors while children go hungry.
No to the arrogance of the powerful that are unaccountable to the people who pay them salaries – taxpayers.
No to crony capitalism that is not based on real private sector but the grabbing of other people’s businesses and properties.
Diane Rwigara, by “getting tired of giving in” you are the Rosa Parks of Rwanda. May your act of defiance lead to the same results as that of Rosa Parks. May your defiance become an important catalyst for freedom from dictatorship. May you become an icon of resistance to injustice in Rwanda.
After spending a couple of weeks in Rwanda, following his global tours that took him to Asia, Africa, and Europe in a two months period, Kagame is back in the air.
This time he is headed for Harvard University – a school he frequents. U.S. elite universities worship the Rwandan ruler, especially Harvard. The university is rolling out the red carpet once again. Kagame was there last year. His talk this time is advertised as “A conversation with His Excellency Paul Kagame,” scheduled for Friday, March 10, 2017, at 4:50 PM. The venue is NYE ABC, Taubman Building.
More critically minded faculty and students should ask Kagame real questions. They should also acknowledge his recent and rare truthfulness. In his concluding remarks at the National Leadership Retreat on March 2, 2017, Kagame painted Rwanda in its true colours. Rejecting the usual exaggerated accounts of Rwanda’s achievements under his rule, Kagame bluntly informed his government:
“You cannot keep telling lies and get away with it…When you say you eradicated poverty, it will find you on your doorsteps and you have nowhere to hide…Our ambassadors spread stories in Japan, China, Europe and America that we are in Rwanda enjoying peace and security to the fullest. But when these people visit Rwanda, they read that people are scared of going out at night because their chances of getting to their destination is 50%; they may disappear or get killed…”
Members of the Harvard University community should ask this man why he is seeking a new term with such a disastrous record – after 23 years in power.
____ David Himbara
Looking at the images of the 2017 National Leadership Retreat, one might mistake Kagame for an obituary announcer, and leaders listening to him as mourners. It is a gloomy and fearful occasion. It is therefore a legitimate question – what is the purpose of the National Leadership Retreat in Rwanda? This Retreat is unlike similar exercises. Normally, Retreats enable leaders, executives and other stakeholders to improve performance and delivery of services. In particular, leadership retreats provide space to do at least four things:
Engage minds to reflect on past performance and to fine-tune future policy execution.
Recognize unproductive patterns, both within leadership and in workplace interactions in order to adjust for improved performance and delivery.
Initiate change by connecting fully with those in charge of oversight and sector programs.
Respond to opportunities and challenges for better results.
Rwanda’s Leadership Retreat has little in common with such exercises. Kagame uses the Retreat to exert his power and position to make other leaders feel insignificant. Worse – Kagame declares Rwandan leaders useless. The abuse has now become a ritual.
Who does Kagame humiliate? Rwanda’s National Leadership Retreat is attended by government officials including President Paul Kagame, Chief Justice, President of the Senate, Speaker of Parliament, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and other senior officials. The gathering also includes military chiefs, business leaders, and heads of civil society organizations.
In a style of old-school totalitarian headmaster, Kagame reduces the entire Rwandan leadership to inept and even corrupt people. This is precisely how Kagame just described Rwandan leadership at the 2017 Retreat.
Perhaps the 2015 Leadership Retreat was the worst in this regard. Shockingly, the President stated:
“Everybody has become like the other – the killers of yesterday and the liberators of yesterday…full of self-importance and doing nothing for this country that has suffered so much.”
According to Kagame, he is the only one left to save Rwanda as he put it in 2015. Were it possible he would even “take arms and fight” against the current non-performing and corrupt system.
In most bizarre moment of the 2015 Leadership retreat, the Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda who doubles as Kagame advisor, tried to rescue Rwandan leaders from Kagame by listing all the good things that Rwanda has supposedly achieved. Mwenda extraordinarily claimed that Rwanda has a better healthcare system than even the united States of America.
Kagame then turned on Mwenda:
“I really don’t like your comments. You can reserve them for your Independent newspaper. You write them and I will read them there.”
Fast forward to 2017. Kagame has once repeated the ritual, terming the Rwandan leaders zombies who come to the retreat only to leave and repeat same motions – incompetence and no delivery.
Kagame seems to forget four factors:
He is the builder of the current system since 1994.
He is the appointing authority of all the officials he is now cursing.
