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A PROPOSAL

Basic Law For The Republic Of Rwanda

Seth Naza, PhD March 7, 2014 Atlanta, Georgia USA Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

PROPOSAL: Basic Law For The Republic Of Rwanda

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Preamble

In the beginning of the 21st century, success and longevity of a revolution no

longer depend on the level of brutality and oppression an outgoing regime used,

or on how painful were the sacrifices resisting forces made along the way. Today,

the world has increased the value of individual human life, and it is more sensitive

and vocal against brutality and oppression. As a consequence, dictators and other

leaders emerging from rebellious movements are challenged by the request to

provide everybody with the most cherished value of all human beings: Freedom!

This is also true for Rwanda, but it takes as much wisdom as courage to allow

people to be free and to also respect it.

It is undeniable that we, Rwandans, went and are still going through painful

struggles caused by inadequate leadership structures. We did not lack of

courageous people who tried to improve our situation, but most of the time it

started promising and ended worse than before. This is not exclusive to Rwanda,

but a classic case of how an uncontrolled, well-meant revolution, translates into a

totalitarian regime. History has proven that once a group of people forcibly seizes

total control of the government, it becomes practically impossible to formulate

and to enforce a fair and inclusive political platform thereafter. It is the order of

events that matters most: Laws first, and their enforcement after. A reversed

order leads to a dictatorship that will cause more grievances and call for another

revolution. Fundamental laws should never be cut to fit the needs of a leader,

but leaders must measure their acts to satisfy existing basic legal requirements.

All human beings, especially those with great power, are vulnerable to abuse and

to corruption. In the face of this reality, some ancient societies successfully

created a model of governance where laws limit the power of all individuals and

regulate the functioning of government institutions. To be successful, those laws

need to be in place before leaders who will enforce them come into power, and

they have to swear to their people under the threat of severe punishments that

they will abide to them at all times. Those laws are called “Constitution.”


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Having a Constitution in place proved so successful that most monarchies were

abolished or reduced to just symbolic institutions. Not even a king was allowed to

stand above the Constitution. Only the people, while acting together, own and

stand above it. This is the greatest achievement of the group of countries we

know as “The Western World.” Having repeatedly paid a high price for trying to

be governed by a Constitution, having been the first to incorporate values such as

individual rights and universal equality before the law into their Constitutions set

them apart from the rest of the world.

Ignorance has its price, too. Many contemporary revolutionaries still do not like

the idea of abiding to a Constitution agreed upon by the people they are about to

govern. Even worse, they cannot accept the idea of sharing the power they have

fought for so hard, by accepting limitations set by others. While some leaders do

this out of ignorance of consequences, there are others who do it because they

are somehow sure that they can get away with it. For this, of course, they need

powerful individuals or countries willing to close both eyes or to cover-up each

crime they commit against their people. This situation continues until the moral

price of protecting them becomes too high to pay, and a regime change is

approved.

We, Rwandans, have paid a high price for ignoring the proper order of events.

Our natural living space, the great lakes region of Africa, has seen killings from our

hands like Africa has never seen before. We should never be proud of this bad

record. But, since it is already there, we should never be satisfied until we find a

remedy to the root cause of our governance problems.

As explained, the proper first step to our political stability is a Constitution

established and owned by the people. Among other things, it must address all

problems that can lead to conflicts in the future. Upon completion of this step,

the world will know what the Rwandan people stand for, where they are heading

into the future, and why they may fight for their Constitution if the conditions

necessitate it. With a Constitution from the people, everyone will know with

confidence the kind of government Rwanda will get, instead of hoping that

winners of a struggle may establish a government that could be good for all.


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Drafting a Constitution with a free participation of all Rwandans is practically

impossible due to existing circumstances in and around Rwanda. That is why the

best way to go is to divide it into two parts: The “Basic Law” and the “Extensions.”

The Basic Law is the core of the Constitution. It lays down fundamental

agreements that enable the people of Rwanda to have a shared, peaceful,

prosperous, and inclusive country inhabited by free people. All other aspects of

governance that are not laid down in the Basic Law will be discussed and added to

the Constitution in the form of Extensions. Both the Basic Law and the Extensions

will make up the complete Rwandan Constitution. While Rwandans in exile can

draft and sign-off on the Basic Law, it is up to all Rwandans as a people to approve

the entire Constitution once the Extensions are added.

With this proposal, a solid Basic Law for Rwanda is released. Rwandans are free

to discuss, finalize, and approve it. Once approved, future governments will only

be able to amend it within its own provisions, and future leaders will be held

accountable for not abiding to it. The highest offense against the people of

Rwanda is specified as “High Treason.” We, the people of Rwanda, must decide

that politicians in official service shall no longer be allowed to create the most

fundamental framework of laws that govern them, “The Rwandan Constitution.”

It will be drafted, ratified, and owned by the people of Rwanda.

This proposed Basic Law does not claim to be an exceptional creation in the area

of legislation. It is mostly an adaptation to the Rwandan society of recognized

values that have stood the test of the time in many modern societies.

Nevertheless, some original legislative concepts that have not yet found their

place in modern Constitutions were introduced. The ultimate goal of this

endeavor was to provide our people with one of the best and modern

Constitutions the world can offer today.

At this point, what we need is an expedited review and approval of the current

proposal. But moving forward, the expected toughest task is to do what it takes

to eliminate all hurdles that will prevent us from enforcing it on our leaders. We

should not listen to people who are still telling us that we are not mature enough,


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or not courageous enough, or not ready for it. We learned our lessons, became

wiser, and now is the time to fight for a lasting good change.

