This week, PBS put out a great piece on Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s efforts to silence Paul Rusesabagina. Rusesabagina has been targeted by the Rwandan leader since speaking out against the brutal dictator. Rusesabagina is not alone. Kagame critics have a way of disappearing or ending up in prison or dead.
When I first read about Kagame, like many in the west, I saw him as a hero of the 1994 genocide. His Rwandan Patriotic Front seemed to stop the killing and bring peace to that nation but that’s not really what happened. The war didn’t end, it just moved next door.
In August 2020, Rusesabagina was kidnapped, arrested, and convicted in a sham trial. This piece gives a great overview and even includes the admission that the Rwandan government paid for the flight that took Rusesabagina to Kigali.
It is important to note that the charges against Rusesabagina were brought to the attention of the American and Belgian governments, who dismissed them as there was no evidence. The United States has a strong track record of extraditing Rwandans to Rwanda when there is evidence. If there was real evidence here, Kagame would never have had to resort to kidnapping.
My view is that if a citizen of one country can be kidnapped and thrown in prison by the leader of another country, who is safe? If a U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient cannot get protection from the government where he is a citizen, who is safe? Does being a permanent resident of the U.S. mean nothing?
Amnesty International found this:
Paul Rusesabagina was found guilty today on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison by the International and Cross-Border Crimes Chamber of Rwanda’s High Court. The trial was marred by numerous violations of his fair trial rights, including the unlawful circumstances of his arrest and transfer to Kigali, his enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, among other irregularities before and during his trial. Amnesty International independently monitored the trial which was livestreamed online. Amnesty International’s monitoring of the pre-trial period and the case focused on procedural adherence to international fair trial standards.
On January 11, 2022, at 7:00 pm, No Business with Genocide is hosting, along with the New York Comedy Club and Two Joke Minimum, a fundraiser for Rusesabagina’s legal defense fund. Nore Davis, seen on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, Boardwalk Empire, and Succession will headline. Wavy Maguire, the warm-up comedian for VH1’s Love and Hip Hop, will host. It will feature Jason Ox-Horn (founder of Two Joke Minimum, a comedy company in NYC), T-Storm, Jenae Boston, and me. It will be a good show. Anaise Kanimba, one of Rusesabagina’s daughters, will speak.
If you are in the NYC area and would like to attend, you can get your tickets here. If you are not in the NYC area but want to take part, please email me.