He is their chief executive officer; chief operational officer, and chief financial officer.
He has used the same people he is abusing to grab power – he is set to rule until 2034 and possibly beyond.
By characterizing the Rwandan system as incompetent and corrupt, Kagame is conceding that he is a total failure. He is, after all, the architect of the system.
Kuva kuri uyu wa mbere taliki ya 23 Mutarama 2017, abanyarwanda bakomeje gutangazwa cyane n’ubwoba budasanzwe buri kugaragazwa na Paul Kagame ! Ubwo bwoba bukaba bugaragazwa n’uko Paul Kagame ubwe yavuze ko Padiri Nahimana Thomas nta mpamvu nimwe igomba kumubuza kujya mu gihugu cye cy’u Rwanda n’ubwo nta bya ngombwa yaba afite by’u Rwanda, ariko kuri uyu wa mbere taliki ya 23 Mutarama 2017, Nahimana Thomas akaba yarabujijwe kwinjira mu ndenge ya SN brussels yagombaga ku mugeza mu Rwanda, ibyo bikaba byaratewe n’ibaruwa ya Kigali yandikiwe amakompanyi y’indege zose ko atagomba gutwara Nahimana amugeza mu Rwanda, abantu benshi baruwime !
Kuri uyu wa mbere taliki ya 23 Mutarama 2017 ibiro bishinzwe abinjira n’abasohoka mu Rwanda byatanze inkuru y’uko Padiri Nahimana wagombaga gufata indege ya SN Brussels imugeza i Kigali, ahawe ikaze mu Rwanda. Ku gicamunsi cy’uwo munsi nibwo ambasaderi wa Paul Kagame mu Bubiligi yanditse ku rubuga rwa facebook ko Nahimana Thomana wagombaga kuza mu Rwanda azanywe n’indege ya KLM atariko bimeze, ko ahubwo Nahimana yagombaga kuza n’indege ya SN Brussels ivuye mu Bubiligi, iyo ndege nayo ikaba yamusize kuko atujuje ibyangombwa bimwemerera kujya mu Rwanda ! Padiri Thomas Nahimana, asobanura ko indege ya KLM bayibujije kumutwara nawe agahita afata indi ya SN Brussels, mu gihe yajya kuyinjiramo bakaba baramweretse ibaruwa yanditswe na Kigali ko atemerewe kujya mu Rwanda ! Ese ni ari uko bimeze, Paul Kagame aracyafite ijambo mu gihugu cyangwa hari ikibyihishe inyuma ?
Paul Kagame si ubwa mbere abeshya, ubwo yarahiraga akabeshya isi yose ko ataziyamamariza manda ya gatatu, Paul Kagame yabwiye abanyamakuru ngo nibamurebe mu maso ngo ntabwo ari umuntu wo kwiyamamariza manda ya gatatu ! Ubu se bimeze bite ? umuntu nkuwo se niwe wagira isoni zo kubeshya Padiri Nahimana ngo amwemereye ko azaza mu Rwanda nta nkomyi kandi atari byo? Paul Kagame ntagira isoni ; ubwo umwami KigeliV yatabarukaga ; hakemezwa ko umugogo we uzashyingurwa mu Rwanda, Kagame yakoze uko ashoboye kugirango uwo mugogo uzashyingurwe atawurebyeho n’amaso ye kandi uwo mwami ari uwo mu murwango we ! Umugogo wa Kigeli, ukigezwa mu Rwanda Kagame yahise afata gahunda yo kujya mu gihugu cy’Ubuhinde, mu gihe cyo ku wutabariza (kuwushyingura) Paul Kagame yagiye mu nama ihuza ibihugu by’Afurika n’Ubufaransa, murumva uwo Kagame, hari ukundi kuri yari kubwira Padiri Nahimana koko ?
