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Kabila's problems in Congo--Uganda and Rwanda sucked in
L-R: Uganda's Museveni, Congo's Kabila, Rwanda's Kagame
by Joseph Earnest January 23, 2015
Newscast Media WASHINGTON—Western envoys in Kinshasa have urged the Senate of the Democratic Republic of Congo to rethink electoral law changes after three days of deadly protests. Rights groups put the toll at 42 killed; the government says 12, according to Deutsche Welle (DW) news.
DW reports that a Congolese electoral law change seen by critics as a bid by President Joseph Kabila to extend his term beyond 2016 ran into foreign objections on Thursday as the nation's Senate prepared to vote on the bill.
Diplomats said the envoys of the United States, France, Britain and former colonial power Belgium had met Senate President Leon Kengo Wa Dondo in Kinshasa on Wednesday.
The news agency Reuters quoted one diplomat as saying they had urged the Senate "either to suspend the modifying law or to remove the incendiary provisions."
The bill, which has already been approved by DR Congo's lower house of parliament, would require a pre-election census.
Congo's opposition claims that it would take years to organize a census across a nation the size of Western Europe, effectively extending Kabila's rule. He has already governed for 14 years.
These recent uprisings appear to be of importance to Congolese because they see themselves as victims of continued oppression at the hands of Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, according to Reuters, and current leader Joseph Kabila.
Deutsche Welle reports that on Wednesday, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, the Catholic archbishop of Kinshasa, demanded that Kabila's government "stop killing your people" and said the troubled Central African nation should use only "legal and peaceful" measures during debate.
Gunshots were heard at the University of Kinshasa on Wednesday during a confrontation between police and students who called, "Kabila get out!"
Uhuru News on January 11, 2013 accused the trio of being agents of imperialists in looting Africa, and says, "The M23 war is not as an ethnic or tribal war, but a political economy war that built the new skyscraper buildings in Kigali and the luxurious palaces in Uganda for Museveni and his cronies."
On January 18, 2015, in an interview with San Francisco's KPFA 94.1 radio station, Maurice Carney, an executive director of Friends of the Congo attributed the troubles that have been occurring in the African Great Lakes region for the past 20 years to Rwanda's Kagame, Uganda's Museveni and Congo's Kabila.
"If you look at the relationship that Kabila has with Dan Gertler, the Israeli businessman that has made over $2 billion in the Congo over the last decade or so, where he gets mineral concessions and oil blocks for pennies on the dollar that he can sell back on the international market for billions of dollars.
"Rwanda has consistently looted Congo’s coltan and cassiterite and served as an outlet for multinational corporations that are trading in those minerals. And Uganda – everyone knows in Uganda that they have looted Congo’s timber and gold and are trying to encroach on Congo’s oil," Carney said.
In the interview, carried by San Francisco Bay View newspaper, Carney also said that Congo's problems were not FDLR, a military group. He asserted: "Really, if you look at it for the past 20 years, there's been three primary forces of instability: The leadership in Kigali (Rwanda) under Paul Kagame, the leadership in Uganda under Yoweri Museveni and the leadership in Kinshasa (DR Congo), now under Joseph Kabila. And all three of these leaders – one can arguably characterize them as sociopaths – they have kept the region in a death trap for the past 20 years." (pop-up)
In addition, the recent capture of Gen. Dominic Ongwen the LRA's deputy commander, who will be tried by the ICC, is causing nervousness in the Museveni camp, according to Obote Odora an independent legal analyst of Luo descent.
Odora, in his January 20, 2015 article writes: "The Uganda government appears to be worried as to what Ongwen may tell the ICC about NRA/UPDF atrocities in the northern part of Uganda hence the rush to appoint a lawyer for Ongwen, effectively seeking to undermine the authority of the ICC Registrar whose responsibility includes providing lawyers for indigent accused.
"A trial of Ongwen at the ICC is good for victims as Museveni's regime cannot manipulate or influence witnesses to ignore or gloss over crimes committed by NRA/UPDF. In Uganda, Ongwen would have faced unfair trial just as another LRA Commander; Col. Thomas Kwyelo was subjected to. At The Hague, however, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) will have to decide how to proceed with the case of Ongwen.
"Dominic Ongwen as an LRA insider and a prosecution witness would provide the current missing context in the brutal armed conflict between the NRA/UPDF and the LRA. Ongwen would also provide insightful information on relationship between the NRA/UPDF and LRA, particularly as it is an open secret that senior members of the NRA/UPDF sold arms and ammunition, and provided food and medicine, to the LRA during the 22-years war," he adds in this article. (pop-up)
Achilles heel of Congo's Kabila-implosion due to uprising by people
All three regimes have their weakness that the rulers appear to be oblivious about. In Congo's case, Kabila is holding his breath as he watches his own government implode due to the current uprising of the people who are demanding his exit.
