Beware of dark angels in our midst

It is now common knowledge that all messengers are not necessarily angels of light as some people may be led to believe. Christians may recall that Biblical warnings about the most notorious angel Lucifer, who fell from grace and returned to revenge and destroy God’s art of work in humans. This deception is clarified in Second Thessalonians 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. Like Lucifer, today’s dark angels wrongly believe that some people may not be able to discern what’s real and what’s counterfeit. Their campaign is almost well orchestrated but disguised to confuse people as to their modus operandi, aiming to sow seeds of hate, create artificial divisions and play on people’s emotions for selfish ends. The list always includes the media who will naturally fall prey to the psychological game, caught on a bait to popularize the disguised hate campaign. Your guess is as good as mine, Victoire Ingabire fits well this description. The presidential aspirant, whose party, FDU- INKINGI, is yet to be registered, has not kept many people guessing as to her intentions for Rwanda if given the highest position. She has stepped on many people’s feet as she climbs the political hill, but I hope she will remember those she will meet on her way down. Her mission is clear, divide and hate. With obvious disregard for what Rwandans witnessed and experienced with immense suffering before and during the 1994 mayhem, Ingabire has openly tagged her campaign with divisive messages, coupled with ‘messages of hope’ to condemned genocidaire. Her catch phrase is an empty notion that there was a double genocide, even when evidence, scholarly works and world recognition point to the obvious opposite. Mockery would lose its meaning if the Kigali Memorial Site would be the appropriate venue to make her profanation against millions of genocide victims. If it weren’t a worst of valuable time and space, I would request Ingabire to prove her empty case of a planned and executed genocide against Hutus. Instead of day dreaming with a wrong formula that may not work for the new Rwanda, I advise the self confessed genocide revisionist to look at how President Kagame has delivered the promise made in the 2003 campaign manifesto. Try to analyse progress made by the current government in delivering affordable primary health care where 90 percent of Rwandans is registered under Mituelle de Sante, RAMA, Military Medical Insurance (MMI) and other private health insurance schemes like AAR. Access to prenatal care has shot up to over 95 percent for expecting mothers, while access to antiretroviral drugs has improved tremendously. She may also want to look at access to free primary education with over 95 percent pupil enrolment and this year’s provision of Nine-Year Basic Education that is crowning this term of office. For your information Ingabire, needs to catch up with the times and be informed that no student is required to present a national ID with ethnic information in order to get a vacancy at any school or perform better. For reference, government agencies should be having figures on the tripled enrolment and output at university level, access to educational technology and science which improved with the One Laptop per Child project. The rural public has also benefitted handsomely from poverty eradication programmes like Girinka that avails at least one cow to each family, terracing and extensive farming to improve crop yields, among others. Instead of building a false promise for Rwandans, please look at people-centred issues like unemployment rate where the government has improved vocational skills and created thousands of jobs across the country through the Public Sector Capacity Building programme and Workforce Development Authority, both of which were created during this term of office. On the justice front, thousands of confessed genocidaires have been released to contribute to community development through Imirimo Nsimbura Gifungo (TIG) programme, while the stance on corruption has been strong as corrupt leaders face the strong and unselective arm of the law. Find evidence in prosecution and prison records. For lack of space, I will not waste time on Kigali’s improved skyline as both commercial and private buildings continue to mushroom due to the prevailing sense of security for persons and property. Ingabire’s attention should not wonder away from other numerous achievements crowned by Rwanda’s entry into the East African Community and Commonwealth, participation in various peace keeping missions in Darfur, Haiti the list is long. Now Rwandans have to take a very bold and decisive step. The time is now ripe to redefine the path taken in 1990, when the struggle to liberate the country was launched to break the chain of state inspired hate machine, dictatorship, oppression, and underdevelopment. There is no turning back. There is this popular scene in Shakespeare’s book, Julius Caesar, where a Soothsayer warns the Roman King Caesar to be aware of Ides of March. He was publically advising Caesar that his trusted men were planning to assassinate him on the 15th of March. But with modest rebuke, Caesar refused to heed the Soothsayer’s advice, fell into the assassination trap and was killed in cold blood. His only recorded remark was “Et tu Brute!”, as he expressed shock that his trusted friend Brutus was the one heading the assassination team. Those trying to destroy Rwanda as a nation have a disguised message to offer false hope. But of course the ultimate choice for a tested and trusted leader who is well-intentioned and patriotic lies with you. victo4@gmail.com