When I first read a story in the Inyenyeri News that some Rwandans have been stripped off their nationality, as usual I thought that, it is the usual machination work of the political dissidents of RPF Government who just want to stain the good image and dirty our clean streets and extinguish the Venus streets of the smallest state of the great lakes region and thousand hills.

However, little did they know that, the same story will run on one of our famous reliable radios, the VOICE OF AMERICA.It was both a shock and dismay to me as a Rwandan but also as a human being. The question to the lips of many is, why did the state do this to her Citizens? What legal ground do they base this barbaric and Dishonorable act? Did or do the authors of this act know the legal and political implications of their actions?

On the other hand I’m not sure and certain that the top brass of this country are aware or authorized this act? Natural justice demands hearing both sides of the coin, therefore in my article I will refrain from passing my judgment without getting the other side of the government. However, the deliberate refusal of the government to respond to the media as the journalist of the Voice America said this morning raises more suspicion that, the cat is already wandering in the wild.

Although the travel document or the Passport for that matter is and will always remain a property of the state, the state has a contract with the holder to use it and if it’s used contrary to the authorized actions, the state can revoke or cancel a travel document or passport. But I do guess that the state if it is wise enough or regains its senses will say that the immigration officials acted ULTRA VIRES meaning that those who did it overstepped their powers, here the state will save her skin. But if they don’t, then it will not only be illegal but also madness of the highest order.

The constitution of Rwanda in article 23, says that every Rwandan has a right to move and circulate freely and to leave and return to the country.

These rights shall be restricted only by the law for reasons of public order or state security, in order to deal with a public menace or to protect persons in danger.

Article 24, Every Rwandan has the right to his/her country.

No Rwandan shall be banished from the country.

Article 29, every person has a right to private property, whether personal or owned in association with others. Private property, whether individually or collectively owned, is inviolable.

The right to property may not be interfered with except in public interest, in circumstances and procedures determined by law and subject to fair and prior compensation.

It is therefore inappropriate for the state as the guarantor of the rule of law to disregard all the steps and procedures. But even if they had followed all the above mentioned procedures, there is a red line they could not cross, what public security is posed by a young boy and girl of KAYUMBA AND KAREGEYA respectively?  The state should and is required to distinguish between the political actors and the relatives and family members of those they call dissidents. What is the father or mother of KAYUMBA AND KAREGEYA respectively have to do with their children? Will the present head of state be happy when is out office to hear that his family members including his old mother being physically and psychologically tortured? Even if he is dead, I’m sure he will be restless in the grave.

This brings me to almost a similar situation in Uganda during MILTON OBOTE 11 regime when his soldiers kidnapped and tortured the mother Esteri Kokundeka of the, then guerrilla war leader who is now the president of Uganda YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVEN just because her son had rebelled against the government of OBOTE.

The war within

The political future of the RPF led government is unpredictable even to the insiders, why even the seniors and elders of the RPF fear to tell the truth and advise the leadership on the right course of action?  With this kind of discontent within and outside the RPF establishment particularly with its former allies it is not only worrying but also a road to disintegration.

Can history repeat itself?

When Habyarariman started to kill his comrades who helped him to overthrow the regime of KAYIBANDA, little did he know that, the same people will be used against him after almost 30 years? Was habyarimana complacent or ignorant? This question could have been better answered by Habyariman himself but make no mistake, Habyarimana thought that he is too powerful, surrounded by army generals he had nurtured himself ignoring his comrades whom I have mentioned above. Indeed, PK having physically and politically exterminated his comrades and rapidly promoted his former aids to manage his security and that of the country, he thinks that he can peacefully go and sleep in KIYOVU, make himself i KINANI.

Why the international community silent? Is it guilty or conspiracy?

Once mentioned as the beacon of hope in the great lakes region by the former American President Clinton but now   turning into monsters killing their own people or incarcerating them in prisons for just political disagreements which these leaders cannot tolerate in their own country. The answer to this question can be found in the article of Stephen Smith in The London Review of Books:

“Making Rwanda a more tragic place than it needs to be, I am not arguing that we should all know everything there is to know about Rwanda. My point is that we don’t seem to want to know what happened in 1994, or what’s happening now. We’ve learned the wrong lesson from the organised massacre of 800,000 people, which we failed to prevent. Eager to pay off our moral debt, we’re blinded by guilt. The near total lack of media coverage of the ICTR [the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in neighboring Tanzania] trials and findings suggests that we’re happy to waive our best chance of grasping the inner workings of the genocide. We clamour for international justice but the detailed proceedings of the tribunal don’t interest us. At the same time, the denial of freedom and rights under the previous regime in Rwanda impels us to shower [Paul] Kagame with leadership awards and aid money even as he denies them again. We are hypnotised by the 1994 genocide, and oblivious to the atrocities of a regime we regard as exemplary. Aid, we say, must be conditional on good governance – but post-genocide government is an exception. La Francophonie is at best ridiculous and at worst a vector of France’s influence, but the Commonwealth is honourable as it embraces a dictator who favours English over French. Democracy is a precondition of peace – but not in a post-genocidal state. Justice, truth and reconciliation heal – but not the wounds of exterminatory hatred. We hold these opinions not because they’re right but because they put us on the right side. This makes Rwanda a more tragic place than it needs to be”

Jacqueline Umurungi.

Brussels..