Rose Kabuye

Last updated

Voice of America pronunciation of "Rose Kabuye" from the region of Rwanda. Transliteration (American pronunciation recommendation): "ROHZ kah-BOO-yeh"

Rose Kabuye (born Rose Kanyange; 22 April 1961 in Muvumba, Rwanda) [1] is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Rwandan Army and Until late 2023, she was the highest ranking woman ever to serve in her country's armed forces. She is currently working in the private sector as chief executive officer of Virunga Logistics and Startech Limited but is best known for her work as a fighter for the Rwandan Patriotic Front during the Rwandan Civil War. She subsequently became Mayor of Kigali City, Rwandan Chief of State Protocol, and a member of the Rwandan parliament. Because of her participation in the liberation struggle, she was awarded The Rwandan National Liberation Medal and the Campaign Against Genocide Medal. She was serving as the chief of protocol [2] of Rwandan President Paul Kagame in November 2008 when she was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany [3] on charges that were lifted in March 2009. [4]

Contents

Rwandan Civil War

Raised and educated in Uganda, Rose Kabuye began her military training there in 1986 following graduation from Makerere University [5] with a degree in Political Science and Social Administration. She joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), in the early 1980s. In the rank of a major, [2] she took part in the 1990 invasion of Northern Rwanda from Uganda to win refugees the right to return to their homeland. In 1993, she became the RPF's Director of Welfare and was placed in charge of caring for sick and disabled victims of the war. She became a leader of RPF women fighters and organised regular meetings to engage them as a group and provide vital psychological support. Her skills as a negotiator began to emerge during her participation in 1992 peace talks between the RPF and the former Rwandan government.

Mayor of Rwanda's capital city: Kigali

In 1994, immediately following the war, Rose Kabuye was appointed mayor of the capital Kigali. [6] where she was intimately involved in humanitarian activities as well as rehabilitating vital infrastructure including water and electricity. As mayor through 1998, she focused on solving housing problems in her city by constructing temporary shelters for the poor as well as survivors of the Rwandan genocide. She is credited with reorganisation and rehabilitation of Kigali's commercial activities during her tenure. She established the Kigali Lottery and directed proceeds to pay for the education of 100 genocide orphans. [7]

Member of Parliament and champion of women

In 1998, Rose Kabuye became a Member of the Rwandan Parliament [8] where she served as Chairperson of the Defense and Security Committee. As a member of the Women's Parliamentary Forum, she was involved in the mobilisation of women on a grassroots level [9] and worked to rescind a range of laws that discriminated against women. She was an advocate for the training of women leaders and the elevation of women in more decision-making areas of Rwandan government. Rwanda now has the highest percentage of women in Parliament of any parliamentary nation in the world. [10] While MP, Rose Kabuye participated in the drafting of the new Rwandan constitution and its dissemination to the populace for input and adoption.

Chief of State Protocol under President Kagame

In 2003, Rose Kabuye began a 7-year tenure as Chief of State Protocol under Rwandan President Paul Kagame. In that role, she advised top Rwandan government leaders on matters of national and international protocol; accompanied the President on all official travel; and planned and hosted numerous ceremonial events for visiting heads of state and other visiting dignitaries. She planned and coordinated, among other major events, The New Partnership for Africa's Development (2000) and COMESA – the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. She also coordinated State visits to Rwanda including those by US president and Mrs. George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She accompanied President Kagame on his visits to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Other volunteer leadership roles

Rose Kabuye served as Chair Person for the Kigali City AIDS Committee launching programs to educate Rwandans about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent its spread. She served on the Board of Ndabaga—an NGO for Demobilized Women Soldiers. She is an Executive Member of Forum for African Women Educationlists (FAWE Rwanda Chapter) and core member of Women Waging Peace. [11]

Controversy over 1994 plane crash

In 1994, a plane carrying the president of Rwanda (Juvenal Habyarimana) and the President of Burundi (Cyprien Ntaryamira) [1] was shot down, near Kigali airport, killing both leaders. This event was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide [12] which, over the course of some 100 days, claimed the lives of between 800,000 and one million people.

