Rwanda, one more Yego to go!

I chanced on one of the people who voted ‘no’ in Friday’s referendum; how did I find them, well, because I heard the person regretting a ‘mistake’…apparently, they thought that by ticking ‘no’ it would express their opposition to the removal of the current leader. Over 1 percent of the voters ticked ‘no’ either as an informed or misguided decision; nonetheless, the outcome was overwhelmingly clear, that 98 percent of the electorate ticked ‘yes’ in approval of the amended constitution which among others removed presidential term limits. Thankfully, the polls were held on Friday because Rwandans spent the entire night celebrating the removal of term limits as it means the road is clear for the incumbent leader to seek re-election after his current and previously, last term in office, under the abrogated constitution. So is it over then? I think not. President Paul Kagame is hard to predict and rather than attempt to second-guess him and embarrass oneself while at it, it’s better to wait for the man himself to say what he intends to do. That’s why I didn’t go to Petit Stade to dance with the others. It had been widely murmured prior to the meeting of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) Political Bureau, a fortnight ago, that the Chairman would give members an early Christmas by announcing that he had accepted their request to seek re-election. To everyone’s surprise, he instead dished out an urgent assignment and instructed those concerned to go seek the opinion of all Rwandans, through a referendum, after which he said would announce his position based on the results. Now that the results are here, now that he knows the true will of the people, what next? On Friday, the people sent out a statement that: “For your exceptional service to us, we have decided to alter the supreme law in order to renew your contract after 2017”. So there’s one more Yego to go! Will the President now go on record and accept the people’s request? There’s a good chance that he will grant that wish but also an equally good chance that he might fish an interesting line from his rich philosophy that would keep everyone guessing. Until he says yes, Friday’s vote remains just a means to an end rather than an end in itself. And don’t assume that it is as easy as the President saying, yes, there is competition, a side that wishes he could just say ‘sorry countrymen, but I really have to go’. Where are those people praying for an ‘Oya’ from the President? Well, for starters, the ‘Yego’ side failed to poll 100 percent, so there’s a small minority out there and it matters in building national consensus. Also, there’s another equally important interest group that is also seeking the President’s ear; his friends and admirers abroad; these foreigners, who the President likes to call, ‘friends of Rwanda’ are more concerned about their ‘friend Paul Kagame’s image’. They fear that if he listens to the firm choice of Rwandans, he would walk down the same murky road as many of Africa’s so called ‘long serving leaders’ have done previously; these friends want Kagame to ‘retire and become an African legend.’ Obviously, the President did not join politics to win trophies but rather to serve his people and country, yet to be honest; you don’t want to be in his shoes right now. He, on one side, he has over six million Rwandans pulling his right hand, trying to get him to their side, the side that wants him to lead beyond 2017. On the other hand, there are thousands of Rwandans and the country’s friends abroad, with their teeth gritted and tightly holding onto the President’s left hand, are pulling so hard to get him to their side. Whose pressure will the president succumb to? Democracy is a game of numbers and sometimes, a dictatorship of the majority; I doubt that the thousands that want the President to retire and become a legend stand any chance against the millions who believe he can continue serving and still be a legend. In the end, it will be up to the President. But for a man who is so committed to serving his people, it is unlikely that he will turn down their request because as President, the interests of Rwandans must come first before those of friends abroad. Most foreigners opposed to the decision of the Rwandan majority are allegedly concerned that changing the constitution will hurt Rwanda’s democratic credentials and even ‘push the country to turmoil.’ To them, I say, don’t worry. Don’t worry because if by any chance Friday’s decision by majority of Rwandans leads to a negative effect in future, at least it won’t be blamed on any foreigner; Rwandans, like in the past, will take responsibility for their own choices. I believe developed democracies such as USA should let African countries to mature democratically through peaceful experiments and to learn from their own mistakes without unwarranted external influence, as long as there’s national consensus among the citizens. The American constitution has been amended 27 times and it wasn’t until 1951 that presidential term limits were introduced through the 22nd amendment; by then, President Franklin Roosevelt was serving his fourth term in office.

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Rwanda, one more Yego to go!