Mbonigaba's crimes didn't trouble the conscience of Western sponsors; Rene Mugenzi's case won't be a teachable moment

Every time the government of Rwanda, as well as regional political observers, have pointed to the criminal character common among vocal individuals working to destabilize the country, their foreign supporters and certain human rights groups are quick to jump to their defence. Even in cases where the people in question were tried and convicted by courts of law, these organizations have often dismissed the records and instead accuse the government of targeting its political opponents with a smear campaign. Some of the groups that have earned unconditional support of Western human rights organisations and some media outlets are people committed to the denial of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Certain Rwandans based in Europe and North America, as well as in other parts of the world, many with family connections to people who planned and carried out the genocide, combine the denying of the genocide against the Tutsi with activities intended to unleash violence on the Rwandan people. The campaign targeting Rwanda begins right from the moment they apply for refugee status in these countries, where they present themselves as innocent Rwandans fleeing persecution by the government. Once they are established in these societies,they embark on the agenda that seeks to promote anti-Rwanda propaganda, taking advantage of technology and social media and in some cases peddling the false accusations through local media outlets in these countries. In the last few years, however, it is increasingly becoming clear, even to their Western supporters, that the people they supported and passionately defended are nothing but hardcore criminals who constitute a danger to the societies that host them. Their crimes range from financial fraud to sexual assault against childen, committed in more than one continent. In 2016, Ismail Mbonigaba, a virulent anti-Rwanda activist who had become the toast of Canadian human rights groups, shocked the village of Saint - Anselme in the Bellechasse Municipality of the province of Quebec when he was arrested on charges related to some of the most heinous crimes against children. In October 2018 Mbonigaba was convicted on all counts after trial by Saint Joseph court. According to La Voir du Sud newspaper publication, Mbonigaba was sentenced to 32 months in prison for sexual assault on underage girls, sexual touching as well as computer lure targeting young girls. You only begin to understand how seriously the court took his crimes when you look at the conditions imposed on him. He was handed some of the most stringent conditions, and as lawyers would say, the judge threw the book at him. The court ruled that Mbonigaba provide his DNA samples to be added to the existing database of dangerous criminals in North America; he was banned from possessing weapons for ten years and prohibited from getting anywhere near three -year -olds. Ismail Mbonigaba was declared a sex- offender by a Canadian court for the rest of his life. Never mind the prison sentence, the terms Mbonigaba has to abide by after he is released are going to have far-reaching consequences on him for the rest of his life. For instance, anytime he moves into a new neighbourhood, authorities are required by law to alert all the residents informing them that a sex offender is their next-door neighbour and that makes life miserable for the criminal who has to be outed everywhere he goes. Indeed, finding a place to call home becomes a lifelong nightmare and certainly, no employer wants to have a criminal, much less a sex offender on their payroll. Before his arrest and subsequent trial and conviction, Ismail Mbonigaba was a prominent denier of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the most rabid anti-Rwanda propagandist in Canada. Human rights organisations had helped him amplify his smear campaign and were instrumental in securing him residence in Canada, by vouching for his good character before the refugee board. Two years down the road, across the Atlantic, Rene Mugenzi another genocide denier who has been putting out the most toxic propaganda against Rwanda was last week convicted by the Norwich Crown Court of stealing 220,000 Pounds from a church in the United Kingdom and handed a 27 months prison sentence. Mugenzis case like Mbonigabas - if it wasnt for the agenda of their foreign sponsors- should serve as a teachable moment for the Western institutions that have fallen for their criminal scheming and ended up hurting these societies and their people. Hiding behind a fake human rights activist persona, Mugenzi had perfected the art of gaming the system in the United Kingdom and this was not the first time he had perpetrated a fraud on the British people. In 2011 he sent the London Metropolitan police on a wild goose chase after he falsely reported that the government of Rwanda was out to harm him. After an investigation based on bogus accusations and wasted taxpayers money, the British police concluded that his allegations were nothing but a hoax. He was never prosecuted for reporting false allegations to police and went on to commit more crimes, all the while actively working with terrorist organisations that seek to target the Rwandan people. Even as a criminal on trial, Rene Mugenzi was still abusing institutions in the UK, including the media sector that had, over the years, helped portray him as a human rights crusader. He had, through his lawyers, secured a court order banning the media in that country from reporting on the trial of his criminal case. He had sold his now-familiar lie to the court that his life would be in danger if the story was reported. Refusing to be muzzled by a criminal, journalists at the Eastern Daily Press did their own investigation and found that far from being an individual who operates off the grid, Mugenzis online profile painted a clear picture of a man addicted to publicity. The judge agreed and that brought an end to his meal ticket which he has been waving for years with false claims that he was in fear for his personal safety. Sadly, so long as individuals and organizations in the West are blinded by their own biased agendas against Rwanda, they will continue to invest in criminals who end up victimizing their own societies.

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Mbonigaba's crimes didn't trouble the conscience of Western sponsors; Rene Mugenzi's case won't be a teachable moment