We may have used lethal force where it was not necessary or justified, we may

have destroyed our families and those of our neighbors in Congo, and we may

even have carried hateful and horrific thoughts in ourselves for a long time.

Despite everything, we know that we can do better, and that we are ready to give

it a try. We are basically not better or worse than other people around the world,

except that we recently failed where most of them did not fail. We need to earn

back the trust from our neighbors because of crimes we committed against them.

Unfortunately, we cannot get there until we change the way we are governed and

the way we solve conflicts among us, meaning mainly the way we raise our

children. It could have taken the courage of just a few influential people to avoid

what happened to us, but it takes the resolve of an entire nation and its

leadership to decisively break away from chronic behavioral issues.

Rwanda will be good governed once its leaders start investing their time into

solving real problems of the country. We understand that those problems are

very difficult, but no country or society was ever promised an easy path toward a

peaceful and prosperous future. That is why, in order to move forward, we must

find leaders able to overcome the four major hurdles that have stood in our way

for so long: Discrimination, legitimacy, acceptance, and competence. If we cannot

find capable leaders, we will remain in a system of institutionalized lies that

avoids dealing with real problems at all costs.

Institutionalized lies are the most destructive weapon a government can put in

place, but also the most appealing to totalitarian and oppressive regimes.

Fortunately, lies need to be defended permanently, which consumes tremendous

resources that could have been used productively elsewhere. In the end, lies

contribute to the collapse of the system they have supported. Unfortunately,

however, the government also invests a lot of resources and energy into

generations of children that grow up specializing into solving fictive problems, and

into validating faulty social models that are deprived of any logical or scientific

foundation. After the collapse of the system, all previous oppressive efforts are


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unmasked and revealed to be useless. Then, the models they were based on are

simply abandoned. Consequently, many people find themselves unable to cope

with the new reality, becoming a problem that any new government must

struggle hard to deal with.

For Rwandans, a first useful step into the avoidance of institutionalized lies may

be a clean documentation of our recent history. We must sit down and document

truthfully events of the past 120 years, together with the lives and actions of

involved people. This is the period of time when the first colonizers arrived in

Rwanda during the reign of King Kigeri IV Rwabugiri. Documenting 120 years of

history means that we will attempt to truthfully write down our own actions,

good and bad, together with those of our parents and our grandparents using

their names. This will be hurtful for some, but we, Rwandans, must refuse to be

people without a true history. We must move away from the idea that our history

was clean until the white man arrived, or that it is the people from other families

in remote regions that tainted our otherwise good history. NO! Our history has

irrefutable bloody periods that led to humanitarian catastrophes, and we must

recognize it. In fact, if any Rwandan thinks that he belongs to a historically

important family, and he does not see current or former members of his family

mentioned in the Rwandan recent history, then he is wrong about the importance

of his family, or it can be assumed that members of that family are hiding

important information. In that case, historians and other curious investigators

will try to discover and document it.

A true recent history will make many cry for justice, but we must expect from a

new leadership to rise to the occasion and decide to do what is right and of

consequence for the future of the country. We, Rwandans, are now called to

show a strengthened character, and refrain from punishing or discriminating

people for crimes they did not commit. For, the truth on our recent past has

precedence over everything else and it cannot be delayed. We must convince

ourselves that we do not need a golden past to build a peaceful and prosperous

future. The Bible says that once we know the truth, it will set us free. Many will

not be able to deal with it easily, but the social freedom and peace we will gain

from the truth will surely lay down a solid foundation for a better future. We will


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be able to provide our children with excellent moral values, education, and a

peaceful social environment they can rely on as they grow up trying to change

Rwanda into a high performance society. We must have trust into the creative

potential of our children and help them unfold it.

We must teach our children to accept a life with and among people of other

ethnicities and races, especially those they share the country and hence, have

competing interests. Remainders from the natural superiority myths based on

physiognomy, race, ethnicity, or social origin are good examples of social

concepts that lead our children into failure or low performance in the highly

competitive modern world they live in. They need to understand clearly that

once a society provides freedom and unites all of its children behind noble goals,

it can basically send men to the moon and bring them back safely without having

ancestors that were among those who built the pyramids.

We must teach our children to venture with other children for their common

social and economic prosperity without regard to ethnicity or social origin. Their

happiness is tightly connected to other people’s happiness.

We must teach our children that their future does not depend on their origin.

They must learn about the freedom to shape their own destiny independently of

their parents. Moreover, they need to know that they will only be held

accountable for their own doings, and not for the doings of their parents, their

family members, or even their friends.

We must teach our children that anybody can lead, if he or she shows enough

personal competence for the task. Our children must learn to accept that

everybody does not perform the same way everywhere and at all times. It is part

of the competitive reality that not everybody can be first. Our children must

understand that those who excel under fair conditions cannot be blamed for the

misfortune of those who do not. However, those who are fortunate enough must

also take more social responsibility in favor of those who are not. Our children

must grow up knowing that in our society, everybody’s life should be worth living,

and we all must contribute to reach that goal.


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We must teach our children that good ideas, good leadership, good governance,

and high performance are worthy only if others can continue to apply them freely

after we have stepped aside. Otherwise, they would stand idle waiting for us to

leave so they can dismantle our presumed achievements.

We must teach our children that any leadership can be replaced. When a leader

starts to appear irreplaceable, then the time is ripe for him or her to be replaced.

Our children must know critical qualities that will qualify them for high offices of

our country. The most important quality is an unconditional love for all the

diverse people they want to serve. It is not a crime to dislike a sizeable group of

people in your country, but it is enough to disqualify you from holding an

important leadership position. Other important qualities are a known vision for

the country, dependability, openness, respect, advanced academic education, and

work experience. Our bright children must take the risks necessary to acquire

these skills in Rwanda or abroad if necessary. Otherwise we will lack qualified

leaders.

