If you can bear with me, I’ll revisit Ntihinyurwa! Looks like my reflections last Sunday ruffled some mysterious feathers, so let me explain. I have failed to go to church and attend mass due to the pain inflicted on me by the blatant ‘noise’ of some Rwandan Catholics’ sins. It’s not because I fear to face the revelations in churches. The other Sunday, for instance, I correctly interpreted what I saw. First, the message of the picture in Sainte Famille Cathedral couldn’t be clearer. The sword in Archangel Michael’s raised hand signifies his battle-readiness to kill all evil that may threaten the justice that is symbolised in the scales that he is holding in his left hand. The symbol of evil is the prostrating sinner under his left foot, burning in hell-fire. Second, the message “Ut unum sint” (That they may be one) is equally clear. Archangel Michael is fighting the evil that is trying to divide humanity and to tear humans apart. He is there to fight in defence of their justice and unity, to bring them together so “that they may be one”. Third, for betraying the people of Rwanda, Archbishop Thadée Ntihinyurwa cannot escape the full wrath of Archangel Michael. He has clearly opted to espouse the evil that is symbolised by the prostrating sinner. Even if we don’t consider his conduct during the long and bloody history of the persecution of Batutsi in Rwanda, that of the 1994 Genocide alone serves him an irrevocable indictment. The Nyamasheke gacaca court’s decision and his protestations notwithstanding, he stands accused of not only colluding with the génocidaire but also actually participating in the commission of the Genocide of the Batutsi. I have asked around and can stand by what I say. When the Genocide began, the Nyamasheke Parish was under the charge of Father Aubald. And when the haunted Batutsi of the area ran to his church for protection, Father Aubald stood firm and used his influence to shield them. When the then Bishop Ntihinyurwa saw this, he used his powers as bishop of Cyangugu to transfer Father Aubald, and 40,000 of them were executed immediately after. Archbishop Ntihinyurwa owes Rwandans an explanation. As a respected leader in Cyangugu, Ntihinyurwa used to attend Interahamwe meetings together with Government leaders of the area. In all parts of Rwanda, the Interahamwe militia and their leaders used to hold these meetings to review their past, and plan their next, killing sprees. In his defence on that score, he has explained that the purpose of the meetings he attended was to seek ways of restoring peace. To his great surprise, he opines, he was told that the Interahamwe used to leave these peace-seeking meetings and go and kill! If that is not an affront on the intelligence of Rwandans, tell me what is. In the confusion of the on-going massacres, all the priests and brothers, Bahutu and Batutsi, sought sanctuary from the then Bishop Ntihinyurwa, because they knew his influence. While he was shifting all of them from the area, two were killed at a roadblock. He has explained that those two who were killed were forcefully snatched from him by Interahamwe. It overstretches the mind to imagine how those two were selected and slaughtered before his eyes, and how he failed to plead for them the way he did for the others. Rwandans are eager to get a clearer explanation.Archbishop Ntihinyurwa has swatted all efforts by journalists to tell his side of the story, dismissing them with a curt “the Church didn’t have the power to stop the killings”. Anyone would have expected him to be keen about defending his plea of innocence. Instead, he has gone beyond that to declare that “no clergy were involved in the genocide.” The man is talking about some priests of Rwanda in 1994, whose hands are dripping with the blood! His successor, the late Archbishop Vincent Ntihinyurwa, who was a diehard member of MRND (National Republican Movement for Democracy) was there and, if he had not opted to join his maker, would tell him the truth, today. So would the following, if they were not in punishment: Father Seromba Anastase, Father Munyeshyaka Wenseslas, Sister Mukakibibi Théophister, Sister Julienne Maria Kizito, Mother Superior Mukangango Gertrude. In fact, Bishop Misago Augustin, who is out and about, would happily give him the information. Indeed, looking at that non-exhaustively short list of the illustrious members of the 1994 Rwandan Catholic clergy should give Archbishop Ntihinyurwa an idea of the Rwandan justice. But for reconciliation, some clergy members, who are out free, should be in pink uniform. Is it the reason why the good archbishop has declared that he does not trust the Rwandan courts? This despite the fact that the judicial system of this country has been reformed and refined and can compete with the best in the world? Or is he saying that the Rwandan justice system is too lenient and may be as soft on soldiers as it has been on clergy members? If that be so, we the people of Rwanda declare that we shall lay siege at his door until he comes clean on his role in the Genocide. We are going to march in the streets of all the towns in Rwanda and demand that he apologises to the victims of the Genocide and all the past persecutions, if not on his own behalf, then on behalf of some members of the Catholic clergy and flock. We have rejected “criminal arrogance” from foreign judges; we shall bear none from the Ntihimnyurwas of this country! Contact: ingina2@yahoo.co.uk
