By David Himbara
As we all know, all dictators world-over have their righthand men or women. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is no exception. In Kagame’s case, it was James Musoni who played this role since the early 2000s. Musoni became so powerful, and was even more feared than Kagame himself.
Musoni considered himself as a successor to Kagame.
And as Kagame’s righthand man, Musoni was nasty. Directly and indirectly, Musoni controlled everything in Rwanda on Kagame’s behalf. He was one-man appointing committee supporting Kagame to recruit even cabinet ministers. Musoni delivered emotional speeches to motivate and mobilize Rwandans for Kagame — and destroyed careers and businesses of so many people he disliked. But now he is a dead man walking. Kagame just dumped him into the dustbin.
The rise of Mpambara
There is no question who is the new James Musoni in Rwanda — it is Inès Mpambara, Kagame’s Chief of Staff.
If Musoni became so powerful, and was even more feared than Kagame himself, Mpambara is pure terror. And she knows how to cleverly handle Kagame’s traits, namely, egotism, narcissism, and low self-esteem. It is those traits that drive Kagame to surround himself with the likes of Musoni and Mpambara — ruthless enablers who insulate him from the plight of the people of Rwanda. Through the work of the morally depraved sycophants, Kagame terrorizes Rwanda. And for those who might wish to celebrate the fall of James Musoni, think again. You just inherited an even worse sycophant — Mpambara.
