Remarks by President Obama to the People of Africa

Mandela Hall
African Union Headquarters
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2:07 P.M. EAT
 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much. Madam Chairwoman, thank you so much for your kind words and your leadership.  To Prime Minister Hailemariam, and the people of Ethiopia -- once again, thank you for your wonderful hospitality and for hosting this pan-African institution.  (Applause.)  To members of the African Union, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen -- thank you for welcoming me here today.  It is a great honor to be the first President of the United States to address the African Union.  (Applause.)   
 
I’m grateful for this opportunity to speak to the representatives of more than one billion people of the great African continent.  (Applause.)  We’re joined today by citizens, by leaders of civil society, by faith communities, and I’m especially pleased to see so many young people who embody the energy and optimism of today’s Africa.  Hello!  Thank you for being here.  (Applause.)  
 
I stand before you as a proud American.  I also stand before you as the son of an African.  (Applause.)  Africa and its people helped to shape America and allowed it to become the great nation that it is.  And Africa and its people have helped shape who I am and how I see the world.  In the villages in Kenya where my father was born, I learned of my ancestors, and the life of my grandfather, the dreams of my father, the bonds of family that connect us all as Africans and Americans. 
 
As parents, Michelle and I want to make sure that our two daughters know their heritage -- European and African, in all of its strengths and all of its struggle.  So we’ve taken our daughters and stood with them on the shores of West Africa, in those doors of no return, mindful that their ancestors were both slaves and slave owners.  We’ve stood with them in that small cell on Robben Island where Madiba showed the world that, no matter the nature of his physical confinement, he alone was the master of his fate.  (Applause.)  For us, for our children, Africa and its people teach us a powerful lesson -- that we must uphold the inherent dignity of every human being.
 
Dignity -- that basic idea that by virtue of our common humanity, no matter where we come from, or what we look like, we are all born equal, touched by the grace of God.  (Applause.)    Every person has worth.  Every person matters.  Every person deserves to be treated with decency and respect.  Throughout much of history, mankind did not see this.  Dignity was seen as a virtue reserved to those of rank and privilege, kings and elders. It took a revolution of the spirit, over many centuries, to open our eyes to the dignity of every person.  And around the world, generations have struggled to put this idea into practice in laws and in institutions.
 
So, too, here in Africa.  This is the cradle of humanity, and ancient African kingdoms were home to great libraries and universities.  But the evil of slavery took root not only abroad, but here on the continent.  Colonialism skewed Africa’s economy and robbed people of their capacity to shape their own destiny.  Eventually, liberation movements grew.  And 50 years ago, in a great burst of self-determination, Africans rejoiced as foreign flags came down and your national flags went up.  (Applause.)  As South Africa’s Albert Luthuli said at the time, “the basis for peace and brotherhood in Africa is being restored by the resurrection of national sovereignty and independence, of equality and the dignity of man.”
 
A half-century into this independence era, it is long past time to put aside old stereotypes of an Africa forever mired in poverty and conflict.  The world must recognize Africa’s extraordinary progress.  Today, Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.  Africa’s middle class is projected to grow to more than one billion consumers.  (Applause.)  With hundreds of millions of mobile phones, surging access to the Internet, Africans are beginning to leapfrog old technologies into new prosperity.  Africa is on the move, a new Africa is emerging.
 
Propelled by this progress, and in partnership with the world, Africa has achieved historic gains in health.  The rate of new HIV/AIDS infections has plummeted.  African mothers are more likely to survive childbirth and have healthy babies.  Deaths from malaria have been slashed, saving the lives of millions of African children.  Millions have been lifted from extreme poverty.  Africa has led the world in sending more children to school.  In other words, more and more African men, women and children are living with dignity and with hope.  (Applause.) 
 
And Africa’s progress can also be seen in the institutions that bring us together today.  When I first came to Sub-Saharan Africa as a President, I said that Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.  (Applause.)  And one of those institutions can be the African Union.  Here, you can come together, with a shared commitment to human dignity and development.  Here, your 54 nations pursue a common vision of an “integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.”
 
As Africa changes, I’ve called on the world to change its approach to Africa.  (Applause.)  So many Africans have told me, we don’t want just aid, we want trade that fuels progress.  We don’t want patrons, we want partners who help us build our own capacity to grow.  (Applause.)  We don’t want the indignity of dependence, we want to make our own choices and determine our own future.
 
As President, I’ve worked to transform America’s relationship with Africa -- so that we’re truly listening to our African friends and working together, as equal partners.  And I’m proud of the progress that we’ve made.  We’ve boosted American exports to this region, part of trade that supports jobs for Africans and Americans.  To sustain our momentum -- and with the bipartisan support of some of the outstanding members of Congress who are here today -- 20 of them who are here today -- I recently signed the 10-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank them all.  Why don't they stand very briefly so you can see them, because they’ve done outstanding work.  (Applause.) 
 
We’ve launched major initiatives to promote food security, and public health and access to electricity, and to prepare the next generation of African leaders and entrepreneurs --investments that will help fuel Africa’s rise for decades to come.  Last year, as the Chairwoman noted, I welcomed nearly 50 African presidents and prime ministers to Washington so we could begin a new chapter of cooperation.  And by coming to the African Union today, I’m looking to build on that commitment.  
 
I believe Africa’s rise is not just important for Africa, it's important to the entire world.  We will not be able to meet the challenges of our time -- from ensuring a strong global economy to facing down violent extremism, to combating climate change, to ending hunger and extreme poverty -- without the voices and contributions of one billion Africans.  (Applause.)   
 
Now, even with Africa’s impressive progress, we must acknowledge that many of these gains rest on a fragile foundation.  Alongside new wealth, hundreds of millions of Africans still endure extreme poverty.  Alongside high-tech hubs of innovation, many Africans are crowded into shantytowns without power or running water -- a level of poverty that’s an assault on human dignity.
 
Moreover, as the youngest and fastest-growing continent, Africa’s population in the coming decades will double to some two billion people, and many of them will be young, under 18.  Now, on the one hand, this could bring tremendous opportunities as these young Africans harness new technologies and ignite new growth and reforms.  Economists will tell you that countries, regions, continents grow faster with younger populations.  It's a demographic edge and advantage -- but only if those young people are being trained.  We need only to look at the Middle East and North Africa to see that large numbers of young people with no jobs and stifled voices can fuel instability and disorder.
 
I suggest to you that the most urgent task facing Africa today and for decades ahead is to create opportunity for this next generation.  (Applause.)  And this will be an enormous undertaking.  Africa will need to generate millions more jobs than it’s doing right now.  And time is of the essence.  The choices made today will shape the trajectory of Africa, and therefore, the world for decades to come.  And as your partner and your friend, allow me to suggest several ways that we can meet this challenge together.  
 
Africa’s progress will depend on unleashing economic growth -- not just for the few at the top, but for the many, because an essential element of dignity is being able to live a decent life.  (Applause.)  That begins with a job.  And that requires trade and investment.
 
