Just recently a number of elderly women from the Catholic Church walked through the posh area in Rwanda commonly known as Kiyovu towards the official residence of President Kagame with a message to repent or face both earthly and eternal fire. Unfortunately this group was rounded up by the Kagame security forces and are now under investigation and a likely hood of prosecution. But why some people pretend to carry prophesy rather than be direct to the point? During the last days of Idi Amin Dada the former president of Uganda a tortoise-was rumored to have come from Tanzania and warned Idi Amin that he should repent and stop killing people or face God's anger. Like Kagame, Idi Amin was a brutal despot who killed any living creature that was not only opposed to the dictator but also all those perceived to be dissenting from Amin's brutal rule. As I have mentioned above, a regime that does not allow a free speech to its citizen or kill all the opponents, close all the doors of political change will always be resisted using all political tactics including propaganda. Many members of the Opposition who actually are not allowed to operate inside the country and civil society have been quoted as comparing the current Rwandan regime to that of the Habyarimana's era and some don't even shy away to say that Habyarimana was more tolerant to his opponents than Kagame. President Kagame's power is so tout puissant that national institutions have to balance his interests and the Constitution. The Rwandan symbol of democracy (Parliament) has been rendered as an appendage of the Executive. Without any voice that is opposed to the brutal rule of Kagame, there is no national institution respected and inspiring enough to make historical corrections and redirect the nation. The army, as a political constituency, is at its weakest; the police, for its wear-and tear fractious engagement with the population, are very unpopular; the Judiciary has been manipulated and is used as a tool for the regime to lock up those who are perceived to oppose the regime. Indeed, people like Ingabire Victoire, Deo Mushyayidi, and Bernard Ntaganda just to mention a few have been the martyrs of democracy. Therefore, with these institutions looking like they can't offer national leadership, the people may just take up leadership themselves. There is no doubt that the prosecution, the Police and the Courts know that the arrests, charges and trial of all the above mentioned political dissents are a joke, never the less they have used former FDLR combatants who in fact should not be in the court as per the peace agreement that saw them surrendering their armed activities. But the Kagame machinery under the instructions of Kagame himself has concocted crimes against Ingabire that she gave money to the former FDLR combatants to buy grenades which were used to terrorise Kigali some time back. It is a shame that the government resources could be used not to increase the salaries of teachers, or build schools and hospitals but be used against its citizens. It is a shame that after the Kagame, Rucagu, Bamporiki project of ethnic divisions was not well perceived by the public, now Kagame's political architects are out on the defensive arguing that Kagame's project did not intend to bring back ethnic divisions. It is in this context that James Kabarebe the Minister of Defence was quoted in the media saying that RPF did not kill what he called Hutus in Congo and in Rwanda during and after the genocide was stopped. This Minister is actually loosing the point, the question is not about whether you killed Hutus or not, the question is the long time gospel of the RPF ideology that Rwanda's ethnicity is not scientific and in fact it does not exist, it is was only fabricated by the colonialists for their own political agenda, if it is the case, where does the Minister get to confirm that some people according to him were recruited basing on their ethnic background. Here shamelessly, he mentions, Gen Marcel Gatsinzi, Col. Ndengeyinka, and Ndindiriyimana, who told him these soldiers were Hutus? Unfortunately RPF and its agents of dome read Rwandan History from 1959-1994, they are making people believe that the political mismanagement of the Rwandan society does not date back to pre- colonial era and during the colonial era where the kings were used by their colonial masters to terrorise another section of the Rwandan Society. Indeed, this is not only distorting the Rwandan history but also hindering the true healing of the wounds of Rwandans who have been victims of all these eras. This has reminded me of Col Joseph Ozo, who was the Governor of Western Province, in Uganda during Amins's regime in 1972 who visited Muhokya Primary School. His tour must have been part of the mobilisation efforts after the rebel attack on Simba Battalion in Mbarara, he told pupils there who actually were too young to comprehend what he was saying to love their leaders and how the government was so strong that no one would remove it by force of arms. Therefore Kagame is now using his Generals to spread the gospel of fear in the population that he will never be removed by any force, whether by sea, land or air, Kagame will always prevail. As the tortoise told Idi Amin to leave power or will be removed by force, the tortoise moment was actually preparing an invasion of the combined forces of the Tanzanian Forces and the UNLA/F which in 1979 toppled the Uganda dictator. Therefore, the Rwandan leader should not under estimate the growing discontent inside and outside Rwanda, as a former refugee in Uganda he might be aware of the tortoise story, obviously he knows very well that his former comrade the late Gen. Fred Rwigema was among the combined forces that were sent from Tanzania under the command of the Ugandan Leader Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Jacqueline Umurungi Brussels.
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