Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KIGALI525
2008-08-05 16:34:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:
ETHNICITY IN RWANDA -- WHO GOVERNS THE COUNTRY?
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHLGB #0525/01 2181634 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 051634Z AUG 08 FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5505
S E C R E T KIGALI 000525
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2028
TAGS: PGOV PINR PINS RW
SUBJECT: ETHNICITY IN RWANDA -- WHO GOVERNS THE COUNTRY?
REF: KIGALI 480
Classified By: CDA Cheryl Sim for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
Summary
-------
S E C R E T KIGALI 000525
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2028
TAGS: PGOV PINR PINS RW
SUBJECT: ETHNICITY IN RWANDA -- WHO GOVERNS THE COUNTRY?
REF: KIGALI 480
Classified By: CDA Cheryl Sim for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
Summary
--------------
1. (C/NF) An analysis of the ethnic breakdown of the current
Rwandan government shows Tutsis hold a preponderant
percentage of senior positions. Hutus in very senior
positions often hold relatively little real authority, and
are commonly "twinned" with senior Tutsis who exercise real
power. The military and security agencies are controlled by
Tutsis, generally English speakers who grew up as refugees
with President Kagame in Uganda. The 28-member cabinet is
evenly split among Tutsis and Hutus, but most key ministries
are in the hands of Tutsis (Hutu ministers do head Health and
Agriculture, ministries which affect the lives of most
Rwandans). While the Rwandan government (GOR) presents
itself as a champion of national unity and equal opportunity,
de-emphasizing ethnic identity and ostensibly opening
positions throughout society to those of skill and merit,
political authority in the country does not yet reflect this
ideal. Ethnic identity is still keenly felt and lived, and
ordinary Rwandans are well aware of who holds the levers of
power. The long-term stability of Rwanda depends upon a
government and ruling party that eventually shares real
authority with the majority population. End summary.
Tutsis Dominate Senior Positions
--------------
2. (C/NF) Post analyzed 118 senior positions in the
government, from ministries to parastatals to independent
regulatory bodies, as well as the defense and security
establishments to assess the ethnic composition of the
current Rwandan government (GOR). Post's review of ethnic
membership showed two thirds of the senior positions are
occupied by Tutsis -- including ministers, ministers of state
and secretaries general in the various ministries, the heads
of the armed services and security services, and the heads of
dozens of government offices. This according of senior
positions has held steady over time -- Post has reviewed
internal embassy surveys of ethnic breakdowns of senior
positions from several years ago and found a similar
two-thirds/one-third breakdown. These percentages are far
different from the ethnic breakdown commonly accepted for the
two groups, at 15 percent Tutsi and 85 percent Hutu (Twas are
normally accorded one percent or less of the population).
Some senior Tutsi officials privately assert that the Tutsi
population, whose official size was suppressed during the
Hutu-power Habryarimana era, is growing as a percentage of
the population, but there is no statistical analysis to
support this.
It Starts at the Top: Powerful Tutsis, Secondary Hutus
-------------- --------------
3. (C/NF) President Kagame is a Tutsi. So, too are the
important Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice,
Infrastructure, Local Government, and Information. Close
Kagame confidant, Chief of Defense Staff General James
Kabarebe, is Tutsi, as are the chiefs of the army and air
force, the military district commanders. and the heads of the
Rwanda National Police and the National Security Service
(although some Rwandans joke that short-statured Air Force
Chief Muhire is Twa). Indeed, all are English speakers who
grew up in Uganda. Some major positions are held by Hutus,
but their actual authority often appears limited, and they
are widely perceived to be "twinned" with more powerful Tutsi
colleagues.
4. (S/NF) First Twin: Prime Minister Bernard Makuza: A
Hutu, he ostensibly occupies the second-most powerful
position in the Rwandan government. Affable but ineffectual,
he defers in all matters great and small to President Kagame.
Qhe defers in all matters great and small to President Kagame.