Many of your nations have made important reforms to attract investment -- it’s been a spark for growth.  But in many places across Africa, it’s still too hard to start a venture, still too hard to build a business.  Governments that take additional reforms to make doing business easier will have an eager partner in the United States.  (Applause.)  
 
And that includes reforms to help Africa trade more with itself -- as the Chairwoman and I discussed before we came out here today -- because the biggest markets for your goods are often right next door.  You don't have to just look overseas for growth, you can look internally.  And our work to help Africa modernize customs and border crossings started with the East African Community -- now we’re expanding our efforts across the continent, because it shouldn’t be harder for African countries to trade with each other than it is for you to trade with Europe and America.  (Applause.)  
 
Now, most U.S. trade with the region is with just three countries -- South Africa, Nigeria and Angola -- and much of that is in the form of energy.  I want Africans and Americans doing more business together in more sectors, in more countries.  So we’re increasing trade missions to places like Tanzania, Ethiopia Mozambique.  We’re working to help more Africans get their goods to market.  Next year, we’ll host another U.S.-Africa Business Forum to mobilize billions of dollars in new trade and investment -- so we’re buying more of each other’s products and all growing together. 
 
Now, the United States isn’t the only country that sees your growth as an opportunity.  And that is a good thing.  When more countries invest responsibly in Africa, it creates more jobs and prosperity for us all.  So I want to encourage everybody to do business with Africa, and African countries should want to do business with every country.  But economic relationships can’t simply be about building countries’ infrastructure with foreign labor or extracting Africa’s natural resources.  Real economic partnerships have to be a good deal for Africa -- they have to create jobs and capacity for Africans.  (Applause.)  
 
And that includes the point that Chairwoman Zuma made about illicit flows with multinationals -- which is one of the reasons that we've been a leading advocate, working with the G7, to assist in making sure that there’s honest accounting when businesses are investing here in Africa, and making sure that capital flows are properly accounted for.  That's the kind of partnership America offers.
 
Nothing will unlock Africa’s economic potential more than ending the cancer of corruption.  (Applause.)  And you are right that it is not just a problem of Africa, it is a problem of those who do business with Africa.  It is not unique to Africa -- corruption exists all over the world, including in the United States.  But here in Africa, corruption drains billions of dollars from economies that can't afford to lose billions of dollars -- that's money that could be used to create jobs and build hospitals and schools.  And when someone has to pay a bribe just to start a business or go to school, or get an official to do the job they’re supposed to be doing anyway -- that’s not “the African way.”  (Applause.)  It undermines the dignity of the people you represent. 
 
Only Africans can end corruption in their countries.  As African governments commit to taking action, the United States will work with you to combat illicit financing, and promote good governance and transparency and rule of law.  And we already have strong laws in place that say to U.S. companies, you can't engage in bribery to try to get business -- which not all countries have.  And we actually enforce it and police it.
 
And let me add that criminal networks are both fueling corruption and threatening Africa’s precious wildlife -- and with it, the tourism that many African economies count on.  So America also stands with you in the fight against wildlife trafficking.  That's something that has to be addressed.  (Applause.)  
 
But, ultimately, the most powerful antidote to the old ways of doing things is this new generation of African youth.  History shows that the nations that do best are the ones that invest in the education of their people.  (Applause.)  You see, in this information age, jobs can flow anywhere, and they typically will flow to where workers are literate and highly skilled and online. And Africa’s young people are ready to compete.  I've met them -- they are hungry, they are eager.  They’re willing to work hard.  So we've got to invest in them.  As Africa invests in education, our entrepreneurship programs are helping innovators start new businesses and create jobs right here in Africa.  And the men and women in our Young African Leaders Initiative today will be the leaders who can transform business and civil society and governments tomorrow.  
 
Africa’s progress will depend on development that truly lifts countries from poverty to prosperity -- because people everywhere deserve the dignity of a life free from want.  A child born in Africa today is just as equal and just as worthy as a child born in Asia or Europe or America.  At the recent development conference here in Addis, African leadership helped forge a new global compact for financing that fuels development. And under the AU’s leadership, the voice of a united Africa will help shape the world’s next set of development goals, and you’re pursuing a vision of the future that you want for Africa.  
 
And America’s approach to development -- the central focus of our engagement with Africa -- is focused on helping you build your own capacity to realize that vision.  Instead of just shipping food aid to Africa, we’ve helped more than two million farmers use new techniques to boost their yields, feed more people, reduce hunger.  With our new alliance of government and the private sector investing billions of dollars in African agriculture, I believe we can achieve our goal and lift 50 million Africans from poverty.
 
Instead of just sending aid to build power plants, our Power Africa initiative is mobilizing billions of dollars in investments from governments and businesses to reduce the number of Africans living without electricity.  Now, an undertaking of this magnitude will not be quick.  It will take many years.  But working together, I believe we can bring electricity to more than 60 million African homes and businesses and connect more Africans to the global economy.  (Applause.)  
 
Instead of just telling Africa, you’re on your own, in dealing with climate change, we’re delivering new tools and financing to more than 40 African nations to help them prepare and adapt.  By harnessing the wind and sun, your vast geothermal energy and rivers for hydropower, you can turn this climate threat into an economic opportunity.  And I urge Africa to join us in rejecting old divides between North and South so we can forge a strong global climate agreement this year in Paris.  Because sparing some of the world’s poorest people from rising seas, more intense droughts, shortages of water and food is a matter of survival and a matter of human dignity.
 
Instead of just sending medicine, we’re investing in better treatments and helping Africa prevent and treat diseases.  As the United States continues to provide billions of dollars in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and as your countries take greater ownership of health programs, we’re moving toward a historic accomplishment -- the first AIDS-free generation.  (Applause.)  And if the world learned anything from Ebola, it’s that the best way to prevent epidemics is to build strong public health systems that stop diseases from spreading in the first place.  So America is proud to partner with the AU and African countries in this mission.  Today, I can announce that of the $1 billion that the United States is devoting to this work globally, half will support efforts here in Africa.  (Applause.)  
 
I believe Africa’s progress will also depend on democracy, because Africans, like people everywhere, deserve the dignity of being in control of their own lives.  (Applause.)  We all know what the ingredients of real democracy are.  They include free and fair elections, but also freedom of speech and the press, freedom of assembly.  These rights are universal.  They’re written into African constitutions.  (Applause.)  The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights declares that “every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being.”  From Sierra Leone, Ghana, Benin, to Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, democracy has taken root.  In Nigeria, more than 28 million voters bravely cast their ballots and power transferred as it should -- peacefully.  (Applause.)   
Yet at this very moment, these same freedoms are denied to many Africans.  And I have to proclaim, democracy is not just formal elections.  (Applause.)  When journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs, or activists are threatened as governments crack down on civil society -- (applause) -- then you may have democracy in name, but not in substance.  (Applause.)   And I'm convinced that nations cannot realize the full promise of independence until they fully protect the rights of their people.
 
