Imagine a world where happiness is not treated as a personal luxury or a vague aspiration, but recognized as a fundamental human right. That is the bold idea put forward by Col (Rtd) Dr. Richard Ngwenya, a Zimbabwean veteran who served with the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR) on the Ugandan side of the border to verify that no military assistance reached Rwanda during the RPF’s liberation struggle of the 1990s.

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Having witnessed firsthand how ethnic division, poor leadership, and weak governance can tear societies apart, Ngwenya recently proposed that President Paul Kagame should champion the "right to happiness” at the United Nations in 2026. His proposal is not abstract or sentimental. It is grounded in lived experience and shaped by hard lessons from history.

Ngwenya frames happiness not as comfort or pleasure, but as something deeply practical, rooted in security, opportunity, dignity, and social cohesion.

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His voice carries added weight today because he is not only a witness to past tragedy, but an active participant in shaping Africa’s future. As Vice President of MAEC Capital, an international alternative development financing agency, Ngwenya works to design real mechanisms that can help African countries access affordable development financing. He understands that happiness is inseparable from economic justice, opportunity, and the ability of governments to meet their people’s basic needs. When someone who has seen both the collapse of a nation and the hard work of rebuilding speaks about happiness as a right, it deserves serious attention. And when it comes to carrying that message to the world, few leaders are better placed than President Kagame.

Ngwenya is blunt and unafraid to speak the truth. Leaders who sow division, hatred, or favouritism steal happiness from their people. Across Africa, ethnic tensions have led to wars, destroyed communities, and robbed generations of hope. Leaders who ignore poverty, corruption, mismanagement, or discrimination are just as guilty. Consider the Tutsi Rwandaphones in eastern DR Congo, still facing exclusion and marginalization. When leaders fail to act, they allow suffering that could be prevented, a denial of basic dignity. Ngwenya even suggests that such leaders should face accountability at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, because denying people happiness is, in essence, a crime.

Leadership, he reminds us, is not about power, it is about ensuring people can live full, meaningful lives.

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Rwanda shows what is possible when a leader chooses courage, vision, and principle. Kagame abolished ethnic labels in politics, rooted out favouritism, and fostered a sense of shared identity.

Dr. Ngwenya attributes Rwanda’s recovery not to accident, but to design. For the past 31 years since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, President Kagame has pursued a single, consistent goal. To rebuild a nation in a way that allows its people to live with dignity, security, and hope.

From a country once shattered by grief, Rwanda has been patiently stitched back together through policies that place people at the center. Unity was the first foundation. Rejecting ethnic division and affirming a shared Rwandan identity so that fear could give way to trust. From there followed practical investments in daily well-being, a health system that reaches nearly every household, community-based insurance that makes care affordable, and social protection programmes like Ubudehe and VUP, designed to lift the most vulnerable out of poverty and restore self-worth through work.

Education became another pillar of happiness. Schools were rebuilt, expanded, and made accessible, while programmes such as school feeding ensured that children could learn with full stomachs and clear minds. As a result, families now send their children to school without fear or hunger, confident that the future is within reach. In Kigali and beyond, young people are building businesses, launching technology startups, and imagining lives that once seemed impossible. Communities that were torn apart now live side by side in reconciliation villages, choosing coexistence over resentment. Life expectancy, which was about 35 years in 1995, is now around 70.

Kagame’s leadership extends far beyond Rwanda. He has chaired the African Union, shaped peacekeeping missions, and guided governance reforms across the continent. He didn’t inherit power, he earned it, and he rebuilt a nation from ashes.

Yes, some critics point to Rwanda’s strict governance. But rebuilding a nation from genocide required tough, sometimes unpopular steps. What matters is results. Rwanda today is stable, proud, and trusted by its people. Citizens believe in their schools, their health system, and their neighbourhoods. That is proof that leadership guided by principle and compassion works.

Dr. Ngwenya’s message is a challenge, not just to Kagame, but to leaders everywhere. Measure your success not by wealth, power, or titles, but by the happiness of your people. Leaders who fail to fight corruption, inequality, and division are failing their citizens.

The United Nations already talks about well-being in development reports, but happiness itself is not yet a recognized right. Kagame could change that. He could speak from experience, about turning tragedy into hope, about building societies where equity and dignity are central to governance.

If Kagame champions the right to happiness at the United Nations, he will not only celebrate Rwanda’s recovery, but he will also spark a movement. Happiness is not a privilege; it is the foundation of strong, thriving societies. Governance exists to serve people, not the other way around.

If Kagame answers this call, the world will see a powerful truth. A nation, and a continent, can rise when leaders place the happiness of their people at the center. Rwanda’s story shows that hope is possible, resilience is possible, and joy can be a right, not just a dream.

The writer is a development and alternative financing strategist.