Second Twin: Defense Minister General Marcel Gatsinzi. A
Hutu, he is entirely eclipsed by Chief of Defense Staff James
Kabarebe. Third Twin: Minister of Internal Security Sheik
Musa Fazil Harerimana (in charge of police and prisons). A
Muslim Hutu, and head of the PDI political party, he defers
to his ministry's Secretary General Joseph Mutaboba, a Tutsi
and former ambassador to the U.S. Fourth Twin: Supreme
Court President Aloysia Cyanzayire. Although she is
reputedly a competent and hard-working judge, Supreme Court
Vice President Sam Rugege, a Tutsi, is very much the public
face of the court, and appears to hold administrative
authority as well. Fifth Twin: Long-serving Central Bank
Governor Francois Kanimba, whose Deputy was Tutsi Consolate
Rusagara, influential in economic circles, recently replaced
by equally important regime insider and formerly head of
Tristar (a business entity controlled by the Rwandan
Patriotic Front) Ephrem Twahirwa, also a Tutsi.
5. (C/NF) This is not to say that all Hutus are devoid of
any authority within the government. Hutus hold some key
ministries that impact the lives of average Rwandans: --
Health Minister Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo is energetic
and well-regarded (although a very energetic and
internationally renowned physician, Agnes Binagwaho, a Tutsi,
heads the high-profile HIV/AIDS portfolio); -- New
Agriculture Minister Christophe Bazivamo has held senior
positions within the RPF (although he is far from the inner
circles); his training as agricultural engineer may bring new
life to a badly-managed ministry (he has, however, a
well-connected Tutsi deputy minister, Agnes Kalibata); --
Minister of Trade and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the
respected number two at Finance in the previous cabinet, has
moved up to her own ministry. But Hutus often serve in
second-tier positions, such as the Ministries of Gender,
Sports and Culture, and the new East African Community. The
very active Sports and Culture Minister Joseph Habineza
appears frequently at major public events, for example, but
his influence within senior circles is small.
Other Balancing Does Occur
--------------
6. (C/NF) Ethnicity is not the only factor in how the
government apportions its positions. The government and
ruling RPF vet candidates closely for every senior position,
and appointments reflect the need to carefully balance
gender, language group, home province/district, country of
residence if raised as a refugee outside Rwanda, and
political affiliation (given Rwanda's nine political parties
and the formal need under the constitution to share political
authority). There are regular stories of splits between
francophone and anglophone Tutsis, as well as among the
"Ugandans," those English-speakers raised in refugee camps in
Uganda. For example, Finance Minister James Musoni and
Director General of the National Security Services Emmanuel
Ndahiro, both raised in Uganda, are reputedly engaged in a
long-standing "cold war" as they struggle to place their
respective loyalists in various government positions.
Minister of Information Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Rosemary Museminali, Minister of
Infrastructure Linda Bihire, all Tutsis, head important
ministries (by law, 30 percent of the cabinet must go to
women).
Ethnic Identity -- Used as a Shield?
--------------
7. (C/NF) As Ambassador Arietti noted in his departing
message (reftel),Rwanda remains a deeply divided society,
and average Rwandans still identify closely with their ethnic
origins. Some Hutus argue that the massive gacaca program,
now completing the judgment of over one million (Hutu)
genocide cases, like the nationwide campaign against
"genocide ideology," which by definition only Hutus could
manifest, particularly now that the 1994 genocide has been
renamed "the Tutsi genocide," are secondarily intended to
keep Hutus off balance, unwilling to serve in high places
(for fear of being brought low) and generally out of office.
For example, new Minister of State for Education Theoneste
Mutsindashyaka recently addressed 750 secondary school
headmasters, and, according to the pro-government New Times,
angrily told them that 80 percent of them were "masterminds
of genocide ideology." Assuming that headmasters match the
general ethnic breakdown in society, the Minister essentially
accused every Hutu in the room being a genocide ideologist.
