Minister of Health, Dr Agnes Binagwaho - Source: in2eastafrica.net

The current fertility rate[1] in Rwanda is 5.5, and the Government’s aim is to reduce that to 3, while the average annual economic growth remains at 8%. According to Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Minister of Health, ‘Rwanda’s population policy, of which family planning and spacing is but one component, is carefully crafted and calibrated to match population to growth. ’However, despite the improvements in family planning during the last decade the Government is facing major challenges to include the 38% of the population that has no access to modern family planning methods.

Voluntary vasectomies campaign

Fuelling this debate is the ‘voluntary’ vasectomies campaign; a campaign introduced by the Ministry of Health in late 2010 to sensitise men about no-scalpel vasectomy[1] (NSV), a permanent birth control/ male sterilisation method. The Rwandan opposition has rejected this policy; in a statement issued in February 2011, Sylvain Sibomana – the Secretary General of FDU-Inkingi – said, “this mass emasculation policy should stop with no further debates. The idea that those who can’t afford to pay for their family needs must enrol in a draconian birth control system is nothing but pure discrimination against the poor.”

The use of ‘emasculation’ is certainly questionable in this context, since medical studies have proved that sterilisation does not rid you of your masculinity nor your virility. However the belief that vasectomy is synonymous to castration is the main reason why Rwandan men have fear of undergoing the procedure.

Rwandan women and their babies in a health centre - Source: www.allvoices.com

Nevertheless, reports from Syfia Grands Lacs show that for some women – especially in the rural areas – vasectomies offer a sliver of hope as they take away the fear of financial hardships as well as pre-natal and post-natal health issues caused by multiple pregnancies.

In response to the opposition, Dr Binagwaho said, “I will end where I begun.  The Rwandan Government’s Family Planning Policy, is evidence based, ethical, and is participatory. It is built on many pillars, family planning being one, albeit important one. It has no room for rigid ideologies, or unhelpful political posturing. There is no left, right, or centre in this program, just the reality of the imperative to match Rwanda’s population growth with her capacity to provide her sons and daughters with the Wealth and dignity they deserve.”

A forceful and inhumane act

In a recent Twitter exchange with Dr. Agnes Binagwaho about vasectomy policy in Rwanda she reaffirmed that ‘the sensitization of the population for voluntary vasectomy is on-going. [The] response is good. People are responding and have created an association of men who have benefited from vasectomy in Rwanda but there is room for better outcomes. [There is] no time limit, no target, it is a voluntary and personal choice’

Vasectomy sensitisation in Rwanda - Source: orinfor.gov.rw

While there is room to agree with this response, from a population overflow context, it is difficult to determine how voluntary it is. Dr Charles Kambanda, a former lecturer at the National University of Rwanda, questioned the use of ‘voluntary’ to describe this policy, in an article titled ‘Rwanda: Why Sterilise the Poor?’ In this article, Dr Kambanda looks back at the government of Rwanda’s implementation of the habitant and land reform policy in 1994, which encouraged ‘voluntary’ repatriation from traditional homesteads to settlement areas called imidugudu. He described the process as “forceful and inhumane” then goes on to say that, “the Government’s policy of what was called voluntary sharing of land between the Hutu owners and the Tutsi returnees ended in the forceful grabbing of land from the Hutu in many regions of the country.”

 

Family Planning: whose decision?

According to a study coordinated by USAID and the Capacity Project in 2005, the reason behind the choice of male over female sterilisation in Rwanda is due to the fact that there are less post-operative complications. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also confirmed this by stating that it is the safest and most effective contraceptive method. In addition, an article published by Vernon et al (2007) called Introducing Sustainable Vasectomy Services in Guatemala, argued that with vasectomies men have more say in the ‘reproductive decision-making’. While it is commendable that women do not have to bear the brunt of a national problem, it does not take into consideration the already patriarchal culture that exists in Rwanda.

An interesting and somewhat ironic factor to this ‘voluntary’ vasectomy is that it has to be a joint decision between a couple, and the partner must come along to the operation to prove that she is in agreement. But we must ask these questions: in a relationship, who decides when it is time to have children? Who decides whether a condom is used or not? Who initiates the sexual act?

While Rwanda has made giant leaps in female representation within the Government, the 2010 MDG Report shows that there are still considerable challenges to achieve the real essence of gender equality. Poor women from rural areas are not benefitting from the opportunities available to women nationwide.

 

Other options

There are several safe, effective and long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods such as the contraceptive implant, the IUD and IUS – that have a life span of five to ten years. These methods when correctly monitored by health professionals can aid child spacing, and at the same time contribute to reducing maternal and child mortality. Speaking with Dr Binagwaho, I probed about the availability and accessibility of LARC methods in Rwandaand whether the mutuelles de santé covered women to have these 15 to 30 minute procedures done. She said that these methods were available in Rwanda today and added that while ‘consultation is covered by the “mutuelle” … the tools are sponsored by the Government so FP (family planning) is almost free.’ It is unclear as to what was meant by ‘almost free’, perhaps it depends on whether you view the glass as half-full or half-empty.