Kubera ibyo binyoma yakomeje gukwiza isi yose, byabaye ngombwa ko abanyamerika bamushingiye igiti, bagera ubwo bamukuraho amaboko kubera kubabeshya! Ishyaka ry’abademocrate ryayoborwaga n’umuryango wa Bill Clinton, akaba ari naryo ririmo abantu benshi basangiye na Kagame amabanga menshi y’ubugizi bwa nabi, ryatsinzwe na Donald Trump ritangiye kumuha akato. Kuva ku italiki ya 20 Mutarama 2017, Donald Trump akaba ariwe uyobora ku mugaragaro igihugu cya Leta Zunze Ubumwe z’Amerika. Ubu Kagame akaba afite ubwoba bw’uko uwamurwanya wese akoresheje intwaro cyangwa ubundi buryo yahita amustsinda kuko nta nkunga y’abanyamerika ashobora kubona nk’uko yayihabwaga mu bihe byashize ! Kagame akaba rero atakwiyemeza guhangana na padiri Nahimana Thomas ufite ubwenegihugu bw’igihugu cy’Ubufaransa ! Niba se Kagame atinya Thomas Nahimana kandi ari umunyarwanda w’umwirabura, Kagame azatinyuka gufunga gute aba jenerali bo mu ngabo z’igihugu cy’Ubufaransa b’abazungu bari muri « turquoise ? » mu Rwanda ashinja gukora jenoside!
Kuri uyu wa Kabiri taliki ya 24 Mutarama 2017, Perezida wa leta zunze ubumwe z’Amerika (USA) Donald Trump yarushijeho gutera ubwo Paul Kagame, kuko Trump yiyemeje kwiyandikira ubwe umugambi afitiye Paul Kagame ! Ku rukuta rwe rwa twitter, Donald Trump yagize ati : « Nkuko nabibabwiye kenshi, ku banyagitugu bo muri Afurika duhereye kuri Kagame, Museveni na Mugabe kimwe n’abandi bose, ndababwiza ukuri ko igihe cyabo kigeze, nkaba mbasaba kumpa iminsi micye gusa ! »
Iyi mvugo ya Perezida Donald Trump ikaba ituma Kagame atagitora agatotsi kandi koko igihe cye kirageze kuko « uwicishije inkota nawe azicishwa indi » Paul Kagame ntabwo azakurwa ku butegetsi na demokarasi, hagomba gukoreshwa imbaraga nk’uko nawe yazikoresheje kugirango afate ubwo butegetsi ! Abamukingiraga ikibaba muri Amerika bagiye ku ruhande, Kagame arabona iminsi ye ibaze, ntabwo rero muri ibi bihe bimukomeranye aribwo yakwemera ko Padiri Nahimana Thomas ajya mu Rwanda kugira ngo nawe ahagurutse abanyarwanda bashobore kurwanira uburenganzira bwabo !
Paul Kagame asanga gufungura urubuga rwa politiki mu Rwanda ari urupfu kuri we ariko kandi kurufunga nabyo biganisha ku rupfu kuriwe ! Ibi akaba aribyo bita mu kinyarwanda : « kuba hagati nk’agati ko mu ruzi » ! None se Paul Kagame azabwira Trump ko ari umuyobozi mwiza kuko adakunda demokarasi ari akaba yarubatse « Kigali Convention Center » idafite aho ihuriye na «Trump City»? Nkuko bivugwa muri Bibiliya, ntacyo byaba bimaze kugira ubutunzi bw’isi yose ariko ukamburwa ubuzima ! Bimariye iki abanyarwanda kubona hari imiturirwa iri ku bakwa i Kigali ariko imirambo yabo igahora yerera mu kiyaga cya Rweru abandi bicwa n’inzara ? Kagame niwe wenyine wasobanura icyo iryo terambere risobanura kubanyarwanda !
How The King Of Rwanda Became A Driver For The King Of Morocco
The answer is - power and money. Morocco's King Mohammed VI has a lot of cash. Forbes calculated his wealth to be US$5.7 billion, which makes the Moroccan King the 6th richest billionaire in Africa.
Evidently, Morocco is keen to rejoin the African Union, having quit the Organization of African Unity in the 1980s. The Moroccans seem to have settled on Kagame as their frontman in Africa. Kagame has in other words sold Rwanda to another rich buyer in which he gets a cut.
Why do I say that?
Look at these intriguing events between since June 2016:
* June 20, 2016, the Moroccan king decorated Kagame with the Grand Collar of Wissam Al-Mohammadi, Morocco's highest national award of honour.
* October 18-20, 2016, the Moroccan king made a state visit and promised to invest in Rwanda, and to finance Mrs Jeannette Kagame Nyiramongi's Imbuto Foundation.
At the end of his state visit to Rwanda, the Moroccan king was driven to the airport by Kagame himself. There he was - driver Kagame shamelessly becoming an errand boy for another head of state. When Kagame smells money, he will do whatever it takes to have it, no matter how crude and distasteful.