Comment
--------------
8. (C/NF) For all the government's exhortations to Rwandans
to abandon ethnic identities and work in common on national
goals, a policy that in fact has much to recommend it, the
Qgoals, a policy that in fact has much to recommend it, the
political reality is self-evidently otherwise. People remain
keenly committed to their ethnic identities, and everyone is
aware of which person holds which position and to which group
he belongs. While the practical end-point for such a project
may be years away. if this government is ever to surmount the
challenges and divides of Rwandan society, it must begin to
share real authority with Hutus to a much greater degree than
it does now. End comment.
9. (S/NF) Below is a listing of cabinet positions and
ethnic identity:
Prime Minister Bernard Makuza: Hutu
Minister of Local Government Protais Musoni: Tutsi
Minister of Agriculture Christophe Bazivamo: Huti
Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosemary Museminali: Tutsi
Minister of Internal Security Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana:
Hutu
Minister of Finance James Musoni: Tutsi
Minister of Defense Marcel Gatsinzi: Hutu
Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama: Tutsi
Minister in the Office of the President Solina Nyirahabimana:
Hutu
Minister for Cabinet Affairs Charles Murigande: Tutsi
Minister of Trade and Industry: Monique Nsanzabaganwa: Hutu
Minister of Health Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo: Hutu
Minister of Education: Daphrose Gahakwa: Tutsi
Minister in the Presidency for Science and Technology Romain
Murenzi: Hutu
Minister of Infrastructure Linda Bihire: Tutsi
Minister of Natural Resources Stanislas Kamanzi: Hutu
Minister of Sports and Culture: Joseph Habineza: Hutu
Minister of Youth Protais Mitali: Tutsi
Minister of Information Louise Mushikiwabo: Tutsi
Minister of Gender and Family Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya: Hutu
Minister of State for Community Development and Social
Affairs Christine Nyatanyi: Hutu
Minister of State for Energy Albert Butare: Tutsi
Minister of State for Environment, Water and Mines
Munyanganizi Bikoro: Tutsi
Minister of State for Industry and Investment Vincent Karega:
Tutsi
Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education
Theoneste Mutsindashyaka: Tutsi
Minister of State for Agriculture Agnes Kalibata: Tutsi
SIM
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2028
TAGS: PGOV PINR PINS RW
SUBJECT: ETHNICITY IN RWANDA -- WHO GOVERNS THE COUNTRY?
REF: KIGALI 480
Classified By: CDA Cheryl Sim for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
Summary
--------------
1. (C/NF) An analysis of the ethnic breakdown of the current
Rwandan government shows Tutsis hold a preponderant
percentage of senior positions. Hutus in very senior
positions often hold relatively little real authority, and
are commonly "twinned" with senior Tutsis who exercise real
power. The military and security agencies are controlled by
Tutsis, generally English speakers who grew up as refugees
with President Kagame in Uganda. The 28-member cabinet is
evenly split among Tutsis and Hutus, but most key ministries
are in the hands of Tutsis (Hutu ministers do head Health and
Agriculture, ministries which affect the lives of most
Rwandans). While the Rwandan government (GOR) presents
itself as a champion of national unity and equal opportunity,
de-emphasizing ethnic identity and ostensibly opening
positions throughout society to those of skill and merit,
political authority in the country does not yet reflect this
ideal. Ethnic identity is still keenly felt and lived, and
ordinary Rwandans are well aware of who holds the levers of
power. The long-term stability of Rwanda depends upon a
government and ruling party that eventually shares real
authority with the majority population. End summary.