If we do not teach our children decisively all these values, we will not reach a high

performance economy that grows fast enough to catch-up with other nations that

do not have the problems we create ourselves. We will never be able to convince

our neighbors that our presence in the great lakes region of Africa will no longer

be about “accept our dominance or get destroyed,” but a highly valuable asset for

freedom and progress worth having, despite the deplorable missteps we made in

the recent past.

Finally, we must practically ensure that our children will experience a change of

heads of the government at least twice before they reach the legal voting age.

This is the best and proven training we can give them about the democratic

process. This is also what will make ideas in the current Basic Law last.


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Introduction The Rwandan Constitution shall be divided into two parts. The first part is the

Basic Law that builds the core of the Constitution. It sets forth fundamental

agreements that the people of Rwanda have agreed on in order to have a shared,

peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive country. All other agreements that are not

fundamental but necessary for a good functioning of the country constitute the

Extensions to the Basic Law. The following diagram shows the Constitution as a

legal framework encompassing the Basic Law and the Extensions.

Only the Basic Law is drafted in this document, and it is divided into three distinct

parts:

A. Nation constituting agreements.

B. Inalienable individual rights.

C. Government responsibilities.

Constituting agreements reflect the will of the Rwandan people to come together

and create a shared country that shall have a government of their choice, acting

on their behalf, and protecting their interests. They also structure and limit the

power of the government. In general, this Basic Law uses the word government

to describe both the legislative and the executive branches together. Sometimes,

however, government means the executive branch only.

Second, this Basic Law establishes inalienable individual rights each citizen of

Rwanda is entitled to and shall claim. The goal is to provide all Rwandans with

rights and freedoms similar to those countries we recognize as free have granted


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to their citizens. For that reason, the articles 1 to 19 of the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights were adjusted as articles B1 to B19 of the Rwandan Basic Law.

Articles B20 to B28 were added to regulate individual rights that advancements in

modern technology made necessary. These are, for example, the lifetime and the

ownership of data automatically collected on individuals.

Third, this Basic Law lists important obligations of the government. All

representatives of the people and all government officials shall abide to them and

uphold the Constitution at all times. They shall be held accountable of any

transgression.

In order to facilitate a transition to a stable government, a National Council for

Moral Reconstruction made of 30 socially knowledgeable and well respected

personalities shall be put in place for a period not to exceed three (3) years. It

shall discuss and propose measures necessary to solve problems inherited from

the bloody, aggressive, and totalitarian present and past of the country.

Proposed measures shall be approved or rejected through a national referendum

before they go into effect. The council shall also have authority to make final

decisions on the fate of military officers accused of special cruelty in the past.

Decisions on the soldiers involved in fighting UN troops in the Democratic

Republic of Congo shall require approval or assistance of the United Nations.

It is also agreed that the President of the transitional government and his vice-

president shall not be candidates for the presidency and the vice-presidency in

the first free and regular elections. The elections shall take place once the

National Council for Moral Reconstruction has completed its work and all

institutions of the country are operating according to the Constitution. However,

the transitional period shall not exceed four (4) years.

Armed forces inside and outside the country shall be merged at equal shares. If

after merging the size of the military appears unsustainable for the country, it

shall be reduced to a reasonable size at equal shares under the supervision of the

National Council for Moral Reconstruction. Only those members of the military

who left the country before 01/01/2013 shall count as coming from out of the

country.


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Structure of the Government


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Part A: Nation constituting agreements

Article A1

We, the people of Rwanda, are the only source of governing power in Rwanda.

This Basic Law and the Constitution built on it represent the will of the people of

Rwanda. No individual and no institution in Rwanda shall stand above the

Constitution. All Rwandan citizens, residents, and the Rwandan government shall

abide to it at all times.

If there is a clear reason to amend more than one (1) article of the Basic Law or

more than three (3) articles of the Extensions in one legislative term, only a

commission made of delegates freely selected by the people in their provinces

shall study and formulate the new articles. The new proposed changes shall be

adopted in a referendum with at least seventy percent (70%) of all votes. In the

same election, all provinces of Rwanda must adopt them with a simple majority of

all votes. For the election to be valid, at least sixty percent (60%) of all citizens

eligible to vote shall participate. The result of an adoption shall be a new

Constitution, and new parliamentary and presidential elections shall take place

within six (6) months.

Changes that alienate the general spirit of this Basic Law are not allowed.

Article A2

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided that Rwanda shall remain a Republic,

and that monarchy is banned from Rwanda.

The last King of Rwanda, Kigeri V Ndahindurwa, shall be given the opportunity to

abdicate honorably and to call all his supporters to join the democratic and

republican process. In return, the people of Rwanda shall take care of him and of

his burial. He shall also designate not more than twenty (20) members from his

family and close fellowship to receive agreed upon privileges for no longer than

fifteen (15) years. The abdication letter and all other agreements shall be made

public and kept in official documents.


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Article A3

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided to institute a National Council for Moral

Reconstruction. The council shall propose adequate measures to deal with the

aggressive, bloody, totalitarian, and discriminative past of our country. All

proposals from the transitional National Council for Moral Reconstruction shall be

law after approval in a national referendum. The government shall not amend

them.

Article A4

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided to put all legislative powers into the

hands of a Parliament whose members shall be freely elected by the people of

Rwanda. The Parliament shall enact and adjust laws only within the legal

framework of the current Basic Law and Constitution. All its laws shall be enacted

in the name of the People of Rwanda.