And this is true even for countries that have made important democratic progress.  As I indicated during my visit to Kenya, the remarkable gains that country has made with a new constitution, with its election, cannot be jeopardized by restrictions on civil society.  Likewise, our host, Ethiopians have much to be proud of -- I've been amazed at all the wonderful work that's being done here -- and it's true that the elections that took place here occurred without violence.  But as I discussed with Prime Minister Hailemariam, that’s just the start of democracy.  I believe Ethiopia will not fully unleash the potential of its people if journalists are restricted or legitimate opposition groups can't participate in the campaign process.  And, to his credit, the Prime Minister acknowledged that more work will need to be done for Ethiopia to be a full-fledged, sustainable democracy.  (Applause.)    
 
So these are conversations we have to have as friends. Our American democracy is not perfect.  We've worked for many years  -- (applause) -- but one thing we do is we continually reexamine to figure out how can we make our democracy better.  And that's a force of strength for us, being willing to look and see honestly what we need to be doing to fulfill the promise of our founding documents.
 
And every country has to go through that process.  No country is perfect, but we have to be honest, and strive to expand freedoms, to broaden democracy.  The bottom line is that when citizens cannot exercise their rights, the world has a responsibility to speak out.  And America will, even if it’s sometimes uncomfortable -- (applause) -- even when it’s sometimes directed toward our friends. 
 
And I know that there’s some countries that don't say anything -- (laughter) -- and maybe that's easier for leaders to deal with.  (Laughter.)  But you're kind of stuck with us -- this is how we are.  (Applause.)  We believe in these things and we're going to keep on talking about them. 
 
And I want to repeat, we do this not because we think our democracy is perfect, or we think that every country has to follow precisely our path.  For more than two centuries since our independence, we’re still working on perfecting our union.  We're not immune from criticism.  When we fall short of our ideals, we strive to do better.  (Applause.)  But when we speak out for our principles, at home and abroad, we stay true to our values and we help lift up the lives of people beyond our borders.  And we think that's important.  And it's especially important, I believe, for those of us of African descent, because we've known what it feels like to be on the receiving end of injustice.  We know what it means to be discriminated against.  (Applause.)  We know what it means to be jailed.  So how can we stand by when it's happening to somebody else? 
 
I'll be frank with you, it can't just be America that's talking about these things.  Fellow African countries have to talk about these things.  (Applause.)  Just as other countries championed your break from colonialism, our nations must all raise our voices when universal rights are being denied.  For if we truly believe that Africans are equal in dignity, then Africans have an equal right to freedoms that are universal -- that’s a principle we all have to defend.  (Applause.)  And it's not just a Western idea; it's a human idea.
 
I have to also say that Africa’s democratic progress is also at risk when leaders refuse to step aside when their terms end.  (Applause.)  Now, let me be honest with you -- I do not understand this.  (Laughter.)  I am in my second term.  It has been an extraordinary privilege for me to serve as President of the United States.  I cannot imagine a greater honor or a more interesting job.  I love my work.  But under our Constitution, I cannot run again.  (Laughter and applause.)  I can't run again.  I actually think I'm a pretty good President -- I think if I ran I could win.  (Laughter and applause.)  But I can't.
 
So there’s a lot that I'd like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law.  (Applause.)  And no one person is above the law.  Not even the President.  (Applause.)  And I'll be honest with you -- I’m looking forward to life after being President.  (Laughter.)  I won't have such a big security detail all the time.  (Laughter.)  It means I can go take a walk.  I can spend time with my family.  I can find other ways to serve.  I can visit Africa more often.  (Applause.)  The point is, I don't understand why people want to stay so long.  (Laughter.)  Especially when they’ve got a lot of money.  (Laughter and applause.)
 
When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office, it risks instability and strife -- as we’ve seen in Burundi.  (Applause.)  And this is often just a first step down a perilous path.  And sometimes you’ll hear leaders say, well, I'm the only person who can hold this nation together.  (Laughter.)  If that's true, then that leader has failed to truly build their nation.  (Applause.)  
 
You look at Nelson Mandela -- Madiba, like George Washington, forged a lasting legacy not only because of what they did in office, but because they were willing to leave office and transfer power peacefully.  (Applause.)  And just as the African Union has condemned coups and illegitimate transfers of power, the AU’s authority and strong voice can also help the people of Africa ensure that their leaders abide by term limits and their constitutions.  (Applause.)  Nobody should be president for life.  
And your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas.  (Applause.)  I'm still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country.  (Applause.)  It will be good for yours, too, in some cases.  
 
Africa’s progress will also depend on security and peace -- because an essential part of human dignity is being safe and free from fear.  In Angola, Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra Leone, we’ve seen conflicts end and countries work to rebuild.  But from Somalia and Nigeria to Mali and Tunisia, terrorists continue to target innocent civilians.  Many of these groups claim the banner of religion, but hundreds of millions of African Muslims know that Islam means peace.  (Applause.)  And we must call groups like al Qaeda, ISIL, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram -- we must call them what they are -- murderers.  (Applause.)  
 
In the face of threats, Africa -- and the African Union --has shown leadership.  Because of the AU force in Somalia, 
al-Shabaab controls less territory and the Somali government is growing stronger.  In central Africa, the AU-led mission continues to degrade the Lord’s Resistance Army.  In the Lake Chad Basin, forces from several nations -- with the backing of the AU -- are fighting to end Boko Haram’s senseless brutality.  And today, we salute all those who serve to protect the innocent, including so many brave African peacekeepers.
 
Now, as Africa stands against terror and conflict, I want you to know that the United States stands with you.  With training and support, we’re helping African forces grow stronger. The United States is supporting the AU’s efforts to strengthen peacekeeping, and we’re working with countries in the region to deal with emerging crises with the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership.
 
The world must do more to help as well.  This fall at the United Nations, I will host a summit to secure new commitments to strengthen international support for peacekeeping, including here in Africa.  And building on commitments that originated here in the AU, we’ll work to develop a new partnership between the U.N. and the AU that can provide reliable support for AU peace operations.  If African governments and international partners step up with strong support, we can transform how we work together to promote security and peace in Africa. 
 
Our efforts to ensure our shared security must be matched by a commitment to improve governance.  Those things are connected. Good governance is one of the best weapons against terrorism and instability.  Our fight against terrorist groups, for example, will never be won if we fail to address legitimate grievances that terrorists may try to exploit, if we don’t build trust with all communities, if we don’t uphold the rule of law.  There’s a saying, and I believe it is true -- if we sacrifice liberty in the name of security, we risk losing both.  (Applause.)    
 
This same seriousness of purpose is needed to end conflicts. In the Central African Republic, the spirit of dialogue recently shown by ordinary citizens must be matched by leaders committed to inclusive elections and a peaceful transition.  In Mali, the comprehensive peace agreement must be fulfilled.  And leaders in Sudan must know their nation will never truly thrive so long as they wage war against their own people -- the world will not forget about Darfur.
 
In South Sudan, the joy of independence has descended into the despair of violence.  I was there at the United Nations when we held up South Sudan as the promise of a new beginning. And neither Mr. Kiir, nor Mr. Machar have shown, so far, any interest in sparing their people from this suffering, or reaching a political solution.  
 