A reduction in fertility can be attributed to a higher rate of education enrolment as well as gender equality according to several studies (Basu, 2002). This means that a woman who has more control over her resources and her life can choose when she wants to have a child. However, in some cases, like inIndiawhere a boy-child is preferred to a girl-child, a better education did not necessarily reduce fertility rather it reduced early pregnancies. An analysis of World Bank data has shown that there is a link between a country’s economy and the annual population growth.  TheUnited States of America, theUnited KingdomandBelgium, had an average growth rate of below 1% in comparison toRwandawhose annual population growth stood at 3 % in 2010.

While it is worrying that the Rwandan population is growing at a staggering speed, it has definitely not reached boiling point where the Government should have to make sterilisation the best option available on the market. The weight given to this initiative, somehow takes the magnifying glass away from the other ills that need to be rectified to move Rwanda’s economy closer to its target. Instead of assuming the responsibility for the economic issues it faces, the Government of Rwanda is using the vasectomy policy to scapegoat the poor population – who have little or no decision-making power. In the end it looks as if the poor are the ones slowing down Rwanda’s economic development, and not the world order, the dependency theory, corruption, unequal distribution of wealth among many well- known theories blamed for the state of African development.

It is good that the services are available and that a lot has been invested in the program to train health professionals and equip medical facilities, however the promotion of the campaign and what its real intentions are remains unclear. It would be far more beneficial for the Government of Rwanda to concentrate on tackling the causes of poverty which have been shown to have a significant effect on fertility rather than on finding radical solutions, which do not guarantee positive effects for the country’s economy or long-term prospects for the people.

Maziyateke

Jambonews.net

[1]Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with current age-specific fertility rates.

Victoire Ingabire

On Monday, April 16, 2012, Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza told the High Court of Kigali that she had “irrevocably lost confidence in the possibility of a fair trial” and that therefore “she will boycott all future court hearings”. Such a decision was taken because of “the persistent lack of fairness since the start of her trial”, including continuous intimidations against defense witnesses and defense lawyers. She instructed her defense counsel to abide by her decision and stay away from this unfortunate circus.”

The prosecutor said that “the alleged intimidations of defense witnesses” were not a sufficient reason to withdraw from the trial and that she may be forced to appear in court even in case she persists in wanting to boycott the court hearings adding that if necessary, a new lawyer would be appointed to represent her in her absence.

Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza told the High Court that the situation has reached a point of no return and that a fair trial is impossible under those conditions. “Although I am accused of terrible crimes, my witnesses are being intimidated and the Court does not care”, she said before going through a brief review of all the difficulties she encountered so far and demonstrating that her trial was rather political than judicial.

Among the issues mentioned, she disclosed the contents of her secret meeting with the Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga, who, she says, told her that she was arrested because she created a political deadlock within the government, alleging that she would like establish “a Hutu regime” because she and her party accuse the RPF of having committed crimes against the Hutu population. The Prosecutor General said that the government expects an apology from her in exchange for a government pardon. On May 13, 2011, in response to these private discussions, Ms. Victoire Ingabire  sent a private letter to the Prosecutor General in which she advised the regime to release all political prisoners, open up political space and start discussions with the opposition. “Shall I die or live, imprisoned or be freed, what we have accomplished will never be wiped out”because this movement is stronger than myself”, she specifically wrote in her letter released today by her political party on her request.

The straw that broke the already over filled vase was the refusal by the Court, on Monday, April 16, 2012, to hear Michel Habimana, former spokesman of the FDLR, that the defense counsel had called in as a witness about the alleged intimidations against the defense witnesses. The Court refused to hear him on this issue and ordered him to leave the courtroom.

On April 11, this witness was called to the stand and appeared in court although the prosecutor objected to the possibility that he would be heard as a defense witness invoking a previous conviction for genocide by a Gacaca court; the Court agreed to hear him without swearing in, just for the court’s own information.

In his lengthy testimony of April 11, the former FDLR officer, completely dismantled the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness, namely, “Major” Vital Uwumuremyi. According to Michel Habimana, who was acquainted to Vital Uwumuremyi in custody, the later is working for Rwandan secret services; he had even tried to recruit Michel Habimana in 2009 so that together they could trump up false charges against Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on behalf of the Rwandan regime.

“From the beginning we were hoping for some kind of fair trial. But it didn’t take long before we realized that a fair trial would never take place”, Ingabire’s British Lawyer, Iain Edwards, told a Dutch journalist, Anneke verbreaken, close to the case in an extensive interview.

Controversy

The alleged intimidations and interrogations outside the courtroom of the defense witness(s) by the prosecution led human rights activist to question the fairness of this trail.

