Hon. Secretary of State,

It is with pleasure that I learnt about your upcoming visit to Rwanda, which is an indication of the good bilateral relations between the US and Rwanda. However, when I read the press statement by Ned Price at the US Department of State released on July 29, 2022, I found the wording in the last sentence displeasing and offensive both to the government and people of Rwanda.

 

The statement says that among the issues you intend to discuss with Rwandan government officials is “the wrongful detention of U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Paul Rusesabagina.”

 

When the US calls Rusesabagina’s detention wrongful, millions of Rwandans question whether your government bases such allegations simply on the claim that Rusesabagina is a “US lawful Permanent Resident” and therefore, Rwanda has no authority to try him for crimes he committed against the people of Rwanda. International law does not allow US citizens to commit serious terrorism crimes and go away with it simply because they are US residents.

 

 Secondly, the assertion that Rusesabagina was wrongfully detained implies that Rwanda is a pariah state that does not abide by the rule of law. Hon. Blinken, this is not only annoying and provocative, but also an abuse of the principles of sovereignty of states, and interference in the affairs of another state contrary to the provisions under international law.

 

With regard to the man, a criminal actually, that you are pleading for, I know you may even not pronounce his name. I also know that you know little about him. I am sure that you, like many other Americans, came to know the name Rusesabagina in 2004, when Hollywood actor star, Don Cheadle, in a fiction movie, Hotel Rwanda, depicted him as a hero who saved Rwandans during the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. The movie was based on a lie. However, it earned Rusesabagina the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom from then U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005. That is the image that you have of Rusesabagina and it is understandable. The real-life Rusesabagina is wrongfully compared to Oskar Schindler, while facts reveal the opposite. In the eyes of millions of Rwandans, Rusesabagina is a fraud, a villain and a sponsor of terrorism.

 

Rusesabagina never saved people at the hotel where he worked as a manager.  Instead he took advantage and charged money from people who sought refuge in the hotel contrary to directives by its owners. Rusesabagina worked with the intelligence service of the genocidal government, and threatened to send those who did not pay to the génocidaires to be killed. When Rusesabagina left Rwanda, he used the profiteered money to buy a taxi in Brussels, where he switched jobs from a hotel manager to a taxi driver. Rusesabagina personally said he “added salt and pepper” to the movie.  

 

To know the truth about the movie that made you know Rusesabagina and value him, I encourage you find and read a book titled, “Inside the hotel Rwanda: The surprising trues story and why it matters Today; authored by Kerry Zukus and Edourd Kayihura.

 

If your discussion with the Rwandan government officials will be about releasing a “wrongfully detained US Legal Permanent resident” without considering the seriousness of the crimes that led to his detention, this will be absurd. I hope you know well that before being a US lawful permanent resident, Rusesabagina is the son of Thomas Rupfubire and Nyirampeta Kezia, born in Murama- Southern Rwanda. His ancestry is here in Rwanda. One wonders therefore, if his residence in US makes him more American than Rwandan.

 

Without going into much details on evidence provided against Rusesabagina in court on his involvement in acts of terrorism against Rwanda,  and his connection with other terror groups like the FDLR,  he is on record himself publicly declaring war on Rwanda including the use of force.

 

Evidence from files obtained by the Rwandan National Public Prosecution Authority through judicial cooperation with Belgian counterparts who carried out a search of Rusesabagina’s Brussels home, shows how deeply he was involved in the planning, financing and execution of attacks on Rwanda. Rusesabagina who was the commander in Chief of FLN, got real-time day-to-day updates on the military activities from Gen. Jeva, while Gen. Irategeka of FDLR advised him on which ranks to give to soldiers. They used coded language in communication with FDLR generals.

 

Hon. Blinken, have you bothered to contact the FBI to find out what they knew about Rusesabagina before he was arrested? It is known that they are in possession of vital information about his collaboration and financial transactions with commanders of armed terror groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Rusesabagina’s current political organization, the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), has an armed terror group known as National Liberation Front (FLN) which carried out attacks in south-western Rwanda between 2018 and 2019, killing at least nine people, critically injuring dozens and destroying property worth millions.

 

There is another side of Rusesabagina that you do not know which requires humility and listening to the voices of Rwandans.

I can imagine that the image you have of a “Hollywood hero” turned terror sponsor tastes bitter for you, but it’s the truth. Remember Bill Cosby, another hero and recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom like Rusesabagina? He got convicted of sexual assault and millions of his fans remained in doubt. He had another side of life too. 

I am sure you have heard of the case in 2014, of Cheryl, a beautiful lady from New York City, who was surprised one morning when the Police barged into their home and arrested her husband, a man she knew as Bobby Love. They had lived together for 40 years and she had no clue until the arrest that her husband was a prison escapee and his real names were Walter Miller. Similarly, Rusesabagina was your lawful permanent resident, and had another side of life you do not know and should humbly endeavor to understand.

 

I hope that your talks with the Rwandan government officials about Rusesabagina will not be based on the contents of the long letter Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey wrote to you recently.  That would be embarrassing as the letter was based on misinformation provided by Rusesabagina’s family, his PR machine run by Kitty Kurthy, based in   San Antonio, Texas, as well as anti-Rwanda lobbies’ narrative built on mere fabrications. Kindly listen to the Rwandan officials for the true story about the “hotel Rwanda hero.”

 

I have no doubt that you recall when, in 2017,   Sen Menendez was in the dock in a New Jersey courtroom on corruption charges in a federal bribery trial during which he was accused of benefiting from around $1 million in gifts and political donations from a wealthy eye doctor in exchange for political favors. With the case of Rusesabagina, the lesson I get about Menendez is that old habits die hard.

 

Hon. Blinken, in order to understand better what happened, I strongly request that while in Rwanda you spare a few hours and visit the village of Nyabimata in Nyaruguru District, Southern Province, and talk to widows, orphans and survivors of FLN attacks, for which Rusesabagina was the commander in chief. 

 

You will realize the trauma and agony they live in and their quest for justice. They know that Rusesabagina is a cancer survivor but he is in good hands where he gets first class medical attention and talks to his family regularly. The widows and orphans of Nyabimata wake up to see graves of their loved ones and will never be able to talk to them again until Jesus returns. Can you weigh the difference?

 

Instead of pressing Rwandan authorities to release a non-repentant convicted terror criminal only equaled to Bin Laden, Rwandans expect that while in Rwanda, you will convey an apology for allowing Rusesabagina, through his Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF), to plan terror attacks on Rwanda from the US.

 

 Apart from that thorn in the flesh on issues of Rusesabagina, I believe US and Rwanda enjoy good bilateral relations. And I have no doubt that your visit will be fruitful for the benefit of the two countries. Long live the people of US and Rwanda.

Sincerely,

Kalaveri ka Munana

Concerned Rwandan citizen

 

CC:

U.S. Department of State

Senate Republicans

Senate Democrats

Senator Robert Menendez

Ned Price, Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State

Rwanda Embassy US

US embassy in Rwanda