The Parliament may amend, add, or remove articles of the Constitution with at

least eighty percent (80%) of votes. However, within one legislative term, only

one (1) article of the Basic Law and three (3) articles of the Extensions may be

amended, added, or removed.

No Constitution amendment is allowed within the last twelve months preceding

new elections. Furthermore, any amendment to the Constitution shall become

law only at the beginning of the following legislative term.

Article A5

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided that the Rwandan Parliament shall be

composed of two separate chambers: The “Harmony Chamber” and the “Progress

Chamber.” The harmony chamber shall focus on the wellbeing of people,

individually and collectively (people’s rights and health), while the progress

chamber shall focus on the economic development and the stability of the

country (people’s wealth and duties).


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For a bill to become law, each chamber has to approve it separately. In cases

where a bill fails to pass both chambers, subsequent votes shall take place in a

common session, and the verbal yes/no votes shall be counted together.

The vice-president shall preside over the Parliament while in a common session.

However, his vote shall be counted only to break a tie.

Within one week, the President shall sign a bill approved by the Parliament into

law, or send it back to the Parliament for review. If the President does not sign or

return a bill in his possession within one week, it shall become law automatically.

Article A6

All Rwandan provinces shall send representatives to the Parliament. The number

of representatives a province sends to the harmony chamber shall equal the

number of representatives it sends to the progress chamber. The total number of

representatives shall always be 200 members, 100 members for each chamber.

The number of representatives from a province shall be proportional to its

population, but provinces with potentially ten (10) or less members in the

parliament shall be dissolved. Within one province, electoral districts shall be

created based on the number of people who live in it. Each electoral district shall

have one representative in each chamber of the Parliament.

If a person wins a district election, but his group fails to achieve national

representation, then the following person with the most votes whose group

achieved national representation will represent the district in the Parliament.

Article A7

Any group of people that presents itself in national Parliament elections and

globally achieves five percent (5%) or more of all valid votes shall be represented

in the Parliament. If only two (2) groups achieve the five (5%) percent mark, then

the third next group shall be represented in the Parliament.

Votes in the Parliament shall not be one (1) person equals one (1) vote. Instead,

the group that receives the highest number of popular votes shall get forty-five


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(45%) percent of votes by default. All other groups will share the remaining fifty-

five (55%) percent proportionally with a possible maximum of forty (40%) percent

per group. All voting results in the Parliament must be converted and certified in

terms of voting percentages (%) because of the weighting factor.

Weighting votes in the Parliament shall reduce government crises as it deals with

an executive branch always led by one political group, based on the winner-takes-

all presidency. This is especially the case when the governing group does not

have a majority of votes in the Parliament.

Politically, the power of a group that wins by a large margin shall be reduced, but

increased if it wins by a slim margin. In order to pass a bill, the group with the

most voting percentage will always need the support of at least five (5%) percent

from the remaining groups. Moving toward each other shall be the price for

political stability.

Article A8

All laws shall be formulated in a language understandable to an average citizen. It

is the duty of the Parliament to formulate new laws and to review existing laws

periodically. If necessary, it shall reformulate existing laws to make them more

understandable and compatible with other laws.

While enacting laws, the Parliament may request to hear the position of any

government official nominated by the President. The Parliament may also accept

to hear the opinion of citizen representatives or individuals qualified in the area

under legislative consideration. Members of the parliament can request that a

testimony be made under oath. Lying to the Parliament under oath shall be

punished with three (3) years in prison.

Article A9

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided to put all executive powers of the

country into the hands of a President backed up by a vice-president. The people

shall freely elect the President and his vice-president at the same time.


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The primary duties of the President shall be to ensure that individual rights of all

citizens are respected, that all institutions of the country act according to the law,

that there is social harmony, that the global economic prosperity is improving,

and that the integrity of the country is protected.

The President is the commander in chief of all armed forces. When the integrity

of the Constitution must be defended, and the President is in suspicion of high

treason as defined by the law, armed forces shall defend the Constitution. Both

the President and his vice-president shall be replaced according to the

Constitution.

Article A10

The vice-president shall become President in case the incumbent President dies,

resigns, or the Parliament decides that his health conditions no longer allow him

to resume the complete direction of the country within sixty (60) days.

If both the President and the vice-president are disabled, the Parliament shall

vote for a new President to lead a transitional government and organize new

elections within six (6) months. The President shall select his vice-president, but

the Parliament shall approve him. Only members of the Parliament and current

or former government officials appointed by a President in high positions can be

selected to substitute a President or a vice-president.

Article A11

No ethnic group shall occupy the presidency of the country for more than two

consecutive terms. If a change in the ethnicity is due, all candidates to the

presidency shall come from an ethnic group other than the incumbent President.

Exception is allowed only if an incumbent is running for a second term.

Article A12

No political group shall retain the presidency for more than four (4) consecutive

terms. After the fourth term, the political group shall be barred from presenting


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candidates to the presidency for one (1) term only. Exception is allowed only if an

incumbent is running for a second term.

Article A13

Religious and other faith based groups shall not present candidates in

parliamentary and in presidential elections. While these groups can express

political opinions, they shall not practice governmental politics.

Article A14

At the proposition of the President, the Parliament shall approve with a 60%

majority the creation of departments, independent government agencies, and

government’s corporations.

The President nominates the heads of all these institutions. However, at least

thirty percent (30%) of nominees in each type of institution shall come from

groups not affiliated to the President and from minorities. Each appointee will

require confirmation of the Parliament by a simple majority in a joint session of

both chambers of the Parliament. If the Parliament requests a hearing of an

appointee by a simple majority prior to a confirmation vote, it shall be granted.

