By David Himbara
On the second of the just-ended National Leadership Retreat held at Gabiro from February 26 to March 1, 2018, Kagame was on top of the world. Looking like a gangster he is, hands in pockets and walking beside Nyiramongi, Kagame seemed different from the day earlier.
On the previous day at the opening of the retreat, Kagame appeared to be very sad and almost in tears.
And what was making Kagame so emotional and sad? It was the Rwandan children, most of whom live in extreme poverty, disease, and hopelessness. As Kagame put it, Rwanda has some of the worst indicators in the world, with regards to children’s wellbeing.
But don’t be fooled. Kagame was acting here. He is a con artist. He does not care about Rwandan children. If Kagame cared, he would resign. He has controlled and dominated Rwanda for 24 years. And he just grabbed power for another 20 years via a constitutional manipulation. The current situation of Rwandan children is a result of Kagame gangster regime. His priorities are US$300 million convention center; US$500,000.00 Range Rover cars of which he has four at a total cost of US$2,000,000.00. US$60,000,000.00 executive jets apiece; and building the US$500 million business empire — Crystal Ventures — built mostly through corrupt Rwanda government contracts and robbing the Rwandan national pension fund.
The Rwandan dictator deserves a Nollywood medal for great acting. He is a first-rate liar through and through. The man is a perpetual fabricator. Kagame is in the league of his own, in terms of the frequency of lies and in the utter abandonment of truth and integrity. He starts lying in the morning at home in Kiyovu; lies while conducting cabinet meetings at Urugwiro Village; and he keeps at it until his head hits the pillow at night in his Muhazi farm. His addiction to falsehood and capacity to lie is so great that it is impossible to keep a record. The very core of Kagame’s character is falsehood — lying defines his being and that of his regime.
Let us go back to the National Leadership Retreat. After making noise about Rwandan children, the topic was forgotten. Kagame’s interest in the children was to merely use them to abuse, harass, and intimidate other leaders. That’s it. In fact, to describe the Gabiro meeting as ”national retreat” is to fall into Kagame’s fantasy and lies. Let us remind the Rwandan dictator what real leadership retreats are about — in sharp contrast to his faked one.
- Genuine leadership retreats have clearly-defined and compelling agendas. Clearly, Kagame’s retreat had no agenda, jumping crazily from one subject to the next. His purpose was to humiliate every Rwandan leader from Chief Justice, Senate President, Speaker of Parliament, cabinet ministers — all the way down to the mayors. He even threatened to lock up the mayors.
- In genuine leadership retreats, the top leader sets the tone but does not dominate the discussions. Kagame practices the reverse. He dominates every conversation while intimidating everyone else. He is Mr. know it all. He has an answer to every question — this is due to power hunger and inferiority complex that drive him to dominate every situation. His trademark is to dictate as opposed to engaging other leaders.
- Genuine leadership retreats’ agendas deal with strategic issues. Kagame’s issue was to play the role of the headmaster scolding pupils. He addressed scattered and disjointed issues that gave him the pleasure to show that he is the king of Rwanda.
- In successful leadership retreats, leaders may disagree on some issues without being disagreeable. In Kagame’s case, he demands that every attendee becomes a sycophant. No person speaks his or her own mind. Genuine debate is not possible where there is fear — to the extent, you threaten to lock up people.
- Most importantly, at leadership retreats, the top leader assumes personal responsibility for poor performance and gives collective credit to the whole team for great performance. In Kagame case, he does the reverse — he is the only effective performer. The rest are useless. The dictator conveniently overlooks the fact that he appointed each and every man and woman in the room. He frequently dismisses them at the drop of a hat.
Kagame, you don’t care about Rwandan children. The purpose of your so-called leadership retreat was to confirm that you are a gangster who has hijacked and imprisoned the nation of Rwanda.
Congratulations — Mission Accomplished.
