In two brilliant pieces of writing, Ignatius Kabagambe exposed my intellectual bankruptcy of failing to grasp the symbiotic relationship between Rwanda’s pension fund and the ruling party’s business interests. This mutualism accounts for Rwanda’s rapid rise from poverty to prosperity, declares Kabagambe. I am now fully re-educated and rehabilitated, thanks to his masterclass lectures. Ignatius has a bit of a problem, however. What will he do with Alexis Kamuhire, Rwanda’s Auditor General whose data I used to tarnish Rwanda’s image?
Satirically Speaking
Open Letter to Ignatius Kabagambe
Dear Ignatius, special thanks for your recent exposés of my intellectual bankruptcy. Your wisdom knows no bounds. But before I dwell on my dishonesty, will you be so kind as to pass my message to the gentleman for whom you speak, General Paul Kagame? Kindly inform him that he appears healthier. Recent photographs and videos show a more relaxed Commander-In-Chief enjoying the game of basketball. His visibly restored skin glow confirms that he has tamed prolonged stress and anxieties.
Please remind him that his health and safety are very important to the people of Rwanda. He singularly carries the heavy burden of improving their lives until 2035 per the Rwanda constitution. Indeed, he has made it clearthat he has no problem with staying in power for the next 20 years. He, therefore, has to prioritize his health, because he will be 85 years in 20 years’ time. Kindly advise him to learn the secrets of longevity in power from his colleagues. Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang and Cameroon’s Paul Biya are well-positioned to give him excellent advice. At 81 years, Teodoro Obiang has been in power since 1979. Paul Biya, 90, has ruled Cameroon since 1982. The two men show no signs of slowing down.
Kagame can also learn from Obiang and Biya how they are dealing with the one thing that all long-term rulers would rather not think about but will face one day – loss of power. I am certain that Obiang and Biya have discussed at length the variety of exit options: Fighting to the very end and dying in a ditch? Escaping to exile? Facing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for grave crimes? Or committing suicide?
Dear Ignatius, let me now return to your masterpieces in KT Press and Igihethat exposed my intellectual bankruptcy. You totally demolished the notion of state capture and its existence in Rwanda. State capture occurs when narrow interest groups direct public policy away from the public interest and instead use it to grow their own wealth. But as you rightly corrected me, the underwriting the ruling party’s business empire by Rwanda’s pension fund is not state capture. On the contrary, the intercourse between the pension and private sector companies owned by the ruling party is the best thing to happen in Rwanda – you say. This is how you brilliantly put Himbara, the fake professor of international development in his place:
“What exactly is the problem if the Rwanda Social Security Fund is doing profitable business with RPF’s Crystal Ventures Limited…Thoughtfully, Rwandans found such kind of business relationships as seen between RSSB and CVL, to be among the most feasible mechanisms for fast-tracking economic transformation. Another clear case in point is the contribution of NPD to the construction of the national road infrastructure. Were it not for the involvement of this one other strategic CVL affiliate, the several-kilometre network of Kigali roads upgraded efficiently in the lead-up to CHOGM probably would never have been possible.”
Kabagambe, thanks to your wisdom. I now fully agree that the pension fund and the ruling party’s businesses are in a symbiotic relationships. Or to be more precise, mutualism is at work in Rwanda – this is a type of symbiotic relationship whereby all involved benefit from their interactions.
Kabagambe, before I conclude my lengthy appreciation of your brilliance, I have one question. Will General Kagame dismiss Alexis Kamuhire, Rwanda’s Auditor General? He is the one who supplied the data I used to tarnish the reputation of the government of Rwanda. Here is the data that I borrowed from the Auditor General:
In other words, dear colleague, Rwanda’s pension fund is a mess, according to the 2022 Auditor General’s Report:
- Eleven companies in which the pension fund invested US$107.4 million lost 80% in value, accumulating US$91 million in losses.
- Of 24 companies in which the pension fund invested in equity, 14 companies failed to pay did dividends.
- The pension fund generated US$1.9 million in rental income from its US$353.2 million investment in properties. In other words, the income from investment properties was a mere 0.011% of the amount invested.
When I cited these terrible numbers, you described me as follows:
“One David Himbara has been at it again, trying in vain to portray Rwanda in bad light. He does so with the hope of derailing the country’s development process. His motive is to tarnish through misinformation, the image of institutions regarded as central to the rapid economic transformation we have seen. Knowing that Rwanda Social Security Board and Crystal Ventures Limited are among the top, the self-exiled disgruntled former staff of President Paul Kagame never misses a chance to drag the two in the mud.”
Kabagambe, I did not falsify, fabricate, fraudulently alter, misappropriate or misrepresent the Auditor General’s data. I used it exactly as I found it. Alexis Kamuhire must therefore face the consequences of availing the ugly data I used to drag Kagame in the mud. Put another way, you can’t expose the evil intentions of the end user of the data (David Himbara), and ignore the evil co-conspirator who supplied the data (Alexis Kamuhire).
Dear Ignatius Kabagambe, please keep up the great work of educating the disgruntled self-exiles who tarnish the land of the Thousand Hills. Most Sincerely,
David Himbara, the fake professor of international development
