Rwanda: Paul Kagame admits to abusing his army officers and directors

http://www.theproxylake.com/2013/09/kagame-admits-to-abusing-his-army-officers-and-directors/#

Paul Kagame admits to abusing his army officers and directors

Share it now!

Recently, Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, agreed to meet Jeffrey Gettleman, a New York Times' editor. In his article, Jeffrey wrote, among other things, how Paul Kagame admitted to his habit of beating his subordinates on a regular basis.

In 2009, Kagame ordered two subordinates — a finance director and an army captain — into his presidential office, slammed the door and started shouting at them about where they had purchased office curtains. Kagame then picked up the phone, and two guards came in with sticks, David Himbara, another former Kagame confidant who also fled to Johannesburg in 2010, told me. Kagame ordered the men to lie face down, and he thrashed them. After five minutes, Kagame seemed to tire, and the bodyguards took over beating the men, as if they had done this before. Himbara said he was sick to his stomach witnessing the scene.
Just about every former colleague of Kagame's I spoke to shared some sort of beating story. Noble Marara, a former driver for Kagame, told me that Kagame whipped him twice, once for driving the wrong truck and another time after someone else backed into a pole. "He really needs help," said Marara, now in exile in England. "If I was to diagnose him, I'd say he has a personality disorder."
Himbara had a different explanation. He thinks that despite Kagame's self-propelled rise to power, he's still deeply insecure. "He barely finished high school," said Himbara, who holds a Ph.D. from Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, and served as one of Kagame's senior policy advisers. "It was always hard working with him, because we constantly had to figure out how to make him seem like the originator of ideas." He went on, "After I once wrote a speech for him to give, he said to me: 'You think because you have a Ph.D. from Canada you are smarter than me? You are a peasant! You go and read the stupid speech!' And then I would have to say: 'No, sir, you are the president, and in my hands it is a stupid peasant product. But in your hands it is something special.' That's how we had to flatter and appease him," Himbara said. "It was crazy."
When I asked Kagame about the beatings, he leaned toward me in his seat. We were about three feet apart, then two. I could see the individual gray hairs in his goatee. He didn't interrupt as I detailed my evidence, with names and dates. He didn't deny physically abusing his staff, as I thought he might, though he gave me a watered-down version of the 2009 event that Himbara described, saying that he hadn't swatted anyone with a stick but shoved one of the men so hard that he fell to the floor.
"It's my nature," Kagame said. "I can be very tough, I can make mistakes like that." But when I pressed him on other violent outbursts, he responded irritably, "Do we really need to go into every name, every incident?" He said that hitting people is not "sustainable," which struck me as a strange word to use, as if the only issue with beating your underlings was whether such behavior was effective over the long term.
He grew even testier when I asked him about an expensive trip to New York in 2011. At the time, I heard that he spent more than $15,000 a night for the presidential suite at the Mandarin Oriental. It seemed out of character for a head of state who prides himself on frugal living, occupying a relatively modest house in central Kigali, not a crystal-chandelier palace like many other African presidents. I began to ask if he thought the Rwandan people would approve of such extravagance when Kagame glared at me and snapped, "Just a moment!"
It was a little scary how quickly he flipped from friendly to imperious. He clearly wasn't used to confrontational questions, especially from a reporter. Kagame's critics say he has snuffed out much of Rwanda's independent media. One Rwandan journalist, Agnes Uwimana Nkusi, was recently given a prison term of four years for insulting the president and endangering national security after she edited a series of articles critical of Kagame. Another, Jean-Leonard Rugambage, was shot in the head on the day he published a story about Kagame's government being suspected of trying to kill Nyamwasa.
"I have all these names associated with me," he said, "some of which I accept, others which are not fair." Before I left, he told me, almost in a whisper: "God created me in a very strange way."

Comments

Africa Realities Media offre un espace aux écrivains, chercheurs, experts, activistes, voix communautaires, militants, analystes et personnes ayant une expérience vécue qui souhaitent contribuer à des contenus réfléchis, responsables et courageux sur les changements nécessaires dans la région des Grands Lacs, ainsi que sur les réalités politiques, économiques, culturelles et sociales africaines souvent ignorées, minimisées ou mal représentées. Nos articles et vidéos visent à ouvrir le débat, renforcer la sensibilisation, encourager la pensée critique et favoriser une réflexion plus profonde sur les réalités vécues par les populations africaines. Nous voulons aider les peuples de la région des Grands Lacs à mieux comprendre leurs droits, notamment leurs droits humains, leur droit au développement, leur droit à la dignité, à la sécurité, au bien-être et à une vie meilleure. À travers nos contenus, nous cherchons également à rappeler aux décideurs, aux institutions publiques, aux acteurs régionaux et internationaux, ainsi qu’aux responsables politiques, leur devoir de transparence, de responsabilité et de redevabilité envers les populations qu’ils prétendent servir. Notre objectif est de contribuer à une culture de vérité, de justice, de participation citoyenne et de protection égale pour tous les peuples africains.

