At the time Chris still was a student, working in journalism only as a part time contributor of articles for the small monthly magazine we worked on, Newsline.
I can vouch that Kayumba is a man with a brilliant mind. I can also vouch that alcohol has had a tragic effect on that mind. I am not judging anyone, Chris or anyone else that suffers the effects of excessive drinking.
I only want to add my voice to the debate that’s been brought about following the good UNR prof’s heated Twitter thread Saturday last week, accusing the Police of a litany of injustices he alleges they’ve inflicted on him.
The Police responded to his tirade of tweets with a Tweet of their own, suggesting he channel his grievances in more official ways, and concluded by giving him a number to call. It went down hill from there, with Kayumba making a string of allegations most of which had little relation with the stated reason for his altercation with the law enforcers. I will let the Police defend themselves on that.
What first surprised me about Kayumba’s initial tweet – in which among other things he complained that he did not have the freedom to drive any more – was the time, and day he sent it. It was at 10:12 AM, Saturday 29 – Sep. 18. I have the tweet in my WhatsApp.
What was Dr. Kayumba doing quarrelling with the Police in the morning of the last Saturday of the month – a time when most Rwandans are doing their community Umuganda?, I asked myself. Recent videos of an earlier altercation with the police crowded my mind.
In the videos a seemingly unruly Kayumba, dressed in a t-shirt and tracksuit bottom and obviously very drunk, is seen exchanging loud words with the policemen, staggering from one uniformed officer to another. He is berating them for some reason to do with his car.
The policemen and women can be seen trying to reason with him, but the more they try the louder the prof shouts at them, accusing the cops at one point of being masqueraders and demanding to see their ID! He is also seen complaining about the police to some “moto” taxi drivers, among the spectators. The “motaris” just laugh and drive away.
Finally the cops appear to have had enough and subdue the man, tying him down on the ground.
Now, having seen that, one can only imagine what must have happened between the cops and Chris last Saturday; or what state he was in at that particular moment.
In the videos I’ve mentioned he was quarrelling something about his car. Inquiries revealed the cops were refusing to let him drive in his dangerously inebriated state. Apparently the police’s prudent stance to not let him drive was what made him go ballistic.
The question one asks themselves then is, when Chris tweets that he “has no freedom to drive in this country”, is that really the reason, or is it that the police again said, no way are you driving as drunk as you are!?
I truly feel sorry for my old friend, but let’s be objective here. Some people have jumped on the whole saga to imply that there is something else; something more sinister about the prof’s most recent run in with the law enforcers.
But the sad truth of Chris is that the police actually have exercised much leniency with him in the past. His excessive consumption of alcohol has seen him suffer so much. He seems to lose his mind when he has one too many; gets in physical fights, and other violent behavior. His personal life has been left in ruins over the years, and all this has taken a heavy toll on his reputation.
Different groups will try to politicize his suffering, using the things that he tweeted to accuse the administration of every imaginable crime.
But if these people were real friends of Kayumba, or as concerned for him as they pretend, they would instead be debating how possible it is to separate him from the bottle. Permanently.
More than anything else they would be talking about how much he needs treatment, or expert help to make him overcome his addiction.
One can only hope he will find cure, and peace at some point in his life.
{{The writer is a media consultant in Kigali}}
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