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Herald Reporter

Rwanda will tomorrow mark its 26th Liberation Day (Kwibohora26), a day in which the Rwanda Patriotic Army liberated the country and stopped the genocide against the Tutsi. Over one million people were killed in cold blood in massacres which were executed in 100 days of bloodletting.

Rwandan Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James Musoni, will lead the Kwibohora26 celebrations, the second to be held in Zimbabwe following successful commemorations held last year in Harare.

But due to the Covid-19 which has ravaged the world, there won’t be any public commemorations in Harare. Virtual celebrations will instead, be held on July 11.

Outlining Rwanda’s Liberation Day, Ambassador Musoni said after driving out the extremist government that planned and executed the genocide against the Tutsi, the Rwanda Patriotic Front set up a new governance system that promoted unity among the people of Rwanda.

After Rwanda gained its independence in 1962, the regimes that took power up to 1994 perpetuated the segregation legacy of the colonial masters which included propagating sectarianism.

The regimes promoted hatred among Rwandans; exclusion of some Rwandans, especially Tutsis in school, work and politics; oppression of fellow Rwandans, destroyed and burnt their homes, killed them and forced them into exile.

Rwanda Senator Tito Rutaremara aptly put it when he said his country did not really gain independence on July 1, 1962, because the regime that took over at that time squandered the opportunity to claim and utilise the independence.

“They simply blundered and opted to remain colonised instead of independent,” he said.

The successive regimes pursued a one party system in Rwanda with no effective economic agenda for the development of Rwanda, leaving the Rwandan people in poverty, disease, and ignorance. There were also high levels of corruption and unaccountability.

This resulted in the formation of RPF-Inkotanyi whose objective was to liberate Rwanda from the dictatorial regime in order to build a nation that abides by law and uphold democracy, peace, security, justice, fight corruption, promote social economic development and eliminate all causes for fleeing the country and encourage the return of all Rwandan refugees to the country.

The dictatorial regime was driven out by RPF forces led by President Paul Kagame on July 4 1994 — ending the genocide against the Tutsi.

In the aftermath of the genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda embarked into the process of poverty reduction and economic growth — introducing policies that have resulted in the socio-economic transformation of the country.  As a result, Rwanda is now a model for economic growth, peace and stability in Africa.

Ambassador Musoni attributed the significant progress to the sound leadership of President Kagame.

Rwanda is now the most improved country in human development in the world and ranked among the safest according to the World Economic Forum.   

The World Bank said Rwanda’s economy is expanding at an average of between 7.5 percent to 8 percent annually and headline inflation is averaging at a low of 1.2 percent.