Yesterday, I met with leaders from this region.  We agree that, given the current situation, Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar must reach an agreement by August 17th -- because if they do not, I believe the international community must raise the costs of intransigence.  And the world awaits the report of the AU Commission of Inquiry, because accountability for atrocities must be part of any lasting peace in Africa’s youngest nation.  (Applause.)  
 
And finally, Africa’s progress will depend on upholding the human rights of all people -- for if each of us is to be treated with dignity, each of us must be sure to also extend that same dignity to others.  As President, I make it a point to meet with many of our Young African Leaders.  And one was a young man from Senegal.  He said something wonderful about being together with so many of his African brothers and sisters.  He said, “Here, I have met Africa, the [Africa] I’ve always believed in.  She’s beautiful.  She’s young.  She’s full of talent and motivation and ambition.”  I agree. 
 
Africa is the beautiful, talented daughters who are just as capable as Africa’s sons.  (Applause.)  And as a father, I believe that my two daughters have to have the same chance to pursue their dreams as anybody’s son -- and that same thing holds true for girls here in Africa.  (Applause.)  Our girls have to be treated the same. 
 
We can’t let old traditions stand in the way. The march of history shows that we have the capacity to broaden our moral imaginations.  We come to see that some traditions are good for us, they keep us grounded, but that, in our modern world, other traditions set us back.  When African girls are subjected to the mutilation of their bodies, or forced into marriage at the ages of 9 or 10 or 11 -- that sets us back.  That's not a good tradition.  It needs to end.  (Applause.)   
 
When more than 80 percent of new HIV cases in the hardest-hit countries are teenage girls, that’s a tragedy; that sets us back.  So America is beginning a partnership with 10 African countries -- Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe -- to keep teenage girls safe and AIDS-free.  (Applause.)  And when girls cannot go to school and grow up not knowing how to read or write -- that denies the world future women engineers, future women doctors, future women business owners, future women presidents -- that sets us all back.  (Applause.)  That's a bad tradition -- not providing our girls the same education as our sons.  
 
I was saying in Kenya, nobody would put out a football team and then just play half the team.  You’d lose.  (Applause.)  the same is true when it comes to getting everybody and education.  You can't leave half the team off -- our young women.  So as part of America’s support for the education and the health of our daughters, my wife, Michelle, is helping to lead a global campaign, including a new effort in Tanzania and Malawi, with a simple message -- Let Girls Learn -- let girls learn so they grow up healthy and they grow up strong.  (Applause.)  And that will be good for families.  And they will raise smart, healthy children, and that will be good for every one of your nations.  
 
Africa is the beautiful, strong women that these girls grow up to become.  The single best indicator of whether a nation will succeed is how it treats its women.  (Applause.)  When women have health care and women have education, families are stronger, communities are more prosperous, children do better in school, nations are more prosperous.  Look at the amazing African women here in this hall.  (Applause.)  If you want your country to grow and succeed, you have to empower your women.  And if you want to empower more women, America will be your partner.  (Applause.) 
Let’s work together to stop sexual assault and domestic violence.  Let’s make clear that we will not tolerate rape as a weapon of war -- it’s a crime.  (Applause.)  And those who commit it must be punished.  Let’s lift up the next generation of women leaders who can help fight injustice and forge peace and start new businesses and create jobs -- and some might hire some men, too.  (Laughter.)   We’ll all be better off when women have equal futures.
 
And Africa is the beautiful tapestry of your cultures and ethnicities and races and religions.  Last night, we saw this amazing dance troupe made up of street children who had formed a dance troupe and they performed for the Prime Minister and myself.  And there were 80 different languages and I don't know how many ethnic groups.  And there were like 30 different dances that were being done.  And the Prime Minister was trying to keep up with -- okay, I think that one is -- (laughter) -- and they were moving fast.  And that diversity here in Ethiopia is representative of diversity all throughout Africa.  (Applause.)  And that's a strength. 
 
Now, yesterday, I had the privilege to view Lucy -- you may know Lucy -- she’s our ancestor, more than 3 million years old.  (Applause.)  In this tree of humanity, with all of our branches and diversity, we all go back to the same root.  We’re all one family -- we're all one tribe.  And yet so much of the suffering in our world stems from our failure to remember that -- to not recognize ourselves in each other.  (Applause.)   
 
We think because somebody’s skin is slightly different, or their hair is slightly different, or their religious faith is differently expressed, or they speak a different language that it justifies somehow us treating them with less dignity.  And that becomes the source of so many of our problems.  And we think somehow that we make ourselves better by putting other people down.  And that becomes the source of so many of our problems.  When we begin to see other as somehow less than ourselves -- when we succumb to these artificial divisions of faith or sect or tribe or ethnicity -- then even the most awful abuses are justified in the minds of those who are thinking in those ways.  And in the end, abusers lose their own humanity, as well.  (Applause.)   
 
Nelson Mandela taught us, “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
 
Every one of us is equal.  Every one of us has worth.  Every one of us matters.  And when we respect the freedom of others -- no matter the color of their skin, or how they pray or who they are or who they love -- we are all more free.  (Applause.)  Your dignity depends on my dignity, and my dignity depends on yours.  Imagine if everyone had that spirit in their hearts.  Imagine if governments operated that way.  (Applause.)  Just imagine what the world could look like -- the future that we could bequeath these young people. 
 
Yes, in our world, old thinking can be a stubborn thing.  That's one of the reasons why we need term limits -- old people think old ways.  And you can see my grey hair, I'm getting old.  (Laughter.)  The old ways can be stubborn.  But I believe the human heart is stronger.  I believe hearts can change.  I believe minds can open.  That’s how change happens.  That’s how societies move forward.  It's not always a straight line -- step by halting step -- sometimes you go forward, you move back a little bit.   But I believe we are marching, we are pointing towards ideals of justice and equality. 
 
That’s how your nations won independence -- not just with rifles, but with principles and ideals.  (Applause.)  That's how African Americans won our civil rights.  That's how South Africans -- black and white -- tore down apartheid.  That's why I can stand before you today as the first African American President of the United States.  (Applause.)  
 
New thinking.  Unleashing growth that creates opportunity.  Promoting development that lifts all people out of poverty.  Supporting democracy that gives citizens their say.  Advancing the security and justice that delivers peace.  Respecting the human rights of all people.  These are the keys to progress -- not just in Africa, but around the world.  And this is the work that we can do together.
 
And I am hopeful.  As I prepare to return home, my thoughts are with that same young man from Senegal, who said:  Here, I have met Africa, the [Africa] I’ve always believed in.  She’s beautiful and young, full of talent and motivation and ambition. To which I would simply add, as you build the Africa you believe in, you will have no better partner, no better friend than the United States of America.  (Applause.)   
 
God bless Africa.  God bless the United States of America.  Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.) 
 
END 

2:54 P.M. EAT

Fizzo yaraye ataramiye KAIZEN CLUB --about last night

Sandra Teta afunzwe aregwa Miliyoni 28

Nyampinga Sandra Teta ntarakiranuka n’ibibazo bya Gereza, yongeye gufungwa azira sheki zitazigamiye aheruka gutanga, n’izindi nshya 5 z’agaciro ka miliyoni 28 zirengaho gato.

