http://www.observer.ug/special-editions/40991-how-marriage-between-tutsi-and-hutu-in-rpa-fell-apart

How marriage between Tutsi and Hutu in RPA fell apart

Written by JUSTUS MUHANGUZI

To mark 25 years since Ugandan soldiers of Rwandan descent attacked Rwanda, former New Vision journalist JUSTUS MUHANGUZI relives a war that changed the region.
The RPA press briefing held in the Muvumba commune on May 28, 1991 was meant to achieve three major objectives. First, it was to disprove Kigali's allegations that RPF/A were operating from Uganda, since that 'meet-the-press' event took place in what was reported to be an RPA camp inside Rwanda. Besides, the journalists' subsequent trip to the Kishuro valley and the tour of the various camps watered down Kigali's previous accusations.

The second objective of that meeting, which was attended by both Col Alex Kanyarengwe (a Hutu), in his capacity as the president/chairman of the RPF and Major Kaka (a Tutsi), the then RPA chief of staff, was to give the struggle a national feel.

It was basically about confidence- building and dispelling Kigali's claims that the RPA fighters were a bunch of vindictive Tutsi invaders with a mission of ethnic cleansing, targeting Rwandese Hutus who comprise the majority of the population.

This was the core of the argument advanced by Kanyarengwe during that press briefing in which he singled out President Habyarimana as a common enemy to all Rwandans irrespective of tribe.

He said: "I want it to be known that it is not about being a Tutsi or Hutu but the right to be treated with dignity as Rwandan nationals. The world should know that for decades now, it is not only Tutsi that have and continue suffering at the hands of a dictatorial and murderous regime. I am a Hutu but as you may know, I had to flee for my life while my other colleagues were until recently jailbirds in Ruhengeri prison. Many others were killed at the orders of Habyarimana.''

Col Kanyarengwe's moving and 'pregnant' revelations at that time seemed to demystify the then commonly held view about the Hutu-Tutsi ethnicity problems that were being compared to the irreconcilable differences between Arabs and Israelis.

As Kanyarengwe poured out his heart during that press briefing, I somehow got convinced that the RPF struggle was likely to deliver a long-lasting solution to Rwanda's age-old ethnicity problems. I silently prayed for RPA's success, hoping that their capture of state power in Kigali was going to create a peaceful environment for the hitherto sworn enemies (Hutu and Tutsi) to live in harmony as equal citizens.

I was convinced 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the Hutu-Tutsi marriage during the war period would stand a test of time and was itself history in the making in regard to the post-war national reconciliation efforts aimed at ending the sectarian tendencies between the two tribes.

But my reasoning was wrong, my faith misplaced, my optimism mere naivety. A few months after Col Kanyarengwe's famous press briefing in which he tried to analyze Rwanda's problems and suggest what he believed to be long-term solutions, things started falling apart.

Weeks after the Kishuro valley visit, I made another visit to the RPA territory which had now expanded tremendously as the Rwandan troops kept losing battles and retreating towards Kigali.

Before that journey, I had been receiving disturbing reports from both NRA contacts and civilians living along the Ugandan border areas that some top RPA commanders had been killed in a serious power struggle. It was said that unlike what had reportedly happened during the early days of the RPA invasion, it was the Hutu 'converts' that had been killed by the Tutsi old guards.

Other reports said that the Hutu officers, especially the Ruhengeri group, had defected to the enemy side and were now fighting alongside the Rwandan troops after passing on vital military intelligence files.

I initially dismissed the reports as rumours since I had, on my previous visits, found and admired the 'newfound' working relationship between the Hutu officers and their Tutsi compatriots.

For instance, I knew for a fact that Capt Donate Muvunanyambo was a member of the RPA high command and at the time of our visit, he ranked third in command after Maj Sam Kaka (army commander) and Maj Steven Ndugute (2nd in command), while the rest of his colleagues were equally happy with their positions, especially Maj Lizinde, who held both political and military responsibilities in the RPF/A structure.

When the 'rumours' persisted, I decided to go to the war zone and verify them. I knew it would not be an easy task to get the information, since the RPA were now scattered all over the northern part of Rwanda. I left Mbarara determined and went prepared to stay as long as it took.

I spent two days commuting between the various RPA units scattered all over the northern communes (districts) of Butaro, Kivuye, Cyumba, Mukaranga, Kiyombe and Muvumba. I later established that it was RPA senior commanders Kayumba-Nyamwasa, Kashumba, Dodo-Twahirwa and Kayitare who had commanded the various battles that routed the enemy and put those areas in the RPA's firm grip.

I also visited other RPA units which had dug in as they lay siege around the areas of Cheru, Chungo and Kibali. When I talked to the unit commander, Capt Byaruhanga, he told me that their next target was Byumba town, a few kilometres away. He also said that the RPA was about to liberate the whole border-line stretch from the Tanzanian border the Zaire (DRC) border.

It was Capt Byaruhanga who revealed that the RPF political commissars were in the final stages of completing a "Marshal Plan" of building political structures in the liberated areas. Unfortunately, Capt Byaruhanga never lived to implement his plans as he was killed at the frontline by the enemy.

Meanwhile, I kept 'my ear to the ground and my eyes wide open' in case I chanced on the Ruhengeri group. That is how I managed to locate and talk to Maj Lizinde's aide, who told me that his boss had travelled to attend a High Command meeting in one of the camps.

I later confirmed that indeed Maj Lizinde was 'alive and kicking' and going about his duties normally. But the whereabouts of his three colleagues remained unclear. I got two conflicting reports about Tibandeeba and Ruseruka. I was told that the two had started acting suspiciously until they disappeared one day, without a trace.

Yet I was later told by one member of the RPA High Command that the two were busy fighting at some of the frontlines. On the other hand, nobody seemed to say with certainty the whereabouts of Capt Muvunanyambo.

It was several months later that someone within the RPA high command made a veiled reference to how Muvunanyambo chose to "tread on a dangerous path and suffered the consequences of his own sins".

That left me certain that Muvunanyambo was dead. Given the above, it is clear that the marriage between the Hutu and Tutsi developed problems well before its first anniversary, shattering Col Kanyarengwe's dream about fighting to rebuild a peaceful and united nation that would accommodate all Rwandans regardless of tribe or creed.

Although Kanyarengwe 'soldiered on' and lived long enough to witness the fall of Kigali, most of his Hutu bush war colleagues never did. It was only Maj Lizinde who fought up to the end and was appointed the administrator of Byumba commune. But he eventually fled to Nairobi, where he was assassinated.

Kanyarengwe, who was among the several Hutu moderates who formed what was initially thought to be the national unity cabinet in July 1994, died from natural causes in Rwanda. At the time of his death, he like most of his Hutu colleagues formerly in government, had either jumped or been pushed out.

muhanguzijust@yahoo.com
0772 504 920
The author is a public relations practitioner and is writing a book on the Rwanda invasion.