As Rwanda concludes a week of mourning and remembrance for the more than one million victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, we reflect not only on our painful past, but also on the choices that define our future.
Among the most significant acts during this commemoration week is the tribute paid to politicians who were killed during the genocide a moment that carries deep national meaning.
This is so deep that it is now an annual occurrence where senior government officials, heads of political parties and bereaved families meet at the Rebero Genocide Memorial in Kicukiro District to honour politicians who were killed due to their anti-genocide stance. The memorial also a resting place for thousands of genocide victims killed from different parts of Kigali and its environs.
Also read: Politicians urged to renew efforts to fight against genocide ideology
The remembrance of these politicians is not an accident. It is a deliberate statement on the role of politics--how it can be used as a force for either destruction or transformation. The Genocide against the Tutsi was made possible by politics gone terribly wrong.
It was enabled by ideologies of hate that were weaponised by political leaders who should have been guardians of unity and peace.
Also read: Nine late politicians' names, deeds to be added to Rebero Memorial
Today, as we honour those political figures who stood against division and paid with their lives, we are reminded of the profound responsibility borne by all political actors. Politics must be anchored in truth, justice, and the value of human dignity. It must serve the common good--not personal gain or ethnic superiority.
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Rwanda's remarkable progress over the past three decades is proof of what is possible when politics is done right. We have chosen unity over division, reconciliation over revenge, and development over destruction. But these gains remain fragile if we ever lose sight of the lessons from our darkest hour.
Also read: April 12, 1994: 'The signal for genocidaires to move toward the apocalypse'
Let this commemoration serve as a renewed call to political actors - both in Rwanda and across the region - to lead with courage, ethics, and accountability. The best tribute to those we lost, including the leaders who refused to betray their values, is to ensure that politics never again becomes a vehicle for hatred.
In their memory, and for the generations to come, we must always get politics right.
