PRESS RELEASE N° 001/2015
EMPHATIC NO TO PRESIDENT KAGAME’S BID TO BECOME THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND
The political platform, composed of political organisations Amahoro PC, FDU-Inkingi; PDP- Imanzi; PS Imberakuri and Ihuriro Nyarwanda- Rwanda National Congress- RNC would like to condemn in the strongest terms possible President Kagame bid to become the supreme law of the land.
A cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on the 9th of September 2015, appointed a 7 man commission of legal experts to assist the Parliament in the process of amending the constitution in order to lift the limitation of presidential terms. This is to allow President Kagame to stand again when his term ends in 2017. This is again to show to any remaining doubters that the move to change the constitution in unstoppable and that President is determined to become King Paul of Rwanda.
In order to put his point home more emphatically that he is the supreme law in the land, President Kagame chose the time and the day that the Supreme Court of Rwanda was busy deliberating on the lawsuit filed by the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda on the 29th of July 2015, opposing the change of the Rwandan Constitution, especially Article 101, regarding lifting of Presidential term limit to appoint the commission. On the day the court was examining in particular the petition by the government that the Court had no competence to hear the petition of the Green Party. The President did not even have the courtesy to await the ruling of the highest law institution in the land. The Supreme Court ruled against the government petition and confirmed that it had the competence to hear the case filed by the Green Party. However in order to confirm the lack of independence of parliament, the Senate went ahead, despite the Supreme Court ruling to hear the case filed by the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, to approve members of the Commission appointed by the cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame.
This is again a reminder to all peace loving and friends of the Rwandan people, who had given President Kagame the benefit of doubt, that seating on the fence watching Rwanda slipping into future political instability is betraying the people of Rwanda once again. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
We take this opportunity to thank most sincerely the US government for coming out fully and openly on the side of the Rwandan people and advising President Paul Kagame not to change the constitution in order to remain in power.
One cannot emphasize enough the truth behind the wise words of President Obama that “when a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to just to stay in office, it risks instability and strife.” We would also like to thank the United Kingdom government for expressing its opposition to the change of constitution in Rwanda through the statement of Right Honourable Minister Grant Shapps during his press conference at the end of his visit to Rwanda early September 2015.
We would like to recall that it is not the first time that Rwandan leaders have tried to cling to power against all odds, each time leading the country to political instability and sending in smoke all past economic achievements. It is morally irresponsible and inhuman to let it happen again and therefore our political platform is determined to do everything in its power with the support of genuine friends of the Rwandan people to rein on President Kagame to stop pushing the country on the edge of another political violence.
Brussels 15/ September 2015
AMAHORO P.C
Etienne Masozera
President
FDU-INKINGI
Joseph Bukeye
2nd Vice – President
PDP-IMANZI
Jean Damascène Munyampeta
Secrétaire Général
PSI-IMBERAKURI
Jean Baptiste Ryumugabe
Coordinateur
IHURIRO NYARWANDA- RNC
Théogène Rudasingwa
Coordinator
ngombwa@gmail.com
