At issue here is not only the nonprofit organization ( Jambo Asbl ) referred to in certain circles of the RPF establishment as the youth wing of the defeated MRND regime; the appointment of Ms. Laure Uwase as a member of this committee also reopens the can of worms that is the discomfiting question of the thousands of Rwandan refugees at odds with the military victory of the RPA and RPF who chose to remain in exile. These Rwandans are part of the Rwandan diaspora that is unaccounted for by their government. They have been stripped of their refugee status as of 30 June 2013. Many have integrated into their hosting countries and are naturalized citizens as in the case of Ms. Laure Uwase.

The controversy surrounding this nomination is such that the public’s attention has now drifted from the real issue at hand: Belgian colonialism, its brutality, its bigotry, its inhumane crimes and their consequences to the subsequent political and socio-economic dynamics of the Central Eastern Africa Great Lakes region, including the genocide against the Tutsi and its negationism, the first and second wars of Congo also referred to as the African World War), the continued pillaging of the resources of the Congo ( now DRC)  and the ongoing suffering of its indigenous populations.

Kigali is allegedly using diplomatic leverage and pushing for the removal of Ms. Laure Uwase, a lawyer at the Bar of Brussels, from the said committee and demanding the dissolution of Jambo Asbl.

 Should it succeed, the issues mentioned above will only have been swept under the carpet for some time. They will not have been resolved.

 The fact remains that there is a conversation that needs to be had regarding the fate of thousands of Rwandan exiles who as history has it are again at odds with the leadership of their country of origin. 

This should be a point of discussion by the said committee; it adds to the litany of the unfortunate consequences of Belgian colonialism. 

It would also not hurt those lobbying for the appointment and dismissal of experts on the same to reflect on the fate and becoming of this vilified  Rwandan diaspora.

Whatever the outcome, let us hope that this committee is not a “damage control” maneuver on the part of Belgium to appease the Black Lives Matter movement and whitewash the horrendous and unforgivable crimes of the colonial empire of its Kingdom.

The millions of lives lost, the unspeakable abuses, and the interminable pillaging of mineral and human resources from 1908 to 1962 and beyond in what were then Belgian Congo and Rwanda-Urundi must be accounted for.

Recognition of responsibility and proper reparations are in order. 

Let us hope that this will not be another occasion to add insult to injury to Africa and to the peoples of  DR Congo, of  Rwanda and of Burundi in particular.

Inyenyeri News Group