Unless Rwandans are forced to go to vote, 2017 general elections could record the lowest voter turnout ever. According to the reliable sources from the RPF camp, the roadmap for the 2017 general elections has been already finalized with a land slide victory for Kagame.

Saul the persecutor of the Jesus movement, becomes Paul the Apostle… or does he?

While that might be certain, what is now worrying analysts is the growing horde of Rwandans who have said that vote or no vote Kagame has already elected himself.

If this persists, the preparations being made by the RPF EC at a colossal amount of money and foreign support could go to waste as people stay away from the polling booths. All Rwandans know that RPF has been manipulating elections since 2000 when Kagame ousted his predecessor Pasteur Bizimnungu. Therefore, the so called elections and the referendum are for the international community consumption.

RPF and Kagame hold the key for the continuity of achievement they claim they have made or risk taking the country to the Burundi situation. They should adopt electoral reforms that should allow all political parties that operate outside the country to come back home and participate in the coming elections.

Even the ongoing so called debates on the changing of the Rwandan Constitution to give Kagame another term, many callers who don’t want the Constitution to be changed have outnumbered those in favour. However, the RPF media portrays Kagame as the most loved person in the Rwandan history.

Under the current circumstances or political environment in Rwanda, it is useless to participate or go to court to challenge  the Kagame  appetite for Power,  unless the  RPF state and the current electoral system under it are dismantled,  therefore going to court  will not succeed in dislodging President  Kagame or stopping his appetite for power.

It is not that the Opposition cannot win the case in the courts of law, but they cannot get justice from Kagame courts.  After all, people like Deo Mushayidi, Bernard Ntaganda, Ingabire Victoire, didn’t commit any crime nevertheless were convicted and Deo Mushayidi is serving life sentence.

The opposition should start plans to resist now the Kagame plans not after the rigging has taken place for the following reasons;

We all know how the International community operates, when the rigging is done and Kagame is back in power, they will say let’s give Kagame a chance after all he stopped genocide. Again the Rwandan population is powerless and confused, they will only submit to the intimidation of the dictator.

Finally the opposition will be divided by Kagame’s money or killing them as he did to the former Vice President of Green Party Andrew Rwisereka Kagwa.

Indeed, the Green Party Leader clamour for the court redress of the Constitutional coup by Kagame, would yield nothing. These so-called court gymnastics would not change Kagame decision and appetite for power.RPF is a repressive regime and how can you reform an oppressive system?

The issue of Kagame’s life presidency started immediately after election in 2010, when Musa Fasil went wild demanding that the term limits should be scrapped from the constitution. The entire infrastructure of  changing the Constitution was built by RPF right from the beginning, therefore  those who think can go to court to remove Kagame are not only misguided but also lack sufficient knowledge on the methods of work of Kagame.

We need to tell President Kagame that he should change from Saul to Paul, or face resistance to his repressive regime, Kagame’s courts cannot be trusted and never will dictators be allowed to use their repressive laws to stop people’s revolution.

Jacqueline Umurungi.