Of Western media imposing ghost opposition on Rwanda

Author: Samson Kasujja

• 2023-04-27 03:16:00

Rwanda has consistently experienced political threats from a bunch of bullies in Western media that are trying to create opposition for Kigali.

These media are not only impartial but also corrupt. They are serving political interests of super powers while demonizing as well as threatening developing countries.

For Rwanda, things are getting worse as disinformation about Kigali and Rwandans continues to spread. But for how much longer will Western media blind themselves with fallacious narratives about Rwanda?

Western journalists and scholars have shown a great deal of creativity in spreading fake news about Rwanda’s history, including denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Read: When Western media attacks Kagame know Rwanda is doing well

The country was on many occasions portrayed as a sort of ‘hell’ where life is next to impossible, with allegations of human rights violations, lack of freedom of speech and democracy. A number of media including but not limited to; BBC, Aljazeera, Financial Times, New York Times, Times, CNN, the Economist, the Guardian, Deutsche Welle, VOA, and The Washington Post, repeatedly promote the narration.

The modern times’ definition of democracy was hoodwinked by the supremacy of the Global North that set some lines (in their favor) to limit what should be called democracy. The word democracy, from its origin, the Greek words "demos" and "kratos", means a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.

It does not need to depend on the Global North’s will.

While trying to define democracy in their lenses, Western media and governments have, for long, misled international opinion about Rwanda’s political affairs. They, for example, created Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza into ‘an opposition leader’ to strengthen their narrative on Rwanda.

For instance, The Times recently published an article titled: “Rwanda deal unrealistic and unfair to all sides, says opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza”.

Ingabire is not an opposition leader in Rwanda.

She is not qualified to be a politician who has Rwanda’s interests at heart.

Her sole agenda is promoting the double genocide theory and terrorism, a fact that Western media intentionally evade.

Organic Law n° 10/2013/0L of 11/07/2013, governing political organizations and politicians prohibits anyone who has been sentenced to an imprisonment equal to or exceeding six months; or committed crimes of Genocide against the Tutsi, to be in the management of a political organization.

Arrested in 2010, Ingabire was convicted for divisionism, genocide denial, and collusion with FDLR – a terrorist group who members committed genocide in Rwanda. She served eight years, and was not acquitted but released on clemency in 2018. 

The DALFA Umurinzi ‘political party’ she claims to lead is not legally registered and only exists in her wishful thinking. Her ‘political credentials in Rwanda are null and void.

Ingabire and her minders continue to allege that the Rwandan government does not tolerate dissenting voices, but they do not want the world to know that the Rwandan government actually does not tolerate genocide ideology and terrorism.

 The politics of hate speech and divisionism have no place in today's Rwanda.

Political commentators with knowledge of Rwanda’s history think that Ingabire should instead be in prison regarding her behavior and agenda.