Ignore Rwanda’s foes raising the ante at the eve of CHOGM 2021

Rwanda’s capital Kigali recently raised the Commonwealth flag at its iconic building, the Kigali Convention Centre (KCC).  Lady Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Organisation of the Commonwealth countries (CHOGM) was in Rwanda for the occasion.

All this is an indication that preparations for the long awaited CHOGM Summit in June this year in Kigali are in high gear. But at the same time, Rwanda’s enemies have drawn daggers out and are relentlessly fighting to thwart this high-profile conference.

Those deeply engaged in hidden wars hopping to kill this summit are usual suspects, but others have coalesced to push a hateful propaganda aimed at doing harm to the reputation of the country. In so doing, those negative forces believe that they can prevent CHOGM Summit from taking place. They all know that for a country which was deemed a failed state 27 years ago to successfully host such epic international gathering would be massive.

The most openly vicious campaign against the Kigali CHOGM summit this summer is that of the discredited New York-based human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW). Its hostility towards Rwanda government is well documented. On March 8, 2021, HRW, wrote a letter co-signed by 42 organisations of human rights from CHOGM member countries, calling for “Independent Investigation into Rwandan Singer Kizito Mihigo’s Death”.

Why now, and why investigation into Kizito’s death, when Mihigo is not the only detainee to die in prison, in Rwanda or elsewhere in the world? Many more prison deaths happen all over the world, much more in US where HRW operates and no statements are issued calling for independent investigations or blaming the governments as well as demonizing the leaders.

The letter to the Heads of Government meeting to be held in Kigali in June says that “civil society organizations around the world are calling on the Rwandan authorities to allow an independent, impartial, and the and effective investigation into the death in custody of Kizito Mihigo, a popular singer and peace activist.”

This move by HRW is an act of desperation given the fact no one is going to pay any heed to this anti-Rwanda hateful campaign aimed at painting the country and its leadership in a bad light. But let me ask HRW and those organisations behind this bizarre letter how   many times did they call for outside independent investigations on the prison deaths that take place in western countries?

On July 6, 2019, a famous American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York federal custody under unclear circumstances. HRW did not call for an independent investigation.  Why does it always want to turn Rwanda into their punching bag to practice their double standards?

AS we know that charity begins at home, if HRW is genuinely concerned with human rights, it can begin by addressing the situation of death sentence in the US or high cases of racial discrimination and injustice.  Peter Eisler, Linda So, Jason Szep, Grant Smith and Ned parker asked: “why 4,998 died in US jails without getting their day in court?” (Reuters, Oct. 16, 2020). They pointed out that “the US government collects detailed data on who’s dying in which jails around the country – but won’t let anyone see it. So, Reuters conducted its own tally of fatalities in America’s biggest jails, pinpointing where suicide, botched healthcare and bad jail keeping are claiming lives in a system with scant oversight.”

For many years, HRW is hiding behind human rights to do politics and bulldoze countries that are deemed not towing the western style of “democracy” and brand them as undemocratic and human rights offenders. In short, HRW is a political toll that advances interests of the west. In reality, the organization keeps silent about human rights abuses that are rampant in western countries.    

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland who was in Rwanda for a three day visit, discussed CHOGM2021 preparations with high ranking government officials and was highly impressed by the high standards and readiness by Rwanda to host the summit in June. President Paul Kagame and Patricia Scotland announced that CHOGM 2021 will be held at the Kigali Convention Centre during the week starting 22 June. Leaders from all 53 Commonwealth countries are expected to attend.

The theme for the meeting is ‘Delivering A Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’. Five sub-themes to be discussed will include: Governance and Rule of Law, ICT and Innovation, Youth, Environment, and Trade.