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P 220615Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6538
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0143
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0345

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000874 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PINR RW
SUBJECT: RPF FLEXES ITS MUSCLES DURING CONGRESS, CHALLENGES 
WOULD-BE OPPONENTS 
 
KIGALI 00000874  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador W. Stuart Symington for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On December 12, approximately 2500 Rwanda 
Patriotic Front (RPF) members from across Rwanda held a party 
congress in Kigali to hear remarks by Rwandan president Paul 
Kagame and other senior figures and to elect individuals to 
fill party leadership slots.  RPF rank and file n]F 6vM&QQ22Q4renew Kagame's mandate as party chairman, 
and returned Christophe Bazivamo (minister of forestry and 
mines) and Francois Ngarambe to their positions as 
vice-chairman and secretary-general, respectively.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) During opening remarks at the congress, Kagame urged 
party members to uphold their promises to the population and 
encouraged them to speak freely and openly, to include 
challenging top RPF leaders.  He said the RPF had invited 
representatives from all other political parties, but that 
"some" chose not to come for reasons of their own.  (Note: 
The one who did not attend was Bernard Ntaganda of the Parti 
Social-Imberakuri, who told us afterward his political allies 
had already criticized him for joining the Political Party 
Forum, and that he did not want to attract further criticism 
by attending the RPF meeting as well.  End Note.)  Kagame 
added that "some RPF members" were invited even though they 
were planning to break with the party (NFI), declared that 
the RPF did not fear those who wanted to create their own 
parties, and said the Rwandan population would judge the RPF. 
 
¶3. (SBU) After Kagame's remarks, leaders of other political 
parties spoke, and generally expressed support for the RPF 
and continued partnership with it.  Internal Security 
Minister Musa Fazil Harerimana, leader of the Parti 
Democratique Ideal, asked rhetorically why anyone would dare 
to challenge the RPF at the polls, comparing it to hitting 
one's head against a wall.  Senate President Vincent Biruta, 
leader of the Parti Social Democrate, said Rwanda was 
fortunate to have a government led by the RPF and Kagame. 
Youth Minister Protais Mitali, leader of the Parti Liberal, 
praised the RPF for its anti-genocide policy and its role in 
supporting genocide survivors.  And Prime Minister Bernard 
Makuza, an independent, drew loud applause when he said the 
RPF and Kagame were the best choices to govern Rwanda. 
 
¶4. (SBU) When it came time for the congress to vote its 
choices for party leadership positions, many members 
initially wanted to signal their choice for chairman, 
vice-chairman and secretary-general by applauding.  Kagame 
argued against this, and after many minutes of debate, the 
congress agreed to cast votes by secret ballot.  Initially, 
no one opposed Kagame for the chairman's slot; after Kagame 
chided the crowd over the lack of an challenger, Abdul Karim 
Harerimana stood up and offered his candidacy.  (Note: 
Harerimana, a cabinet minister during the 1990s, is a member 
of the East African Legislative Assembly.  He reportedly won 
two percent of the vote.  End Note.)  Bazivamo and Ngarambe 
ran unopposed.  The congress also elected several members to 
serve as commissioners, including: 
--ombudsman Tito Rutaremara (in the position since the RPF's 
birth) 
--education minister Charles Murigande (a commissioner since 
2002;  secretary-general before that) 
--senator Aloysia Inyumba (in the position since the late 
1990s) 
--head of gacaca courts Donatila Mukantaganzwa (in the 
Q--head of gacaca courts Donatila Mukantaganzwa (in the 
position since 2005) 
--local government minister James Musoni (in the position 
since 2005) 
--minister without portfolio Solina Nyirahabimana (in the 
position since 2005) 
--electoral commission chairman Chrysologue Karangwa (in the 
position since 2005) 
--senator Antoine Mugesera (in the position since 2005) 
--member of parliament Bernadette Kanzayire (in the position 
since 2005) 
--senator Joseph Karemera (new) 
--member of parliament Abdul Karim Harerimana (new) 
(Note:  Kagame reportedly grimaced at the election of 
Karemera and others (NFI).) 
 
¶5. (C) COMMENT:  Although there was some speculation that 
Ngarambe's term would end, few observers expected major 
changes in RPF leadership with presidential elections due in 
August 2010.  It was mildly surprising that congress did not 
decide on a presidential candidate-expected to be 
Kagame-given the size of the gathering.  One possible 
 
KIGALI 00000874  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
explanation is that the RPF congress was sandwiched between 
two national-level events, the National Dialogue Conference 
and the Diaspora Conference, and that senior RPF leaders may 
have wanted to avoid charges of "politicizing" these two 
high-profile  events, which were billed as being held in the 
name of all Rwandans.  Another explanation is that the RPF 
leaders simply judge it wiser to wait until closer to the 
actual, short official campaign season (it will begin July 
20, 2010) in order to maintain momentum and maximize turnout 
at the polls.  As for Kagame's remarks about RPF members 
quitting, local rumor and the Kinyarwanda press speculated 
that these were directed at senator Karemera and Patrick 
Mazimhaka, a former minister and deputy African Union 
chairman, and that they may be behind the nascent Democratic 
Green Party of Rwanda and its efforts to register.  END 
COMMENT. 
SYMINGTON