Little wonder that the Moroccan have now become Kagame spokesmen even involving themselves in internal Rwanda politics.
October 28, 2016, Ahmed Charai, publisher of the Moroccan weekly news magazine L'Observateur, published in Huffington Post "Let Kagame Have a Third Term as President."
The Moroccans apparently wish to keep their Rwandan driver in power indefinitely.
In the past two weeks, two perfectly healthy Rwandans died mysteriously in Kagame's republic. First to perish was Senator Jean de Dieu Mucyo. Mucyo died on October 3, 2016, reportedly after "falling down the stairs" at Parliament.
Then today (October 10), we learnt that businessman Vénuste Rwabukamba also mysteriously died after "shooting himself".
Meanwhile new statistics on Rwanda are equally gloomy. Data from the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) paint the following picture of Rwanda's external trade in first half of 2016:
* Imports - US$1.3 billion;
* Exports - US$325 million;
This disastrous trade imbalance explains why the currency is falling - trading at US$1 = Rwf830.
From the World Bank, we learn that foreign investment into East Africa in 2015 was as follows:
* US$323 million into Rwanda;
* US$1 billion in Uganda;
* US$1.4 billion to Kenya;
* US$1.9 billion for Tanzania.
And then Kagame had a word for France, which has apparently reopened its investigation into the events leading to Rwanda's genocide. Said Kagame:
"If starting all over again is a showdown we will have a showdown, there is no problem about that."
Kagame's republic remains synonymous with mysterious deaths, bad statistics, and showdowns.
____
David Himbara
Kagame on the world stage giving a lecture at Yale on September 20, 2016, was spectacular. The man appears sophisticated, and argues passionately about Rwanda, which, according to him, is a model nation being frustrated by the West. Because of its arrogance, the West dictates that every country must follow same political norms dictated by the powerful - says Kagame.
During his Yale lecture, Kagame dished out his standard line that the West makes unfair "assumptions" and has prejudices against not only Rwandans but Africans. Kagame defines this Western "moral superiority."
When questioned about his human rights record, Kagame would have none of it - he instead reminded the audience of the economic gains he has made since genocide. In other words Kagame's "Singapore of Africa."
This is great acting. Kagame deserves an Oscar Award from Hollywood. To his naive Yale University hosts, Kagame is convincing in his role and accurately portrays elements of an African statesman who has singlehandedly rebuilt the nation of Rwanda. In front of Yale cameras and a largely unsuspecting audience, Kagame demonstrates masterly acting skills.
As I look at this first rate performance at Yale University, I can't help wonder what would happen, if the same audience listened to a Kagame speech in Kigali, delivered in the same month on September 12, 2016. Addressing university students, Kagame made his infamous "I Will Kill You" remarks. These were his words:
"Those noise-makers you hear all the time, those people who want to mess with us and undermine what we have built. I will kill you. I am not one of those people who are shy about killing. Not me. I will finish you. Those who make noise. I let them do so. But should they cross a line in the sand, you won't know what hit you."
The man speaking in Kigali was the real Kagame - using the thuggish language with which he has terrorized Rwandans into total submission. The Kagame speaking at Yale University was a make believe.
Didas Gasana is the editor of Umuseso, one of the Kinyarwanda language newspapers banned by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Few days ago, while the plane was negotiating the force of gravity; at the ground speed of 977Km/hr, altitude: 9734 meters; Direction: 12.090 North East; i made myself comfortable listening to one of Rwanda’s opposition radio programs. Impressed I was not.
Two days ago; a friend sent me a clip of Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s speech to a selected few Rwandan universities students at Kigali Convention Center. Impressed I was not.
Few hours ago, news reports from Kigali indicated an un-usual citizen action of blocking Kigali city center- Nyamirambo road because of non-payment of the very workers who constructed the road. Impressed I was not.
The lowest common denominator in all the three stories is confusion, lack of tact, helplessness and hopelessness. Look, President Kagame- a former rebel leader turned President (Did he leave the army by the way?) is known for many things- including finding you where you are in case you pose a threat to his hold on power. But in the clip, I listened to a desperate general drawing lines that people shouldn’t cross. In my formative years, I used to hear him saying he will go for the enemy in his own operational area. This time, he is waiting for the enemy to cross the line (into Rwanda). Things change so fast. Who thought the almighty would feel helpless one day? How things got here is a subject for another day.
