Rukokoma of 90s would fight today’s Twagiramungu if their paths crossed

Two related stories exploded onto the Rwandan political scene recently. First was the announcement by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) that they would no longer pursue the path of armed struggle towards regime change in Kigali. They claim they have shifted to a political path of ‘dialogue.’ They subsequently entered into an agreement with former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu of the Rwanda Dream Initiative and Bernard Ntaganda’s PS-Imberakuri faction whose declared objective is ‘to put pressure on the international community to help seek dialogue with Kigali.’Let me make one thing clear at the onset. Mr. Twagiramungu is a politician I used to take seriously. In years past, when political mendacity was the order of the day, he stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. His was a no-holds-barred style of politics. It earned him the nickname Rukokoma, the symbol, promise, or hope that would someday sweep away the MRND. Here is a man with a resume of democratic credentials most of which he earned in the most tumultuous times of our history, the early 1990s. This man stood up to Kinani (Habyarimana) when it was almost sacrilege to do so. When his colleagues in the political party MDR were joining the genocidal regime in its project to exterminate the Tutsi, Twagiramungu’s conscience never allowed him to do so. And for this he paid a price when members of his family were murdered. In the post genocide transitional government, Twagiramungu was elevated to the position of Prime Minister, a position he held till August 1995. He lost the seat after a vote of no confidence in the Transitional Assembly. When in Europe, he has over the years resisted overtures by political groupings seeking to exploit his credentials to advance questionable agendas. Some of those who have approached him are well-known genocide deniers. Therefore, while one may question some of his political choices, this was, without a doubt, a man with a moral compass. But alas; that Twagiramungu is no more. The new one operates from the inside of a political sewer. Why? As often happens, our absentee politicians fail to read the objective realities in their country of origin. In international media, they either misrepresent the facts on the ground or choose to describe the reality of times past. It should surprise no one, for example, to find a member of the opposition describing the Rwanda of today using facts and realities of 1997. It is as if the country has remained frozen in time.But the strategy usually yields little success. It is precisely because the people in the ‘international community’ that they are trying to influence into supporting them have embassies and accompanying spooks here inside the country. They have access to a lot of information, if one were to judge by the contents of Wikileaks. That they live here means they are able to observe happenings on a daily basis. Therefore for the most part they know about developments taking place in the country. Consequently, one can argue, most of the diplomats here are more connected to the realities on the ground than most of the absentee political opposition. The degree of disconnectedness suffered by political exiles means that they are unable to craft an alternative vision around which to inspire and rally Rwandans to support them. Even worse, without any policy differences or alternative programmes for social transformation, such groups become opposition in name only, akin to a debating club or choir at any of our secondary schools or universities. What therefore afflicts people such as Twagiramungu is a deficiency of ideas and a certain ideological bankruptcy that begets moral bankruptcy. Both are tunnels that lead to the political graveyard. When you consider that the new alliance wants to enter negotiations with the government here, a question arises: what grievances do they have, which they want attended to? We know, for example, that the FDLR have made clear its project of finishing off the remaining Tutsi who survived the Genocide. Is this one of the aspirations they want to engage the government about? Twagiramungu claims that the FDLR of today only has children born after the Genocide in 1994. What he won’t say is who the leaders are. Presumably Sylvestre Mudacumura and the group’s other senior military leaders were also born in or after 1994! I end on a sad note. Twagiramungu the Rukokoma would never have contemplated such a wicked alliance with unrepentant killers. But the new Twagiramungu and the old one are not the same person. I can bet you my two cents that were the 1990s version to meet with the current one, a fist-fight would be guaranteed.

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Rukokoma of 90s would fight today’s Twagiramungu if their paths crossed