Ubu afungiwe kuri Sitasiyo ya Polisi ya Muhima.

Polisi y’u Rwanda imaze kubwira Ikinyamakuru Izuba Rirashe ko Sandra Teta amaze iminsi ibiri afunzwe.

Bisobanuye ko yizihirije umunsi mukuru w’isabukuru ye y’amavuko, kuwa Gatatu tariki 4 Ugushyingo, muri gereza.

Umuvugizi wa Polisi mu Mujyi wa Kigali, Supt Modest Mbabazi yabwiye Iki Kinyamakuru ko dosiye ye yamaze gushyigikirizwa ubushinjacyaha.

Yagize ati “Kuva kuwa Kabiri [Sandra Teta] arafunzwe ariko ubu ntabwo ari mu maboko yacu [Polisi], dosiye ye yashyikikirijwe ubushinjacyaha, arazira gutanga sheki zitazigamiye. Iby’ubushize nabyo biri aho ariko hari n’ibindi byinshi by’abandi bo ku ruhande bamurega.”

Teta n'umukunzi we w'umuhanzi Derek Sano

Umuvugizi w’Ubushinjacyaha bw’u Rwanda, Alain Mukurarinda yabwiye Ikinyamakuru Izuba Rirashe ko Teta azabazwa ku byaha aregwa kuri uyu wa Gatanu ari kumwe n’umwavoka we, mu rukiko rw’ibanze rwa Nyarugenge.

Yagize ati “hari sheke eshanu yatanze zitazigamiye zifite agaciro ka miliyoni 28 zirengaho gato, yashyikirijwe ubushinjacyaha kuri uyu wa Kane ariko yifuza kuzabazwa kuwa Gatanu.”

Mukurarinda avuga ko icyaha Sandra aregwa kiramutse kimuhamye ashobora kugifungirwa hagati y’imyaka itatu n’itanu.

Gusa yongeraho ati “ni icyaha ubushinjacyaha bufitiye uburenganzira bwo kuba bwakunganisha urega n’uregwa ariko ibyo byose bizarebwa amaze kubazwa.”

Amakuru agera ku Izuba Rirashe avuga ko Teta ari kwishyuzwa izi miliyoni n’amwe mu mahoteli ari i Kagugu, abereyemo imyenda, bifitanye isano n’igitaramo aheruka gukorera kuri The Manor kuri uyu wa 30 Ukwakira 2015.

Kuri Whatsapp ye, hagaragara ko amaze iminsi ibiri atayikoresha. Uyihamagaye nticamo.Mu ntangiriro z’ukwezi kw’Ukwakira, Teta yari yakoresheje igitaramo gikomeye cyitwa “Red Avenue”, mu Mujyi wa Kampala muri Uganda, cyitabirwa n’abantu benshi barimo n’abahanzi b’ibyamamare nka Bebe Cool.

Sandra Teta yabaye igisonga cya kabiri cya Miss SFB umwaka wa 2011.

Yanitabiriye amarushanwa ya Nyampinga w’u Rwanda mu 2012, aza muri 15 ba mbere.

Rwandan parliament agrees to extend Kagame's rule

Rwandan President Paul Kagame takes his place for a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York, October 2, 2015.

REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY

Rwanda's lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his rule beyond a second term that ends in 2017 and possibly stay on until 2034, a move opposed by the United States and other aid donors.

Draft amendments to the constitution approved by the lower house still have to be backed by the upper house and also put to a referendum, but are not expected to stumble at either stage.

After debates on Wednesday and Thursday, lawmakers agreed that presidential terms be cut to five years from seven with a limit of two terms, but an exception has been made for Kagame.

Parliament, dominated by Kagame's allies and supporters, debated the issue after a petition calling for changes was signed by 3.7 million supporters of the rebel-turned-president who is credited with rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.

Rwanda's main but tiny opposition, the Democratic Green Party, tried to block the amendment to extend Kagame's term, but a court rejected the bid. Critics say the government stifles opposition politicians and media, a charge officials deny.

Speaker of the 80-seat lower house, Donatille Mukabalisa, said Article 172 of the amended constitution was supported by all 75 lawmakers present and meant Kagame could stay on until 2034. "No law stops him," she told a news conference.

Kagame has not said explicitly he wants to run again but has said he is open to persuasion.

Article 172 allows Kagame to serve out his seven-year term that ends in 2017 and also to seek a third seven-year term after that. Even beyond that he could seek two more five-year terms, a lawmaker said, explaining the amendment.

The debate about term limits has flared across Africa.

In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza sparked months of protests and a failed coup when he decided in April to run for a third term. Opponents said it violated the constitution and deal that ended a civil war there. A court ruled he could run again.

In Congo Republic, voters backed a change to allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for a third consecutive term. The opposition had called for a boycott of that vote.

Kagame won international and domestic praise for rebuilding Rwanda after the chaos of the 1990s. Some 800,000 people, most of them Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were massacred before rebel forces led by Kagame ended the genocide.

KIGALI | BY CLEMENT UWIRINGIYIMANA

(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Reuters

Kagame: I have not asked anyone to change constitution for me

While Rwanda’s parliament goes through the motions of amending the constitution to allow Paul Kagame to run for a third term, the President granted New African a wide-ranging interview in which he addresses the hot topic and issues of peace and justice following the 1994 genocide. 

Q: As a president and a man, what spurs you on?

A: Well, I guess, many things; some of which I cannot easily explain. In fact it is a combination of things. It is a combination of the person and the environment. For me, therefore, I think I have benefitted from the many hardships I have grown up in, and maybe the character also. But for the character sometimes you can’t say you are responsible for it, maybe it is somebody’s nature, your parents’ for example, that you inherited, something that you have no control over.

But the combination is what drives me. If you grow up in an environment of hardship, it either breaks you or you resist it. You push it back and stand up to all the challenges it throws at you. And you find that you are driven by the urge to succeed and turn things around.

I lived through hardships in my early life as a refugee and later in the rebel struggles in Uganda and Rwanda. It has been a case of fighting for our rights all the time. It has almost become a way of life that you don’t get anything for free. For us, we have had to fight our way through the jungle, through politics, and through a lot of the things you see in the world.

Q: There is no dispute about the fact that Rwanda has changed for the better under your leadership. Looking back on this 21-year work, again, what motivates you?

A: Once you confront many challenges and progress is made, when one step of progress leads to another and to another, you feel that what you are doing is worth your energy and therefore it becomes an encouragement to keep doing what you can do. There is satisfaction in seeing that other people’s lives are being impacted in a positive way, and this gives you more energy, which drives you on.

I can see where my country has come from 21 years ago and where we are today. We can see that there is hope in the future. We want Rwanda to become prosperous, we want it to be stable, we want the people to become what they want to be. The story between 1994 and 2015 is so encouraging to everybody, myself included. It shows that no problem is insurmountable, and that if we can overcome ours, then whatever lies ahead of anybody anywhere can be confronted and overcome.

Q: Last October, in your address to Chatham House, you made a statement that in Rwanda today,  people trust each other. In your view, has the country turned the corner?

