Michela Wrong’s Book has angered many souls associated with the Rwanda’s ruling party the RPF, including its fortuitous Chairman who is also President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. It’s not a coincidence that he lashed out at a neighboring country to the north of his own as he lied about relations with other neighbors.
Others who were unhappy with the Michela Wrong book have expressed themselves, commonly with anger and exasperation.
In his speech, Paul Kagame, admonished Rwandan public officials who do not defend the country’s image on social media. “Working well at your jobs is not enough; I will not take you seriously if you are one of those that do not engage in political activism on social media and elsewhere by hiding behind the excuse of good performance at your official jobs. A few enemies are spoiling our good works. One or two drops of liquid bleach will spoil your entire reservoir of clean water”.Kagame lectured at the meeting.
The most closest Paul Kagame came to making reference to Michela Wrong’s book was in the last sentence regarding one drop of bleach spoiling the entire reservoir of clean water. No hostile statement(s) have come from any Ugandan government official or associated social media accounts against Rwanda or Kagame in the recent past.
The only such bleach has been Wrong’s book; DO NOT DISTURB. Kagame’s concern highlights how damaging the book has been to his reputation, according to his own estimation as well as what he must be thinking or planning against Michela Wrong.
Second, President Kagame was most likely making reference to Michela Wrong’s book because it’s the only major item that has been dominating both mainstream and social media about Rwanda in the last few weeks.
In his effort to focus the attention of his audience onto Uganda as an object of hate, Kagame engaged in some deception:
1. Is it true Burundi is willing to trust him and mend relations with him as he suggested when he is keeping Burundian citizens he had prepared to run a post Nkurunziza government had the coup d’état he planned against Burundi succeeded? Is he willing to hand them over to Burundi authorities to be tried just as President Ndayishimiye has demanded?
2. Is Kagame willing to disband Red Tabara, a rebel outfit he created to cause regime change in Gitega? The answer to the above questions is no because a man doesn’t develop a new character in his 60s.
Kagame was angry with Uganda as he was manipulative to Burundi in his speech.
Is it possible for Paul Kagame to ever accept to work with a Hutu President in Burundi with the current crop of Burundi born senior officers in RDF who are always dreaming of being in charge south of the Rwanda/Burundi common border? Can anyone who understands Kagame and his world view believe that he was sincere about his well wishes for Burundi? No one should and if anyone wishes to know that he was lying let them watch how he fumbled with the words as he announced Rwanda and Burundi’s mutual desire for peace. His friendly statement towards Burundi was more of a Trojan horse tactic than genuine need for improved relations:
3. He participated in the assassination of President Ndadaye in 1993, he killed President Ntaryamira along with Habyarimana in April 1994 and finally attempted several times to assassinate Pierre Nkurunziza and staged a failed coup d’état in 2015. What has changed?
4. “We have never had a problem with Tanzania” Kagame told the meeting, yet had it not been for President Kikwete’s self-restraint, things could have gotten worse between the two countries because Kagame threatened the life of a sitting Tanzanian President.
The Tanzanian People’s Defense Forces (TPDF), was part of the elements of the UN, alongside South Africa that shamelessly chased the Rwanda supported M23 out of Eastern DRC. Kagame has neither forgotten nor forgiven Tanzania for this rout.
But why did Kagame make an angry speech at a time there has been some quiet with both countries grappling with the effects of COVID19, and Uganda involved in a post-election resetting of the political agenda while Rwanda prepares for CHOGM? Why did Kagame behave as though Rwanda’s differences were new, yet he was the one who closed the border and issued a travel advisory to Rwandan citizens against travelling to Uganda?
THE ANSWER IS IN A NAME: MICHELA WRONG.
Michela Wrong Chronicles Paul Kagame’s life from when he was a young refugee in Uganda to his primary school, to Ntare School to Old Kampala Secondary School, to Kampala streets, to Luwero where he was the chief hangman, to Basiima House where his main job was to report on people’s activities (counterintelligence) and back to Rwanda.
She talked to Kagame’s former teachers, and saw his good grades in primary school and poor ones at Ntare and Old Kampala Secondary School. She learned about his delinquency and rehabilitation by Fred who was himself a foster child to President Museveni. She interviewed former senior NRA rebels and no one was holding back to the extent many Ugandans had never known what Kagame’s job was in the Luwero war until the book revealed he was the chief hangman and an old hoe was his preferred weapon. The worst testimonial was that Paul Kagame literally enjoyed killing people. Everywhere Paul Kagame had been in Uganda, Michela Wrong visited, including Luwero. It felt like the Scooby Doo unmasking.
