I begin by asking everyone reading this article to take a few minutes and reflect on the life of our great African son, Nelson Madiba Mandela (RIP).  As you would have noticed every news moment was given a chance to not only recognise the only true liberator of our times, but also encouraged everyone to reflect on what can be learnt from his journey.  My reflection can be summarised in a statement made during his (Mandela’s) funeral service by another promising great guy, President Obama, that, “… We are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye.  …”  You will all therefore excuse us for the delay in updating you with what transpired on the 1st December and 8th December during the meeting and Christmas Event respectively, as had been promised. The saying goes that, ‘better late than never’.

True to the quote above, with the exception of only one man, it is becoming clear that the members of the Rwandese Community in UK are bound together in ways that are invisible to a naked eye.  The only exception to this realisation is no other than the High Commissioner, William Ruchicuma Nkurunziza.

Mr Nkurunziza has allowed his ego and simplistic mind to blur his reasoning and imagination to the extent that he couldn’t even sense the mood of people attending the meeting on the 1st December, 2013 at his office.

He started the meeting by mentally terrorising his staff by declaring that they are not supposed to say anything during the meeting because they work for him.  Clearly this contradicted well established protocols of meetings, something that has come to be common sense (as if in Rwanda common sense still exists).  Despite the frustration and anger this action triggered in the minds of all those present, they just watch desperately.  I think we need to applaud the courage by Jimmy Uwizeye for standing up to this egoistic, simple minded fella by instating and challenging his orders.  His, Jimmy’s, instance salvaged what was going to be a disaster.  Mr Ruchicuma had come with pre-plan to impose his handpicked committee, the Kigali style, as the management committee of the Rwandese Community in UK.  Jimmy stood up forcefully, despite being denied a chance throughout the meeting, and suggested a revised approach of instead having that clique as a task force.  His suggestion was received with big applause to the dismay of the High Commissioner, who visibly looked embarrassed.  As mentioned this turned out to have salvaged a potentially self-inflicted precarious situation.  One intelligent chap ‘read between the lines’ and decline to join the task force as an advisor.  Well done to this chap too.

Nkurunziza with his wife Leonia Nkurunziza mother of three finally seen in a public photo

I am sure by now you all know that this ‘pompous’ guy is too full of himself that he has refused to attend all functions, organised by affiliate entities of the Rwandese Community in UK, he has been invited to.  He refused to attend with no explanation the successful function on the 26th October, and another event to mark Pastor Joy’s Church one year anniversary, just to mention a few.  Despite this known fact, his simple mind took the best of him and let him attend the one on 8th December that was organised by the Sisterhood simply because his wife, Leonia, was using some of the organisers of it to fight her ‘cold wars’ against the Women of the Rwandese Community here.  You all remember that these cold wars were started by the ‘tourists’ (Mr and Mrs Rucyicuma) when the Community expressed their dissatisfaction about her attitude at a meeting she had offered to host.  This was when she turned into a ‘hostess from hell’.  Even this event he attended did not have a good number of attendees because of the division his wife has sowed in the process of fighting her cold wars.  As the picture can demonstrate, this is a guy who is out of touch with reality and filled with air, like a balloon.  What he forgets is that we in UK have unique values and worldviews to what he is used to in India and Rwanda.  What this guy needs to grasp is that even the guy he trusts most is bound together with our community in a way he cannot imagine.  The worldview of the community will always prevail over personalities no matter what.

 

It has long been accepted that what each of us ‘does’ in (and to) the world about us in the course of our everyday lived experiences is a reflection of the way that, as individuals and members of particular cultures alike, we ‘see’ or perceive that world.  In other words, our everyday actions in our environments, in the broadest sense of that word, are greatly influenced by the particular mental models or worldview perspectives or mind-sets or epistemes that we rely on, to help us make sense out of our day-to-day experiences of what we hold to be the reality about us as well as what we consider to be the right and proper things to be doing.  It is our worldviews that act as the ‘filters’ to our understandings, our frames of mind as the contexts for our judgements, fundamental beliefs as the foundations for our morality.  It is this simple but of course not obvious lesson that bwana Ruchicuma needs to understand and appreciate that here in UK he has no chance if he is not ready to change and learn.  I think Jimmy’s or even Linda’s change of attitude had a lot to do with that lesson.  The core of our community is British and our values are enshrined and protected by the law of the land.  Our perception of the role of a High Commissioner is premised on transparency, accountability, respect for democratic values, and respect for institutions like the community.  This includes respecting elected leaders and other community leaders.  Not the conventional Rwandan perception premised on intrigue, servitude (Ubuhake), smear and division based on ‘imaginary’ or ‘perceived’ differences.  What unites us is greater and far more important that the seed of division Rucyicuma is keen to sow.

 

Importantly, we in UK believe that the worldviews that we hold, as individuals and social collectives, can be transformed to a greater or lesser extent.  The so-called first world education, both formal and informal, and ways of living develops in us ideals where reason trumps traditions, which represent such epistemic transformation on a very grand socio-cultural scale indeed.  Such changes are often triggered by the arguments of others as well as by the sheer weight of previously ignored or newly generated evidence.  Therefore my simple advice to this tourist is to ‘deflate’ himself of all the airs he has come with and be real.  Let him try to seek help from Jimmy or Linda or even his predecessors.  Start respecting the mission staff as colleagues and not his servants because slavery is a crime in UK.  Lastly be respectful to institutions he has found and in return he will slowly be accepted.  We understand and appreciate the fact that he too is a victim of a dodgy system, RPF has created in Rwanda, and we are ready to emancipate him and his wife from the master – slave criminal mentality.  The power of the people through democratic means is stronger than he can imagine.

Welcome to Rwandese Community in UK.