Hearings are performed at the committee level, and they cannot last longer than

six (6) effective hours. A follow-up of two (2) effective hours is allowed.

The President’s cabinet is made of all heads of departments, the ministers. They

shall help the President to fulfill his daily tasks.

The following six (6) institutions are created by the Constitution: The High

Command of Armed Forces, the National Bank, the Center for Health Monitoring,

the Intelligence Collection Agency, the Crime Investigation Agency, and the

Government Auditing Agency. The rights and duties of these agencies are set

forth in the Constitution. Any amendments to their constituting articles shall be

effective in the following legislative term.


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Article A15

The people of Rwanda have a right to know what their government is doing on

their behalf or in their name.

The Parliament shall keep an open record of all its proceedings, except in those

sensitive areas where a committee can vote by a majority of seventy (70%)

percent to seal certain records from public access for a specified number of years.

Parliament members may give public statements on matters they are working on.

The President shall address the country or a common session of the Parliament

whenever he thinks it is necessary. He shall nominate a government speaker who

will follow and regularly inform the public on ongoing activities of the

government. On behalf of the government, the speaker shall also answer

questions from the press.

Article A16

The government auditing agency will act independently in auditing the

government, except the Parliament and the President’s office. Auditing reports

shall be submitted regularly to the President and to a special commission of the

Parliament.

Audits shall take place randomly and at any time in a reasonable scope without

discrimination. Whenever possible, all government entities should be audited at

least once a year.

Reported crimes or unprofessional behavior may prompt punitive actions initiated

by the President or the Parliament. The Parliament may also adjust laws that

regulate the functioning of government entities as a consequence.

The President shall ensure that the Parliament is acting within the legal

framework provided by the Constitution. The Parliament shall do the same

toward the President.


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Article A17

The Parliament shall determine the rules of its proceedings, and each chamber

shall choose its President.

A Parliament’s chamber shall punish its members for disorderly conduct, whether

verbally or physically. It may also expel a member with the consent of at least

seventy (70%) percent of its members.

A vacant seat in the Parliament shall be filled for the rest of the term by a special

election in the district of origin. If there are less than six months remaining

toward new elections, the seat shall remain vacant.

Article A18

We, the people of Rwanda, are aware that there can be a profound disagreement

between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. If the

subject matter does not contradict the Constitution and it is not a Constitution

amendment, either the legislative or the executive branch may request a national

referendum in parallel to the following presidential elections.

In the referendum, the issue is approved if it passes with at least 60% of popular

votes. After that, the Parliament shall pass a bill that reflects the will of the

people as specified on the ballot and the president shall sign it into law. If the

issue fails a referendum, it cannot be debated again until after the following

legislative period.

It is not allowed to call for a referendum on an ethnically sensitive subject, if it is

clear that the ethnic majority would widely vote for it, and an ethnic minority

would widely vote against it. The rule of the majority shall not be used to enforce

discrimination.

Article A19

We, the people of Rwanda, have decided to support the functioning of

institutions we put in place by allowing the government to raise revenue.


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However, no taxes shall exceed 20% of the total income or value of a taxable

entity or of a transaction. Any unused finances at the end of a fiscal year shall

rollover to the next year, and the tax rate shall decrease as a consequence.

Collected taxes cannot be returned, unless they were collected unlawfully. The

government shall refrain from overspending for the purpose of keeping the tax

rate high. Income from lottery-like businesses shall be taxed with 30%.

Article A20

For the first 20 years starting 2014, the overall leadership of the military shall

alternate every two years between those who came from the exile and those who

were in the country. Appointments by the President are subject to approval by

the Parliament. No ethnic group or any geographic region of Rwanda shall be

privileged in the military and in their rankings. The Government shall ensure that

minorities account for at least 30% of the entire military force.

Article A21

All members of the armed forces shall undergo a regular psychological evaluation

to ensure that they are not bearing diseases or injuries that can lead them to

harming themselves, their fellow soldiers, or civilians. The government shall

provide for means necessary to treat those at risk, even after leaving the military.

Article A22

Military officers accused of giving orders to kill, to torture, or to deport any

civilians, or who are known to have been especially cruel in the past shall be

suspended and their cases submitted to the transitional National Council for

Moral Reconstruction. Accused officers shall plead for themselves in person and

under exclusion of the public. Legal assistance shall be provided, but not during

the hearings.

The decision of the council to reinstate, to punish, or to suspend an officer shall

be final. All decisions shall be made public at the same time, and no appeal shall

be allowed. Civil lawsuits against military officers on subjects handled by the

National Council for Moral Reconstruction are prohibited.


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All documents related to the hearings shall be made public after ten (10) years.

However, leading members of the Parliament, high ranking members of the

military and high government officials shall have access to them upon request.

Article A23

The President and the members of the Parliament are sent to the capital city to

represent the people. For their contractual services, they shall be adequately

compensated. The President shall be the highest paid public servant. Members

of the Parliament shall receive 50% to 70% of the President’s salary.

The President shall be housed on the same premises as his office.

All members of the Parliament shall be housed within a walking distance from the

Parliament edifice.

Article A24

Salaries of all government employees shall be tied to the national economy. The

Parliament shall set a reference salary. All other salaries shall be a multiple of it.

Used factors shall be the same across the board without discrimination.

While preparing the budget, the President will estimate the appropriate reference

salary for the following fiscal term. The Parliament may approve or adjust the

proposed reference salary.

Article A25

No government official in a high position shall directly engage in private business

activities. Before taking office, an official shall hire a trustee to manage his

business. In special circumstances, the government shall help to compensate the

trustee.