While dissecting the hopelessness and helplessness, an opposition radio was busy relaying to its listeners how its parent party leaders are hardcore criminals and super dictators. The splinter-group leaders directed all their energies convincing their audience how evil RNC leaders are. I would have given them a benefit of doubt had they not said that General Kayumba Nyamwasa sent Charles Kambanda and I to propagate genocide denial on their former radio. Meanwhile, on another opposition radio, two prominent Hutu oppositions politicians were literally massacring each other.
With Rwanda at a presumed near state of war, her opposition is busy massacring each other. Amidst the plot is a terrified citizenry longing for a misplaced hope. Let us be clear: President Kagame has so many credits under his belt. Effectively eliminating political dissent is not an attribute of the weak. How sustainable it is, is a different matter. The opposition as well shouldn’t be robbed of its successes. But rain comes when it is least needed; thus why the citizenry should reclaim their locus standi. And the question is how.
Unseen by many, PK’s most important source of power is not the military or his omnipotent intel services. It is the Rwandese people. Unquestioning submission to authority and rulers has been long inculcated in our population. The social, political, economic, and even religious institutions of the society — outside of state control — have been deliberately weakened, subordinated, and some replaced by new regimented institutions used by the state or ruling party to control the society. The population has often been atomized (turned into a mass of isolated individuals) unable to work together to achieve freedom, to confide in each other, or even to do much of anything at their own initiative.
The result is predictable: the population has become weak, lacks self-confidence, and is incapable of resistance. People are often too frightened to share their hatred of the dictatorship and their hunger for freedom even with family and friends. People are often too terrified to think seriously of public resistance. Instead, they face suffering without purpose and a future without hope. The truth is simple to deduct. Dictators require the assistance of the people they rule, without which they cannot secure and maintain the sources of political power. PK’s source of political power and legitimacy depend on acceptance of the regime, on the submission and obedience of the population, and on the cooperation of innumerable people and the many institutions of the society. Full cooperation, obedience, and support increase the availability of the needed sources of power and, consequently, expand the power capacity of any government. On the other hand, withdrawal of popular and institutional cooperation with aggressors and dictators diminishes, and may sever, the availability of the sources of power on which all rulers depend.
Without availability of those sources, the rulers’ power weakens and finally dissolves. Naturally, dictators are sensitive to actions and ideas that threaten their capacity to do as they like. Dictators are therefore likely to threaten and punish those who disobey, strike, or fail to cooperate. However, that is not the end of the story. Repression, even brutalities, do not always produce a resumption of the necessary degree of submission and cooperation for the regime to function.
The degree of liberty or tyranny in any government is, it follows, in large degree a reflection of the relative determination of the subjects to be free and their willingness and ability to resist efforts to enslave them. Contrary to popular opinion, even totalitarian dictatorships are dependent on the population and the societies they rule. Niccolo Machiavelli argued that the prince “. . . who has the public as a whole for his enemy can never make himself secure; and the greater his cruelty, the weaker does his regime become.” Three of the most important factors in determining to what degree a government’s power will be controlled or uncontrolled therefore are: (1) the relative desire of the populace to impose limits on the government’s power; (2) the relative strength of the subjects’ independent organizations and institutions to withdraw collectively the sources of power; and (3) the population’s relative ability to withhold their consent and assistance.
PK’s vulnerability
Recent history shows the vulnerability of dictatorships, and reveals that they can crumble in a relatively short time span: whereas ten years — 1980-1990 — were required to bring down the Communist dictatorship in Poland, in East Germany and Czechoslovakia in 1989 it occurred within weeks. In El Salvador and Guatemala in 1944 the struggles against the entrenched brutal military dictators required approximately two weeks each. The Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines fell before people power within weeks in 1986.
Kagame’s regime of terror appear seems invulnerable to many. Intelligence agencies, police, military forces, prisons, execution squads are controlled by a powerful few. A country’s finances, natural resources, and production capacities are arbitrarily plundered and used to support his regime. In comparison, democratic opposition forces often appear extremely weak, ineffective, and powerless. That perception of invulnerability against powerlessness makes effective opposition unlikely.
