Do you know what’s happening with Rose Kabuye? Everyone in Rwanda knows.
Not only is she the subject of 4 out of 5 articles on the front page of yesterday’s New Times, but today Rwanda stopped. Our training seminar this week has halted. About 2:30 pm yesterday, word reached our group that the following day would be a national holiday to protest the arrest of Rose Kabuye.
I woke up to the sounds of preparation. You could already hear people in the streets and music in the neighborhood. By 9:30 am, there was a large crowd near our guest house, gathering with banners, loudspeaker announcing and music blasting. They would wait there until receiving word to leave on their march to the city center. Groups like this formed around the city, ready to converge all at the same time at the German Embassy. Every business and every church is closed. If you are in the city, you are participating or staying home.
Rose Kabuye works in President Paul Kagame’s office. She was recently arrested in Germany and extradited to France. Could this have happened if Rose worked for another country?
The rally today is expected to be peaceful and organized. Everyone in Kigali is paying attention, and there may be upwards of a million people converging downtown. As I write (11:07 am) I can hear activity from very far distances, activity which may well continue throughout the afternoon.
[I’m posting this after the day of the rally. The rally was in fact very peaceful and very well organized. I am certainly no expert in the details of Rose Kabuye, her trial, or Rwandan feelings about the events of 1994. Please read more, online or otherwise.]
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