“There are concerns about two incidents in particular,” Carina Tertsakian of Human Rights Watch told the VOA News. “One is the sudden search of his prison cell apparently on the orders of the prosecution, in which all his papers were seized, the notes of the statement he would make in court.  And the second aspect, which seems also very concerning, is that this same witness was questioned in the prison – not in the court but in the prison – by the prison director and another official in the absence of any lawyer and in parallel with the court proceedings.”

In the Netherlands, which has been supporting the Rwandan judicial system heavily since the 1994 genocide, MPs went on calling for a stop of the aid after viewing the documentary evidence by the Radio Netherlands Worldwide .

“That a witness would have been manipulated confirms once again that these things happen inRwanda,” said Dutch MP Joël Voordewind of the Christian Union (CU) party. “This leads to the suspicion that we should break our cooperation with this trial.”

A week before the start of the trail six month ago, in the article titled “Ingabire’s trial becomes a litmus test for Kagame government”, the author, Simon Allion, stated: “If Ingabire is genuinely guilty, and can be shown to be so, Kagame will be vindicated. If she’s found not guilty, or proceedings degenerate into a show trial, Kagame will have serious questions to answer about abuse of power and his commitment to democracy.”

Regardless of what the verdict is going to be, this case has shown once again, how fragile and how the Rwandan justice system can be manipulated and used for political aims from all sides.

In November 2011 while in Kigali,U.S.Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, criticizedRwanda‘Closed Political Life’: “Press restrictions persist.  Civil society activists, journalists, and political opponents of the government often fear organizing peacefully and speaking out. Some have been harassed.  Some have been intimidated by late-night callers. Some have simply disappeared”, said Ambassador Rice.

If Ms. Victoire Ingabire is found ‘guilty’, she will join other opposition leaders who are already serving their sentences in the infamous Kigali maximum security prison known as 1930, for almost similar crimes as the ones Ms Ingabire is accused of. The most known are Mr. Deo Mushayidi of PDP-Imanzi who is serving a life sentence and Me Bernard Ntaganda of PS-Imberakuri.

By Ruhumuza Mbonyumutwa  and Jack Mugabo

Jambonews.net

Clarisse Iribagiza source: Bizcommunity.com

Inspire Africa, a Human Capital organisation promoting entrepreneurship among young Africans, had, in January 2012, launched a television show in which the protagonists had to compete against each other in order to prove of their abilities as entrepreneurs. With this intention in mind, those responsible of the show, chose 23 young CEO s from the counties Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania for the competition. C. Iribagiza, from Rwanda, CEO of a small business creating applications for mobile devices, achieved to convince the jury during fourteen episodes and was invited to take part in the final show along with two other competitors. She excelled also in the final test and won the first price endowed with 50000$.

Afterwards she declared that she would like to invest the price money into her business. In fact she and her team would like to expand and offer their services in the whole region of East Africa.

Although  they did not win the competition, other participants of the competition received large sums of money from the main sponsors of the show. For example Davis Musinguzi received 50000$ from Warid Telecom for his medical support service, reachable 24 hours a day by phone. Manuella Pacutho for her part went home with 15000$ after impressing the representatives of Power Group.

At the end of the event Graham Power, founder of the Power Group company gave a speech. He reminded the African youth of their responsibilities towards their continent. Finally he gave some business advices to young entrepreneurs, based on his experience made in the African business world.

Blaise Linaniye

Jambonews.net

Original article published in French on the 10^th of April.

Rudasingwa at joint conference by FDU-RNC on March 31, 2012

Even though the mysteries still surround the assassination of Laurent Desire Kabila 11 years later, suspicions continue to point toward the RPF regime currently in power in Rwanda. Today, it is Rudasingwa, the former right hand of Paul Kagame, who steps into the breach, by accusing his former boss of being behind the attack against Kabila on December 16th, 2001. Theogene Rudasingwa was, for several years after the RPF took power, the closest adviser of Paul Kagame. He made the headlines in October 2011 by accusing his former boss of ordering the attack against the plane of his predecessor, Juvenal Habyarimana.

It was during that joint town hall meeting that Rudasingwa once again returned to the charges by revealing the information he had never previously revealed about his former mentor: “I’m saying It; It is today that I say it clearly; it’s Paul Kagame who assassinated the Congolese President, Laurent Desire Kabila;  Kagame is the murderer of the Congolese President Kabila. No president in office today worldwide, throughout Africa or elsewhere is known for criminal acts that are comparable to those of Paul Kagame; yet he sometimes dresses up, takes a plane and wherever he goes a red carpet is displayed in his honor and in meetings he is applauded. This is something that the Rwandan people should refuse; the 11 million Rwandan people are not condemned to be led by a criminal (…)”. (1)

Laurent Désiré Kabila

Even though Rudasingwa is the first among the former close collaborators of Paul Kagame to clearly accuse him of having assassinated President Laurent Desire Kabila, several suspicions have always weighed on the Rwandan dictator. For instance, Gerard Gahima, the former Prosecutor General of Rwanda and a member of the founding core of the RPF, currently turned dissident of Kigali, without accusing Kagame of being the perpetrator of the attack, was the first to emphasize that the strongman of Rwanda wanted at any price to get rid of Kabila, a President he had put in power a year earlier.

