Rwanda-German row: A necessary evil?

Rwanda and German closed diplomatic ties after the latter arrested a Rwandan top government official, Rose Kabuye. Rose Kabuye is the chief of protocol in the president’s office. She was arrested in Frankfurt-German, while on an official mission. The arrest was in accordance with the so-called indictments by a French judge Louis Bruguière. Until recently, German had good relationship with Rwanda. In 1897, German colonialists and missionaries arrived in Rwanda, then the colonial masters the Belgians later replaced them. Germans through their technical assistance programme under GTZ have been funding a number of development projects in Rwanda. One region Rhenanie Partine in German has a special relationship with the many districts in the country. Rwanda therefore, could not have ended the relationship had it not been for reasons beyond the provocation – it became necessary. Unfolding events after the genocide, showed a future of sour relationships between the two countries. The tragedy was compounded by the recent arrest of the Rwandan diplomat and the release of a number of genocide fugitives living in German. The events over stretched Rwanda’s lenience and shuttered the friendship between the two countries, which is why Rwanda had to take action. One thing that makes one fail to understand the position of the Germans in the whole ‘circus’ created by the French, is that they have a very good experience to tell tricks aimed to meet wrong ends. They have had experience in their country of hiding the role Nazis played in the holocaust. The French use the same tricks. They have great experience of the Holocaust, on which to borrow and make a difference. The Nazi had many tricks to conceal the truth of their inhuman actions against the Jews. But although the Nazis attempted to keep the entire death camps secret, rumours and some eyewitness reports gradually filtered out. France uses tricks that are more sophisticated today to conceal their role in the 1994 Genocide. The tricks have however been revealed by many scholars and the recent Mucyo report. The report recently released by the Ministry of Justice in Rwanda, implicates the French in the genocide. German’s ‘claim of ignorance’ is by no means acceptable. It is well known that the indictments were invalid and the German authorities are aware that Africa and Europe denounced them. It would not have thus relied on the invalid documents to arrest a diplomat from a sovereign state. How do you release or allow genocide criminals to walk freely in your country and imprison a diplomat, who actually stopped the genocide. It is a very sceptical move from the Germans. Kabuye is a freedom fighter and that is why she took the enemy by the horns, when she travelled to German amidst threats of arrest. She further proved to the enemies and the rest of the world that she is a fighter and not a quitter, when she opted to be tried in France. France has been fuelling all the political problems that Rwanda faces. France has now been given chance to gather all tangible evidences against the accused, if it has any. And if it cannot produce the tangible evidences, let the whole world open its eyes to the liar. What is surprising is that the principle witness in ‘Louis Bruguière case’, one Abdul Alias Joshua Ruzibiza, yesterday categorically distanced himself from Bruguière. He actually went on to reveal the story behind the story of the indictments. “Whatever is said on the Habyarimana’s plane crash is a lie that was concocted by me and the French Judge. I had my own problems with Kigali regime and the French have a long hidden agenda against the government of Rwanda. I told a French police officer, Pierre Paye Bien, attached to the state house a fabricated story and Bruguière who cannot even identify me today, heaped on a mountain of other lies… This is how things started and if I get time I will spill the beans…,” explained Joshua Ruzibiza, a former RDF soldier now in Norway. I am certain that the fabricated accusations against Rose Kabuye and others will be rendered redundant so that the truth is unearthed and real criminals face justice. Contact: mugitoni@yahoo.com