I was recently in Rwanda for three days (from July 19 to July 22, 2010) to cover the President Paul Kagame’s presidential campaigns ahead of the August 10 general election. But from what I gathered on the ground, the man has a fanatical following. The man is just loved by the Rwandans. Contrary to international media reports that he is frustrating his opponents, and that he is oppressing his opponents, the situation is totally different on the ground!!!
Elections will be free and Rwanda will not go Kenyan way-Kagame
By Francis Mureithi
President Paul Kagame says he will not let Rwanda plunge into post election chaos similar to the one witnessed in Kenya 2007.
With less than 16 days left before the Rwandans go to vote, Kagame who heads the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) has declared to the world that he has no intention of clinging to power incase any of the three opponents trounce him.
Challenging Kagame in the August 10 presidential elections are Jean-Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, the deputy speaker running for the Social Democratic Party, as well as Prosper Higiro, of the Liberal Party and Alvera Mukabaramba from the Party of Progress and Concord.
“If the people of Rwanda decide I should not continue, I will respect their decision 110 percent, take it from me,” Kagame said during a media conference in his Presidential office in Kigali barely hours before he kicked off his three-week official campaign.
“I have no doubt that these elections will be conducted in a free, fair and stable manner. We are going to keep our piece. There will be piece even after elections,” said the humble and easily accessed president.
But chances of any of the three opponents beating Kagame are extremely slim. The opposition is too feeble and hardly seen hunting for votes.
With only days left, no campaign poster of any of the opposition candidates is seen in the entire Kigali. None of the opposition candidates, or agents, was seen or heard campaigning during my three days stay in Kigali.
Kagame, 52 and who has ruled Rwanda since his RPF ended the 1994 genocide by the Hutu majority against his Tutsi minority, is expected to win with a landslide.
At Amahoro national stadium where he launched national campaigns, tens-of-thousands of his jubilant supporters sang and danced, their faces clearly betraying where their loyalty lies.
The almost fanatical support of Kagame was also displayed during his second day of campaigns in Rulindo and Gakenke in northern Rwanda some 50 kilometres from Kigali.
A number of groups, including the American based Human Rights Watch as well as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda Rwandan, rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused President Kagame of running a campaign of terror against his opponents.
But Kagame vehemently denies this claim, accusing foreigners of meddling with Rwanda affairs and attempting to decide for the Rwandese. He blames political detractors for soiling the image of his administration and that of his country.
“People who complain about Rwanda have never been in the country or cared to learn what is happening on the ground,” stated Kagame when asked if he was crumping on opposition.
To him, he has created an environment for the opposition to uplift itself, an opportunity he sees as wasted by those in the opposition.
“My job has not been to create opposition. Maybe one day I will be in the opposition one day, but as long as I am not in opposition, my job is not to create it,” he adds.
On June 14, deputy leader of one the opposition parties, the unregistered Green Party of Rwanda was murdered 8 days ago.
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka's body was found in the early hours on the banks of River Mukura near the border with Burundi, about 1km from where his Toyota pick-up was abandoned.
On June 24, a Rwandan journalist was shot dead by unknown assailants as he returned to his home in Kigali. Jean Leonard Rugambage, was the deputy chief editor of "Umuvugizi" newspaper, which was suspended for six months by the country's statutory Media High Council in April.
Some quarters have linked the death to a story Rugambage published on "Umuvugizi"'s online edition, which alleged that Rwandan security operatives were behind last month’s assassination attempt on exiled former Rwanda Army Chief of Staff Lt. General Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa.
Feuding questions from journalists from the East African Community, Kagame denied any involvement of his RPF party in the killings either directly or indirectly.
“What would be the reason to kill somebody from Green Party. He was not even the leader of the party. Why should my government kill a journalist as if there is something I am going to gain from,” said Kagame.
“You will probably not be here is there was such crampness,” states Kagame when asked if his party was muzzling the press.
“Journalist from the region or internationally work comfortably here, yet you claim that there is a clampdown. The country has invested to ensure every citizen has access to information to express themselves freely. Other journalists except Rwandese claim that. People spreading the rumors don’t live here and yet write stories,” says the President.
The President has cited rapid infrastructure development during his presidency, improved health care and peace across Rwanda as the key reasons why the people of Rwanda should vote for his come voting day.
