CELEBRATING RWANDA’S 26TH LIBERATION DAY AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC disinfectants,
THE Liberation Day which is annually observed every July 4 in Rwanda officially marks the end of the Genocide against the Tutsi which lasted for 100 days from April 7, 1994.
For Rwandans, it was on this day 26 years ago, following the heroic stopping of the genocide by Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) that heralded the writing of a new chapter of Rwanda’s renaissance with focus on unity of purpose as well as building a solid foundation for a developmental state.
Under normal circumstances this is a day all Rwandans and friends both in the country and across the globe get together to celebrate the country’s history, take stock of the impressive progress the country has registered since the genocide and commit to moving the journey ahead of them in unity and progress.
However as the entire world continues to adjust and respond to Covid-19 pandemic, celebration will certainly take a different format to adhere to public health safety guidelines.
Covid-19 is a unique and severe global health crisis that is impacting and changing the way we live and governments around the world including in Rwanda are prioritising and coordinating financial and physical resources to respond to this pandemic while also taking mitigating measures to curtail its spread.
Rwanda was one of the first countries on the continent to impose a complete nationwide lockdown and has thus far unfortunately recorded two Covid-19 related deaths.
As mitigating measures against the pandemic bore commendable fruits, Rwanda in a measured manner loosened the lockdown both for the people and the economy.
Government has mobilised resources to revive her economy following the Covid-19 pandemic which has negatively impacted economic activities. The projected economic growth for this year has gone down to around two percent.
This projection is in stark contrast to 2019 where Rwanda’s GDP grew by 9.4 percent with the bulk of it coming from the services sector which contributed to 49 percent of the country’s GDP.
Worth noting is that within Sub-Saharan Africa, an economic contraction of between 2.1 percent to 5.1 percent is expected in 2020 depending on the success measures taken to mitigate the pandemic’s effect.
This is in sharp contrast to a 2.4 percent economic growth of this region in 2019. This contraction will cost the region between $37 billion and $79 billion (World Bank).
During the lockdown, the government put into action a social protection programme to deliver free food to vulnerable households. Furthermore a US$100 million Covid-19 relief fund has been put aside by government to revive local business activity and safeguard employment.
The fund is also expected to boost domestic production of essential goods PPEs such as masks, gloves, sanitisers,
and other essential supplies that are deemed necessary during and post Covid-19 period.
Additionally a wide range of tax exemptions aimed at supporting different sectors of the economy have been initiated as a short-term measure.
Rwanda has embraced use of novel technology solutions in the fight against Covid-19 by introducing robots that are used in assisting and increasing protection of frontline workers during management and treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Robots are mainly used for mass temperature screening, monitoring patient status and keeping medical records of Covid-19 patients. The National Police is making use of drones in its sensitisation campaign efforts against Covid-19 by educating the populace on how to guard against Coronavirus with drones carrying audio messages across the country.
With the varied interventions and effective enforcement, an Oxford University study has placed Rwanda among the top 10 well prepared countries in the world that qualify to rollback Covid-19.
The Oxford University study was done by examining which countries meet four of the World Health Organisation’s six recommendations for relaxing their physical distancing measures.
With its mix of universal health care, medical supply-delivering drones and thermometer checks at its borders and a ranking as the fourth most resilient country in Africa according to the 2019 Global Resilience Index, Covid-19 is indeed yet another challenge to test Rwanda’s resilience as a nation.
Meanwhile, in light of the strict crowd gathering restrictions in place owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, this will not prevent Rwandans and friends from privately reflecting and paying tribute to the courageous RPF men and women that made selfless sacrifices to rescue Rwanda back from the brink and celebrating the gains of the liberation struggle thus far.
Neither will it stop Rwandese and friends from celebrating the impressive achievements registered thus far. Relatedly, with the clear and noble guidance given by President Edgar Lungu on limiting the number of people for social gatherings/meetings in guarding against the spread of this pandemic, the High Commission of Rwanda in Zambia also accredited to Malawi, will this year not hold this celebration in the style and form it has been held the previous years but Rwandans and friends will nevertheless celebrate this vital day under the new but temporary normal of Covid-19.
