Marianne Baziruwiha stands between Dr Rudasingwa (Left) and Gerald Gahima (extreme right) in Washington. This was back in 2010 as she was being lured into joining RNC (Courtesy photo)
Kigali: A woman who was humiliated by her former boss and ex-Rwanda’s ambassador to USA Dr Theogene Rudasingwa has spoken publicly about her ordeal in Washington – more than 15 years ago.
Rwandan Marianne Baziruwiha was a counselor at Rwanda’s embassy in Washington. Then in 1996, Dr Theogene Rudasingwa was named Kigali’s envoy – a post he held until 1999 when he returned to become a senior aide to President Kagame.
However, back in Washington, immediately after arrival there, Dr Rudasingwa is alleged to have orchestrated the sacking of Marianne Baziruwiha. The envoy also forced Baziruwiha out of property hired for her by the Government. The details of why Dr Rudasingwa wanted this woman out have remained murky until recently. Baziruwiha still lives in the United States and maintains bitter memories of her ordeal.
According to details obtained by Rwanda News Agency (RNA), Dr Rudasingwa complained to friends in Washington and Kigali that Marianne Baziruwiha had a terrible body odor. For that reason, he did not want her in “my embassy”. Within a few months, Marianne Baziruwiha was sent packing without any benefits.
Marianne Baziruwiha publicly
After the sacking, Marianne Baziruwiha was left homeless and without any money. However, to keep himself clean, Dr Rudasingwa informed the woman that her contract had been terminated by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Kigali, but did not give her any tangible explanation.
Convinced that a Government she served did not want her, Marianne Baziruwiha refused to relocate back to Kigali – fearing the worst. She went into seclusion to begin her life anew: searching for a job and seeking protection from the US government.
Years have gone by and Marianne Baziruwiha has come to terms to begin speaking out. On Sunday and Monday this week, Baziruwiha vented her anger on social networking site Facebook while commenting on a photo of Dr Theogene Rudasingwa.
“… [Rudasingwa] made a false public claim that we had reunited but it is now three years since we ever had any contact,” writes Baziruwiha in Kinyarwanda. “If he does not meet people while in the U.S now, how on earth would he be willing to meet them while back in Rwanda?”
Angry and unforgiving
As if not contented with her post, Baziruwiha goes ahead: “In a nutshell, Rudasingwa shouldn’t be pretending to be innocent compared to Kagame because he is worse….He refused to meet my children whom he made homeless and stateless in the USA, how would he receive them if he is the President? …”
Reading from the comments, they show a parent whose pain is still rife against a former boss she respected. As payback, Dr Rudasingwa rewarded her with rebuke and humiliation.
In the Facebook posts, she makes other strong comments against Dr Rudasingwa which if translated into English, would lose the powerful message Marianne Baziruwiha had intend to spell out. For that matter RNA is publishing some original excepts.
She wrote: “… Undi nirwubika ngohe ariwe rwubura ngeso.Yanze guhura n’ abana banjye yagize homeless and stateless mu US. Nafata ubutegetsi ubwo azabakira ate? Kandi ngo ibuye ryagaragaye ntiriba ricyishe isuka….”
Rudasingwa entices Baziruwiha to RNC
Around 2004, Dr Rudasingwa was fired from the office of the President, and he subsequently went into exile where he has become a fierce critic of President Kagame. He and his brother ex-Prosecutor General Gerald Gahima, ex-spy chief Patrick Karegeya and ex-army chief Kayumba Nyamwasa formed opposition party, the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) three years ago.
In 2010, Dr Rudasingwa tried to lure Marianne Baziruwiha into RNC. As seen in the first photograph above, they did meet on several occasions in Washington. However, it is unlikely that Dr Rudasingwa narrated what exactly was behind his decision to fire her from the embassy.
In March last year, news surfaced in tabloid websites reporting that before kicking out Marianne Baziruwiha, Dr Rudasingwa had told colleagues in Kinyarwanda: “Uyu muhutukazi aranukira …!” (Literary translated as: ‘I cannot stand the odor of this Hutu woman!’).
People known to Dr Theogene Rudasingwa say he is very immodest and extremely self-centered. Back in Rwanda, various banks still hold debt portfolios in his names – many of the loans were acquired as he sought to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Dr Rudasingwa for example owes ECOBANK some Rwf 160m – more than Rwf400m at current rates (about US$ 700,000).
At the moment, Marianne Baziruwiha has no links with the government in Kigali and has reportedly been linked to several opposition groups.
Ex-Rwanda diplomat abused by Theogene Rudasingwa speaks out