A: Absolutely, these stories are true; they are backed by evidence, by facts. The stories about the industriousness of Rwandans and their resilience, the confidence they have in themselves, and the trust that has been built around that, coupled with the results on the ground vis-à-vis where we have come from, and weighed against the context of a continent that is struggling… I think the country has turned the corner for sure. Better things lie ahead.   

Q: Rwanda is famous for having one of the highest numbers of women in parliament, in government and in other positions of power. What is it like working with so many women? Do they bring something different to decision-making and getting things done?

A: We always talk about equality and respect for life, and in Rwanda we want to translate it in real terms into something that works for us. I always say that the many problems in our history have taught us lessons, and we use these lessons to rationalise what we do, why we do it, and so on. So if you take our women, who form 52% of the population, it is important that we don’t leave them behind in whatever we do. Perhaps we understand this better than anybody because of our history.

Given where we are coming from, we need everybody’s contribution, and therefore we cannot forget our women, 52% of the population, they have a lot to offer and they bring a lot to national development. Secondly, it is an issue of rights. Women have rights like anyone else, and if we recognise that both men and women have the same rights, then we are better off for that.

But specifically on your question, much as we are talking about equality, we also realise that men and women definitely have different things to offer, so it is better to bring them together. For women in positions of responsibility, whether in cabinet or parliament or outside parliament, they bring a difference and it works very well in terms of complementarity. Women are as capable as men in everything, but women bring less rough edges in doing things and in managing issues than men [he smiles knowingly]. So …

Q:  … So they don’t give you a hard time?

A: [Laughs]. It is not so much as giving me a hard time, they are carrying out the same tasks as the men and doing the same things that we want in society. But if what they do comes without other costs, then you prefer that. Women tend to be more rational and operate more smoothly than men. While men will do some unnecessary things because they can afford to do them in a society that allows them to do so, women don’t.

So these qualities of women help add value to what we are doing. And we can’t talk dismissively about women as if they are peripheral people; these are our mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives. They are part of us. Men and women live together in homes, so by bringing them together, I am better able to manage things, better than telling them to stay aside and allow men to do the job. And after all is done, we go back home and find a woman. So it doesn’t make sense to leave them out. 

Q: You are of the view that Africa has to drive its own agenda, because Africa has a lot to teach the world. But in your Chatham House address, you said outsiders strongly opposed your attempt to use Rwanda’s traditional Gacaca system for resolving conflicts, to tackle genocide cases here. So what was their problem?

A: You see, we live in a world that I think needs constant reforms and redefinition of things and not to assume or take it that some people are superior than others, and therefore they set the standard and everyone else must follow. The world is such that there are different places and different people managing different kinds of talents. What that calls for is for people to work together rather than saying what works for them, they have set it as a standard and everyone else’s must fit in. That won’t work, because people are managing different problems in different places. So what works for you may not necessarily works for me.

So with the Gacaca system, the outsiders opposed it simply because they said it did not fit the international standard. And we asked them: “What is the international standard in trying genocide cases in a society where one section of the people has killed the other section, and there are hundreds of thousands or even millions of cases to bring to court?”

To add insult to injury, the magnitude of the problem in and of itself posed a huge problem because of the sheer numbers involved. So while we wanted justice for victims, we wanted at the same time to bring reconciliation. But these two important processes go against each other, and there is always a collision course. 

Q: A kind of Catch-22 situation?

A: Exactly. So we said to the outsiders: “Honestly, do you know what you are talking about?” If the international standard means you have to take every genocide case to the normal courts, in Rwanda we didn’t really have a functioning judiciary at the time; everything was completely destroyed. Even if we had the best judiciary in the world, trying millions of cases would have taken thousands of years.

So we said to the outsiders: “We have traditional ways of resolving our problems, though never before of this magnitude. In the end what we are looking for is what works for us and allows people to live together in the future.” Then we said: “Okay, maybe you think we are wrong, so give us a specific solution to apply.” And they had none, absolutely none, because they were aware that they couldn’t tell us to first create a functioning judiciary and only then try the perpetrators of genocide.

Interestingly, these outsiders are the ones who say, and I believe in that, that justice must be seen to be done. Then we said: “Okay, while we have this disagreement, let’s continue debating the issues, but for us, we can’t wait to resolve the problems of genocide to allow us to continue living together in the future.”

So that is what we did. And they continued complaining about the Gacaca courts which eventually tried nearly 2 million cases and allowed people to go back to their rural homes and wherever, and settle down with each other. This is why today we have the stability you see in this country, which allows us to go about our developmental activities.

Q: The Gacaca system in fact allowed both perpetrators and victims to sit together and resolve issues, so it made the work of the government easier, did it not?

A: It did, absolutely. That is another good thing about the Gacaca process. It allows both victims and perpetrators to sit together to resolve their problems. It is not like the normal court system where one side accuses the other, and the other defends itself and then waits for the judge to pronounce judgement. No. In the Gacaca system, the victims and perpetrators are the ones at the centre of the process.

As a result, we achieved perpetrators standing up and saying: “We are sorry, we are actually the ones who killed such and such a family, we will take you and show you where we threw their bodies or buried them.” They would literally bow in front of the victims and say, “We are sorry”. But this is something that some outsider would simply, by a stroke of his magical pen, say does not meet the international standard, so Rwanda is blah, blah, blah. But it worked for us. It has allowed this country to heal.

Q: And just look at the juxtaposition of the two cases. This is 1994 in Rwanda and 1994 in South Africa, where President Nelson Mandela came into power and reconciliation was the buzzword. In South Africa, reconciliation via forgiveness and national healing was hailed worldwide because the perpetrators were white, but in Rwanda your attempt to seek justice and reconciliation via the Gacaca system did not meet the international standard because the perpetrators were black. This is where your idea of Africa driving its own agenda becomes pertinent, doesn’t it?

A: Yes, absolutely. We really came under fire. Incredible fire! But we stayed the course, we insisted on saying: “We believe we are doing the right thing, the right thing that works for us and we are not going to deviate from it.” In the end, the Gacaca process allowed our people to settle down. It doesn’t mean that [the result] is perfect, far from it. We never told anybody that what we were doing was perfect, but it gave us the best we could expect from our own situation, as we dealt with the most complicated problem we had at hand.

Q: I hope Africa is going to learn a lesson from your experience, because we just cannot be pushed around all the time by outsiders.

A: Not all the time, not on things that affect our own lives. It is here that things tend to push me to the extreme end because I don’t think that human beings, self-respecting people, [allow that] and I keep asking myself what do Africans lack in order to be these wobbly kind of people and [a] society who will keep bowing to anything and anybody and just complain, instead of taking the bull by the horns and doing something about their own situations. I never find reasons for that. I don’t see why we do it as a people. That is why for me, when it comes to such things, you can count on me to be the extreme end, whatever that means. I have no room for accepting it.   

