By Frank Kagabo
Going forward, can we, without fear of contradiction, assume that the murder of Karegeya is going to be a watershed moment in the political fortunes of his former allies in Kigali? Can we also assume that, given the unrelenting international media coverage of the issue, that this is a pointer of things to come?
We are now seeing that unlike in the recent past, many no longer share the notion that the Kigali leadership has a moral reason to lead. This moral high ground that emanated from the heroic defeat of the 1994 Genocide forces, is now under scrutiny by different actors.
As has been argued before in this column, that foreign powers have a bearing in what happens in Rwanda and most of Africa. Kigali remains publically defiant and dismissive of foreign powers, but is privately understood to lobby and leverage things like participating in peacekeeping missions to remain relevant in the international scheme of things.
If Kigali weathers the current diplomatic storm, what does the future portend for this ruling establishment that has radically impacted the political and social landscape of this country?
Ours are fragile states, and as long as state institutions are fragile, the security and peace of the region will be as fragile. It is not likely that there is going to be peace and stability when our leaders are still posturing as warriors.
Frank Kagabo is an Erasmus Mundus graduate student of journalism, media and globalisation at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Swansea University, the UK, specialising in war and conflict reporting. E-mail: frank2kagabo@yahoo.com; Twitter: @kagabo
Source: http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Rwanda/Opinion/Karegeya-death-a-hot-diplomatic-potato-in-Kigali-mouth/-/1433246/2159854/-/item/1/-/k9odln/-/index.html