Marlene Rabaud and Arnaud Zajtman, two Belgian journalists, conducted a thorough investigation into the murder of President Kabila. They released a documentary called “Murder in Kinshasa. Who killed Kabila?” In their documentary, three hypotheses about the crime have emerged (plot from the CIA or Rwanda, revenge by dissident leaders dismissed from a rebellion which brought Kabila to power or revenge from disgruntled child soldiers). They clearly show how the track incriminating the Kigali regime seems most likely.

The conclusions of other independent investigators, including, Manuel Altzano and Charles Onana also go in this direction.

Jean Mitari

Translation by Amani Tuyishime

Jambonews.net

1) Statement from the 14th minute in the video

Christiaan and Martine De Beule, receiving their price

Created in honor of Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on March 8, 2011 in Montreal, Canada on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day and presented on March 12, 2011, the award aims to honor the most distinguished individual in the search for democracy and peace during the past year.

In selecting winners of the first edition, the jury composed of Juan Carrero, former candidate for the Nobel Peace, Mauro Sbolgi, founder and managing director of SIREAS ASBL, and Mary Roger Biloa, editor of Africa International, chose to distinguish Mr. Déogratias Mushayidi whose sentence for life imprisonment was recently affirmed by the Supreme Court of Rwanda but also the couple Martine and Christiaan De Beule.

In his award presenting speech, Mr. Sbolgi emphasized the contrast between the “power of big states that participated in these terrible events in Rwanda and the powerlessness of extraordinary men and women, extremely brave who sacrificed their lives and freedom to change things.” “Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is one of those examples”, he added.

He justified the choice of Déogratias Mushayidi because of his “Integrity and perseverance in his political struggle” and estimated that Deo Mushyayidi was an example “for all prisoners of conscience, such as those who pay for their being the fact of daring to speak aloud what everyone thinks down.”

Gerard Karangwa, receiving the award of Mushayidi from the hands of Joseph Matata.

With regard to the couple De Beule, they were chosen because of their tireless investment over the last twenty years in the quest for peace in the Great Lakes Region, particularly through the association “SOS Rwanda-Burundi” which defends human rights in the region.

It was then to Mr. Joseph Matata, tireless campaigner for human rights who had the honor to present the trophies to the winners.

In his acceptance speech, Christiaan De Beule felt that it was not to them that “this award was meant to be given in the name of a lady so brave; we have never acted for the glory, but if you honor us now, it is rather a group that you must honor”. “Accepting such a prize imposes an obligation to continue the great work because during the last 17 years the situation has not improved at all”, he added.

Mr. Gerard Semushi Karangwa, Vice President of the party PDP-Imanzi who received the trophy for Deo Mushayidi, expressed his difficulty “to replace and speak for Deo Mushayidi“ and paid tribute to him. For Mr. Karangwa, “those who knew Mushayidi know that he dedicated his life to the cause for which, the efforts he has always deployed are now recognized.”

He felt that this award came “at a particular time because just days after his life sentence by the Supreme Court.” He stated that “such a conviction has not shaken the moral leader of PDP-Imanzi” and that “the fight and determination remain the same” because these prisoners of conscience are encouraged by knowing that “the seeds they have sown for the cause for which they fight, continue to be taken care of by others.”

It was Martine De Beule, overwhelmed by emotion, who concluded the thanksgiving: “This award is also yours, I offer it to you all”, she said to the public, before adding in tears “because you’re fighting as we are so that the people of Rwanda may get away from the misery in which they are held hostage.”

The "Lioness", the RIFDP women, all three sections combined (Belgium, Canada, and Netherlands).

The ceremony was also an opportunity to “pay tribute to all those women who amaze us, these women whose fate has taken away their life partners and who took in their hands alone and with courage the fate of their families, taking care of their children with dignity”, according to Ms. Daphrose Nyirankundwankize, President of RIFDP. “Those women fought so that the world may have a human face, a face more womanish.”

“Here, there is much talk of wage inequality, social inequality, but there are women that is not often, women in black Africa who get up in the morning the child back, to cultivate the field to Kilometers not be safe to return at night, these women face in war, I think especially those in eastern Congo, the women who live only for their survival, these women are forgotten and yet live the humanity. “She has said in her presentation.

She also had a word for Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, “the woman of exceptional courage who abandoned her family for the benefits of all of the Rwandan people, and for women journalists” to which she expressed her admiration.

She ended her speech with an appeal to the women of the congregation to join their space for dialogue and bring the voice of the voiceless but also a call to the men: “support us” she told them, “we cannot take off without men, for sure, but do not discourage us” and to you all “do not remain idly by while our peers are suffering greatly.”