In November 2006, French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière issued an arrest warrant for nine people, including Rose Kabuye, for allegedly having been involved in the attack. [2] On 9 November 2008, she was arrested in Germany while travelling on business. After the arrest, Rwandan President Kagame expelled the German ambassador and ordered his envoy in Berlin to return to Kigali "for consultations." Demonstrators staged protests in front of the German embassy in Kigali carrying signs that read: "Shame on you, Germany! Seventy years after the Holocaust, you arrest a woman who put a stop to genocide."

Charges against Rose Kabuye were lifted in March 2009. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juvénal Habyarimana</span> President of Rwanda from 1973 to 1994

Juvénal Habyarimana was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until his assassination in 1994. He was nicknamed Kinani, a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kagame</span> President of Rwanda since 2000 (born 1957)

Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded Rwanda in 1990. The RPF was one of the parties of the conflict during the Rwandan Civil War and the armed force which ended the Rwandan genocide. He was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he was Vice President and Minister of Defence under President Pasteur Bizimungu from 1994 to 2000 after which the vice-presidential post was abolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Patriotic Front</span> Political party in Rwanda

The Rwandan Patriotic Front is the ruling political party in Rwanda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan genocide</span> 1994 genocide in Rwanda

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the actual number of fatalities is unclear, and some estimates suggest that the real number killed was likely lower. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faustin Twagiramungu</span> Rwandan politician (1945–2023)

Faustin Twagiramungu was a Rwandan politician. He was Prime Minister of Rwanda from 1994 until his resignation in 1995, the first head of government appointed after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) captured Kigali. He soon came to disagree with the RPF's policies and actions, resigned and was placed under house arrest, but managed to leave the country and settle in Belgium. He continued his opposition activity against Paul Kagame's rule, subsequently returning to Rwanda and standing for elections, but without success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Rwanda</span>

Elections in Rwanda are manipulated in various ways, which include banning opposition parties, arresting or assassinating critics, and electoral fraud. According to its constitution, Rwanda is a multi-party democracy with a presidential system. In practice, it functions as a one-party state ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front and its leader Paul Kagame. The President and majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected, whilst the Senate is indirectly elected and partly appointed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Civil War</span> 1990–1994 armed struggle in Rwanda

The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kibeho massacre</span> Massacre of refugees by the Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Kibeho massacre occurred in a camp for internally displaced persons near Kibeho, in south-west Rwanda on 22 April 1995. Australian soldiers serving as part of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda estimated at least 4,000 people in the camp were killed by soldiers of the military wing of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, known as the Rwandan Patriotic Army. The Rwandan Government estimated the death toll to be 338.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira</span> 1994 shootdown in Kigali, Rwanda

On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as their jet prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda; both were killed. The assassination set in motion the Rwandan genocide, one of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Rwanda</span>

Human rights in Rwanda have been violated on a grand scale. The greatest violation is the Rwandan genocide of Tutsi in 1994. The post-genocide government is also responsible for grave violations of human rights.

Seth Sendashonga was the Minister of the Interior in the government of national unity in Rwanda, following the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) after the 1994 genocide. One of the politically moderate Hutus in the National Unity Cabinet, he became increasingly disenchanted with the RPF and was eventually forced from office in 1995 after criticizing government policies. After surviving a 1996 assassination attempt while in exile in Kenya, he launched a new opposition movement, the Forces de Résistance pour la Démocratie (FRD). Sendashonga was killed by unidentified gunmen in May 1998. The Rwandan government is widely believed to be responsible for the assassination.