The "conscious movement" was activated in sub-Saharan Africa, not by the elite class, but the oppressed class, beginning with the ousting of Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast, to the Senegalese unsitting of Abdoulaye Wade, to the recent Burkina Faso political crisis that forced its President Blaise Campaore to resign after violent protests when the president announced he wanted to extend his 27-year rule.
With Gbagbo's case, just like his comrades who imagine they will be life presidents, the uprising, facilitated by the French government, caused his fall and has since been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the following:
Crimes against humanity, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, jointly with members of his inner circle and through members of the pro-Gbagbo forces (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute) or, in the alternative, for ordering soliciting and inducing the commission of these crimes (article 25(3)(b) of the Rome Statute) or, in the alternative, for contributing in any other way to the commission of these crimes (article 25(3)(d) of the Rome Statute):
- murder,
- rape,
- other inhumane acts or – in the alternative – attempted murder,
- and persecution
A once-feared Laurent Gbagbo being forcefully dragged from office--Courtesy photo
These crimes were allegedly committed between December 16, and December 19, 2010 during and after a pro-Ouattara march on the RTI headquarters. The entire ICC charge sheet can be viewed here. His trial is set for July 7, 2015. (pop-up)
Kabila is supposed to be stepping down in 2016, but as always, Africa's greatest curse is its opportunistic leaders who are responsible for keeping the Continent in a state of perpetual poverty, war and strife amongst the citizenry.
The Achilles heel of Kabila is an uprising as a result of loss of support financially and militarily from his Western masters who put him and kept him in power. All the West has to do is shift its support and rally around the oppressed Congolese, and just as the humiliated Joyce Banda of Malawi was forced to step down, it is predictable that we will see the same in Congo and around Africa come 2016.
"Our strong advice is that there is a global election calendar with the presidential elections no later than the end of 2016, and (that there should be) no attempt to disregard the unamendable stipulation of article 220," U.S. special envoy Russ Feingold told a news conference in the capital Kinshasa. (pop-up)
Museveni of Uganda's Achilles heel—The Kingdom of Buganda
It is no secret that Uganda's Museveni does not intend to leave office peacefully despite being pressured to step aside and allow a new generation of leaders to move the poverty-stricken country forward. Of the many weaknesses that befall Museveni, none is greater than the Kingdom of Buganda, whose fighting resources he used to attain power through a military coup almost 28 years ago.
Whether it is an imitation or admiration of Iddi Amin's fashion sense, Museveni is also fond of walking around in military uniform while giving speeches around the country.
Dr. Athanasios Magimbi wrote in an op-ed that appeared in Black Star News the following: "President Yoweri Museveni was isolated and alone through much of the 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Why? Because the theme of the Summit was "Investing in the Next Generation," and as we know he has done nothing to invest in the next generation.
"Museveni’s actions have done nothing but infringe on the freedom, dignity and prosperity of Ugandans. Many Ugandans are fleeing home because of lack of growth and opportunity in Uganda. Growth and opportunity in Uganda is only enjoyed by Museveni’s closest allies and sycophants..." (pop-up)
One of the many shameful and evil acts Museveni has been accused of by his former British allies is using money donated to the poor in Africa, to lead a lavish lifestyle. An example given by the Daily Mail newspaper in England was that Lord Ashcroft uncovered that donations were used by Museveni to buy himself a private jet.
Whether true or not, these claims have caused foreign donors to withhold money from the East African nation of Uganda, on the premise that corruption and theft are rampant, and those at the very top are the beneficiaries.
As the ICC started investigating crimes committed in Congo and in various parts of Uganda under Museveni's regime, he lashed out to Western nations saying, "I will bring a motion to the next sitting of the African Union to have all African states withdraw from the court, then they can be left alone with their own court. They have used it as a tool to target Africa." (pop-up)
Museveni may be able to evade the ICC should they find dirt on him. This has been demonstrated by Sudan's Hassan Al Bashir who despite an arrest warrant, has never been brought before the ICC.
However, what was done to Bashir could be done to Museveni in Uganda if the West so chooses. In Bashir's case, the West simply decided to give the southern oil-rich region of Sudan to the Christian population. A new nation called South Sudan was born, lessening Bashir's sphere of influence geographically and financially.
Likewise, the West could follow the same example as they did in Sudan and declare the Kingdom of Buganda an autonomous state, similar to the Vatican, within Rome or Monaco on the French Riviera.
Such a declaration of Buganda as a sovereign state would accomplish the following:
- Corruption would immediately end, as kings do not steal from their subjects, and most of the tax money that sustains the current government emanates from Buganda. This would leave the treasury of the central government almost empty, since the West is also currently withholding its foreign aid from Uganda.
- Power would be shifted back to Buganda, a former autonomous kingdom, therefore donors and investors would also shift their focus to the newly-formed nation where they would be able to negotiate new agreements with a government that has "clean" hands.
- The citizenry would be given a new lease on life to aspire for a brighter and promising future without the current impediments that are keeping people poor and hopeless. This would idealize the current theme, "Investing in the Next Generation."