The evening was enriched by many musical and dance shows, including concerts by the promising young artist Rwandan, Regis Bobo;  artists Djakhobo and Ben Ngabo and Rwandan traditional dance ballets Intashyo (Netherlands) and Urugwiro.

Translated by Amani Tuyishimye

Original french version by Ruhumuza Mbonyumutwa

Jambonews.net

As the debate on underage drinking intensifies globally, we come to terms with the fact that alcohol is no longer a problem affecting the adult population alone. In this article I investigate some of the reasons behind the excessive drinking patterns of young people in Britain and Belgium, to understand whether drinking is purely a social lubricant, or whether it is a social drug. Furthermore, I look at how over the years alcohol consumption has become both a symbol of female emancipation and confinement.

Passed out on the street after far too many drinks Source: dailymail.co.uk

Alcohol consumption, in African tradition has long been used to regulate socially assigned gender roles; it is common in African societies for men to consume excessive amounts of alcohol to mark the birth of a child, to welcome a visitor, or to enjoy a wedding ceremony. In recent years however, according to a WHO report, ‘in some societies gender differences in drinking behaviour have grown smaller.’ Since the 1960s in the West and perhaps the 1970s for Africa, women have been more involved in the market economy and thus have access to their own disposable income and can choose to have more leisure time. A Saturday night in any African metropolis will tell you a new story; rows of independent, career-driven and hip young ladies popping champagne bottles and sipping on exotic cocktails.

A survey commissioned by the European Commission in 2010, crowned Britain ‘the binge-drinking capital’ of Europe. This means that British people consume several units of alcohol in just one sitting. At least once a week at university, there was an alcohol themed night called VodBull where white paper cups of vodka and Redbull were sold for £1 each. A £20 note later and the dance floor was something close to a scene from a horror movie. Girls sprawled across the dance floor, swimming in their own vomit, others getting sexually violated in the hallway, broken heels and private parts on free view. The general consensus is that binge-drinking among the youth is a result of the numerous restrictions that are placed on alcohol by the British government. Others argue that nightclubs and bars can only make money from broke young people by inventing these alcohol-themed nights where a shot can cost as low as 20 pence.

Jack Daniels

According to a 2006 study by CRIOC[1] consumption of alcohol in Belgium begins at a very young age, with one in four 13 year olds admitting to be regular consumers of alcohol. This pattern is put down to the popularity of social drinking, as well as the early introduction of alcohol to children by parents, which by teenage years has turned to wine and champagne tasting. There are some clear differences in the drinking patterns between genders (40% boys and 36% girls), as well as regions (Flanders 44% and Wallonia 36%). CODE[2] said that while data shows that on average boys drink more than girls; this difference disappears during the weekend. Furthermore, a study conducted by ESPAD[3] (2003) showed that Belgian youth are among the Europeans who have the largest consumption of alcohol (based on frequent consumption defined as that of a person who consumed alcohol 10 times or more during the 30 days preceding the study.)

By Maziyateke

Jambonews.net

Rachel Mwanza

Since last Saturday, Feb. 18, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has known a new star in cinema. The young actress Rachel Mwanza, aged 15, was awarded with the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 62nd Berlin Film Festival. This award was given to the Congolese actress for the best portrayal of her character as “Komona” in the movie “Rebel” by Canadian director Kim Nguyen.

Such recognition is worth its weight in gold for Rachel Mwanza who just made her film debut and whose childhood was unhappy. For the record, this girl was abandoned by her parents six years ago. Her time was divided between living on the streets and at her grandmother’s house. From the streets of Kinshasa to the backstage of a big film festival, the incredible destiny of Rachel Mwanza was revealed in her performance in a movie of the Quebecker Kim Nguyen. The Congolese actress played the role of a child (Komona) kidnapped by rebels and forcibly incorporated into the army.

Through this work, the director shed light on the civil wars in Sierra Leone, Angola and Burma. Furthermore, he condemns the situation of child soldiers. The entire shooting of the movie took place in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has experienced, like the nations listed above, many armed conflicts.

In the view of promoting cultural values and fresh talent, the Congolese authorities will without doubt learn a lesson from Rachel Mwanza’s accomplishment. It should be noted that the girl who carried aloft the banner of the country was among those once rejected by the Congolese society, namely, street children, commonly called “shéguésé in Lingala.

Who would have thought? They say that, even in a basket of “bad apples”, the good ones will never go amiss.

Translated by Harmonie Uwizera

Original French version by Mathy Magic

Jambonews.net

Sweden

According to insiders, this expulsion may be linked to the disappearance last month of a Rwandan journalist, Jean Bosco Gasasira,  editor of the online newspaper Umuvugizi , who lives in Sweden.

A week after the expulsion, Gasasira reappeared from his hiding place claiming he had been sick and was hiding because he feard for his life. He told the BBC that the swedish police helped him hiding and that without their help, he would be dead at that time.