Abdul Joshua Ruzibiza was a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front who, at one time, claimed to be part of a group that carried out assassinated President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira in April 1994, an event that marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Rwandan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 9 August 2010, the second since the Rwandan Civil War. Incumbent President Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was re-elected for a second seven-year term with 93% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza</span> Rwandan politician

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is a Rwandan politician who served as chairwoman of the Unified Democratic Forces from 2006 to 2019. As an advocate for democracy and critic of President Paul Kagame, she was the UDF's candidate for the Rwandan 2010 presidential elections, but was ultimately arrested and sentenced to prison. A Sakharov Prize nominee, she served 8 years of a 15-year prison sentence in Kigali Central Prison on charges of terrorism and threatening national security. She currently leads the party Development And Liberty For All, with the focus to campaign for more political space and for development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayumba Nyamwasa</span> Rwandan former Lieutenant general (born 1958)

Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa is a Rwandan former Lieutenant general who formerly was the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army from 1998 to 2002. He was also head of Rwandan intelligence from 1998 to 2002 and served as Rwanda's ambassador to India between 2004 and 2010. Nyamwasa has been an opposition leader in exile since as part of the Rwanda National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Karegeya</span> Head of intelligence in Rwanda

Patrick Karegeya was a head of intelligence in Rwanda. He was a member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) group that took power in Rwanda following the genocide and civil war. After becoming a critic of RPF leader Paul Kagame, he was stripped of his rank and jailed. Following a time in exile, he was assassinated in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 31, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Mushikiwabo</span> Secretary General of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

Louise Mushikiwabo is the fourth and current Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. She also served as Government Spokesperson. She had previously been Minister of Information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France and the Rwandan genocide</span> Frances role in assisting the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi

The role of France in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi has been a source of controversy and debate both within and beyond France and Rwanda. France actively supported the Hutu-led government of Juvénal Habyarimana against the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front, which since 1990 had been engaged in a conflict intended to restore the rights of Rwandan Tutsis both within Rwanda and exiled in neighboring countries following over four decades of anti-Tutsi violence. France provided arms and military training to Habyarimana's militias, the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi, which were among the government's primary means of operationalizing the genocide following the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6, 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloisea Inyumba</span> Rwandan politician

Aloisea Inyumba was a Rwandan politician, who was the country's Minister for Gender and Family Promotion and as executive secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberation Day (Rwanda)</span> Public holiday in Rwanda

Liberation Day is a public holiday in Rwanda which is celebrated on 4 July. It commemorates the defeat of the previous Habyarimana regime and the Rwandan Armed Forces by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in the Rwandan Civil War, thus ending the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. On 4 July 1994, the RPF secured the capital of Kigali while the end of the war only became official on 18 July with the liberation of the north-west territories. Liberation Day takes place a week after Independence Day, although it is more of a celebration rather than the national mourning period for the Rwandan Revolution on Independence Day.

References

  1. 1 2 Issue of international arrest warrant by Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière
  2. 1 2 3 Simons, Stefan; Ralf Beste; Jan Puhl (17 November 2008). "KIGALI V. PARIS: Shedding Light on the Rwandan Genocide". Spiegel online . Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  3. ↑ Kagame aide faces extradition to France, by William Wallis and Peggy Hollinger, Financial Times, 9 November 2008
  4. 1 2 "Rose Kabuye: Arrest Warrant Lifted". Republic of Rwanda. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Kagabo, Frank. "Rose Kabuye, A Woman of Substance". New Times. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Women's new power came at terrible cost". San Francisco Chronicle . 9 April 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  7. ↑ McCrummen, Stephanie. "Women Run the Show in a Recovering Rwanda". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 October 2008.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ McKinley Jr, James C. (8 May 1998). "Annan Given Cold Shoulder By Officials in Rwanda". The New York Times . Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  9. ↑ Kelly. "Rose Kabuye – Rwanda". World-wide Asian-Eurasian Human Rights Forum. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
  10. ↑ McCrummen, Stephanie (27 October 2008). "Women Run the Show in Recovering Rwanda". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Women Waging Peace Network". Hunt Alternatives Fund.
  12. ↑ Gourevitch, Philip (1998). We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families. New York NY: Picador. pp.  94–95. ISBN   0-312-24335-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.