This October 1st 2018 ,  as Rwanda faces the odds of another war , I feel  compelled to evoke Afande Fred Rwigema in  reassertion and celebration of  his uniqueness.

Major General Fred Rwigema was  a one of a kind  sort of  man. He embodied unparalleled patriotism. He was  respected by his peers , revered by his enemies , and admired  for his courage and determination by all.  He was  driven by  the  desire to see  all exiled  Rwandans return to their motherland .  He wanted to end  the  plight  of  statelessness for Rwandans.  He succeeded in   commanding the respect of   other  military commandants  and   of the  Rwandan communities  scattered  all over   and  brought them  together around the  effort  to return home . This is an important accomplishment  that I believe  to be   noteworthy today   with regards to the Rwandan  opposition  in exile,  particularly  in terms of   its  difficulty in  uniting   on a common front .

Rwigema  united us  , assembled us , aligned us  behind him  and marched us home .

Regretfully , he  died  almost as soon as he stepped  into Rwanda.

Nonetheless ,Rwigema  died  having accomplished what he had  set out to do.

Anyone who   knew him avers that , had he lived , the war would have taken a different  turn. Rwigema  was an  accomplished military man , he  lived  by  exemplary values , he respected human life and subsequently  believed in minimizing  civilian casualties . He wouldn’t have allowed  the  atrocities that ensued his  death.

The war  that he  launched  on Rwanda  with the intent of bringing the opposing side  to the negotiations table woefully took another turn.

This year  , barring  in mind  the moment Afande Fred Rwigema  and all who were with him at Nyabwishonwezi, stripped themselves off their Ugandan military ranks and burned them  in the spirit of  reclaiming  the Rwandanness that they  had held so dear  in spite of all the years of statelessness  and  service  to another country, I want  to remember , honor  and most respectfully  salute Afande Fred Rwigema’s  impeccable  legacy.

Noble Marara