Why Africa Realities Media Is Different

Africa Realities Media speaks to Africa and to the developed world. Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states and ruling elites, but they are often protected by international silence, lobbying, public relations, trade interests, migration deals and unequal global accountability. While governments pay lobbyists to present a good image abroad, ordinary African people continue to face violence, hunger, disease, poverty, repression and exclusion. We challenge the normalisation of African suffering and demand equal truth, equal justice and equal protection.

Pourquoi Africa Realities Media est différent?

Africa Realities Media s’adresse à l’Afrique et au monde développé. De nombreux abus subis par les peuples africains sont commis par des États africains et des élites dirigeantes, mais ils sont souvent protégés par le silence international, le lobbying, les relations publiques, les intérêts commerciaux, les accords migratoires et une responsabilité mondiale inégale. Tandis que des gouvernements paient des lobbyistes pour présenter une bonne image à l’étranger, des Africains ordinaires continuent de faire face à la violence, à la faim, aux maladies, à la pauvreté, à la répression et à l’exclusion. Nous contestons la normalisation de la souffrance africaine et exigeons une vérité égale, une justice égale et une protection égale.

Exposing Injustice in Africa

Africa Realities Media is an independent African accountability platform based in London. We report, analyse and challenge the systems that shape African suffering, silence African victims and protect abusive power. We are not here to repeat diplomatic language. We are here to ask the questions that are often avoided: why are African deaths treated as normal? Why are African victims given less urgency? Why are governments that imprison, exclude, displace or kill their own people protected when they serve powerful international interests?

Africa Realities Media gives space to writers, researchers, experts, activists, community voices, campaigners, analysts and people with lived experience who want to contribute thoughtful, responsible and courageous content about the changes needed in the region, as well as the political, economic, cultural and social African realities that are often ignored, minimised or misrepresented. Our articles and videos aim to encourage debate, raise awareness, stimulate critical thinking and support reflection. We seek to help people in the Great Lakes Region understand their rights to human rights, development and wellbeing, while also encouraging decision-makers to be more transparent, responsive and accountable.

Appel à contributions

Sensibilisez le public aux causes qui vous tiennent à cœur. Prenez part au changement que vous souhaitez voir émerger. Aidez à combattre l'injustice partout où elle se manifeste.

Africa Realities Media accueille des articles originaux, analyses, tribunes, réflexions communautaires et commentaires fondés sur des faits concernant la région des Grands Lacs africains, ainsi que les questions liées à la justice, aux droits humains, à la gouvernance, aux conflits, à la paix, aux réfugiés, aux ressources naturelles et à la responsabilité publique en Afrique.

Nous accueillons également les annonces concernant de nouvelles ou d'anciennes publications liées à nos domaines d'intérêt. Vous pouvez annoncer gratuitement votre publication, notamment un livre, un rapport, une étude, un article académique ou tout autre travail pertinent.

Les articles doivent être rédigés en anglais ou en français et ne doivent pas dépasser 1 500 mots.

Veuillez inclure le nom complet de l'auteur, qui sera publié avec l'article s'il est accepté.

Avant de soumettre votre article, veuillez d'abord lire nos pages du site web afin de vérifier si votre article correspond à nos priorités éditoriales, à nos thèmes et à nos domaines d'intérêt.

Si vous avez un article, un commentaire ou une annonce de publication à partager avec un public plus large, veuillez l'envoyer par email à :

africarealitiesmedia@gmail.com

Nous étudierons la possibilité de publier gratuitement les articles et annonces de publications appropriés s'ils répondent à nos critères éditoriaux, notamment la pertinence, la clarté, l'originalité, l'intérêt public, le respect des communautés concernées et l'utilisation responsable des informations et des preuves.

Les articles sont publiés tels qu'ils sont soumis s'ils répondent à nos critères et à notre politique éditoriale. Nous ne procédons pas à une modification supplémentaire de votre article avant sa publication.

Africa Realities Media | African Human Rights and Accountability

Search This Blog

About Africa Realities Media

Latest Analysis

Category Posts