Why change a winning team?

A Kenyan publication, Daily Nation, ran an article titled “Four candidates but only one voice as Rwanda prepares for elections” which amused me to no end. The author writes that “in most election campaigns, candidates try their best to explain what they would do better than the incumbent. But in Rwanda, voters would be hard pressed to tell one programme from another. After almost two weeks of campaigning, President Paul Kagame and his three challengers sound almost identical, advocating the country’s economic transformation and social unity”. I ask myself this question, should the three challengers to President Paul Kagame commit political suicide by advocating economic stagnation and social chaos? I think it would be absolutely counterproductive. It is my opinion that, while some of the criticism of our electoral process is worthy of my indignation, this article read like something I would likely see on April Fools Day. I found it simply funny. The system of our government, which is inclusive as per our Constitution, makes, the traditional adversarial manner of doing things - where one groups’ job is to defend everything while the others’ is to demonise all and sundry – look untamed. Rwandans have chosen to have a government where different parties in the country are represented. So, when the Social Democats of Dr. Jean Damascene, Deputy Speaker of the Lower Chamber of Parliament and former Health Minister, the Liberals of Prosper Higiro, Vice President of the Senate and Senator Alvera Mukabaramba’s Progress and Concord Party sound almost similar to the Rwanda Patriotic Front’s candidate Paul Kagame, its because they were part and parcel of the nation’s progress. While I’m sure that all these three candidates might have different governance styles and priorities when compared to President Paul Kagame’s, I doubt whether they will fundamentally change the way things are done. I mean, will they urge public institutions to be corrupt; will they urge parents not to take their children to school; will they do away with the One Cow per Household programme? These candidates aren’t foolish. They are attempting to get votes by telling people that they will consolidate the programmes that have improved their lives. Whether the people believe that these three presidential candidates will do a better job than Paul Kagame is another thing altogether. We shall have to wait until tomorrow to find out. While I might have found the Daily Nation article amusing, I cannot say I wore a smile while reading a story off the Reuters Africa website. Titled “FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Rwanda” and written by Hereward Holland, the majority of the article was full of lies, omissions and falsehoods. Calling the entire piece a ‘FACTBOX’ is disingenuous to readers. The very first paragraph reveals its biased slant. “Insecurity and political repression are on the rise in Rwanda ahead of August’s presidential election, which incumbent Paul Kagame is widely expected to win, rights groups say”. When the author talks about “insecurity” what does he mean exactly? I’m sure that he wrote the article right here in Kigali; having seen him in different nightspots around this city I find this assertion, made by these ‘rights groups’ ludicrous. And so should he. If he had thought he was ‘insecure’ he would have kept at home, writing under his bed. Prosecuting criminals is probably what these ‘rights groups’ call Political repression. If this is true, I’m all for repression. However, if one looks at the campaigning taking place all over the country by the three other candidates, without any kind of hindrance, then this claim sounds strange. When he writes that… ‘There are concerns, however, that resentment among the opposition, elements of the political elite and parts of the population could foster political instability’ I wonder what he’s implying. Does he, in all seriousness, call political charlatans like Ntaganda, Ingabire and Habineza the ‘opposition’? What are these ‘elements of the political elite and population’? Does he mean the extremists, who want to take us back to 1994? Well, if this is so, then I’m happy that they are resentful because their ‘happiness’ comes at a cost that we simply cannot afford. Rwandans realized, a long time ago, that unity and development was in their interest. And that is why I’m sure that they will not change the ships’ captain mid-journey. We are smart enough to know that you don’t change a winning team. sunnyntayombya@newtimes.co.rw