Q: In 2011, my colleague, Hichem Ben Yaiche, interviewed you for the New African April issue, and asked you this direct question about your re-election in 2010: “Will you step down at the end of this 7-year mandate which is effectively your last term in office, as provided for by the constitution?” Your answer was very emphatic: “Our constitution is clear on term limits. I have no intention, and no desire, to disrespect the constitution.” This morning I read in one of the local newspapers that 3.7 million Rwandans have signed a petition asking you to run for a third term when your two terms end in 2017. So what has changed, Mr President? Are the 3.7 million people not coaxing you to “disrespect the constitution”? What have you said to them?

A: Before I say anything to them, I say something to you. The statement I made in the 2011 interview still holds true for me today. First, I have not – and you can investigate it by asking anybody – I have not sought or asked anybody to change the constitution for me. No. I am not part of this exercise as you see it. So I see people writing that Kagame is seeking a third term. No, I am not seeking anything. 

Second, the 3.7 million Rwandans who have signed the petition and the many others besides, are the ones who are saying, let’s change the constitution – after all, we wrote it in the first place. It is not me! Therefore, if, for them, they think they are going to change the constitution, that is their business. I respect the constitution, and will continue to respect the constitution made by the people.

Now let me work on the scenario of playing the devil’s advocate and say I actually made the request to run for a third term, and so when the constitution is changed, I would fit in there. At that point, when the constitution is indeed changed and I run for a third term, I will have respected its new demands, because a constitution is what the people make. But here, the difference as against other cases, is that it is the people who want to change the constitution, not me, the president.

Q: That may be true, but how do you convince people that the push for a third term is not being remote-controlled by State House?

A: I will tell you. In some cases in Africa you may have a leader who gives the impression that people want him to stay, but in reality they want him to go. He may present himself and say, people want me. That is how sometimes it has led to problems in certain countries.

But if there was a way of knowing the truth and the people really want him to stay, there should be no problem. The problem only comes when some leaders, and their friends and families, are the ones who engineer the push. But I can assure you that in our case the push is not coming from me or my family or friends. 

Q: The people of Rwanda, as I understand it, are saying this man has been a good president for us, we still want him to continue. What’s bad about this?

A: I find nothing wrong with that, and that is why I am saying people are distorting the whole argument when they say Kagame wants a third term. I have told nobody that I want anything, believe me. As such I have simply stayed away from the whole thing. I have not been part of it and the simple reason is, I want to really be sure of what is going on.

I have had discussions with my party cadres, 2,000 of them in one room, made up of the who’s who in our party leadership, and I have told them: “Please be sober about this, let’s be sure that we are dealing with the real thing, and not people trying to influence this or that for their own interests.” I said to them: “I want to be sure about this, I want to be sure about the process, about the facts, about the realities.” That is when I will come up with my own decision, a decision which will come to me as a person who is able to make his own decisions.

This is why I have left the 3.7 million people and the many others to play it out, to convince themselves and convince others that what we are dealing with is the real thing and that it is not fake or manipulated. This is why I am saying even to you as a journalist and an analyst and somebody coming from outside our country, that you are doing us a good service in trying to understand the nuances and the whole detail of this issue, so that we know the reality of what we are dealing with. And maybe it is going to end up being another case where Rwanda charts its own course and lives by it and reaps the benefits of it, or faces the consequences.

Q: Good. But let me say that even the USA, which Africa is following so blindly, only introduced term limits in 1951 – a good 175 years after its independence from Britain, and this only after the USA had become a superpower. So why can’t Africans likewise do what suits us?

A: It is the problem of Africa. The African mind is still trapped in the past, the colonial past. Slavery and colonialism did a lot of damage to the African. He never believes in his own rights or thinks he is ever right. He always sees right in what happens elsewhere. It is a mindset issue. And it is a serious matter. So the African always seeks validation from the outside. It is a big problem!

They [outsiders] are mixing a couple of things. Among us Africans, there are people who make very serious mistakes. And these people include leaders in power, how they came to power, how they have exercised power, and maybe they have term limits and have ended up messing up and changing the constitution because they say people want them when people actually want them to go. And therefore this triggers a problem where people say: “Oh this man did terrible things, now he wants another term, so God forbid.” And they take this particular case and extrapolate it and make it apply to all Africa.

Q: A kind of one-size-fits-all solution?

A: Absolutely. And this is the problem. They say: “Oh, there is another African coming, he is like the other one”. So the term limit issue becomes the standard for the African, when in fact it is, or should be, the problem in a few particular cases. They forget that other cases in Africa may be different, which again triggers another thing: In Europe, for example, there are no term limits in the UK or Germany and in almost all the European countries. Even Australia has no term limits.

But here in Africa, the issue is almost a given, a God-given right; so term limits can happen so seamlessly here because we don’t have leaders who are not dictators, who don’t want to cling to power, who don’t manipulate things. So no term limits becomes the preserve of others, not the African.

And yet the African accepts it and says: “Oh, you know, those outside Africa can do whatever they want, but here in Africa things cannot be like that. If there are no term limits, a bad leader can manipulate things and perpetuate himself in power, and we will find it difficult to remove him.”

So the African takes refuge in that and doesn’t even ask: “How does it work in Germany? How does it work in the UK? Why don’t we do it here too and make sure it works?” We deprive ourselves of the right and ability to actually achieve it by simply saying: “No, for us, you know, we are Country X, Country Y, we are laymen, and somebody will come and stay forever even when they are doing the wrong things, so let’s agree with the Western world that we should have term limits as a way of protecting ourselves from ourselves [laughs].”

They say they are protecting themselves from themselves by binding themselves with what is being suggested by the West. This is a real problem. And the confusion prevails. The insanity prevails. Apart from that, there is no reason why Africa cannot chart its own course.    

Q: So what can we do in Africa?

A: Many things. You see the mess in even Western countries which are advanced in so-called democracy, however they define it. Just look at the problems they are facing even now. So I fail to understand what they advocate as a perfect democratic system. I don’t know which one it is. Even for them, democracy manifests in different forms. It is never in one form. But they come to Africa and just kick anybody they meet on the way into line.

For me, I don’t know which democracy the West advocates. They have term limits in the USA, and no term limits in almost all of Europe. So which version are they saying Africa should go for? The American one or the European one?

Q: And yet these days the fashion in Africa is to look at the Asian Tigers and say we want to be like them. But we forget that the founding fathers who created the Asian Tigers stayed in power for a long time. They may have been elected from time to time, but they did stay for a long time to be able to build the miracle economies and countries we yearn to re-create in Africa. So how do we square the circle?

A: You know, I have a friend who came from the West to tell me how he had heard that the people of Rwanda wanted me to remain for another term, so he was advising me not to follow what the people are saying. But he contradicted himself by saying that what he thought best for me was to be like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. So I asked him, “What did Lee Kuan Yew do?” He said he did this and that and retired.

I said: “You are actually mixing up your whole argument. In other words, you are actually saying I should continue in office, because I haven’t yet reached the 32 years that Lee Kuan Yew served. And even today Lee Kuan Yew’s son is the prime minister. Is that what you want me to do?” I said: “You are introducing a whole new idea to me without even knowing that if I should follow the path you are suggesting to me, you will later oppose it. So we are following our own path.”

Then, another one, an American, told me: “You know, you should be like George Washington, he was a general like you, admired by everybody, and when they asked him to run for a second term, he said no.”

