And just like that, RPF’s think tank put a decisive nail in the coffin of the internationally recognized Rusesabagina “foundation”.

On 03/24/2021, this prosecution’s star witness took the stand with a wrecking ball of a testimony that she had meticulously written down!

After briefly introducing herself emphasizing her US citizenship and voluntary contribution to the trial in question, Dr. Martin expounded on her stellar credentials and went on to recount her journey with Mr. Rusesabagina’s foundation launching into a compelling account of how she was cajoled and utilized to act as a sort of go-between between Rusesabagina’s foundation and its intended Western “audience”.

She painted a grim picture of the said foundation’s who’s who, speaking in length about one Prudence Rubingisa, whom she identifies as Mr. Rusesabagina’s deputy before pointing to a series of chilling connections between him and a number of individuals with front raw involvement in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

As she goes on divulging damning upon damning particulars, referencing in what form it is presented as evidence in attachment to her testimony, one listens, agast, wondering how much worst she would make it for the accused. She concludes her disturbing account placing Mr. Rusesabagina, his foundation, and his political organization PDR Ihumure in the muddle of conflict minerals and funding of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo!

It goes without saying that the purpose of Dr. Martin’s testimony was really to paint a new picture of Rusesabagina, a man that the rare American public interested in Rwanda knows as the Hotel Rwanda hero. Dr. Martin also mentioned her cooperation with an FBI investigation involving the accused, his deputies, and colleagues adding weight to her intervention and “expertise” in this case.

The emails.

And paint a new picture, she did. With “receipts”. It is one thing to stand in court and accuse your former colleagues of aiding and abating armed groups and quite another to produce evidence thereof.

Dr. Martin may be on Kagame’s payroll but the fact that she presents as an American authority on the Rusesabagina Foundation is going to be the only thing that the West ( read the United States of America ) will remember and whoever zeroed in on her for this testimony was very much aware of that.

Kigali‘s handling of the media on Rusesabagina’s case had been a disaster, with AlJazeera exposing Minister of Justice – Johnston Busingye- as an oblivious clerk unable to explain his government’s position on the matter in a disastrous media leaked video followed by a damage control government statement that only confirmed the minister’s incompetence…

Had it not been for Joshua Hammer’s New York Times article ( https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/magazine/he-was-the-hero-of-hotel-rwanda-now-hes-accused-of-terrorism.html ) and Dr. Martin’s Testimony, taking down a Hollywood hero, even with a self-incriminating video, was proving to be quite a to-do for Kigali.

This unraveling is yet another blow for the Rwandan opposition. And no doubt, yet another wake-up call for seriousness and diligence that will be ignored and turned into another defeat for the rancor shelves. Meanwhile, authoritarianism in Rwanda gets a boost and grows stronger.

There is an urgent need to build strong communities for the grievances of Rwandans living in exile to be heard. An opposition built on ethnic hegemony will not prosper because it cannot represent everyone it aims to speak for in this day and age of our history. A power-hungry opposition built on greed and cults of personalities will not prosper, it will keep failing to strategize and its futile efforts to impact the wrong audiences for Western support will continue entrapping it into media spectacles.

Noble Marara