Ever since the East African country obtained independence in 1962, she has had no peace. In 1972, there were mass killings of the Hutus – the tribe in the majority by the minority Tutsi who had dominance of the country’s army. There was a retaliation in 1994 where the Hutus slaughtered the Tutsis in gargantuan proportion which precipitated in an over decade old civil war that left sorrow, tears and blood.
The thirteen year civil war ended in 2006 and there was the necessity for the signing of a peace accord to avoid a repeat of the bloody past and balance the tension of ethnic driven power. This accord limited the terms of office for the President to two terms of five years each and was reinforced by the 2000 Arusha peace treaty in Tanzania in the year 2000.
The decision of the incumbent President Pierre Nkuruosziza to perpetuate himself in office by seeking a third term is most unfortunate as it will greatly shatter the peace that the country only just recently obtained. His reason is rather lame as he claimed that he was not directly elected by the people but imposed on them by Parliament. There have been protests against this unpopular decision which runs contrary to the spirit of democracy and fair play. More than fourty thousand people have already fled the country to neighbouring Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and eighteen have been feared dead. The police have been brutal in their use of tear gas and water cannons against the unarmed and peaceful protesters.
Sylvere Nimpagaritze, the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court was forced to go on an imposed self-exile as he refused to rubber stamp the sinister plans of the sit-tight dictator. There were threats to his life as huge pressure was brought on the highest court in the land to endorse this novel route to autocracy.
The tourism industry has been greatly affected as they have been warnings by different countries on the need not to visit the troubled spot. Tourism has just been picking up and it greatly adds to the revenue of the beleaguered country. The inordinate ambition of the president has scuttled that important fledging source of revenue which has the potential not only for massive job creation which the ailing economy so badly needs but as a potent way to restore foreign investor confidence in the country which would translate into a better deal for the hapless masses.
President Nkuruosziza, a former Hutu rebel leader turned ‘born again Christian’ tried to shore up his popularity by embarking on some populist programmes. He provided affordable and comprehensive health insurance cards, free primary schools, free healthcare for pregnant mothers and children under the age of five and the transformation of the schools into vocational centres that will teach the much needed skills for the nation’s development. Unfortunately, these ‘well intended’ programmes have all ended up in a fiasco of monumental proportion. The insurance card was an unmitigated financial disaster. The teachers are being owed salaries for many months with the quality of the teaching on a rapid decline as the teachers were ill equipped to teach subjects like English, Swahili and Entrepreneurship. Many of the healthcare centres are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy as the state cannot afford to pay for the pro bono services they provide. This has only worsened the sorry state of the nation and has left many of her citizens seething with grief and anger.
Africa has had the stigma of dictators and repression – the likes of Robert Mugabe, Jean Bedel Bokassa, Yahyah Jammeh, Mobutu Sese Seko, Muammar Ghaddafi and so on. It is high time we moved from that tragic era as the continent should consolidate on the gains of democracy which was won through the blood of faceless heroes. The epoch of strong men belongs to the past and there is no need to dig up archaic bones that will further exacerbate the crisis in the continent and take it aback by centuries.
President Nkuruosziza should do the honourable thing by stepping down and ensuring a peaceful transition. He should not forget what happened to Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone who will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for harbouring an insidious sit tight agenda. His decision has already cost the loss of lives which may make the International Criminal Court beam the searchlight on him. It is high time he cut his losses for the best and greater interest of the nation that so desperately needs stability to develop to the acme.
END
Be the first to comment