Kagame re-elected RPF chair as three-day congress ends

Members of the RPF Inkotanyi National Congress on Saturday overwhelmingly re-elected President Paul Kagame to lead the party for the next five years. The congress, which attracted over 2000 delegates from across the country and beyond, also re-elected Christophe Bazivamo as vice chairperson and Francois Ngarambe as Secretary General. Twenty two commissioners were also elected, completing the 25 available positions of the National Executive Committee. The RPF leadership recently changed their constitution to give more voice to the youth, where from a college of 22 commissioners who sit on the National Executive Committee (NEC), 10 slots were earmarked for the youth, up from five. The three day congress, which was held in line with the 30-year celebration of RPF-Inkotanyi, took place at the party’s headquarters in Rusororo. Delegates at the RPF-Inkotanyi National Congress vote for a new National Executive Committee. The elections came at the end of a three-day congress, which was held in line with RPF-Inkotanyi 30-year anniversary celebration at the party’s headquarters in Rusororo. / Courtesy Addressing the participants, President Kagame challenged the party members to make humility a value in everything they do. Humility, he said, has been part and parcel of the RPF since its inception. “This Congress was a time to reflect on how far we have come over the past 30 years, a journey that was guided by our values. The last three days we have had fruitful exchanges regarding our country and the direction it is taking,” he said. On the thirty-year journey, the President said what has been achieved is impressive but added that there was still a long way to go. He urged the RPF cadres to learn from their experiences, to draw lessons from mistakes and to keep doing the things that have proven to work well. The Party Chairman encouraged the members not to shy away from calculated risks and always work with passion. “We must always have the desire to learn from experiences good or bad,” he said, adding that risk taking has been critical to the success of the RPF. “We never feared risks then and we will not fear them now. It does not, however, mean taking risks blindly,” he said. The RPF Chairman concluded by calling on all members to renew their commitment to achieving even more in the next decades ahead: “We leave here revitalised and dedicated to give the best of ourselves,” Kagame said. On the last day of the congress, special guests from different countries spoke of their relations with the RPF-Inkotanyi. Ruling Parties from various countries were represented by delegates including China’s Communist Party, Ethiopia’s Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, Kenya’s Jubilee, Parti Congolais du Travail of Congo Brazzaville and Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement of South Sudan. Raphael Tuju, the Secretary General of Kenya’s Jubilee, commended the RPF for championing a turnaround of the country that was in ruins just 23 years ago. “This is a country that has emerged from the depth of despair and now transformed by RPF to be an African beacon of prosperity. The first time I met Rwandans, they were refugees in Kenya. The Rwandan passport was a badge of shame, and I want to thank RPF for making the Rwandese passport a respected one,” said Tuju. Meanwhile, the congress was also attended by representatives from all political parties in Rwanda who spoke on the inclusive political system that has defines Rwanda today with each party representative pledging to do their part in moving the country forward. The three day congress ended with celebrations, bringing an end to month-long series of activities that were organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the RPF-Inkotanyi. The activities included community outreach by members of the party who participated in activities like construction of Early Childhood Development Centres and discussions on why the RPF was created and engagement on the transformation journey. Similar discussions were also organized at institutions of higher learning in the country.

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Kagame re-elected RPF chair as three-day congress ends