Tutsis Dominate Senior Positions
--------------
2. (C/NF) Post analyzed 118 senior positions in the
government, from ministries to parastatals to independent
regulatory bodies, as well as the defense and security
establishments to assess the ethnic composition of the
current Rwandan government (GOR). Post's review of ethnic
membership showed two thirds of the senior positions are
occupied by Tutsis -- including ministers, ministers of state
and secretaries general in the various ministries, the heads
of the armed services and security services, and the heads of
dozens of government offices. This according of senior
positions has held steady over time -- Post has reviewed
internal embassy surveys of ethnic breakdowns of senior
positions from several years ago and found a similar
two-thirds/one-third breakdown. These percentages are far
different from the ethnic breakdown commonly accepted for the
two groups, at 15 percent Tutsi and 85 percent Hutu (Twas are
normally accorded one percent or less of the population).
Some senior Tutsi officials privately assert that the Tutsi
population, whose official size was suppressed during the
Hutu-power Habryarimana era, is growing as a percentage of
the population, but there is no statistical analysis to
support this.
It Starts at the Top: Powerful Tutsis, Secondary Hutus
-------------- --------------
3. (C/NF) President Kagame is a Tutsi. So, too are the
important Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice,
Infrastructure, Local Government, and Information. Close
Kagame confidant, Chief of Defense Staff General James
Kabarebe, is Tutsi, as are the chiefs of the army and air
force, the military district commanders. and the heads of the
Rwanda National Police and the National Security Service
(although some Rwandans joke that short-statured Air Force
Chief Muhire is Twa). Indeed, all are English speakers who
grew up in Uganda. Some major positions are held by Hutus,
but their actual authority often appears limited, and they
are widely perceived to be "twinned" with more powerful Tutsi
colleagues.
4. (S/NF) First Twin: Prime Minister Bernard Makuza: A
Hutu, he ostensibly occupies the second-most powerful
position in the Rwandan government. Affable but ineffectual,
he defers in all matters great and small to President Kagame.
Qhe defers in all matters great and small to President Kagame.
Second Twin: Defense Minister General Marcel Gatsinzi. A
Hutu, he is entirely eclipsed by Chief of Defense Staff James
Kabarebe. Third Twin: Minister of Internal Security Sheik
Musa Fazil Harerimana (in charge of police and prisons). A
Muslim Hutu, and head of the PDI political party, he defers
to his ministry's Secretary General Joseph Mutaboba, a Tutsi
and former ambassador to the U.S. Fourth Twin: Supreme
Court President Aloysia Cyanzayire. Although she is
reputedly a competent and hard-working judge, Supreme Court
Vice President Sam Rugege, a Tutsi, is very much the public
face of the court, and appears to hold administrative
authority as well. Fifth Twin: Long-serving Central Bank
Governor Francois Kanimba, whose Deputy was Tutsi Consolate
Rusagara, influential in economic circles, recently replaced
by equally important regime insider and formerly head of
Tristar (a business entity controlled by the Rwandan
Patriotic Front) Ephrem Twahirwa, also a Tutsi.
5. (C/NF) This is not to say that all Hutus are devoid of
any authority within the government. Hutus hold some key
ministries that impact the lives of average Rwandans: --
Health Minister Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo is energetic
and well-regarded (although a very energetic and
internationally renowned physician, Agnes Binagwaho, a Tutsi,
heads the high-profile HIV/AIDS portfolio); -- New
Agriculture Minister Christophe Bazivamo has held senior
positions within the RPF (although he is far from the inner
circles); his training as agricultural engineer may bring new
life to a badly-managed ministry (he has, however, a
well-connected Tutsi deputy minister, Agnes Kalibata); --
Minister of Trade and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the
respected number two at Finance in the previous cabinet, has
moved up to her own ministry. But Hutus often serve in
second-tier positions, such as the Ministries of Gender,
Sports and Culture, and the new East African Community. The
very active Sports and Culture Minister Joseph Habineza
appears frequently at major public events, for example, but
his influence within senior circles is small.
