The Rwandan President Paul Kagame recently pushed the former Senator President to resign. Although Dr Ntawukuriryayo said that he resigned because of personal reasons, all indications lead to the RPF traditional long hand of intolerance to those perceived to be independent thinkers.

He has been a long-term political ally and a loyal bride in the political forced marriage of RPF.  The divorce of the former PSD president who once stood against KAGAME in 2010 is not the first divorce marriage between RPF and many other political parties which are just there to give Kagame-Rwanda election legitimacy and possibly credibility.

It is not therefore surprising that the sacking of Dr. Ntawukiriryayo was and is still a big meal for the Rwandan media and has got tongues to the present day. While appearing on Contact FM on the program 1o1, Mr. Tito Rutaremara who is commonly known as the RPF Scarecrow because is moved from one office to another purposely to serve the RPF interests. He said that Dr Ntawukuriryayo had been warned for many times to change his dictatorial attitude and missappriation of Senate funds but he could not heed to their advice. How does a Senator President associate with the Senator funds?

According Mr. Tito Rutaremara, Dr. Ntawukuriryayo had to go; he gave another example of the former President of the Republic of Rwanda Pasteur Bizimungu who was also pushed when Kagame wanted to be the next President. Here they used Col. Rose Kabuye and Col. Joseph Karemera and others to organize a coup for the former president in 2010, Mr. Bizimungu later ended in prison on fabricated charges when the RPF realized that he had formed a political party.

Mr. Tito should be honest to the Rwandan people it’s not about shared views that matter in RPF but rather the views of One-party RPF.  Of course this is the Rwandan reality; I remember in 2010 in the general election where Dr Ntawukuriryayo under his PSD Flag traversed the country singing his party song, “igihe niki tora PSD”.  But what surprised me, where RPF thought that PSD has more supporters they could cause chaos or tell the local leaders to block the meeting, never the less Dr .Ntawukuriryayo and others endorsed President Kagame as the winner of the general election with 96%. Little did the Pharmaceutical Dr know that he is being used by the RPF as a disposable tissue which would be thrown away after its work.

The RPF spin doctors know very well how political marriages in Rwanda are understood. A lot of emphasis is put on tolerating Kagame’s behavior by some political parties  in the marriage with a hope that he will change or are taken by hopelessness and leave everything to the creator who will one day bring a Messiah to take away what many people now call the Rwanda monster.

On the contrary, the current turbulence in Rwanda of incarceration of top Military officers, the killing and disappearance of innocent people from Rwanda should be a precursor for rejuvenating many Rwandans to demand free political space based on free election entrenched in democracy and good leadership.

When a political party like RPF which is sufficiently personalized and its members have power, they will elect their presidential candidate and other leaders in the name of FORUM a political marriage of RPF and those small political parties who submit to RPF. These small political parties will always be fired at anytime the RPF perceives that they are no longer loyal. Because the power belongs to the RPF there is no balance of power within the FORUM, therefore the president can easily sack his Senator or Prime Minister at will. This is what is at stake in Rwanda, all the power is not only personalized by some few RPF individuals but is also in one man, Paul Kagame. The Rwanda Constitution gives Kagame too much power of electing and sucking at will any senior government official. If Dr. Ntawuriryayo was elected by the people where do TITO and RPF get power to sack him?

As I have said power in Rwanda  is personalized in one man  and  RPF party members are little more than puppets, hence President Kagame will all but handpick any body for any post, and get the members to endorse his choice, the President of the Senator or PM then serves at his whim.

What we are witnessing in Rwanda is that the RPF party members don’t have power over their president, though some might think he runs an efficient government, there is always a trade off. They don’t have power over him as private citizens would be if he was genuinely elected in free and fair election, that’s why Kagame is the most corrupt senior official in Rwanda. He has also curtailed the democratic freedoms, and is arbitrary, but no one could dare to censure him.

Apparently as Kagame and RPF’s government hold on to power, their rule is becoming more incompetent in all aspects of life .However powerful and solid they might appear, they have lost the support of the Rwandan people and the international community is now asking the direction of the RPF and Kagame regime. What is now remaining of RPF is considered as scarecrows in the rice garden. They can frighten away the birds, yes, but they will still be empty coats hanging on a cross. Therefore Rwandans of all walks of life should stand up and resist these scarecrows; they are just coats hanging on a cross before .We should do it before Kagame changes the Rwandan Constitution to seek another term as it’s now clear he doesn’t tolerate anyone near him casting a green eye on his throne.

Jacqueline Umurungi