My unplanned overthrow of Rwanda!

BY Emmanuel Mungwarakarama

AGE is just a number, perhaps, but it is also felt in the muscles, sinews, and bones: to say nothing of hearts and brains. Your columnist’s mind continually dwells on the happy day, not too many years hence, when Autumn is fully fledged within him and he can concentrate on his First Love, Writing.

Let piece after piece come, if not tumbling out like a new-born lamb, but at least with the measured step that looking back should achieve. But Life never fails to spring surprises when least expected.

On December 23 last year (incidentally my brother Stephen’s entry into the 70s) his son William, living in the United States, agitatedly phoned me that he had come across news that I was among those planning the overthrow of President Kagame of Rwanda.

Reader, I sat down and laughed! 256News.Com had brought out the report and William emailed it rightaway. A certain Godwin Agaba, new name to me, wrote: “It has emerged, following a leak by security sources…a copy…has some of the names…behind the Green Party of Rwanda [who] have been coordinating clandestinely through emails and phone calls to wrestle president Kagame out of power in 2010…It has John Nagenda [256News.Com’s emphasis throughout], a senior adviser to President Museveni to be related to some of the big names behind the Green Party formation.

According to the brief, Nagenda is a maternal uncle to interim Green party Frank Habineza president, and it is Nagenda who paid Habineza’s school fees in his schooldays. Another fact is that Nagenda is a long-time and a close friend to Charles Kabanda who is Green party general secretary and Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa, who is currently Rwandan ambassador to India and a former RDF chief of staff, who is also on the list.

There follows a list of more than a dozen heavy-sounding Rwandans, many of them military. My first and abiding sentiment was one of total incredulity. How preposterous a notion! Many years ago, Uganda and Rwanda used to meet to iron out their differences, laughably chaired by comparative nonentities in the British government. I would have exchanged a joke or two with Nyamwasa. I have never heard of him since. As for Kabanda, his name doesn’t ring a bell, although I might have talked to him without remembering the name. “It was all a long time ago, and in another country…”

Frank Habineza, I know, he worked in my house at Namutamba, on our estate, perhaps 20 years ago. I did help with his school fees. A maternal uncle of his, I have never been. Since he left for Rwanda, I have seen him a few times; the last of which he brought his fiancée for introduction. It is, however, true that from time to time he sent me emails about his life in Rwanda, latterly one or two about the Green Party. I must confess I have not taken his party very seriously. I dimly recall some years ago advising Habineza to stick to work and forget politics. He never struck me as a leader of men, as the saying went!

Funnily enough I was thinking of visiting Rwanda (where I was born in ’38 when my parents were missionaries there). Oh well, another time perhaps.

Chaos As Rwanda Media Council Elections are Held

By Godwin Agaba


The Director General of Information department in Prime Minister’s office and former Managing Director of The New Times, Ignatius
Kabagambe has stunned journalists in Rwanda when he disregarded his own set guidelines for constituting the Media High Council.

This happened on Tuesday at the chaotic elections for representatives to the Media High Council.

Previously in his letter to all private media houses in Rwanda,
Kabagambe stated that, the representatives would be elected by press house members who are media houses representatives.

In his letter Kabagambe clearly stated that, each media house would have one vote and invitations were sent out in that regard but surprisingly when journalists arrived they found The New Times and Contact FM had bused in their entire staff in (two buses ) including support staff like cleaners , receptionists, tea girls and security guards.

Independent Journalists protested insisting that government directives be followed or the voting adjourned to allow mobilization of genuine journalists to attend, but this was rejected by the president of press house, whose term expired two years ago and has refused to quit, Albert Rudatsimburwa who was a candidate himself.

“How can some one who is a candidate be the one to determine the procedures,” one journalist wondered.

In a u -turn Kabagambe who came expressly to explain his instructions said, he had “over stepped” his cue by stating who would vote, although he thought “it was appropriate since in past dialogue this was agreed by all stake holders.”

It’s here one Managing Editor of the Business Daily, Marcel Museminari said that, “it’s like some body invites you to play basketball but when you arrive at the field he tells you must play soccer without the team and uniform.”

The eventual candidates Albert Rudatsimburwa of Contact FM and Arthur Asiimwe of the RPF owned The New Times were voted for by their own staff members, since all the independent media walked out in protest.

After the walk out, independent journalists condemned the process and vowed to petition cabinet to reject the nominees and force a fair and transparent elections.

Both Rudatsimburwa and Asiimwe are the ones who accompany president Kagame on foreign trips.

Our sources say Rudatsimburwa and Asiimwe have been shuttling on RPF errands in their lobbying International media.


Sources add that the Executive secretary to the Media High Council Mulama Patrice and the president of the Journalists Association Safari Gaspard, both alleged government spies, were the architects of the election rigging.

Last year Rwanda was ranked 158 by Reporters without Borders close to Eritrea and Afghanistan in press freedom.

In this election year Rwanda is likely to go even lower in press
freedom ranking.