And I said to him: “But somebody may come and say, why don’t you be like F.D. Roosevelt? He went for four terms and was actually elected each time by the American people. And Roosevelt came long after Washington.”

So I asked him: “In your history what do you blame Roosevelt for? Do you think he was not a great leader?” He said he was. So I said, “Why do you think what works for you can’t work for others? It’s like you choose from your own system what to impose on others. But there are things that worked for you, and if I choose what worked for you, you say no, let me choose for you what will work for you. That is wrong.”

Q: Now, let me ask you a direct question. At the end of the process, when the constitutional commission has finished its work and the people asked you to stay for another term, what would you do?

A: I have remained open to that. Even with the statement I made in the 2011 interview with your colleague, I knew in my mind that I should be careful about it, when I said I respected the constitution. Respecting the constitution means respecting the constitution that is there [he taps the arm of his chair for emphasis], at that time [still tapping the arm of his chair], and that it has come in the manner it should. Not manipulated. Not tampered with. By people other than those who should. You see what I mean?

So your question about staying if asked by the people, I remain open to it as long as all the things I have described above are legitimate and right. If I discover today that there is manipulation going on, there is somebody playing games to fit me into whatever they want, I will just tell them, forget it. But if it is genuine and convincing and legitimate, I am open to the idea of staying. Yes.

This is why I want these things to play out the best they can, so that I can make my own decision, because I have a decision to make at one point.

And I have always spoken to my people, as I said to the party cadres and so on, and I have told them: “You need to act rationally, you need to think properly and always expect that even something you don’t like may happen”. So they must be prepared for all kinds of scenarios.

Q: In fact, I read that it has happened before?

A: Yes. So I was even preparing to say, don’t be surprised to come to me and I say no, because that has happened before by the way. You remember after the genocide in 1994, I was not the first president. But everything qualified me to be, meaning everybody wanted me to be; between the opposition and our party, they wanted me to be.

You remember there was an earlier Arusha Agreement, which had brought in opposition parties and our group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF almost took it for granted that I was the president because I was the commander of the forces that fought in the bush and I was also number two in the political leadership of the RPF, which by the way also happened by default because our first leader had been killed at the beginning of the war in October 1990.

In fact when our first leader [Fred Rwigyema] was killed, I was number three. There was the chairman who was the commander who got killed, there was the vice chairman [Pasteur Bizimungu], and I was there.

When the commander and chairman died, everybody came to me and said you must take over. I said “No, there is the vice chairman”. And what made it difficult for us was that when the vice chairman heard that the chairman had died and there were problems at the warfront, he kind of ran away. He went into hiding literally. He actually went to Tanzania, lay low, and disappeared.

Q: And you didn’t want to take over?

A: No. I told them to go and look for the vice chairman.  So they went to look for him, and after a hard struggle they got him to accept coming back. That was during the war. Then after the war, when everybody had assumed that I was going to be the president, I said, “No, I am not prepared, give me any other role and I will play it.” So that is how our former president, Bizimungu, came in, until after 6 years when he ran into problems with parliament for the things he had done.  I became president in 2000.

But for me this whole issue of being president, clearly doesn’t appeal so much to me. But for all that I have done to serve my people, and even to serve my own conscience, if the people say to me, “President, you are tired or we are tired of you, you must go”, I will go that very day. I wouldn’t give anybody trouble at all.

And this is what makes me say if the current push to make me stay plays out to my satisfaction, that there are no games being played, that it is genuine, and also people are not becoming too dependent on me, and that they have a genuine problem, maybe they need time to choose another leader but now is not the time, I remain open to the idea of staying. But I am not the one driving it. NA

- See more at: http://newafricanmagazine.com/kagame-i-have-not-asked-anyone-to-change-constitution-for-me/#sthash.WE9yFWGr.dpuf

Stromae in Kigali Concert was great

Nyundo Artists ---they came back home

Aba banyeshuri b'abahanzi 9 bo ku Nyundo bakubutse muri Canada, mu rugendo rw’ibyumweru bibiri bamazeyo, bageze i Kigali kuri uyu wa 3 Ukwakira 2015.

Muri uru rugendo, aba banyeshuri baririmbye mu iserukiramuco rya Axis Mundi Haverst, mu Mujyi wa Revelstoke (ho mu Majyepfo y’Uburasirazuba bwa Columbia, muri Canada).

Muri Canada, barishimiwe cyane ku buryo hari amwe mu mashuri ya muzika yahise afata icyemezo cyo kuzohereza kuzaza mu Rwanda.



Read More @ IZUBA RIRASHE

Rwanda : Washington contre un éventuel troisième mandat de Kagame en 2017

Les Etats-Unis ont de nouveau exprimé vendredi leur opposition à un éventuel troisième mandat du président rwandais Paul Kagame à l'issue de la présidentielle de 2017, après que le Parlement à Kigali se fut prononcé pour une réforme de la Constitution. 

Le département d’Etat a fait part de sa « préoccupation » devant « la décision du Parlement rwandais et du président Paul Kagame de mettre sur pied une commission de réforme constitutionnelle qui pourrait amender ou supprimer les limites du mandat présidentiel et permettre au président Kagame de concourir pour un troisième mandat en 2017″.

« Nous ne soutenons pas ceux qui, à des postes de pouvoir, changent les constitutions uniquement pour leurs propres intérêts politiques », a dénoncé le porte-parole de la diplomatie américaine John Kirby, dans un communiqué.

Washington a une position de principe, appliquée aux dirigeants africains et réaffirmée par le présidentBarack Obama lors de sa tournée en juillet au Kenya et en Ethiopie, qui impose une limite à deux mandats présidentiels et interdit d’amender les Lois fondamentales.

C’est sur cet argument constitutionnel que l’administration américaine dénonce le troisième mandat du président du Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza.

« Nous demeurons pour des transitions démocratiques du pouvoir dans tous les pays, par le biais d’élections libres, justes et crédibles, conformément aux Constitutions et à leurs dispositions limitant les mandats » présidentiels, a insisté M. Kirby. Washington a encore rappelé au président Kagame qu’il s’était lui même « engagé à respecter les limites constitutionnelles » de sa présidence.

Le parlement rwandais avait donné le 11 août son feu vert à une réforme constitutionnelle qui permettrait au chef de l’Etat de briguer un troisième mandat dans deux ans.

Du 20 juillet au 10 août, les parlementaires ont mené des « consultations populaires » à travers le pays pour sonder les Rwandais sur un amendement de l’article 101 de la Constitution actuelle. Cet article limite à deux le nombre de mandats présidentiels successifs, qui interdit en théorie à Paul Kagame, élu deux fois en 2003 et 2010 mais en réalité homme fort du Rwanda depuis déjà la fin du génocide des Tutsi en 1994, de se représenter en 2017.

Le département d’Etat était déjà monté au créneau en juin sur cette question. M. Kagame a été soutenu pendant 20 ans par les Etats-Unis mais leur idylle a pris fin à l’été 2012 en raison du rôle jugé « déstabilisateur » de Kigali dans l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo voisine.