Dear President Lungu
I am compiled to write this open letter because of the above subject. I am a Rwandan refugee living in Norway.
Your Excellency as Rwandan President Paul Kagame visits your country. I would like to highlight the following points.
As much as you have every right to invite who your country wishes you need to ask yourselves as a country a number of questions. How are these leaders you invite treating their nationals.
Your Excellency , your brother Paul Kagame ,comes to Zambia with dirty hands. But if Zambia wants to make her hands dirty by shaking them with dictators like Paul Kagame then I don’t know where our beloved Africa is going to.
Your Excellency , a man like Mr Kagame who is well known for human rights violation within and out side Rwanda is of no use to your democratic country which respects the right of every citizen through the freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of choice.
A man like Mr Kagame who does not want to leave power is of no use to your democratic country which continues to enjoy the smooth transfer of power through holding free and fair elections where the opposition leaders are allowed to register their political parties without hindrance from the state.
Your Excellency, there is no opposition in Rwanda. While in a democracy the role of the opposition is to provide checks and balance to the government, in Rwanda Mr. Kagame does not tolerate anyone who is opposed to his views.
It is in this regards that he has made sure that no voice of an opposition is heard in Rwanda,only those that sing praises to him are given space speak.
The opposition figures in Rwanda who have shown the willingness to stand up and challenge him using their democratic rights, have been arrested in some trumped up charges and others have been denied an entry to Rwanda by Kagame through the immigration authority.
The recent case of Father Thomas Nahimana an exiled politician living in France who attempted twice to travel to Rwanda to register his political party Ishema party. He was denied entry into his own country together with his team. This makes a sad reading.This goes on to show how far Mr. Kagame has reached in closing the political space in my country.
Rwandans can indeed be declared persona non grata in their own country for politically not agreeing with Mr. Paul Kagame.
Madame Victiore Ingabire Umuhoza who is serving a 15 years imprisonement for simply expressing that she stands ready to unite the country. She wanted to register her party so that she can participate in the elections. It is now over 5 years her political party the United Democratic Force of Rwanda FDU Inkingi is not registered. It’s members are being brutalised every day by the Kagame brutal regime. This this the same story with PDP Imanzi of Deogratias Mushayidi.
Mr. Deogratias Mushayidi serving life imprisonement for simply being a Tutsi who doesn’t agree with Kagame’s leadership style of victimization.
Mr. Kagame being a Tutsi, expects every Tutsi to agree with him even when it is clear that he is not following the principles of democracy.
Your Excellency, a man like Mr. Kagame who is a well known trouble maker in great lakes region, is of no use to a respectable country like Zambia which enjoys good relationships with her neighbouring countries in the region.
A man who does not respect the three arms of government by controlling parliament and judiciary. He is of no use to a country like Zambia where these arms of government work independently.
There is no democracy in Rwanda, your Excellency.
Africa is even late on the issue of this subject.I believe that we can not say Africa is a Democratic continent when some of her countries are living in a world that does not support or promote the fruits of democracy.The democracy issue in Rwanda is of great concern as
Paul Kagame has failed to uphold the principles of democracy.
He has failed by amending the constitution to allow himself to stay in power forever while he knows his term of office is coming to an end in August 2017.
Your country, Mr. President is one of the countries which can boast of having fruits of democracy ,but the question is. what is Zambia doing to help other countries reach the minimum attribute of a free country?
Your Excellency, being a leader of a country that is building her Democratic attributes, Zambia can help a country like Rwanda to meet the same.
Zambia can help Rwanda by facilitating a madiation between Kagame’s government and the opposition political parties so that a sustainble solution is found to the currently pending political tension in Rwanda.
Your Excellency, being the President of a country which is hosting a lot of Rwandese refugees, you are in the best position to initiate this madiation and as a Rwandan who is hungry for true deomocracy in my country Rwanda, I look up to you to restore our hope.
Your Excellency, I am appealing to you, as you are going to share the meal with your brother Mr.Paul Kagame, whisper to him to open up the political space in Rwanda. Challenge him to free Madame Victoire Ingabire and Mr. Deogratias Mushayidi and let their political parties be registered, whisper to your brother to let Father Thomas Nahimana and his team travel to Rwanda.
Your Excellency whisper to Mr. Paul Kagame to stop kidnapping, torturing and killing the innocent Rwandans through his notorious directorate of military intelligence(DMI).
Finally your Excellency, I would like to thank your peaceful country Zambia for providing a home to hundreds of Rwandese refegees including myself who ran away from Mr. Paul Kagame,s brutal regime.
Your Excellency, your intervention in resolving the political problem in Rwanda will go a long way in restoring peace and stability in the great lakes region and lessen your country’s burden of hosting refugees.
May God bless you and the nation of Zambia.
Jeanne Mukamurenzi,
Trondheim, Norway.
