A reserved people reach out to ‘expatriate Zambians,’ civil society in a unique debate
Rwandans are generally reserved, careful with words, and tend to conduct themselves with great decorum and formality.
When they are not being deliberately rude, that is. In this, they contrast sharply with their more forthcoming, boisterous, and often cocky Congolese neighbours.
Their reserve is even more pronounced when it comes to contentious matters touching on government and politics.
Commentators given to rushing into conclusions cite this as evidence of the negative impact “a history of dictatorship” has had on society.
Rwandans, on the other hand, claim it is “part of our culture,” with some, especially those born and raised elsewhere, occasionally expressing frustration at how it makes it difficult to know what Rwandans are thinking.
Expatriates and embassy officials I speak to tend to agree wholeheartedly with this assessment while also lamenting the venom and indignation with which officials react to criticism of their government and how it goes about conducting its business.
A few days ago, all these things came rushing through my mind as I sat in a day-long meeting convened by the country’s Civil Society Platform. Dubbed “The public policy debate on political space and human rights in Rwanda,” it brought together civil-society activists, media practitioners, high-level civilian, police, and military officials, representatives of political parties, including those still seeking to register, policy specialists, an assortment of expatriates, and academics.
Two of the three political parties which were barred from contesting the presidential elections earlier this year, PS-Imberakuri and the Green Party, were represented. Missing in action, though, was Victoire Ingabire’s FDU-Inkingi.
In what amounted to a coup of sorts, at least in my estimation, the organisers had flown in two special guests: Members of the Zambia-based Diaspora who fled the country after it became clear the RPF-led forces for change had routed the Habyarimana regime.
The objective was to catalyse an open and frank discussion about arguably the most divisive of issues, and open a window for members of the refugee diaspora to make their “issues” known and see for themselves how the new Rwanda works.
Courtesy of a contact at the Rwanda Governance Advisory Council, I was invited to “provoke debate” on political space.
Henry O. Maina, Kenya’s “free expression activist” and regional director of Article 19, led on media freedom.
Save for the understandably reticent expatriates reluctant to be seen to impose their views, other delegates spoke with disarming candour.
It was a good mix of praise and criticism for the Rwanda government and its cadres and officials, as well as for political parties in and outside of the government’s power-sharing arrangements.
Through live broadcasting on radio and television, those outside the room, across the country, could listen in or watch as speakers took longstanding concerns and grievances off their chests while others defended their corner.
Glad to have been given the opportunity and facilitation to come and see for themselves what was happening inside the country and compare that with the images they had formed courtesy of media reports and information gleaned from internet chatrooms, the “Zambians” implored the organisers to make this a regular event.
From where I was sitting, I could see how the Civil Society Platform and whoever else had hatched the plot to stage this event had rendered the country an extremely valuable service.
Many things were said that ordinary Rwandans needed to know about their government, how it works and what drives it, but had hitherto had no way of finding out.
And there are many things government officials needed or wanted to hear that had hitherto lain hidden from them.
In organising the event, the Civil Society Platform had been motivated by a desire to contribute to efforts to revive Rwanda’s long-lost traditions of dialogue (ibiganiro), which the government itself has been promoting through initiatives such as the Annual National Dialogue (Inama y’Umushyikirano). It is a creative initiative indeed.
Frederick Golooba-Mutebi is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Social Research, Makerere University