- It would counter Russian and Chinese growing influence in the Great Lakes region since the West would have a new ally in the autonomous kingdom.
- Above all, it would strip the current crop of corrupt leaders of their power without firing a shot, because the newly-formed kingdom-state would likely print its own money benefit from its taxes to develop itself, and write a new constitution with laws that prevent the kind of lawlessness that is rampant in the current failed colonial experiment called Uganda.
Museveni would then be a paper tiger because he would not be able to encroach upon a sovereign state's territorial boundaries, nor would he have access to its treasury, nor the loyalty of a newly-formed military capable of defending itself.
Neither Museveni, nor anyone in his administration would be able to oppose such a move if the West were determined to bring corruption to an end in Uganda and allow its people to enjoy human rights without fear of persecution. The reason it would be difficult to oppose such a move is because Museveni's NRM ascended to power illegally through a coup, therefore under the legal doctrine of "unclean hands" no court would listen to a petition from the current regime, to stop the West from granting the Kingdom of Buganda its sovereignty.
The "unclean hands" or "clean hands" legal doctrine states: "When both parties stand in court, they should both come with clean hands, and keep them clean." Any party with unclean hands is not entitled to relief by the court.
Yet lawyers for the state could urgue that after power was seized illegally in 1986, elections were held in the 2000s to legalize Museveni's current rule.
Once again, that argument would be shut down because any lawyer will tell you that fraud is a defect that cannot be cured. In essence, when one achieves something using fraudulent means, it cannot be corrected. If power is achieved illegally, there is no way to make it authentic or legal retrospectively. It is the old legal doctrine of Fraus omnia vitiate, or "Fraud vitiates everything." You cannot unscramble the eggs. Both case law, and common law attest to that.
37 American Jurisprudence 2nd Edition, section 301 states:
"...Everyone who engages in a fraudulent scheme forfeits all right to protection, either at law or in equity. No one will be permitted in a court of justice to take advantage of, or claim protection by reason of, his own fraud or that of his agent or broker...A court of equity will not protect a party to litigation before it who has perpetrated a fraud on another with the matter in litigation."
The same doctrine could also be used to challenge elections, contracts and laws undertaken in the past 28 years in the East African country. It is well-settled in courts that fraud destroys everything it touches. The Supreme Court ruled:
Boyce’s Executors v. Grundy, 3 Pet. (28 US) 210 (1830), "Fraud vitiates everything."
Nudd v. Burrows, 91 US 426 (1875), "Fraud destroys the validity of everything into which it enters."
United States v. Throckmorton, 98 US 61, 70 (1878) "Fraud vitiates the most solemn contracts, documents and even judgments."
This demonstrates that Museveni and the NRM regime are at the mercy of the West, who could snatch power from him through the stroke of a pen on paper, if he were to force their hand.
Buganda Kingdom, which is a separate entity, is what the British referred to as the most organized administrative structure in the whole of Africa, and was described as the "most advanced state" in the Daily Graphic newspaper's April 21, 1894 edition. The Wa-Ganda (its citizens) are also praised in the paper. (PDF)
The Kingdom of Buganda also has a modern parliament that has existed for over 800 years, would simply have to pick ambassadors to represent it around the world, and would thereafter be granted its own seat at the United Nations.
Such, is the Achilles heel of Museveni, just as it was of Sudan's Bashir.
Rwanda's Achilles heel—Foreign support and aid
While Kabila's Congo's Achilles heel is an implosion due to uprisings of an ever-restless population, and abandonment by its Western allies, Uganda's being granting the Kingdom of Buganda full autonomy to weaken Museveni, Rwanda's Achilles heel is economic.
Just as Ronald Reagan waged an economic war on Russian to end the Cold War, and Obama's doing the same with Venezuela and Putin's current Russia, the West, which has already withheld financial support from Kagame could do the same, and slowly the nation would be brought to its knees as they did a couple of years ago. (pop-up)
An uprising such as we are seeing in sub-Saharan Africa may not be as effective, therefore, a country like Rwanda that has no valuable minerals or exports and relies primarily on foreign aid would collapse if the West withdrew its financial support.
Already Rwanda's former British friends, using Britain's state-owned BBC have released an investigative documentary on Kagame's government in regard to the infamous Rwanda genocide.
The film investigates evidence of Kagame's alleged role in the shooting down of the presidential plane that sparked the killings in 1994 and questions his claims to have ended the genocide. It also examines claims of war crimes committed by Kagame's forces and their allies in the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and allegations of human rights abuses in today's Rwanda. (pop-up)
Should the British government that was behind the documentary make further inquiries into the allegations, it would put Rwanda's Kagame in a very uncomfortable position as far as his grip of power on Rwanda is concerned. The West could then find its own man, who has "clean hands" as an alternative for Rwanda presidency.
There comes a time when politicians should know when to walk away.
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