That is not the whole story, however. Identifying the achilles’ heel A myth from Classical Greece illustrates well the vulnerability of the supposedly invulnerable. Against the warrior Achilles, no blow would injure and no sword would penetrate his skin. When still a baby, Achilles’ mother had supposedly dipped him into the waters of the magical river Styx, resulting in the protection of his body from all dangers. There was, however, a problem. Since the baby was held by his heel so that he would not be washed away, the magical water had not covered that small part of his body. When Achilles was a grown man he appeared to all to be invulnerable to the enemies’ weapons. However, in the battle against Troy, instructed by one who knew the weakness, an enemy soldier aimed his arrow at Achilles’ unprotected heel, the one spot where he could be injured.
The strike proved fatal. Still today, the phrase “Achilles’ heel” refers to the vulnerable part of a person, a plan, or an institution at which if attacked there is no protection. The same principle applies to ruthless dictatorships. They, too, can be conquered, but most quickly and with least cost if their weaknesses can be identified and the attack concentrated on them.
Rwanda at a glance
-The cooperation of a multitude of people, groups, and institutions needed to operate the system have been somehow restricted, epitomized by the fact that new political groupings formed in 2010 and later on, attracted huge following.
-The requirements and effects of the regime’s past policies have somewhat limited its present ability to adopt and implement conflicting policies.
-The system has become routine in its operation, less able to adjust quickly to new situations.
-Subordinates fearful of displeasing their master PK more often than not report inaccurate or complete information needed by the dictator to make decisions.
-The RPF ideology has eroded, and myths and symbols of the system have become unstable.
-Internal institutional conflicts and personal rivalries and hostilities have destroyed and even disrupted, Kagame’s operations.
-Intellectuals and students have become restless in response to conditions, restrictions, doctrinarism, and repression.
-With so many decisions made by so few people in the system, mistakes of judgment, policy, and actions have resulted.
-His internal nucleus has disintegrated, and so has the revolutionary bond that held his party together.
-The international community, thanks to the opposition, is bracing for a change.
Conduit
A Fourteenth Century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji, outlines a somewhat neglected understanding of political power quite well: In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping monkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him “ju gong” (monkey master). Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys in his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the others to the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees. It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth of his collection to the old man. Those who failed to do so would be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkey’s suffered bitterly, but dared not complain.
One day, a small monkey asked the other monkeys: “Did the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?” The others said: “No, they grew naturally.” The small monkey further asked: “Can’t we take the fruits without the old man’s permission?” The others replied: “Yes, we all can.” The small monkey continued: “Then, why should we depend on the old man; why must we all serve him?” Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement, all the monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.
On the same night, watching that the old man had fallen asleep, the monkeys tore down all the barricades of the stockade in which they were confined, and destroyed the stockade entirely. They also took the fruits the old man had in storage, brought all with them to the woods, and never returned. The old man finally died of starvation. Yu-li-zi says, “Some men in the world rule their people by tricks and not by righteous principles. Aren’t they just like the monkey master? They are not aware of their muddle headedness. As soon as their people become enlightened, their tricks no longer work.”
With knowledge of aforementioned weaknesses, the democratic opposition should seek to aggravate these “Achilles’ heels” deliberately in order to alter the system drastically or to disintegrate it. The conclusion is then clear: despite the appearances of strength, all dictatorships have weaknesses, internal inefficiencies, personal rivalries, institutional inefficiencies, and conflicts between organizations and departments.
These weaknesses, over time, tend to make the regime less effective and more vulnerable to changing conditions and deliberate resistance. Not everything the regime sets out to accomplish will get completed. At times, for example, even Hitler’s direct orders were never implemented because those beneath him in the hierarchy refused to carry them out. The dictatorial regime may at times even fall apart quickly, as we have already observed.
This does not mean dictatorships can be destroyed without risks and casualties. Every possible course of action for liberation will involve risks and potential suffering, and will take time to operate. And, of course, no means of action can ensure rapid success in every situation. However, types of struggle that target the dictatorship’s identifiable weaknesses have greater chance of success than those that seek to fight the dictatorship where it is clearly strongest. The question is how this struggle is to be waged. In our case, the trick is the people’s power to resist.
Now back to the citizens’ action of blocking the road. These citizens should know or have reasons to know that the degree of their repression is a measure of to what extent they are able to tolerate that repression. In Korea, railway workers brought down a regime. In Tunisia, a hawker set in motion a regime change. How about withholding factors of production rather than demonstrating when your factor of production is not compensated? Supposing Rwandan farmers refuse to sell their produce to food merchants? The regime would be down in days. Supposing public servants stay in bed, the regime would be down in days. On that note; Rwandans have what they deserve.
