2012 Updated: What's Going on in Rwanda?

Rev. Rick Warren, a leading evangelical preacher, is in Rwanda for the annual Presidential Advisory Council meeting. Rev. Warren has been an ardent Kagame's supporter and power broker for the last one decade. This years' meeting is said to focus on mining and tourism, with Rev. Warren pledging to market Rwanda's coffee. While Rev. Warren's partnership with Kagame has the potential of attracting economic gains for the country, he has been widely criticized for avoiding conversations on Rwanda's human rights abuses and for extending unconditional support to a brutal regime. So far, Rev. Warren has remained defiant even to the point of attending political rallies in support of Kagame.  At Kagame's swearing-in ceremony (elections which were massively rigged) he argued that there is no need of worrying about Kagame's opponents since "they are not God" ("sibomana").

In Kigali, the trial of opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, continues to be shrouded in the mist of political intrigues. Dutch journalist, Anneke Verbraeken, has kept a frequent log on the theatrics of the case since Ingabire's arrest in early 2010. According to Verbraeken, the case is no more than a show trial, since the prosecution lacks evidence that meets the minimum threshold necessary for a conviction. Moreover, there are serious doubts on the legality of the case especially with reference to jurisdiction and procedural issues.

Ingabire is accused of genocide ideology, which wasn't a crime under Rwanda's law until 2006. Moreover, the purported evidence comes from the confessions of alleged co-offenders. According to article 59 of the Rwandan law, "Persons against whom the prosecution has evidence to suspect that they were involved in the commission of an offense cannot be heard as witnesses”.

Elsewhere, a South African court continues to hear witnesses in the shooting of former Rwanda's chief of staff, Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa. Kayumba is among the earliest fighters who joined the Rwanda Patriotic Front, which Kagame currently heads. Following a bitter fallout with Kagame, Kayumba escaped to South Africa in 2010. It is here that an armed gang pursued him in a failed assassination bid.

Kayumba insists that Kagame is responsible for the attack that nearly left him dead. However, the government of Rwanda has insisted on its innocence. The shooting incident has worsened diplomatic ties between Rwanda and South Africa, causing each country to recall its respective ambassador. According to court witnesses, the alleged assassin, Kanyandekwe who is a former soldier under Kagame's armed group, offered a bribe of one million dollars to South Africa's police urging them to release him. Just to illustrate how deeply entrenched this gang of criminals is, Kanyandekwe is also a former head of DRC's presidential guards under the late Laurent Kabila.

Lastly, Hotel Rwanda real life hero, Paul Rusesabagina has parted ways with a Rwandan opposition party, The Rwandan National Congress. Rusebagina claims to have done so in order to concentrate more on the struggle of human rights. Personally, I believe this is the right move. As a highly respected human rights advocate, it is crucial that Rusesbagina keeps himself above partisan and ethnic politics.