Other Balancing Does Occur
--------------
6. (C/NF) Ethnicity is not the only factor in how the
government apportions its positions. The government and
ruling RPF vet candidates closely for every senior position,
and appointments reflect the need to carefully balance
gender, language group, home province/district, country of
residence if raised as a refugee outside Rwanda, and
political affiliation (given Rwanda's nine political parties
and the formal need under the constitution to share political
authority). There are regular stories of splits between
francophone and anglophone Tutsis, as well as among the
"Ugandans," those English-speakers raised in refugee camps in
Uganda. For example, Finance Minister James Musoni and
Director General of the National Security Services Emmanuel
Ndahiro, both raised in Uganda, are reputedly engaged in a
long-standing "cold war" as they struggle to place their
respective loyalists in various government positions.
Minister of Information Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Rosemary Museminali, Minister of
Infrastructure Linda Bihire, all Tutsis, head important
ministries (by law, 30 percent of the cabinet must go to
women).
Ethnic Identity -- Used as a Shield?
--------------
7. (C/NF) As Ambassador Arietti noted in his departing
message (reftel),Rwanda remains a deeply divided society,
and average Rwandans still identify closely with their ethnic
origins. Some Hutus argue that the massive gacaca program,
now completing the judgment of over one million (Hutu)
genocide cases, like the nationwide campaign against
"genocide ideology," which by definition only Hutus could
manifest, particularly now that the 1994 genocide has been
renamed "the Tutsi genocide," are secondarily intended to
keep Hutus off balance, unwilling to serve in high places
(for fear of being brought low) and generally out of office.
For example, new Minister of State for Education Theoneste
Mutsindashyaka recently addressed 750 secondary school
headmasters, and, according to the pro-government New Times,
angrily told them that 80 percent of them were "masterminds
of genocide ideology." Assuming that headmasters match the
general ethnic breakdown in society, the Minister essentially
accused every Hutu in the room being a genocide ideologist.
Comment
--------------
8. (C/NF) For all the government's exhortations to Rwandans
to abandon ethnic identities and work in common on national
goals, a policy that in fact has much to recommend it, the
Qgoals, a policy that in fact has much to recommend it, the
political reality is self-evidently otherwise. People remain
keenly committed to their ethnic identities, and everyone is
aware of which person holds which position and to which group
he belongs. While the practical end-point for such a project
may be years away. if this government is ever to surmount the
challenges and divides of Rwandan society, it must begin to
share real authority with Hutus to a much greater degree than
it does now. End comment.
9. (S/NF) Below is a listing of cabinet positions and
ethnic identity:
Prime Minister Bernard Makuza: Hutu
Minister of Local Government Protais Musoni: Tutsi
Minister of Agriculture Christophe Bazivamo: Huti
Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosemary Museminali: Tutsi
Minister of Internal Security Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana:
Hutu
Minister of Finance James Musoni: Tutsi
Minister of Defense Marcel Gatsinzi: Hutu
Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama: Tutsi
Minister in the Office of the President Solina Nyirahabimana:
Hutu
Minister for Cabinet Affairs Charles Murigande: Tutsi
Minister of Trade and Industry: Monique Nsanzabaganwa: Hutu
Minister of Health Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo: Hutu
Minister of Education: Daphrose Gahakwa: Tutsi
Minister in the Presidency for Science and Technology Romain
Murenzi: Hutu
Minister of Infrastructure Linda Bihire: Tutsi
Minister of Natural Resources Stanislas Kamanzi: Hutu
Minister of Sports and Culture: Joseph Habineza: Hutu
Minister of Youth Protais Mitali: Tutsi
Minister of Information Louise Mushikiwabo: Tutsi
Minister of Gender and Family Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya: Hutu
Minister of State for Community Development and Social
Affairs Christine Nyatanyi: Hutu
Minister of State for Energy Albert Butare: Tutsi
Minister of State for Environment, Water and Mines
Munyanganizi Bikoro: Tutsi
Minister of State for Industry and Investment Vincent Karega:
Tutsi
Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education
Theoneste Mutsindashyaka: Tutsi
Minister of State for Agriculture Agnes Kalibata: Tutsi
SIM