Is President Kagame's mask slipping?
Paul Kagame
With the events which took place during Rwandan President Paul Kagame's visit to the UK on 18th May 2013 in aid of Rwanda Day, we take a look at some of his past exploits which might have contributed to his less-than-welcoming reception
A United Nations report known as the Mapping Report, which was published on 1st October 2010, documented clear evidence that President Kagame was responsible for large massacres of Hutu refugees in Congo and members of the Hutu civilian population between March 1993 and June 2003. In paragraph 512 of the report it states:
"The systematic attacks [...] resulted in a very large number of victims, probably tens of thousands of members of the Hutu ethnic group, all nationalities combined. In the vast majority of cases reported, it was not a question of people killed unintentionally in the course of combat, but people targeted primarily by AFDL/APR/FAB [Burundian army] forces and executed in their hundreds, often with edged weapons. The majority of the victims were children, women, elderly people and the sick, who posed no threat to the attacking forces. Numerous serious attacks on the physical or psychological integrity of members of the group were also committed, with a very high number of Hutus shot, raped, burnt or beaten. Very large numbers of victims were forced to flee and travel long distances to escape their pursuers, who were trying to kill them. The hunt lasted for months, resulting in the deaths of an unknown number of people subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading living conditions, without access to food or medication. On several occasions, the humanitarian aid intended for them was deliberately blocked, in particular in Orientale Province, depriving them of assistance essential to their survival…"
Also, research made in Rwanda and later published in a report titledWhat Really Happened in Rwanda?, on October 6th 2009 by researchers Christian Davenport and Allan C. Stam, showed that Kagame's troops, the RPF, carried out the "large-scale killings" of mainly Hutus during the Rwandan genocide.
But despite this amount of evidence gathering against him, President Kagame continues to play the guilt card on the U.N., for having not responded to the cry for help during the Rwandan Genocide (although Kagame's RPF is the one who officially consistently rejected any offer of help to stop the killings), every time they call him out as a war criminal. This little trick so far has worked like a charm in keeping the U.N. firmly under Kagame's thumb, giving him control over them and silencing all those who try their luck at exposing him, leaving much to be desired in the move towards real justice being served for the criminal.
But the understandable shame of the U.N. should not by any means be reason for them to retreat back into their shells every time the finger is pointed at them. Neither should it be reason for them to be bullied into turning a blind eye to the shocking evidence that is coming forth from left, right and centre exposing the heinous crimes of President Paul Kagame.
Aside from this, Kagame has grown quite accustomed to hiding behind the media attention he gets for having supposedly developed Rwanda economically, this being an image which he actively strives to portray by employing lobbies to publish positive and glowing reports on what great change he has made to the country since the genocide, thus creating this 'perfect' image of himself. But behind this facade still lies a much more grave matter that is soiling this public image which he is working so hard to maintain.
Over the past few years, some of those who have experienced Kagame's cruelty first-hand have publically confessed about their involvement with him, such as the exiled ex-soldier who testified of the same crimes by the RPF as those set out in the U.N.'s Mapping Report - crimes of massacres of Hutu refugees and civilians in the DRC – at the commands of President Kagame, with the objective 'to liquidate any Hutu on Congolese soil'. The confessional interview concluded with the following statement from the Mapping Report:
" The massacres of Hutu refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1996 and 2002 led to an investigation report of the Office of the United Nations Human Rights known as the Mapping Report. According to the report, these massacres could, if proven before a competent court, be described as genocide."
But what has really been done about these accounts and how many like them must we hear before something can be done? How many men, women, children and elderly people must Kagame torment and kill before a standard can be raised up against him? How much blood must be shed before we can finally say "enough is enough"?
Take a look at the events which took place on 'Rwanda Day' when Kagame visited the UK to receive an award from Oxford University for his "development of Rwanda" on 18th May 2013. It has got to mean something when the President's own people throw eggs, stones and horse manure at him! And what does it mean? That he is not liked? Worse. He is hated. By those who know his deeds and want to see them put to an end. Killing many innocent lives for decades is not a thing to be taken lightly at all. It should carry with it a great punishment.
So it was no surprise that when he came to visit, instead of being welcomed like a good and admired leader, he was shown hatred and contempt by those who would rather see justice served.
In a video interview with the BBC published on 20th May 2013, Kagame unconvincingly attempted to pass off the growing amount of tension surrounding his name as people looking for somewhere "to put the blame". (1)
But no one conspired to make up these stories. And no, these negative reports about him aren't just plucked out of thin air. Everyone pointing the finger at him is doing so for a good reason.
But no one conspired to make up these stories. And no, these negative reports about him aren't just plucked out of thin air. Everyone pointing the finger at him is doing so for a good reason.
If the saying 'a man is judged by his deeds' is true, then it is fair to say that Kagame has earned himself the title War Criminal of the Highest Degree.
Although I speak in past tense, these crimes by Kagame are far from being old news. Sadly, it is quite clear that such monstrosities carry on even to this day, with a storm of evidence gathering that shows that Kagame continues to hunt down opponents. Whether it be by pulling the strings of the M23 and other proxy rebellions from the comfort of his high chair through ordering the murder of Hutus in the DRC, or whether it be forcefully adorning the refugees who managed to flee to foreign lands with shackles of chains and imprisoning them for their supposed 'crimes', Kagame's crippling grip on his people has never been so strong. But then again, neither has this realisation from both Rwandans and foreigners alike that the face behind his mask is that of a mass murderer. And perhaps, with this realisation, we as a people, can start to determinedly pry his bloody fingers off our society.
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(1) When asked "Why do you think Rwanda is consistently blamed?" Paul Kagame claimed, in his own words: "The same organisations – all those people who put on the blame – I think they have found some kind of industry that serves them and you want to just keep going. The blame is created on the basis of the situation itself, what is happening there, the kind of suffering of people there. And people are interested, simply interested in addressing the peripheral or superficially the problem, are not addressing the root cause of the problem. So in doing that they have created a self-serving industry so they want to keep going now for lack of a better explanation as to why this thing has been going on despite the efforts. They have to find where to put the blame."
Authour: Mireille Mutima
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