Impatient to resume the business of building Rwanda

Rwandans have spoken and their enemies in and out of the country are furious because they know that there is nothing they can do about it. So they try the hyena act: catch these Rwandans unawares, while they are still busy celebrating. That some silly mind should hatch up a plot of hurting innocent Rwandans in a grenade attack demonstrates the sick workings of these sadistic minds. May God strengthen the bereaved and help the wounded in healing fast! And He will, because He helps those who help themselves. Rwandans have put an unequivocal stamp on the name of the man of their choice, who will lead them in building themselves: Paul Kagame. In making that choice, they knew they were picking a man who will command the fight against any enemy who may entertain the idea of denying them any right. He has done a sterling job of it this far, and everyone knows he will never disappoint. Woe unto you then, enemy of Rwanda, for you have picked on a formidable force. As it is, it is bad enough that there have already been four attempts on the lives of Rwandans. They are four too many. However, if this last cowardly and desperate act was almost successful in its evil intent, everyone knows that it was because Rwandans were preoccupied in other matters. Today, their vigilance has been refocused. Of course, when such despicable acts are not repeated, we know what the hate mongers will call it: repression by Paul Kagame. When Rwandans are not killed in grenade attacks, it’s repression by one man. When Rwandans line up in orderly queues to vote for their candidate, it’s because they are being forced. In other words, Rwandans are not capable of keeping their peace, or being orderly. The contempt of it all! Still, Rwandans should not be distracted from their course. It is true that we have problems that are unique to Rwanda and don’t burden any other country. Imagine a character who joins up with confessed génocidaires and uses that ticket to come to Rwanda as an ‘opposition leader’. And a Jeffrey Gettleman of ‘The New York Times’ picks on her to talk about “leading opposition politicians”, even if we know that he is talking about Victoire Ingabire only. Yet we know that if Ingabire is ‘leading’ in anything, it is in wishing Rwandans back to the Parmehutu days of a divided Rwanda. If ‘opposition’ in other countries means suggesting an alternative to what other political parties are offering, why should it mean going back to genocide engineering in Rwanda? And if so, why should Rwandans listen to its proponent? Unless ‘politicians’ are persons who flap their tongues at supersonic speeds I don’t know how else Ingabire can earn that title. She is not a person who has been seen to lead people and mouthing herself hoarse on BBC cannot qualify her for that. Rwandans are beyond these petty individuals and whoever wants to speak for them (Rwandans) should first seek their opinion. Surely, which “Rwandans complained about being forced to vote for” Kagame, as Gettleman states? That means the old lady who got up at four in the morning and went to the polling station chanting “Kagame oye!” was forced. It means all those multitudes of voters who turned up were gang-hoed into orderly lines. Give Rwandans a break! Gettleman, what does it mean when you say in Rwanda “the government is both repressive and genuinely liked at the same time”? If what you see as “repression” is what Rwandans like, then you should borrow their lenses if you want to see the Rwanda they want. How many times have journalists looked at a group of politicians close to President Kagame and called it his “akazu” (circle) only to see it crumble before their eyes. Now, with a straight face, you can say that there is a “Tutsi-dominated inner circle”? Can you name just three of its members? “Critics say”, “Analysts say”, “Opponents say”. Gettleman, you’ve been visiting Rwanda, what do you say? Have you ever mentioned the words “Hutu or Tutsi” and got a rebuke from any government authority, let alone being threatened with the charge of “divisionism”? You sound as ridiculous as the two-faced characters you quote, who are trading nonsense now that they were given the boot from juicy positions they held when they were here. That the soldiering-trio admits to having committed crimes in the name of their boss alone is an indictment on them. Whoever is sheltering them should cart them off to The Hague. Then they can go ahead and produce their privileged “knowledge” as evidence that they purport to possess. To hate mongers and their coterie of cheerers, Rwandans say: “Enough is enough!” Rwandans have made their selection from the flag-bearers of the ruling party and of those of true opposition parties and want to settle down to the business of developing their country. Otherwise, as they say in Kenya, “Ingine yawo yote ni siasa!” (The rest is just politicking from them.) A luta continua! pbutam@yahoo.com

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Impatient to resume the business of building Rwanda