When Rwandans in the diaspora voted

The election mood that came with the Presidential campaigns is over and ended with Rwandans exercising their constitutional right of voting for a candidate of their choice. They spoke loud and clear by overwhelmingly voting for President Paul Kagame to lead them for another seven-year term. Around the East African region, it was only in Kampala, Uganda where Rwandans in the diaspora turned up in their thousands to vote for the Presidential candidate of their choice. Days before the elections, officials at the Rwanda High Commission in Uganda had well set their target and had told Ugandan media that they expected slightly over 5,000 voters to turn up. Throughout the press briefing held at the High Commission, officials narrated how the elections would be conducted. But what stuck so much to the minds of the journalists was to know the exact figures of those who would turn up. Indeed, like the High Commission’s First Counselor Dan Mutenzintare had revealed the number to the curious scribes, 5,123 voters turned up. To those Rwandans living in Uganda, August 8 seemed a day they had waited for - for so long. By 6:00am, voters had started forming long queues which as the day grew, begun snaking from one corner of the High Commission to the other. The old and the young, the rich and the poor, all dared a scorching sun waiting for their turn to cast their votes.“I will wait in this queue no matter what time I’ll cast my vote”. said John Kalemera a resident of Makindye, a Kampala surburb. Security was tight as officials with the help of police officers manned different check points. One Ugandan police officer stood at the first entrance adjacent to Kitante Primary School as he meticulously checked whoever was getting in. Another one stood next to the First Secretary John Ngarambe at the High Commission’s main gate, as Ngarambe regulated those who were finally ready to enter and cast their votes. The event was marked by order and transparency, and to many Rwandans who showed up, it was a sign of the high democracy Rwanda enjoys today. “I actually didn’t know that there is this huge number of Rwandans here in Uganda. For them to be in huge numbers and turning up like this means a lot – it means they are patriotic,” Betty Kanangire a resident of Entebbe said. Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda Frank Mugambage expressed gratitude at the high turn-out, saying despite some efforts by a section of Banyarwanda in Uganda aimed at discouraging people from turning up; the voters chose the right path to take. “Although a group of people wanted to cause confusion, it didn’t work out for them. We had a voters register with proven people who were supposed to vote, so their efforts were fruitless,” Mugambage said. He added that Rwandans holding citizenship of countries were allowed to vote since Rwanda accepts dual nationality. Meanwhile, as Rwandans in Kampala had their day, their counterparts from other different countries of the East African Community (EAC) like Tanzania and Kenya each registered about 1,500 voters. “We experienced some challenges and these affected the right number of voters we expected would turn-up. For instance, some Rwandans living here did not come over, but on the whole we had a good number who turned up,” Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania Fatuma Ndagiza said by phone from Dar es Salaam. Ends