Kagame in Oslo-Norway: Once admired, now hiding as a thief!

The recent news reaching at The Rwandan confirms that President Kagame will be in Oslo-Norway on this Monday the 06th July, 2015.  President Kagame will be attending the Oslo Summit on Education for Development that is taking place on the 06th and the 07th July, 2015 at Radisson blu plaza Hotel in Oslo.

The Summit aims at mobilizing strong and renewed political commitment to reach the 58 million children who are still being denied their right to education, and to improve learning outcomes for those who attend school.

The Summit has been initiated to help reverse the negative trend in international support for education and to contribute to enhanced domestic resource mobilisation. Innovative partnerships and results-oriented, well-coordinated development aid are crucial as we approach the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals and the adoption of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

The news that the Rwandan has managed to inquire is that; beside the Summit, President Kagame will be attending a Side Event in the room called “Sonja Henie” located at the second floor in the Radisson Blu plaza Hotel’s building between 09:40 and 10:45 AM, where he will be talking with other delegates about financing for education.

The Government of Norway organized and hosts the Summit in cooperation with United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown. Prime Minister Erna Solberg will open the Summit. The Summit aims at bringing together Presidents and Ministers coming from 40 countries. The UN General-Secretary Ban Ki-Moon might be expected to the the Summit.

The visit to Norway was organized in secret as President Kagame is threatened and frightened by the people who protest every time he attends international events. Even though, this visit was organized in secret, the frustration and fear are still there, few days ago those working at the Rwandan Embassy in Stockholm-Sweden spent days taking rounds in the Oslo city. In addition to that, on Saturday the 04th July, 2015; The Kagame’s supporters (so called INTORE) were given clothes and flags to be used while confronting those who might protest against President Kagame’s visit to Norway.

On the other hand, after getting this news; Rwandans who live in Norway have expressed their concerns regarding their security to the Norwegian police. It is known by now that where President Kagame goes, there is always a hidden mandate given to the delegates of the accompanying team to the president. These Rwandan nationals living in Norway have issued and give to the police a list of people wanted by the international justice for allegedly crimes against humanity, who might use this visit as an excuse to into in Norway.

The police have ensured these Rwandan nationals that their security is guaranteed as they promised them that they won’t  allow anyone to use this visit for reasons to abuse the rights and liberties of others. The Norwegian police said that they will use all means possible to follow and look closely those coming with President Kagame in order to avoid insecurity.

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration responsible for processing applications from foreign nationals who wish to visit or live in Norway, the running of refugee application system and expulsion cases might have confirmed to have found some Rwandan nationals living in norway under protection who might be attending the protest to support President Kagame while in their applications for protection they claimed that they fled the country because of Kagame.

Coming back to the Summit; one would wonder how could President Kagame be invited in such a Summit and be taken as a genuine leader who has shaped the Rwandan Education system and promote gender equality! The big question would be to know if those who invite him have been reading credible sources of news on what is happening in Rwanda or if they just follow the reports proven to contain evidence of bias written by the Rwandan authority and/or those out-comers who undermine the Rwandan people and their history?

It impossible to understand how could President Kagame come on the frontline as a leader who has promoted education; it is well know that in the education system in Rwanda those who come from the Tutsi side are fully supported, while those who come from the Hutu side cover the education cost for themselves and when they get a chance to get government scholarships,  for some unknown reasons are suddenly stopped, these young Hutu women and men went through the same struggles or worse than Tutsi, they are either poor, they have lost their families or their parents are unjust held prisons.

Beside this, if we might look closely at the Rwandan education system; it would be unfair to say that pupils finishing high schools might be able to express themselves in an official language that they have spent more than 9 years learning, this has negative effects to their high education and learning process as many of them are finishing universities with the incapacity of writing a job application letter.

Within the country, education has become a profitable business for those who want to make money; new schools are established in a high number without the ability to manage them, this is a calculated strategy that undermines the Rwandan education system in its entire. This has caused education to be very expensive opening the doors to the few who has the means to cover their tuition fees. Even though they pay a lot of money, they get unqualified education as they have paid for not failing rather that to paid to be educated, where they finish with less knowledge in their professional fields, an outcome that makes youth incompetent at the labor market and increase the rate of unemployment.

We can not talk about the promotion of education and leave behind those who are at the basis of a fair and qualified education system: “teachers”. In this unfairly praised education system, teachers are the workers who are still earning less money in the country, the monthly salary of a teach is less than $50! In addition, the so called gender equality in the members of the parliament is bias as women do not take part in the decision-making process, they just do what they are told to do or commanded to do by President Kagame. This gender equality is a card used by  RPF to advance its agenda without challenges.

The Rwandan society is still a traditionally gender oriented society in which people are willing to defend values and old traditions, these would change over history and time but Rwandans themselves do not understand what Gender Roles means as no one have taught them, this came out of the blue and Rwandans went along with it. If we look closer to the Rwandan society, it is in our culture that women can not challenge men’s decisions. This might change over time, but there is still much to be done in promoting Gender Roles issues and community empowerment.

This makes us question those claiming this miracle from developed countries, as for them the Gender Roles Issues struggle started a half century ago and still going on: How could a country struggling from post-genocide and human rights abuse for the past 20 years could reach that praised gender equality? If this was to be true, there would be much to learn from this Rwandan miracles! And maybe, these women in parliament would have stood up to the defender their fellow women who are being abused by the RPF power, let’s say like Madam Victoire Ingabire who was accused of unfunded crimes, when she stood with an idea of fighting for a free, fair and inclusive society, in which all Rwandans would enjoy the same and equal opportunities.

Rwanda appear at the bottom of the lists classifying countries based on the wellbeing of the people, be it based on happiness index, gender equality index or incomes per household. This proves that Rwanda is very poor; rather than promoting the wellbeing of the people, pupils, students and workers are forced to leave they occupations to go out on the streets to protest. In addition to frustration, fear and low incomes; the government is always raising money among the people on different occasions by misusing the words: solidarity, integrity and dignity! And no one knows what this money is for or how it is being managed. What we know, is that all crimes and mistakes committed by the authorities, is for the Rwandan people to pay,  in one way or the other.

Here we can easily give an example about the Agaciro Foundation that was founded when donors cut-off aid to Rwanda as it was engaged and supporting the M23 rebels. The money that was forcibly contribute to this foundation, Rwandans are still wondering the whereabouts of that money as beside the authorities, none really knows what happen with the foundation management. This was not enough, as on the next sun set Lt Gen Karenzi Karake must be helped by Rwandans for his allegedly crimes against humanity, and again Rwandans are forced to pay more than one Billion Rwandan francs to cover Karenzi’s bail using the so called “Our dignity foundation”

To this frustration, comes another pressing matter where Rwandans are being compelled to amend the Rwandan constitution that will allow President Kagame hold power for life. Authorities at all levels of governance are forcing people to sign petitions that shows how much they are in dire need of the amendment of the constitution, surprisingly they are not letting behind those who are unable to read or write and those held in prisons! However, the most surprising thing is that the number of those the authorities allegedly claimed that they have signed those petitions is very higher than the number of Rwandans who can read and write; while the authorities are intimidating the people who are refusing to sign, calling them  enemies of the country and undermining their intelligibility!

Marc Matabaro

05th July 2015

Email: [email protected]