Zaria Court. The name has a magical ring to it; like the kind of place where youths will have big dreams or big ambitions with reasonable expectations that with a facility like this nothing is impossible. As if to underline this, Zaria Court, at least for one week, symbolized the youthfulness of the new Rwanda; its rebirth, and the great things that can happen with the right, can-do spirit. ALSO READ: Ayra Starr, The Ben and Co. shut down Kigali at GOA closing concert Let’s not forget that, three decades back, the very spot where the facility is located was a hell on earth for the Tutsi that would desperately be trying to flee to (the old) Amahoro Stadium for refuge, under the protection of the UNAMIR force, which wasn’t doing much protecting of the victims. ALSO READ: How Rwanda was liberated from the songs of hate Marauding Interahamwe militias, and an assortment of other bloodthirsty goons like CDR “youth wingers”, were grabbing, and killing unfortunate Tutsi on the spot; cutting them down with their machetes, or clubbing them to death with clubs and other crude tools in acts that up to then no one thought humans capable of. Now, with Zaria Court – a centre of culture, sport, scenes of youthful exuberance – up and operational, that diabolical history will be banished, forever. Gone like the terrible MRND, and the awful regime that came after, attempting to carry through the task of annihilating an entire section of the country’s population. ALSO READ: From oblivion to memory and the meaning of RPF’s victory Zaria Court is inaugurated and running, in spectacular fashion. That is after it hosted the Giants of Africa festival that, for an entire radiant week, was the place where the continent’s youth met to interact, get to know each other, network, or make friendships, in a show of unity that so much of the continent’s adults – meaning its leadership – ought to emulate more. Well, Rwanda for sure is doing its part; as is Masai Ujiri, the outgoing CEO and president of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA in North America – a Nigerian, Kenyan, British, Canadian citizen who came to Rwanda and fell in love with the country, and not only that, was impressed by the leadership’s vision, and decided to invest in this country. VIDEO: As Africa, we have ‘everything’ to become great - Masai Ujiri Ujiri Ujiri is a major partner of the investment group that invested in Zaria Court; a vote of confidence that says so much about what this country stands for, its future, and more. The Giants of Africa festival (which also served to mark the opening of the instantly iconic Zaria Court, just adjacent to the equally iconic Amahoro Stadium, and BK Arena) was the hottest ticket in town for a few days, capped by a concert at BK Arena that featured notable star musicians such as Nigeria’s Ayra Starr, our own The Ben, or Kizz Daniel (Nigeria). According to reports, the performances truly dazzled, which was befitting. When the young of Rwanda think of their country today, it’s through the lens of such images that are representative of the new identity the country has built over the past few decades. Not very long ago we used to be known mainly as the country of genocide and mass murder. Now, the picture is very different. Children now think of their country as this dynamic place where a better future is built; where the best of Africa regularly converges; where dreaming big is de rigueur. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the realties that the foreign-based sons, daughters, or grandchildren of those guilty of great crimes of the past in this country can’t stand. ALSO READ: Why Habyarimana’s offspring lie so desperately as they trash Rwanda The offspring of Juvenal Habyarimana; the grand children of Dominic Mbonyumutwa; and others of lesser-known criminals, will devote much time and energy to downplay or demean the achievements of RPF. That is, when they aren’t engaged in their other tasks of perpetrating genocide denialism, or distorting the history of what actually happened in this country, when their parents were in charge. ALSO READ: The hypothetical son of Hitler: Defending the indefensible They absolutely hate it that Rwanda, during the RPF leadership, has achieved things they could never have dreamt of since their main preoccupation always was to perpetuate an ideology of tribal dominance of one ethnicity over another, as if nothing else was possible. Yet here is RPF with its leadership, exposing their small-minded, yet murderous ways, while demonstrating it, indeed, is possible for all Rwandan nationals of our ethnicities to live together; to co-exist in peace, and achieve big things together. They will have to suck it up; for there will be more and more Giants-of-Africa kinds of events; a constant reminder we’ve overcome the vicious pettiness they would love to take us back to.