Within six months after leaving office, every government official shall request a

formal integrity release from an established Parliament commission. For this,

he/she shall compile a report of all business activities he/she was involved into

directly or indirectly while in office, and submit it to the Parliament and to the


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government auditing agency. If within four (4) months of receiving the report the

government auditing agency informs the Parliament that the report it received is

accurate and complete, the official shall be honorably released.

If a release cannot be issued within six (6) months after a government official

leaves office, an official investigation shall be opened. If the investigation

establishes that an official has betrayed the people of Rwanda, a court shall

decide on due compensation, penalties, and punishments.

Article A26

The government shall ensure that people convicted of offenses get their due

punishments, and that victims get appropriate compensation from the offender if

possible. However, the Rwandan society recognizes that there are offenses that

cannot be redeemed by an offender or by the society. In those cases, there is no

justice that can be considered to be just. The only available measure is

prevention.

The government shall maintain social peace by establishing a decentralized social

control system that will continuously assess and react on abnormal behavior in a

timely manner.

The Government Auditing Agency and other safety agencies shall monitor all

sectors of the society and report their observations to controlling systems: The

Justice and the Empowerment (prevention) entities. These entities shall operate

with the ultimate goal to keep the Rwandan society peaceful while respecting

laws in existence. They shall use information they receive to provide for justice

and to empower people with tools they need to behave normally such as

education, counseling, and guidance.

Summary of the intended decentralized social control system:


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Article A27

At the lowest level, people shall elect two unrelated judges among themselves to

provide justice in cases that do not involve corporate disputes and death.

Candidates shall have a good standing in the society, and show proof of mastery

of justice matters as provided by the law. Both elected judges shall preside on

proceedings and pronounce a judgment based on a common agreement. Their

verdict shall be pronounced in the name of the people who elected them.

If a defendant is not satisfied with the verdict, he may appeal to a higher court.

This time the verdict will be pronounced by a diverse jury of eight (8) people

selected as provided by the law.

Government instituted courts are the only form of justice permitted in Rwanda.

Article A28

The death penalty is prohibited in Rwanda.

Any person who is found guilty of offenses in a court of law is liable to a

reasonable compensation of the victim, and/or to a physical punishment that can

be community work, geographic banishment, house arrest, or imprisonment. The

court may also add a financial penalty toward the government treasury that

includes funds or property seizure and/or an income taxation of forty (40%)

percents for a limited time.

A victim has the right to override any verdict of a court by invalidating or

requesting a lesser punishment in favor of the offender. For this, the victim has


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to appear twice (2x) in the court that pronounced the verdict, and each time he

must present at least two witnesses of his choice that shall testify under oath that

the victim was not pressured to the decision. The offender may accept the favor,

but serve at least six (6) months of the original punishment. Verdict invalidation

does not invalidate a criminal record.

An offender shall not contact nor approach the victim. Indirect contacts shall take

place only as provided by the law.

Article A29

Family is the fundamental group of the Rwandan society. The working generation

of the Rwandan society has the moral and social responsibility to provide for the

upcoming and for the outgoing generations.

The government shall use not more than 15% of its raised revenues to support

the outgoing generations in collaboration with their families where possible.

For the upcoming generation, priority shall be on moral, social, and formal

education. Education shall be universal and free for all Rwandan children

eighteen (18) years or younger.

Article A30

Articles of the Constitution may restrict the universality of other articles on the

same matter. In this case, the interpretation shall be that restrictive articles are

exceptions to the general article. The Constitution shall not allow more than 3

exceptions to a general article. Instead, the Parliament shall adjust the general

article to reflect the intended meaning with applicable restrictions.


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Part B: Inalienable Individual Rights

Article B1

All Rwandan citizens are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are

endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a

spirit of brotherhood.

Article B2

Every Rwandan is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Basic

Law, without distinction of any kind, such as race, ethnicity, color, sex, language,

religion, political or other opinion, social origin, birth or other status.

Article B3

Every Rwandan has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article B4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude on the Rwandan soil. Servitude,

slavery, and the trade of human beings are prohibited in all their forms.

Article B5

In Rwanda, no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment or punishment.

Article B6

Every Rwandan has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the

law.

Article B7

All Rwandans are equal before the law and are entitled without any

discrimination to equal protection by the law. All are entitled to equal protection


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against any discrimination in violation of this Basic Law and against any

incitement to such discrimination.

Article B8

Every Rwandan has the right to an effective remedy by competent tribunals for

acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the Constitution or by the

law.

Article B9

No Rwandan shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article B10

Every Rwandan is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an

independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and

obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article B11

Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent

until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the

guarantees necessary for his defense.

No Rwandan shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or

omission which did not constitute a penal offence at the time when it was

committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was

applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article B12

No Rwandan shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family,

home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Every

Rwandan has the right to be protected by the law against such interference or

attacks.


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Article B13

Every Rwandan has the right to freedom of movement and residence. Every

Rwandan has the right to leave and to return to his country.

Article B14

Everyone has the right to flee from persecution, to seek and to enjoy asylum in

other countries.

This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from

non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the

United Nations.

Article B15

Every Rwandan has a right to a Rwandan citizenship. No Rwandan shall be

deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article B16

Rwandan men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race or

religion, have the right to marry and to start a family. They are entitled to equal

rights as to marriage, during marriage, and at its dissolution.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending

spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of the Rwandan society and

is entitled to protection by society and the Government.

Article B17

Every Rwandan has the right to own property alone as well as in association with

others. No Rwandan shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.


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Article B18

Every Rwandan has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief. This

right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom to manifest

his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance either alone or

in community with others.

