Your Excellency Patricia Scotland QC,
commonwealth Secretary General ,
Greetings.
My names is Jeanne Mukamurenzi, a Rwandese refugee leaving in Norway.
Your Excellency, I have decided to write this open letter to you on this day instead of me going out to celebrate this International women’s day with my fellow women.
I thought it was pointless to celebrate this day when my fellow women in Rwanda are in prisons because of political reasons and others are dying quietly.
What is there to celebrate when my fellow women in Rwanda have been denied justice by the same people who are supposed to give them justice? And in all this your organisation is just quiet?
What is there for me to celebrate on this day when Madam Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza has been denied justice , her rights have been violated and your organisation is quiet ?
What is there for to celebrate when a
Fellow woman Madam Claire Nadine Kasinge and her son Kejo Skyler who were in Father Thomas Nahimana delegation spent 72 hours at Jomo Kenyatta international airport when President Kagame and his government denied them entry into Rwanda and your organisation has kept quiet about it?
By the way your Excellency this has happened twice at Jomo Kenyatta and Zaventem airports respectively.
What is there for me to celebrate when my fellow women from Congo have been raped and killed by Kagame’s soldiers and your organisation has failed to caution Kagame for his impunity against humanity , the women In particular .
Your Excellency, I was pleased to see you taking interest in the matter where an opposition leader in Zambia ,Mr.Hakainde Hichilema was facing treason charges. This made me think. The next stop is Rwanda.
In your capacity as the commonwealth Secretary General ,you traveled to Zambia and met with the Republican President HE Edgar Lungu and you heard his side of story, you also went to prison where the said opposition leader was and also heard him.Before concluding your visit you held a press conference of which you stressed a point that all you wanted was to see the two leaders reconcile through reconciliation dialogue.
Your Excellency within a short time you appointed a special envoy Professor Ibrahim Gambari to facilitate the dialogue between these two leaders.
Your Excellency,
You have received a lot of reports about political situation in Rwanda. Human Rights Watch has published numerous reports about the government of Rwanda violating the rights of its Citizens but your office has gone mute on that.
You have heard about political prisoners , those who are prosecuted and persecuted on daily basis for political reasons, you have just kept quiet.
Your Excellency, Like Zambia, Rwanda is a commonwealth member, I fail to understand why Mr Paul Kagame continues to misbehave and your office is quiet about his brutal behavior against the people of Rwanda and the entire region of Great Lakes ?
Has Mr.Paul Kagame become untouchable that your office has failed to handle his behavior? Or should I just say that where brutal regime is concerned you choose which brutal leader to caution while a so called leader like Paul Kagame is left to kill his people under your watch?
Your Excellency, last year you visited Rwanda at the time when Mr.Paul Kagame had just declared himself as a winner of the controversial elections.Elections held after changing the constitution in order for him to remain in power forever , elections held without any serious contenders against him after barring all the credible opponents like Diane Rwigara who is now in prison for trying to challenge Mr. Kagame and Father Thomas Nahimana who has been declared persona non grata in Rwanda by Kagame because he tried to travel to Rwanda to go and register his Political Party , Ishema Party.
Mr.Gilbert Mwenedata who also attempted to challenge Mr.Kagame in the elections has ended up into exile as he was being threatened by Kagame,s régime.
Madam Victoire Umuhoza who tried to contest the 2010 Presidential elections but she ended up being handed a 15 years jail term, your office knows her story, nothing has been done by your office.
Your Excellency, all these matters your office has swept them under the carpet and Kagame keeps on taking the same path of infringing our rights while your office watches.
What are the people of Rwanda benefiting as member of your organisation if you can’t come to our aide in times like this?
Your Excellency, Rwandans who are longing for Justice expect more from organisations such as yours.
And it is about time we started seing the benefits of being a commonwealth member.
Appoint more Gambaris to facilitate the dialogue in Rwanda as you have done in Zambia which is too far much better than Rwanda when it comes to democracy and human rights.
Your Excellency, I thank you for your immediate attention into this letter.
Jeanne Mukamurenzi.
Deputy Secretary General in Charge of the Youths in Ishema Party.