Most importantly, Michela Wrong wrote about a man who Paul Kagame couldn’t be. If Fred Rwigema was Hector in Homer’s Iliad, then Kagame would most certainly have been the greedy, corrupt and weaklings King Agamemnon or rather not make it to the narrative at all.
MAJOR GEN. FRED RWIGEMA ASSASSINATION.
The truth is that Paul Kagame used two 2nd Lieutenants in Fred’s close body guard, one a sharp shooter called Kato and another the ADC designated for the head of a new rebel force James Kabarebe. In the middle of an excited army clearing natural hooches ahead of them, probably, Kabarebe, whose position would have been directly behind Fred Rwigema moved to give Kato a clear line of fire towards his CIC.
Only one bullet was fired, entering through Fred’s back of the neck and exiting below the mandible. Kato had been the best Marksman at an 1988 NRA sniper training course and was the best Cadet in the 1989 intake.
Kabarebe and Kato were both made by Paul Kagame. From the time they entered NRA as Privates they were working with DMI under him. He sent both of them for a special course at Kireka, known as the Commando/VIP protection course or mixed martial arts course as it was known in those days in 1988. Paul Kagame organized and sent both of them for the 02-89/90 long cadet course which ended in around Sep/Oct 1990.
For Kagame’s long term and secret mission to succeed his boys had to be near his target and he didn’t waste time in offering them to Fred Rwigema by dangling the special skills they both possessed. James Kabarebe was even a graduate from Makerere University and could assist Fred Rwigema with paper work and ADC Kagame suggested. Fred accepted them in his own entourage for purportedly being outstanding new officers.
Kato was suggested again by Kagame to be Fred’s chief body guard for his sharpness. Kato was what they call: CC: Cadet Commander for intake 02-89/90. He leads the whole course in the 3rd phase till the pass out. He was the best of the best in: Field Work, Major/Minor tactics, Leadership, Military Administration, Map Navigation, physical fitness etc. Therefore, Kagame prepared both Killers for a good number of years, taking them through different trainings. He largely owes where he is for the project that involved only two individuals Kato and Kabarebe.
Even when he accomplished his evil goal, Paul Kagame was woefully unprepared for leadership of the RPF/RPA and spent the rest of his time killing people he suspected were saddened or were grieving the death of Fred; even those who showed compassion to his widow of sympathetic to his legacy or extended family. Nearly everyone was killed by Paul Kagame. Those survived are the ones who cut their losses and run into exile early enough.
From a photo taken of Paul Kagame in Karengere at Bishop Harerimana’s house around July/August 1991, the only thing showing that Kagame was a rebel, much less a leader was the military fatigues he has on. He is seen wearing a silly, sheepish, timid smirk as though he were brought there for a moment from his village to be teased by grown up men. That location was in Uganda yet he and his RPF minions have been accusing President Museveni for sabotaging RPF/RPA.
Paul Kagame in Karengere in 1991
In death, Fred has continues to be a threat to Paul Kagame through people who have refused to throw away the faith they established with charismatic leadership and an extremely attractive personality. To the extent that Paul Kagame continues to exercise more repression in the name of suppressing debate on these matters, those who have kept faith are his greatest enemies and today they know a lot about October 2nd 1990 than many soldiers who were on the frontline that day. Revenge is the greatest motivation known in the character of man. Therefore, no one should blame Kagame for these outbursts because he knows this fact as well.
WHY LASH OUT AT UGANDA?
Those who know Kagame understand that Michela Wrong is a person supposed to die and especially before she ever got a chance to research and write and publish such a book.
Kagame expected Uganda to call Kigali and hand her over in complete disregard of any laws whether local or international, or killed on behalf of Kagame in Uganda or denied the ‘venerated’ Kagame resources and deported. That’s what constitutes good neighborliness from ‘the gospel according to Paul Kagame’.
However, here is a woman who came to Uganda and got access to anything concerning Paul Kagame, moved around to every corner, crevice valley and riverine to get all the details Paul Kagame would rather keep hidden. The entire RPF establishment is so livid about the book they called it a Kampala or Museveni project against Kagame even when they know writers and documentarists who secretly conducted researches in Rwanda and were only known after they published their works. If this could happen in a giant prison called Rwanda, why would Michela Wrong need support from anyone to study your character in Kagame using Ugandan resources?
Worse still, the book’s main narrative is about Paul Kagame’s killing machine which spreads in to all the four winds but mainly concentrated in Rwanda, DRC, Uganda and South Africa. These are countries that became victims of Kagame’s murderous character; therefore for him to turn Uganda into his rhetoric punching bag is one severe form of projection.
The author of this article is a political commentator and Great Lakes security analyst.
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NOTE. The above opinion letter contains the views and expressions of its author not the views of this website or its management.
From: Command1post