Rwandan President Paul Kagame has spoken out against African
presidents who, he says, view themselves as indispensable and take
their citizens for granted by attempting to extend their term
limits. Although Kagame says he would not follow this trend,
opposition parties say they are wary -- saying other African
presidents who make similar remarks end up changing the
constitution and run for a third term.
Alfred Ndahiro is the presidential advisor on
communications. He spoke with English to Africa reporter
Peter Clottey about Mr. Kagames plan of not going for a third
term. Yes the president has said that a number of times him
not seeking a third term. And the reason is our constitution
stipulates that the president is only given two mandates. And our
president is a man of principle I know that he is going to respect
that.
Ndahiro says Mr. Kagame would abide by the constitution.
Well you need to know the president. He is a man of principle;
there is no reason why we should not trust what he tells us. Most
Rwandans know him now and they know exactly that he does what he
means. So the constitution says that and he said that he is going
to respect that. So weve got no reason to doubt that.
Ndahiro commented on the reaction of opposition groups. The
opposition groups, the opposition parties that operate here have
not said that and I dont know where the information is coming
from. But those abroad have got their own hidden agenda. And we
dont consider them as opposition groups. Most of those that you
hear and come across are not actually opposition groups. These are
people who fled the country because they have a hand in the
genocide in our country. You should not take what they say for the
gospel truth. In actual fact this is not what is happening in this
country. If you analyze objectively you would find that what they
are saying is a lot of nonsense.
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