Article B19

Every Rwandan has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right

includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and

impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.

Article B20

Every Rwandan has the right to protection against opinions and beliefs that have

proven to cause harm to others.

Article B21

Every Rwandan has the right to know, to acquire, to create, and to apply scientific

knowledge. No progress is possible without the use of tested knowledge and

predictions science provides.

Article B22

Every Rwandan owns his body and the biological information it contains. No one

shall be victimized based on information extracted from his body.

Article B23

Every Rwandan owns all information in accounts assigned to him by private

companies. Each account assigned to a private citizen underlies privacy rules. If

an account provider has access or can add content to an account, he shares the

liability to the content of the account. Once data is added to a private account, it

cannot be deleted without the consent of the account owner. The owner can

inherit the content of his account to another person or institution. He/She has

also the right to request that the entire account or part of its content be deleted


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from the account. He/She must also be provided with ways to transfer

information to other locations.

Any information sent to an account of an individual becomes his property.

Article B24

A court shall supervise the transfer of private data from managed accounts to

their owners in case the managing company ceases to exist. The court may order

a deletion of data in case the owning citizen cannot be located after a reasonable

search.

Article B25

No company is allowed to store or to export data out of Rwanda, if that data is

stored in accounts owned by private citizens. For such transactions, account

owners must provide their consent.

Article B26

Under court supervision, research on collected data or on data in private accounts

may be authorized. The scope of the research, tools to be used, and the nature of

results to be disclosed shall also require a court approval.

Article B27

Every Rwandan has a right to food and water. Nobody has the right to deprive, or

to take measures leading a person or a group of people to not being able to

acquire food and die of hunger.

Article B28

Every Rwandan, 30 years of age or older, with good moral and social standing,

and living in a family, has the right to keep a maximum of 2 concealed small non-

automatic weapons in his home with a number of ammunitions limited by the

law. The weapons must be registered with local security agencies and used for

domestic defense only. The weapons cannot be sold, donated, or inherited. They


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shall be discarded by selling them to the government for 70% of their estimated

market value.

Carry-on weapons shall be regulated by the law.


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Part C: Government Responsibilities

Article C1

The first four Presidents of Rwanda after the first free election shall have one

single term of five years each.

After twenty years, each President shall be elected for a term of four years with

one possibility of reelection.

No President shall hold office for more than two terms, and nobody who has been

President before can hold a permanent public office again. He/She shall receive a

lifetime pension.

Article C2

The President and his vice-president shall be elected by a simple majority of

votes. They shall not come from the same ethnic group as defined by the law.

They shall not be members of the same extended family as defined by the

Constitution. They shall not come from the same geographic area as defined by

the law.

Article C3

The President and his vice-president occupy contractual positions with the people

of Rwanda. Their service shall begin at the beginning of a term and expire after

five years in a single term, or after four years in two possible terms, on the same

day of the month at two (2) o’clock in the afternoon. After that time, the term of

the newly elected President and vice-president shall automatically begin

independently of any organized oath ceremony.

Article C4

It is a matter of high treason if a President refuses to leave office after his

contract with the people has expired.


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A President accused of high treason shall be removed from office by anybody

using all means necessary.

Any advocacy by another person or group of people to modify the term limiting

provisions for the benefit of an incumbent President constitutes high treason

against the people of Rwanda by the incumbent President.

Article C5

The terms of a presidential contract with the people shall be written in a

document containing the oath, the day and time the term will expire, names and

signatures of elected oath witnesses, both chamber presidents of the outgoing

Parliament who shall host the oath ceremony, and the elected President.

Every province of Rwanda shall select five (5) people that shall witness the

swearing ceremony and certify a peaceful power transition. They shall select one

of them to administer the oath.

Copies of the signed document shall be submitted to the African Union and to the

United Nations as a proof of legitimacy to the international community. Other

copies shall be displayed at important public places in the country.

Article C6

No government official in a leading top position shall be succeeded by a member

of his extended family or by a person from the same geographic area as defined

by the law.

Article C7

The government shall ensure that all groups representing 5% or more of the

Rwandan population are widely and reasonably represented in all sectors of the

government and of the economy. If a chronic lack of contribution to the national

economy or a lack of participation in the governance of the country is

determined, the government shall take and supervise adequate measures to

improve the situation within five (5) years. If assistance is still needed after five


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(5) years, the government shall extend it for five (5) more years, but change the

leadership of the group receiving assistance.

Article C8

All temporary laws the government enacts shall expire within five (5) years. A

modification of a temporary law to simply extend its existence beyond five (5)

years is prohibited. The government shall decide if a temporary law shall become

permanent at least six (6) months before its expiration. Otherwise it shall expire.

Article C9

It is the duty of the government to create necessary infrastructure, if such an

undertaking is not lucrative for private businesses. While preparing for the

budget, the government shall reserve enough funding for high priority

infrastructure projects.

If the government and the Parliament agree to more than sixty (60%) percent of

all Parliament votes that an infrastructure project is worth funding, it shall be

funded until it is complete.

A special commission shall be established to monitor the progress of high priority

government funded projects in order to avoid wasting people’s money. Any

government contractor on high priority projects who is found guilty of wasting

government money or other resources shall be banned from all government

contracts for five (5) years.

Article C10

The government shall seize property in order to build infrastructure projects.

However, the government shall pay a reasonable price to legitimate owners of

seized properties without discrimination. The Parliament shall enact a law that

regulates compensation to owners of seized properties.


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Article C11

When the government enacts laws, it shall use automated technology to establish

proof that no new law contradicts the Constitution or any law that is already in

effect. If a collision of laws is determined, the government may amend an

existing law before the new law goes into effect.

