Critical time for Rwanda as Kagame, donors fall out

Things are not looking up for Paul Kagame. Rwanda’s President, hitherto a darling of donors, has fallen out with the West over claims he is fueling violence inside Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A UN report, released in June, accuses President Kagame of funding and arming the rebel group M23 in violation of UN sanctions. The militia is led by renegade Gen Bosco Ntaganda, aka ‘Terminator’, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes.

Already the UK, Netherlands, Germany and US have suspended aid to Rwanda over the allegations. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels.

Tighten belts

Kagame alleges that some members of the international community “who are plotting to overthrow President Joseph Kabila” are behind renewed fighting in eastern DRC, according to Rwanda’s Chronicles newspaper.

 Whether Kagame is guilty as charged is hard to tell but what is certain is that—with the cuttbacks—the hard part has just begun for Rwanda, which has enjoyed years of enviable growth since the 1994 genocide.

 

People who rob the dead and dying

Some people are sick, very sick in the head. These are people, and they are many according to Mr Justin Osey, who rob the injured, dying and dead at accident scenes. Osey reports that when his niece was involved in a road crash along the Mombasa-Malindi road recently, some of the “Good Samaritans” who found her writhing in pain did not help. Instead they eased her of cash, cell phones and identity papers and melted into thin air.

His friend’s wife was also involved in an accident at Tiwi South Coast and when the fiends arrived to help, they  helped themselves with all her effects and even tried strip her naked and take away her clothes.

Last Saturday, when a bus rammed into a truck in Kibarani, he says, the goons were there to rob the dead and the injured in the guise of giving a helping hand.

“Are we a cursed nation? No! We cannot live this way. We have gone astray. We should be humans. We should be remorseful.... Please let’s stop this habit. It’s a curse,” mourns Osey.

Osey claims that the bad habit has spread countrywide and is prevalent on all highways and by-ways. Sad.

 

ENVIRONMENT

Ban burning of rubbish in Mombasa

In the last few years, Mombasa has experienced a real estate bubble, which has seen the population of the coastal town grow rapidly. This, notes Martin Makundi, has caused a problem of refuse disposal. Although there are various Municipal Council of Mombasa garbage collection centres, most residents don’t like to pay private garbage handlers to cart their trash to these centres.

Instead of paying for disposal of the waste, most prefer to burn it outside their houses. 

“In estates within Bombolulu area, for instance, this issue has become such a big nightmare as there are a lot of unco-ordinated burning of refuse which results in residents being exposed to smoky houses daily,” he says.

Neighbours

He adds: “Some inconsiderate neighbours even burn trash at night with others ignorantly or rudely burning green vegetation after pruning live fences, producing smoke all day and night.”

 The burning “frenzy”, he says, is inconveniencing residents greatly and making children with medical conditions such as asthma and allergies to suffer a great deal. Can the council or Nema ban or enforce the burning acts?

 

DON’T YOU FORGET

Did Olkejuado County Council finally wake up?

Some residents of Ongata Rongai wrote to PointBlank on March 26, claiming that Olkejuado County Council was in deep slumber and had neglected the area. For almost one year now, they said, motorists have had difficulties driving on the busy Magadi Road due to huge potholes, especially on the section around Ongata Rongai town.

 The residents also alleged that in its slumber, the council had forgotten to construct culverts at the junctions of Magadi-Sololo and Magadi-Mage roads in Laiser Hill that they said serve schools, churches and a growing population. The residents also asked the council to do something about traffic jams in the town especially in the mornings and evenings and weekends. Did the council wake up from its purported deep slumber?