Rwanda's parliament unanimously voted to amend theconstitution to grant perpetual immunity from prosecution of former presidents.The new constitutional amendment stipulates that a former head of state cannotbe prosecuted on charges of for which he was not officially put on trial whenhe was in office. But critics ofPresident Paul Kagame dismissed the constitutional amendment as a farceclaiming that Kagame's allies in parliament want to protect him from futureprosecution when his second term of office expires.
SomeEuropean countries have reportedly accused President Kagame of complicity inthe countries 1994 genocide in which scores of Tutsis and moderate Hutus losttheir lives. But Kagame denies the accusations. Jean Bosco Gasasira is theeditor of the Umuvugizi Independent Newspaper. He tells reporter Peter Clotteyfrom the capital, Kigali that Rwandans welcome the new constitutionalamendment.
"TheRwandan parliament changed the constitution, and it indicates a clause whichsuggests that President Kagame can be prosecuted during his term of office, butclears him when he is out of the office. So, any person who has claims or whohas allegations against him could take the allegations to court during his termof office. That is the new clause in the Rwandan constitution," Gasasirapointed out.
He said Rwandans welcome theconstitutional amendment.
"This could be politicallypositive, but most especially it is a signal that would be paving way for thesuccession of President Kagame because most of his predecessors or somepresidents in neighboring countries in the Great Lakes or in Africa refuse to leaveoffice for the fear of being prosecuted. So, Rwandans see it in a way that atleast he (President Kagame) may be the first president to leave office when histerm expires?so Rwandans believe with this constitutional amendment, it wouldensure that President Kagame and future presidents could leave office withoutany fear of future prosecution," he said.
Gasasira said Rwandans areoptimistic that President Kagame would leave office after his term expires,which he said is uncommon in the Great Lakes region.
"Rwandans are reluctant tothink that President Kagame is trying to protect himself from prosecution. Youfind them mostly emphasizing that at least compared to other presidents in theregion, he (President Kagame) has been doing good and don't forget that underthe new clause, with every allegation, he could still be taken to court beforehis term of office expires," Gasasira noted.
He said the constitutionalamendment seems to be specifically skewed in President Kagame's favor.
"From the political point ofview, the new law is there to protect his Excellency President Paul Kagame whenhe is out of the office, and that is all I can say," he said.
Gasasira saidthe new law could have been implemented due to speculations and accusations ofPresident Kagame's complicity in the country's 1994 genocide.