Why hate mongering will not do

I read Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza’s interview in the East African conducted by reporters, Charles Kazooba and Esther Nakkazi, initially thinking that Ingabire would tone down on her rhetoric, since she would be speaking for the benefit of a wide audience in our region. A trend of double talk, had emerged whereby, she exhibited a dangerous rhetoric while conducting interviews in Kinyarwanda, especially on the widely listened to Gahuza Miryango programme, and then when talking for the benefit of elites, international diplomats and generally foreigners, in ‘international languages’ she would seem to be civil and mask her true intentions. But then, as she talks for the benefit of the east African audience, she is quoted proclaiming her unwavering commitment to the genocide ideology. This is beyond audacity and more so, I think it goes beyond the political ambition of occupying the highest office in the land. It unveils what she intends to do with that office. One shudders at such a prospect. Well, I can not claim to be a mind reader, or know what else she means by unwavering commitment towards the genocide ideology, apart from what we know and have seen as a result of the same ideology. Or is it a way of wanting to have the genocide ideology accepted in the mainstream and allowed the benefit of debate. On such issues as genocide, we all know there is no question of neutrality or being ambiguous. Going by that quote, one can see that it probably is a commitment to the “unfinished business” we all know about. But at the same time, those who have that unwavering commitment to the abominable cause of genocide should by now have known that there are others who have a will of steel commitment, to ensure that never again, will there be genocide in Rwanda. And the loud silence from those who are always talking of human rights and others of their ilk is deafening. It ought to be recalled that when Rwanda descended into genocide, thanks to the extremist government that held sway, the rest of the world kept quiet and simply stood by as more than one million Tutsi were killed in the most barbaric manner imaginable. The survivors; widows and orphans live today with the horrific memories. Not only that, attempts to wipe out genocide survivors by those who carried out genocide continue up to now. Again, in the same interview, one notices that the same politician tries to water down the role of the now rag tag and marauding FDLR militia members in the genocide. The FDLR in its current form has been confirmed to have carried out genocide in Congo. It has targeted Congolese Tutsi for extermination. Members of its military high command held key positions in the army (ex-FAR) and in the Interahamwe militia. Mudacumura, FDLR’s military top honcho has been reported to have been the number two in the notorious Habyarimana presidential guard, that carried out the first killings as the genocide got underway in 1994. Then how can one who aspires to Rwanda’s leadership by democratic means as she claims be an apologist of such. Well, given the path that Rwanda has undertaken since the coming into office of the government of national unity, it is apparent that such people, who seek to drum up outdated thinking, will remain at the fringes of our politics. Although they are going to remain of little consequence in the political dynamics and given the fact that Rwandans know exactly what they want and how to go about it, such dangerous talk and politics should not be ignored by all who mean well for our country and Banyarwanda the world over. Even a single Rwandan being ‘poisoned’ by the hate mongers into being a follower is bad enough. This latest upsurge of hate mongering (both at home in recent months and more so outside the country), has served to make more Rwandan’s alert to the danger posed by such cliques. They not only pose a threat to the gains made by Rwandans since 1994, but also an existential threat to all Rwandans who mean well for fellow countrymen and women. And Rwandans can defeat such actions and thinking, by continuously supporting an administration that guarantees their hard earned unity, and an administration that has rebuilt the country from the ashes and ensured that all Rwandans, become economically productive and has set the country on the path to prosperity. frank2kagabo@yahoo.com