US is being unfair to Kagame and Rwandan people

The United States and other Western governments have ridiculed the outcome of Rwanda’s 2015 referendum that saw voters massively approve constitutional amendments allowing President Paul Kagame to run for another term in 2017. In their view, the majority decision of 98.3 per cent was manipulated and stage-managed through voter intimidation in favour of the president.

To Americans, four years are long enough for an elected president whose performance is continually evaluated like after the first 100 days, period of a year, mid-term and so forth. It is healthy and enviable when a society is civilised and vigilant enough to freely elect leaders and hold them accountable. However, it is important for such society to understand the differences in the demographic, cultural, social and economic terrains that dictate the way societies respond to democratic governance and thus respect their decisions.

There is a distinctive difference between America and other countries. For instance, Rwandans are still haunted by the nightmares of the 1994 genocide. The echoes of gunshots and cries of victims being hacked to death are not far from their memory. This has compelled them to appreciate President Kagame who pioneered the era of reconciliation, thereby extending his term. Failure to do so in regard to their conscience was tantamount to betrayal.

The onus is, therefore, on Africa to resonate political diversity with ethnic differences without intimidation to foster peace and development the way they understand and find appropriate.
Charles Okecha,
St. Paul’s College, Mbale