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Dear all and my friends on face book, I hope that life is treating you kind, my post today is in response to over ten messages that I found in my in box, from “Intorehamwe”, this term refers to a team of extremists Tutsis, who are like Interahamwe, a militia group of extremist Hutus born out of a desperation to protect what they thought as Hutu power during the Habyarimana’s regime.
So just like these Interahamwe tried to protect their so called power, by killing thousands of Tutsis with hope that they could finish them from Rwanda, thereby preventing Tutsis from acquiring this power. These Intorehamwe come after anybody who seems to be anti what they claim as Tutsi power in the RPF government.
In the interest of time and space, I will answer their questions through this post, as do why accuse Rwanda of attacking banyamulenge and yet Kagame is a fellow Tutsi?
But before I answer their questions, there are two area of president Kagame’s character that amuse me. One is that although I fault him for ruling Rwandans with an iron hand, he unleashes his terror to all Rwandans indiscriminately, in fact his ethnic Tutsi people have fallen victim to his ruthlessness than the Hutus.Secondly, his ability to tell political lies also amuses me, for instance a few months back when his propagandists were trying to convince all of us that the borders were closed due to construction works, Kagame in his signature style honesty that often betrays his political self came out and said that this was simply politics, I have also found my self laughing every time he openly admits to having killed his opponents like the late Patrick Karegeya and Seth Sendashonga; and goes on to warn every enemy of Rwanda that he will find them every where, things that any other politician would try to deny.
In the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, the Interahamwe who had committed these atrocities, plus all the Hutu wanaichi fled to DR Congo something that prompted the RDF to pursue them with the justification that if they are left alone they will reorganise themselves and attack Rwanda again, and due to awe and guilty that had gripped the whole world, especially the Western powers, which was accused of standing by as genocide was happening in Rwanda, anything that the RPF asked after 1994, the western world would grant it, since they were viewed as the savours of Rwanda.
Ceasing to this opportunity, the RDF entered DR Congo, but alongside them was Laurent Kabila backed by the UPDF. Rwanda also used this chance to convince the banyamulenge that if they supported this war to remove president Mobutu, they would be empowered and finally be part of the government, thus being able to develop their area in the south Kivu. This agreement brought people like Bizima Karaha in the limelight, and all of us came to know about a small community of cattle keepers from south Kivu(banyamulenge).
However, this new formed alliance was to fall apart due to the attitude of RDF soldiers towards the banyamulenge, for they sensed that they were being treated like subjects by Rwandans soldiers to the extent that when a munyamulenge fighter would be injured he would be sent back to his family for treatment while his counterpart from RDF would be taken to kanombe military hospital for treatment.
The final blow which hit the banyamulenge was when a Ugandan born, Rwandan general James Kabarebe was declared an army chief of staff and subsequently changed to being Kabare a munyamulengye, this and every thing else added to confirm the banyamulenge fear of having invited an occupational force with imperialist interests and therefore their hopes of being empowered by their cousins, the Rwandans were buried.
While the banyamulenge from south Kivu took offence, the other kinyarwanda speaking Congolese of Masisi, Jomba in North Kivu; where the likes of Laurent Nkunda, Bosco Ntaganda and Sultan Makenga come from, didn’t take this same offense toward Rwanda, as noted above. For banyamulenge who live in south Kivu, always see Rwandans as their distant cousins while the banyamasisi – banyejomba in North Kivu see Rwandans as their own brothers and sisters.
Rwanda couldn’t accept a small community of cattle keepers to not pay allegiance to the authority in Kigali, in 2000 Rwanda invaded the banyamulenge with the pretext of pursuing a munyamulenge, a lower rank officer who had deserted their force by the name of Masunzu.Unlike today where president Felix Kitsekedi doesn’t seem to have a clue, then, the banyamulenge had the support of DR Congo young chief of Staff, Gen Joseph Kabila and later when he became a president in 2001. Joseph Kabila then had fought alongside banyamulenge and therefore appreciated their fighting skills. He also understood that just like his father, the banyamulenge political interests had been shortchanged by Rwanda and so they were justified to take offense.
In conclusion, therefore, you the Intorehamwe, who think that Kagame cannot sanction an attack on the banyamulenge because they are fellow Tutsis, you’re mistaken ask yourself why Laurent Nkunda, a charismatic and eloquent rebel leader, who had won all our hearts was summariry arrested, for simply threatening to out shine his master from Rwanda.As I conclude this post which has turned out to be very long, I will add on my answers to these ntorehamwe next Sunday and I am comforted by the news I got yesterday that Col Pierre Murasira is still herding cows with the Gumino fighters in Minembwe.
