“Ndi Umunyarwanda†concept: How it will be a therapy and a vaccination
A Youth COnnekt event in June also attended by President Kagame (PPU Photo)
Almost 3 years ago, I wrote an article published in The New Times newspaper in which I talked about my political experience since 1994.
As a Rwandan Diplomat, this year I got a chance to follow on Rwanda Television through CANALSAT, the YOUTH CONNEKT DIALOGUE organized by IMBUTO FOUNDATION. I found that event very inspiring for all Rwandans especially the youth who constitute the hope and the future of the country.
About three weeks ago, I followed through the media, another “Ndi Umunyarwanda†event organized by Unity Club at Gabiro. Similarly, I found that Rwandans inspired by their Leadership keep innovating mechanisms in order to build a society on solid foundation.
The “Ndi Umunyarwanda†concept came after the closing of Gacaca Jurisdictions put in place in 2005 to deal with the criminals of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis. It is worth to recall that the Gacaca Jurisdictions is one of the many home grown solutions conceived by Rwandans themselves.
“Ndi Umunyarwanda†concept is clearly different from Gacaca Juridictions because the latter did permit the prosecution of more than 2 million genocide cases over a period of a few years. If the classic justice arrangement had been employed, it could have lasted more than a century.
Contrary to Gacaca, “Ndi Umunyarwanda†has evolved as a way to get a common understanding between Rwandans with regard to the bad politics which culminated in the preparation and execution of the Genocide against Tutsis. That Common understanding will definitely treat the bad ideas or perceptions painted in the hearts of Rwandans by selfish politicians for decades.
For the adults that we are, “Ndi Umunyarwanda†is a tool to make an objective audit of different policies put in place from the pre-independence period up to 1994. That audit in my opinion is like a COST AND BENEFIT Analysis of the ethnic (Hutu) ideology on which the previous regimes were founded, and which led to the Genocide against Tutsis. The only condition for the success of that analysis is to speak openly without any defensive attempt because the quasi-totality of us was not policy makers anyway.
To be clearer, let us take 3 periods of our recent history: the years 1959, 1973 and 1994.
In 1959, the Hutu ideology was mature, and for the 1st time, it was used as a political trump in order to get onto power after killing innocent Tustis and forcing others into exile. The ordinary population (Hutus), used to implement the selfish agenda, did not get any benefit from the atrocities committed. They remained as poor as before, and in addition, the entire episode did negatively impact on the social cohesion of Rwandan society.
Last month when I was in Kigali, I met a lady in a restaurant with her husband, son, daughter and grandchildren. I went to greet them where they were seated because her son is a friend of mine. The lady who is also the mother of the Rwandan Ambassador to Kenya narrated to me how my late father helped her escape the atrocities against Tutsi in the 1960s. That emotional story meant a lot to me as I felt so proud of my father.
In 1973, I was 10 years old when Juvénal HABYARIMANA took power via coup d’Etat against Grégoire KAYIBANDA. Even when I was a child, I saw soldiers distributing matchboxes to the Hutu population in order to burn houses owned by Tutsis. The houses were set ablaze, and the owners and their families fled the country. To me, that shows once again how the Hutu ideology has been used by HABYARIMANA and his allies in the objective of instigating chaos as precursor for the coup d’Etat which was explained as response to prevent the country from falling into a deep big hole.
It is very important to note that the Hutu ideology was spread since primary school. I remember every school year the teacher had to identify how many Hutus, Tutsis and Twas were in their class. That was done by asking the kids from whichever ethnic group to raise their hands. This annual exercise set a very dangerous precedence. Its objective was among other things to create a mind in the child whereby they would group with a certain perception of themselves.
In 1991, when multipartism started in Africa and especially after the “La Baule France-Africa Summitâ€, our country like other African countries embarked on the multipartism model. At the beginning, 3 main opposition parties were created: MDR, PSD and PL. For the MDR party, its leaders managed to avoid Parmehutu ideology as a strategic maneuver because somehow they knew that the ordinary population will understand that it is Parmehutu anyway!
Fortunately in 1991, the 3 parties made a coalition to fight Habyarimana’s regime which was discriminatory – one designed from 2 main angles: Ethnic and Regional. When Habyarimana’s regime realized that the coalition has become a real threat, combined with the RPF-Inkotanyi pressure on the military field, the Hutu ideology came again by dividing the 3 parties into Hutu power faction in each. That division strategy played a big role in the execution of the genocide of Tutsis.
In conclusion, the Hutu ideology did benefit the politicians for a few years, but the ordinary population on the hill across Rwanda didn’t get anything good.
It is very important to move away from that ideology because some extremist politicians even now think that the Hutu trump can be raised again. The only way to clean our house is to discuss that issue without any taboo so that the ultimate objective of opening and cleaning our hearts can be achieved.
By doing so, the generations to come will live through the legacy of a united country. That is why to me, “Ndi Umunyarwanda†concept is a therapy for Rwandan adults and a vaccination for the future generations. LET US BE GUIDED BY CLEAR VISION TOWARDS THE WELLBEING OF ALL RWANDANS INSTEAD OF THE HOPELESS ETHNIC IDEOLOGY.
Article Written by Amb. Amandin Rugira
Rwanda’s Envoy to Kinshasa, DRC