‘There are those self appointed spokesmen who live abroad and create impressions that are non existent. Voters will express their stand on a number of issues. Rwanda has made its commitment, dedication and determination to shape its own future. They feel they own others and want to speak for them,” he says.
Ends/..
Elections will be free and Rwanda will not go Kenyan way-Kagame
By Francis Mureithi
President Paul Kagame says he will not let Rwanda plunge into post election chaos similar to the one witnessed in Kenya 2007.
With less than 16 days left before the Rwandans go to vote, Kagame who heads the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) has declared to the world that he has no intention of clinging to power incase any of the three opponents trounce him.
Challenging Kagame in the August 10 presidential elections are Jean-Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, the deputy speaker running for the Social Democratic Party, as well as Prosper Higiro, of the Liberal Party and Alvera Mukabaramba from the Party of Progress and Concord.
“If the people of Rwanda decide I should not continue, I will respect their decision 110 percent, take it from me,” Kagame said during a media conference in his Presidential office in Kigali barely hours before he kicked off his three-week official campaign.
“I have no doubt that these elections will be conducted in a free, fair and stable manner. We are going to keep our piece. There will be piece even after elections,” said the humble and easily accessed president.
But chances of any of the three opponents beating Kagame are extremely slim. The opposition is too feeble and hardly seen hunting for votes.
With only days left, no campaign poster of any of the opposition candidates is seen in the entire Kigali. None of the opposition candidates, or agents, was seen or heard campaigning during my three days stay in Kigali.
Kagame, 52 and who has ruled Rwanda since his RPF ended the 1994 genocide by the Hutu majority against his Tutsi minority, is expected to win with a landslide.
At Amahoro national stadium where he launched national campaigns, tens-of-thousands of his jubilant supporters sang and danced, their faces clearly betraying where their loyalty lies.
The almost fanatical support of Kagame was also displayed during his second day of campaigns in Rulindo and Gakenke in northern Rwanda some 50 kilometres from Kigali.
A number of groups, including the American based Human Rights Watch as well as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda Rwandan, rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused President Kagame of running a campaign of terror against his opponents.
But Kagame vehemently denies this claim, accusing foreigners of meddling with Rwanda affairs and attempting to decide for the Rwandese. He blames political detractors for soiling the image of his administration and that of his country.
“People who complain about Rwanda have never been in the country or cared to learn what is happening on the ground,” stated Kagame when asked if he was crumping on opposition.
To him, he has created an environment for the opposition to uplift itself, an opportunity he sees as wasted by those in the opposition.
“My job has not been to create opposition. Maybe one day I will be in the opposition one day, but as long as I am not in opposition, my job is not to create it,” he adds.
On June 14, deputy leader of one the opposition parties, the unregistered Green Party of Rwanda was murdered 8 days ago.
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka's body was found in the early hours on the banks of River Mukura near the border with Burundi, about 1km from where his Toyota pick-up was abandoned.
On June 24, a Rwandan journalist was shot dead by unknown assailants as he returned to his home in Kigali. Jean Leonard Rugambage, was the deputy chief editor of "Umuvugizi" newspaper, which was suspended for six months by the country's statutory Media High Council in April.
Some quarters have linked the death to a story Rugambage published on "Umuvugizi"'s online edition, which alleged that Rwandan security operatives were behind last month’s assassination attempt on exiled former Rwanda Army Chief of Staff Lt. General Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa.
Feuding questions from journalists from the East African Community, Kagame denied any involvement of his RPF party in the killings either directly or indirectly.
“What would be the reason to kill somebody from Green Party. He was not even the leader of the party. Why should my government kill a journalist as if there is something I am going to gain from,” said Kagame.
“You will probably not be here is there was such crampness,” states Kagame when asked if his party was muzzling the press.
“Journalist from the region or internationally work comfortably here, yet you claim that there is a clampdown. The country has invested to ensure every citizen has access to information to express themselves freely. Other journalists except Rwandese claim that. People spreading the rumors don’t live here and yet write stories,” says the President.
The President has cited rapid infrastructure development during his presidency, improved health care and peace across Rwanda as the key reasons why the people of Rwanda should vote for his come voting day.
‘There are those self appointed spokesmen who live abroad and create impressions that are non existent. Voters will express their stand on a number of issues. Rwanda has made its commitment, dedication and determination to shape its own future. They feel they own others and want to speak for them,” he says.
Ends/..
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