Fifty-eight years ago
Rwanda like many other African countries became an independent State. While 58 years is a short time in the life of a nation, it ought to have been long enough to make significant positive changes in the lives of Rwandans.
Unfortunately for Rwanda, over 30 years were lost under a divisive leadership which only created more problems for its people with resultant underdevelopment and the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
Divisive politics which was introduced by Rwanda’s colonial masters in a strategy meant to divide and conquer was unfortunately excessively practiced to the detriment of Rwandans by the two post- independence governments.
Excessive ethnicisation of political life, violence as a strategy of monopolising political power, discrimination
The liberation struggle that run from October of 1990 to July 4, 1994 which was led by President Paul Kagame, came out of necessity and a compelling desire for the survival of the nation of Rwanda and exclusion as a model of governance was the order of the day from independence to the climax that manifested in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi that annihilated over a million lives merely for how they were created by the Almighty.
It is thanks to the liberation struggle that was waged by men and women united under the RPF that cries of millions of refugees that had been denied a right to statehood and millions others that were suffering inside Rwanda were all answered through the liberation of July 4, 1994.
Since then the new leadership embarked on an unstoppable journey of rebuilding the country from scratch. The first phase of liberation, was a military one, this was at the time the only feasible option to defeat the dictatorial regime and architects of the Genocide.
The liberation struggle that run from October of 1990 to July 4, 1994 which was led by President Paul Kagame, came out of necessity and a compelling desire for the survival of the nation of Rwanda. The liberation struggle was fought and won by Rwandans who resolved to risk their lives for the greater goal of liberating their country. And liberate it, they did. Those who comprised the genocidal government that planned and executed the genocide run into disarray.
Unfortunately some of the Genocide fugitives continue to roam freely in some countries around the globe. Justice for genocide victims remains a paramount objective for the Government of Rwanda, just as it should be for international community.
Fittingly during the 100 days of the 26th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi,
Rwanda welcomed news that one of the leading architects and financiers of the Genocide against the Tutsi, Félicien Kabuga, had been arrested in Paris by French authorities on May 16, 2020.
Kabuga was indicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1997 on seven counts of genocide. Kabuga, who had a US$5 million bounty on his head, was heavily involved in the founding and bankrolling of the notorious hate radio “Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines” (RTLM), and several newspapers which were actively used in mass mobilisation and incitement to commit genocide.
Kabuga, now aged 85, is also credited for using his vast wealth in importing more than 500, 000 machetes into Rwanda which were used by Interahamwe militias in carrying out mass killings during the Genocide against Tutsi.
Despite evading justice for 26 years, his final arrest is a major achievement of International justice and cooperation and it sends a clear signal to the entire world that genocide is a crime under international law that the entire global community should fight and see to it that its perpetrators are brought to justice.
Last month Rwanda’s High Court sentenced to life imprisonment a former Rwandan Mayor, Ladislas Ntaganzwa who was thankfully extradited to Rwanda by DRC in 2015. During the 1994
Covid-19 pandemic
With its mix of universal health care, medical supply- delivering drones and thermometer checks at its borders and a ranking as the fourth most resilient country in Africa according to the 2019 Global Resilience Index, Covid-19 is indeed yet another challenge to test Rwanda’s resilience as a nation.
genocide against Tutsi, Ladislas Ntaganzwa led with impunity attacks that resulted in deaths of around 25, 000 ethnic Tutsis in Nyakizu, Southern Province.
Rwandans acknowledge that liberation remains a process and a long journey from the armed struggle to reconciling and uniting Rwandans, to developing the country’s economy and related infrastructure.
Even as we celebrate 26 years of Liberation during Covid-19 times therefore, we continue to assess what we have achieved as a nation and renew our vision and commitment to ensure overall achievement of the nation’s needs and bold aspirations.
Rwanda’s GDP
Strict crowd gathering
The liberation struggle