First Lady, Mrs. Kagame, called on members of the Unity Club to continue being torchbearers of unity and reconciliation.
The First Lady, Mrs. Jeannette Kagame says there is still a lot more work to do to unite Rwandans in order to undo the damage caused by decades of ethnic divisions that were mainly propagated by colonialists, calling for more efforts to sustain and reinforce the gains registered so far.
The First Lady, who is also the Chairperson of Unity Club, made the call on Saturday, while opening the 17th Annual General Assembly and Forum of Unity Club, at Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), with a focus of promoting dialogue that upholds Rwandan cultural values and principles, under the theme this year “The Guiding Principle of our Existence”.
Mrs Kagame said that while considerable progress in terms of reuniting and rebuilding the country, has been registered over the years, a lot more work needs to be done to drive the country towards a more united front that is devoid of the divisions and differences that pitted Rwandans against each other 30 years and several decades before.
“When you think about where this country has come from, when you recall the first days when we thought about starting Unity Club, you wouldn’t think we would have achieved what we have achieved today on this scale. After 30 years of liberation as well as efforts to rebuild and be united, we are proud of the steps we have taken in rebuilding Rwanda, as shown by various indicators showing the progress the country has made,” the First Lady said.
First Lady and members of the Unity Club General Assembly.
“Returning Rwanda to its original unity, prioritizing Rwandanness, and completely eradicating the long-used divisive system, was necessary, because we suffered the consequences of that for a long time. As Intwararumuri, the closest example we can look at is the “Ndi Umunyarwanda” program, how it started among us, and now it has taken root and produced results throughout the country, and among Rwandans wherever they are,” she added.
“There are those who ask themselves whether ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ has been given enough time, and whether it is not time to start talking about other things. Although we have made good progress, there are still areas where we need to put more effort,”
This 17th Forum opened at the time Rwanda entered the second phase of its five-year National Strategy for Transformation (NST2). The forum brings together Unity Club members, high-ranking national officials, district leaders, civil society representatives, private sector actors, faith leaders, and youth representatives as well as Abarinzi b’Igihango at the national level, to discuss and accelerate the country’s development goals within the NST2 framework.
The First Lady pointed out that Rwandans should not be complacent to allow those who sowed the genocide in the first place to do the same. Reflecting on this year’s theme, Mrs. Kagame said that it is important for Rwandans to go back to the old values and beliefs that used to define Rwandans before external forces came to disrupt them with divisions.
“Our unity will be a shield against anything that would want to tear us apart. We should not be complacent and commit a mistake of thinking that the one who sowed the ideology of genocide, and put it into practice, stopped,”
“Those who want to destroy our country and divide Rwandans, are still there and they are in many ways, whether they are foreigners or even Rwandans themselves, who still have a bad ideologies aimed at to destroying our country,” Mrs. Kagame said.
The forum coincided with a General Assembly of Unity Club, where members came together to review the club’s achievements and welcomed 19 new members.
Mrs. Kagame follows a panel of young people during the forum.
Dr. Jean-Damascène Bizimana, Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE), made a presentation on contemporary challenges to national unity, highlighting some of the historical, deliberate actions taken by colonialists, aimed at dividing Rwandans based on ethnicity, leading up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He said that research done in 2023 showed that 30 years later, Rwandans have become more resilient, rejecting what divides them and embracing what unites them.
“The study showed that today, 99 percent of Rwandans are prioritizing unity and are in favour of strengthening it even further while 80 percent of Rwandans show that Rwandans they personally acknowledge the role of the resilience of Rwandans in healing the wounds of our past history,” Dr. Bizimana said.
He revealed that 77 percent of Rwandans believe that their resilience contributes to the development of their families while 86 percent believe that the Rwandan society in general is built on strong values of integrity and resilience. Similarly, the research showed that 85 percent believe that the Governance institutions are built on the values of resilience and integrity.
Dr. Bizimana further said that crimes related to the genocide ideology and related crimes have decreased by 14 percent since 2020, something he said is promising but emphasized the need for more efforts to sensitize young people on the challenge of the genocide ideology.
Members of Unity Club are discussing pertinent issues relating to unity and reconciliation.
The forum will end with the presentation of actionable outcomes of the gathering. The forum will conclude with the conferment of the 2024 Unity Award to this year’s national Abarinzi b’Igihango, honoring their contribution to Rwandan values of unity and peace. This year, four Rwandans are nominated for this recognition, two of whom are posthumous honorees.
Unity Club Intwararumuri was founded and is led by the First Lady, Mrs. Kagame, who has championed its vision since 1996. Composed of current and former cabinet members and their spouses, Unity Club is dedicated to promoting unity and peace as foundations for Rwanda’s sustainable development.
