Controversy As Kenyan Minister Calls Rwanda Autocracy
A Kenyan minister has stirred controversy after saying that Rwanda was an “autocracy” where “whatever the president says is the law”.
Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said Kenya, unlike Rwanda, was a democracy with legal processes.
He was responding to criticism that unfavorably compared Kenya’s transport system to that of its near neighbor.
Rwanda, which has in the past enjoyed good relations with Kenya, is yet to respond to the minister’s comments.
Kenyans urged Mr. Murkomen to retract the remarks fearing that they would unnecessarily provoke Rwanda.
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Appearing live on privately owned citizen tv on Monday night, Mr. Murkomen was asked why Kenya could not make public transport work in an orderly way like in Rwanda.
In Kenya, regulation-flouting minibus taxis weaving their way through congested roads are often a cause of accidents.
But the transport minister dismissed any comparison between Kenya and Rwanda saying that the political situation in Rwanda was different from the democracy in Kenya.
Rwanda is not like Kenya. Rwanda is an autocracy and there whatever the president says is the law, Mr Murkomen minister said, adding that Rwanda is even smaller than Kajiado county, a county in the outskirts of Nairobi.
For every decision you make in this country you must go through a proposal then parliament then public participation, he added.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been the dominant political figure in the country since 1994. He won the last presidential election with nearly 99% of the vote and, elections permitting, could remain in power until 2034. Rights groups have accused his government of silencing opposition voices, something it denies.
The Kenyan minister’s sentiments sparked sharp reactions on social media, with some Kenyans terming them “bar talk” that could trigger a diplomatic row between the two East African countries.