It is not the first time that Rwandan diplomats are linked to espionage and other obscure activities towards exiled critics of president Paul Kagame. In May 1998, Seth Sendashonga, former member of the ruling party RPF, and first post-genocide Interior Minister, was shot dead in Kenya. Sendashonga had survived the first assassination attempt in 1996, about which a Rwandan diplomat in Nairobi, Francis Mugabo, was accused of carrying out on behalf of Kigali.  Suspected by the Kenyan authorities of involvement in the attack, Francis Mugabo was detained for a while then released without trial, under pressure from the Rwandan government.

In its call for an inquiry into assassination of Rwandan opposition leader, Amnesty International stated:  “We believe Seth Sendashonga’s assassination is likely to be directly connected to his frequent criticisms and denunciations of human rights violations by the current government and security forces in Rwanda – and to his profile as one of the few, credible peaceful political opposition figures to have emerged since 1995”.

In 2010, Jean Pierre Bizimana, then ambassador of Rwanda to the Netherlands, refused to return to Rwanda for the 2010 ambassadors’ retreat in Kigali and instead sought political asylum in the Republic of Ireland. According to some sources, he feared of getting arrested once in Kigali allegedly for failing to help assassins sent by Kigali to kill the opposition leader, Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, shortly before her return to Rwanda in January 2010 to register her political party, FDU-INKINGI, and contest the 2010 presidential election.

In April 2011, it was reported that the British intelligence service MI5 warned Mr. Ernest Rwamucyo, the Rwandan High Commissioner in London, to halt an alleged campaign of harassment against critics of his country’s government. The London Metropolitan police went on warning two Rwandan exiles living in London that they were facing an “imminent threat” of assassination at the hands of the Rwandan government.

Send us Akabanga but keep your spies away

Speaking to JamboNews , a Rwandan who has been following the matter closely but who chose to remain anonymous said: “While the Rwandan government has repeatedly rejected these accusations, lately it looks like it has doubled its efforts trying to smuggle its ‘intelligence services’ into western countries. It is a very sad thing to see and I hope European authorities will remain very vigilant.. If there is something Rwandans in Europe, US, Australia or elsewhere in the world don’t need and don’t miss, it is these spies. These spies/murderers are the ones that made many of us leave Rwanda in the first place. We are very grateful and satisfied with the freedom and liberty we have here and we won’t trade them for anything. We always appreciate it when they send us Akabanga (hot chilli sauce made in Rwanda) but they should keep their spies away.”

By Amani Tuyishime.

Jambonews.net

LGBTI activists march through the streets of Khayelitsha Township, South Africa, www.africanactivist.org

Christianity force-fed to our continent at the end of a whip – and now those who were condemned are condemning. For how long will we close our eyes to what is clearly laid in front of us and claim that Europeans brought homosexuality to Africa? Historical records from pre-colonial Africa show that there were diverse sexual partnerships existing way before white man set foot on the Motherland: female husbands, men having sex with men (MSM) – only left alone because spiritual leaders believed that if they were disturbed they could come back as avenging spirits and create more damage to the community’s procreation. All of these were never seen as threatening so long as these individuals also engaged in heterosexual coupling -sounds a lot like what we would call bisexual in modern times.

In the last few months the never-ending debate on homosexuality has been dominating the headlines in both Europe and Africa. The UK passed a law in December 2011, putting an end to speculations that had long been at the centre of a great debate in Zimbabwe after Morgan Tsvangirai suddenly changed his views on homosexuality; not too long ago he had been backing Robert Mugabe’s view that homosexuals were worse than pigs and dogs. This law concludes that being of a different sexual orientation in Zimbabwe, is not a life-threatening situation, therefore those who come into the UK to claim asylum on the basis of persecution as a result of their sexual orientation will be in for a shock! On the whole, the UK is saying that they accept that a person is gay and know they are in danger but in the face of harm the person must choose to be discrete – ‘voluntary discretion’. It is rather shocking though, that the same government that was threatening to cut aid from African countries if they do not introduce gay rights is asking victims not to express their sexual identity if they are in danger. Just over a month later the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon addressed the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, and one of the key messages from his speech was that discrimination based on sexual orientation ‘had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for far too long’ and there needed to be a change in order to respect the Universal Human Rights. So far only South Africa has passed a law that gives equal freedoms to gay people, and to be frank I believe that all humans are born equal, therefore I encourage the rest of Africa to follow suit. We have more pressing problems to worry about than whether John and Matthew should be allowed to hold hands in public.