Machines shall not be allowed to enact laws.

Article C12

The government may collect data using automated technology. Collected data

shall be sealed against any access, except for automated machines that use

methods (algorithms) approved by the law. The President shall propose to the

Parliament a list of methods approved for collecting, analyzing, filtering,

transferring, and destroying data.

All data collected shall be destroyed after seven (7) days, except those the

government decides to retain. The government must present proper cause to a

court of law for any data it wants to retain, and the court may approve or deny

the request. The government’s request and the court decision do not need to be

public.

A court authorization to retain data shall expire after one hundred (100) days. If

the government does not follow up with the court, the data shall be destroyed

automatically. However, if the government proves that destroying the data will

endanger ongoing investigations, the court may approve that the data in question

be moved from the protected database to a database of investigation agencies for

their free access. After this transfer, the data set will be deleted from the

government database.

The court shall unseal approved requests to transfer data from the protected

database. The data itself may remain inaccessible to the public as defined by the

law.


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Article C13

The government shall not install data collection devices in people’s private

spheres such as homes, hotel rooms, vehicles, and inside closed offices.

Owners of commercial and other public or non-public buildings may install only

visible data collection devices inside and outside of their buildings. Data collected

in or around those buildings may be added to the government database after a

court authorization.

Article C14

The Rwandan government shall inform the people on the nature of information it

has collected about them. Once a court approves that collected data be

transferred to investigating agencies, involved people shall be notified of the

decision after twelve (12) to eighteen (18) months.

The government shall also provide effective ways for people to request and

receive information on data the government has collected about them, and if it

still exists. People may challenge the reasons set forth for the retention of data

collected about them and request their deletion. The court may approve or deny

the request.

Article C15

The government of Rwanda shall refrain from extraditing Rwandan citizens to any

court sponsored by the international community. Based on our own experience,

those courts can be highly biased, with proceedings that may alienate values and

expectations of the Rwandan people.

The Rwandan government shall not prevent the international community or

human rights organizations from investigating or from providing assistance into

matters that may constitute international crimes.


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Article C16

In concert with other countries, the government shall put in place measures

necessary to protect the environment. No measures shall be enforced if they are

damaging to the interests or the wellbeing of the Rwandan people.

Article C17

Family is the foundation of the Rwandan society and it is entitled to protection by

the government. The government shall interpret a small family as a small group

of people who freely live together, and have agreed to share everything and take

responsibility for each other. Special attention shall be given to small families

that raise children below the legal voting age, and families that care for their

disabled members and elderly.

Article C18

The government shall provide people with equal opportunities to record their

agreements to be a family. Births and socially celebrated marriages create a

family by default, unless there is an explicit revocation by one member. Default

families shall be recorded as to the date they took place. No person shall belong

to two small families.

The dissolution of small families shall be recorded as well.

Article C19

A person shall be compelled to provide for the raising of his/her own biological or

adopted children born in a family, a dissolved family, and other provable family-

like relationships. A regular contribution or a unique managed payment shall be

measured to the needs of the child. A person may also request a court to grant

him/her to provide for other children beyond the criteria listed above. All legally

approved supports for children shall end when they reach the legal voting age.


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Article C20

The government shall not carry the entire burden of carrying for the disabled and

the elderly alone. The needs shall be estimated based on expected small and

extended family contributions, individual properties, investments, and savings.

Article C21

The government shall consider extended family as the collection of all small

families, where a member of one small family shares the same parents,

grandparents, or their mixture with a member of another small family.

Rwanda is a patriarchal society. However, the government shall not take gender

into consideration while investigating family relationships.

Article C22

The government shall not promise anybody a fixed entitlement that runs longer

than two (2) years. Each year, the Parliament shall estimate expected revenues

and adjust all entitlements. However, if a reduction is necessary, no salary or

government assistance shall be reduced by more than five percent (5%), unless

the program is cancelled by a law. The government shall publish expected

adjustments at least six (6) months in advance. For all legal cancellations, a one

(1) year notice is required.

Article C23

The government shall promote free entrepreneurship and refrain from going into

competition with private businesses. It shall refrain from becoming the primary

engine of paying work.

For a limited time not exceeding fifteen (15) years, the government shall protect

interests of people performing creative, original works.

Article C24

The government is a large consumer of goods and services. The parliament shall

ensure that the government is using public money wisely and fairly. Public money


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shall not be used to promote economic discrimination, to create market

monopolies, or to offer business privileges to selected individuals or businesses.

However, with the approval of the parliament, the government shall use its

purchasing power to promote specific local market segments critical to the

national economy.

The government shall exclusively use public bidding to select and issue contracts

to businesses. Only the parliament shall approve the nature of goods and services

the government may procure through no-bid public or secret contracts.

Article C25

The government shall ensure a timely compensation to job takers for the work

they performed. Nobody shall refuse to provide agreed compensation once the

work is complete.

Businesses with ten (10) employees or more shall hire new employees following

an anti-discrimination law.

Article C26

The government shall deny entry into the country for individual foreigners or

representatives of foreign organizations accused of promoting ideas or activities

in contradiction with the Rwandan Basic Law or Constitution. However, for the

purpose of clearing their reputation, entry shall be granted.

Only the government or individual citizens shall be allowed to submit such

requests with a court. Any accusation shall be heard publicly if the accused

foreigner or an organization’s executive decides to defend themselves. Any

accused shall remain free during and after the proceedings.

Article C27

The government shall promote social integration of all groups of the population,

especially in large agglomerations. Housing along geographic origin or along

ethnic lines shall be discouraged, especially for immigrant populations.

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