A man reads the headline of the Ugandan newspaper revealing the identities of gay members of Ugandan society. Source: guardian.co.uk

According to the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2007) sexual orientation is not just about the sexual act, but rather the conduct. Furthermore, one’s gender identity is not strictly tied to the sex assigned at birth or whether they have undergone transformation surgery or not. These definitions made me think back to the video of a well-known Ugandan homophobic pastor, which became a YouTube sensation around two years ago; its title alone was enough to explain the psychology of homophobes. The “Eat Da Poo Poo!” video shows Pastor Martin Ssempa who is the Chairman of the National Task Force Against Homosexuality in Uganda addressing various congregations and audiences and showing them graphic details of men having sexual intercourse. He finishes the video by asking the congregation, ‘As Africans we want to ask Barack Obama to explain to us; is this what he wants to bring to Africa as a human right, to eat the poo poo of our children?’ Everything about the video is geared towards making the viewer laugh, until you start asking yourself how those that are being condemned feel. This got me thinking – what exactly are people against: the gay identity or the sexual act?

In October 2011, I attended a one-day conference organised by Student Action for Refugees (STAR) at the London School of Economics called ‘Protecting Human Rights: Sexuality, Gender Identity and Asylum in the UK’. A whole day of discussion panels, led by experts in immigration law and LGBTI issues, human rights campaigners and lesbians and gay men from various developing countries. A Ugandan man at the conference who came to the UK in 2001 to claim asylum, spoke of the torture he faced in Kampala and with the UK Border Agency. One scene he described with tears in his eyes touched me deeply; he was attacked by a mob in Kampala, and all the police could say was ‘you do what you can, when you are finished we will come and clean the place.’ I was angry, because I know that while he was lucky to have escaped; many others continue to face such discrimination in Africa. In 2010, a Ugandan newspaper called Rolling Stone published a list of a 100 homosexuals living in Uganda, and instructed the public to hang them. Many gay men including David Kato, a well-known LGBTI rights activist were bludgeoned to death by thugs, and the international response to these massacres was pitiful. What do we call the womb of a woman that carries a child that later on becomes gay? A vessel engineered by the Devil? How many of us, if there was a ‘Gaydar’ machine that detected the sexual orientation of their foetus, would have an abortion if the results were positive?

Rwanda:

The situation in Rwanda is slightly difficult to assess; there are mixed feelings among the population who, like other African nations continue to label homosexuality as ‘un-African’ and ‘ungodly’. The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda (EER), the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini claimed that Africa is fighting a ‘moral genocide’. According to him, by choosing to be with a partner of the same sex, you are deliberately killing off a potential generation. There is a gram of truth in that but there are so many people who choose not to have children, and some who cannot have children for various medical reasons. Many African countries are struggling to keep orphanages running due to the lack of funding. There are so many children out there who have no parents, and have no one looking after them. Where will they end up? Can we then not say that these governments are also committing a moral genocide, by failing to provide a decent standard of living to these children so that they can be healthy and live beyond the age of 5?

Daddy de Maximo lying in a hospital bed after the attack, picture: Igihe.com

On 10 November 2011, Daddy de Maximo Mwicira Mitali, the first Rwandan to venture out into the fashion industry successfully, was brutally attacked in his home. According to an article published by the French LGBTI media outlet Yagg, he was tied to a chair, gagged then tortured for an hour. Luckily he managed to break the chair he was sitting on just as they had finished to pour petrol on his body and fled to the kitchen. They pursued him with the intention of stabbing him but he protected himself with his arms and the knife raptured his left arm tendons. He owes his life to a neighbour who upon hearing the noise caused by the fight came to his rescue. Many have compared this incident to what has been happening in Uganda, but the general response of Rwandans has been positive, many of them sympathising with the victim, and saying that being next to Uganda does not mean they must act like them – as one Rwandan said, ‘the fact that Daddy is gay, should be his problem alone.’

I was lucky enough to have inside information from a friend who has connections with the LGBTI community in Rwanda. He says that while Rwanda does not have a law that criminalises homosexuals, it does not have a law that is in their favour either. He believes that this is influenced by the West and especially by the United States which has made Rwanda one of its biggest donor darlings. In 2008 there was some research conducted by the National AIDS Control Commission in partnership with Global Fund and Major Evaluation. This research wanted to prove that there were homosexuals living in Rwanda and that if this fact remained ignored, sooner or later there would be some serious consequences. In 2010 the same organisations did a quantitative study which tried to find out how many homosexuals there were, how they lived and how they could get help especially with regards to health. It was only with the health agenda to combat HIV/AIDS that they were not only able to locate them but to bring them together, provide them with medical care, help them to start some projects and to build a future. This was mainly organised by peer educators who are recruited by the state to penetrate into gay communities, in order to sensitise and educate as well as represent their peers when necessary. It is still within the context of fighting HIV/AIDS that homosexuals have managed to secure themselves a spot in the sexual minority group; they along with prostitutes and truck drivers are considered to be in the HIV high-risk group.

Today, the LGBTI community have their own organisations where they can go through a rehabilitation process, learn to accept themselves, find solutions to their problems, and create projects that will allow them to be independent and make a living. There is a list of organisations that support the Gay Movement in Rwanda and these are listed below. In addition, there are six Rwandan LGBTI groups that have been formed so far. For more information you can visit the organisation websites or Google them to find out in more detail about the studies that have been conducted. For information about the LGBTI groups in Rwanda send me an email at maziyateke.info@gmail.com.

CNLS – http://www.cnls.gov.rw Follow them on Twitter @CNLSRwanda

ICAP – http://www.columbia-icap.org/wherewework/rwanda/index.html

ACORD – http://www.acordinternational.org/our-work/where/rwanda/

PSI – http://www.psi.org/rwanda

Global Fund – http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/savinglives/rwanda/hiv2/

What are your views on homosexuality? Please do not hesitate to leave some comments below this post.

Maziyateke

Map of the area where the missiles were fired according to experts, source: Nouvelobs

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, the experts that were appointed by the judges Trevidic and Poux revealed their findings with regard to the investigation into the culprit of the terrorist attack of 6 April 1994 that particularly took away the lives of President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and his counterpart President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi.

In front of an audience of thirty people including the plaintiffs, the defense counsel of the suspects (RPF members close to President Paul Kagame) and the prosecutors, the experts shared their findings at the High Court of Paris before an attentive audience.

For nearly 4 hours, from 2pm to 6pm, the judge Trevidic, along with Nathalie Poux, the second judge in this case, introduced the report of over 300 pages.

But the main content was presented by the experts who were present for the occasion. One after another, expert surveyor, expert in explosives, expert in arms, expert in aviation and expert in acoustics, who joined the investigation team, gave to the audience their conclusions based on their respective fields of expertise.

According to preliminary information gathered by Jambonews, the experts, upon putting together their findings, identified four certainties:

The first certainty is that through a process of elimination, the experts confirmed that the aircraft was shot down by a portable missile SA-16 (SAM 16) made in former Soviet-Union.

The second certainty is that there have been two shots including a missile that missed the plane and another missile that hit the plane.

The third certainty is that the reactors of the aircraft were not affected by the missiles and remained intact.

The fourth certainty is that the left wing of the aircraft was hit. Indeed, analysis of the wreckage shows that the missile hit the tank in the left wing.

With these elements, the mission of the experts’ team was to determine the location from where the missiles were fired, a crucial part of this investigation into the attack that plunged Rwanda into the horror.

None of the experts could determine alone the launching site which was determined by cross-checking all expertise and analyzing testimonies, twelve in total.

In total, six possible launching sites have been identified by the experts through a process of elimination in order to identify the most likely location.

The ideal position for an experienced shooter was, according to experts, the site of Masaka (either the farm or the valley). But the experts judged that such a site was to be dismissed due to two factors identified as critical.

The first factor is the story of three prominent witnesses, a French soldier and two Belgian military doctors who were present that day at Kanombe military barrack and said that they heard the blast of missiles. The acoustics expert said that it was impossible to hear the blowing of missiles from Masaka, located more than 3 kilometers away. He believes that, given the distance, the plane would have already hit the ground before anyone can hear the blowing of the missiles.

The second factor is the impact of the missile and the occurrence that the missile hit the left wing of the aircraft. According to experts, the missiles usually follow the heat of their target. But when the plane was shot down, it had already passed the Masaka hill, which means that if the missile had come from behind (i.e. from Masaka) it would have reached the reactor instead of the left wing of the device. The experts’ conclusion on this point is therefore that the missile came forward before reaching the left wing of the aircraft.

However, the aviation expert orally argued that she cannot be categorical on this last point, because as the experts agreed, the first missile missed its target. It is therefore possible that the pilots changed the trajectory of the aircraft.

Another hypothesis that was put forward by the experts but was immediately ruled out is that of the barnyard that was located in the courtyard of the assassinated President. This hypothesis has been quickly rejected because the experts estimate that if the missile had been launched from there, it would have reached the right side of the aircraft, not the left one.

In light of these factors identified as critical by the experts, the experts concluded that “the firing of the two missiles, the second of which shot down the presidential plane (Falcon 50), may have taken place from the Kanombe camp (military barracks ), located near to the Belgian development aid workers’ residences.”

Another insight from the experts is that the missiles SAM-16 utilized to shoot down the aircraft were used by specialists because their use requires an extensive training of at least 50 to 60 hours. The experts also stressed that there were two shooters.

At the end of the presentation, Judge Marc Trevidic, who read the conclusions of the experts alternately with judge Nathalie Poux, said that all parties had three months to provide comments on the report of the experts; they may also request a counter expertise.

After collecting all the comments, the judges Trevidic and Poux will analyze the experts’ report in the light of other facts of the case, especially the many testimonies.

Pending the outcome of the investigation of the judges, nobody is exonerated and nobody is charged; this is by the way not the role of the experts.

It is up to the judges Trevidic and Poux, at the end of the investigation, to publish a full report about the possible involvement of RPF members suspected of being behind the terrorist attack or eventually charge other suspects.

Translated by Amani Tuyishime
Original french version by Ruhumuza Mbonyumutwa
JamboNews.net