Why Rwandans reflected on their 50 years of independence

Just yesterday Rwanda turned 50 years having gained flag independence on July 1, 1962 after a blood bath that witnessed some of the most macabre events prior to sham elections that witnessed the victory of the ethnically laden Parmehutu party. The party that ‘won’ independence in the elections of 1961 was a party that was not inclusive, to put it mildly. This was a party that was based on an extremist ideology of the ‘emancipation of Hutus’. It was the party of the first President, Gregory Kayibanda, who had been a catechist-turned politician through the encouragement of some sections of the powerful Catholic Church then, including Bishop Perraudin, his mentor.In his speech to the nation, President Paul Kagame congratulated all the people of Rwanda on having reached this important milestone and for surviving the many pitfalls along the way and underscored the importance of reflecting on our past as we look forward to a brighter future. The history of Rwanda from independence to 1994 is well known. Rwanda is one of the few countries on the African continent where independence in the 1960s deliberately shut out a section of their citizens in perpetual exile. Even those who remained in the country were second class citizens whose daily survival depended on the whims and the mood of the leaders. It is not only the Rwandans in exile and those in the country who ‘belonged to the wrong ethnic group’. The majority of the people of Rwanda were in serfdom.And so, in 1994, the Genocide witnessed the tragic loss of more than a million defenseless people butchered because of their ‘ethnic identity’ or their different political opinions.Rwanda’s fame has come to be associated with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It is no wonder, therefore, that 1994 marks a definite rebirth of a nation, thanks to the gallant efforts of the liberators and all those who sacrificed their lives for the rebirth of our nation. It is fitting, therefore, that Rwandans celebrate their independence alongside the 18th anniversary of their liberation. The independence celebrations were preceded by an international conference on democracy and governance that was graced by academics, policy makers and think tanks.The three-day conference analyzed Africa’s 50 years of self-rule, democratisation and nation-hood, and discussed challenges facing the continent.Politically, Africa has largely emerged from the shadows of its uncharitable past. Throughout the continent, old, inept and corrupt one-party regimes have crumbled in the face of invigorated oppositions which blossomed in the vacuums left by the cold war superpowers who no longer needed satellite developing world states. Between 1989 and 1996, twenty nine of 48 African nations south of the Sahara moved from non-democratic to multi-party competitive political systems and, in 1996, alone there were 18 national multi-party elections—a remarkable figure considering that up until the late 1980s finding an African state with a continuous history of democratic elections was a curious anomaly.The wave of independence from colonial rule in the 1960s did bring dignity and nationhood to many Africans but it did not deliver participatory democracy, economic growth, or cultural harmony. Today, our new democracies in Africa face the ominous triple-whammy of economic impoverishment and dependence, the renewed threats of health epidemics and simmering ethnic conflict. To make matters worse, often these new multi-party systems rest upon underdeveloped or fragmented civil societies and are administered by bureaucracies imbued with an ethos of corruption and clientelism. Nevertheless, in some areas, the early portents of democratic consolidation are good, and, despite all the worries that the change is merely transitory, many millions of Africans enjoy a level of political and human rights that would have been unthinkable to the generation before. As Rwandans celebrate their golden jubilee of independence and 18 years of liberation, the achievements made so far should be consolidated. For instance, the country’s consensual form of democracy; power sharing as well as the gender equity that has witnessed women empowerment, hitherto unknown in the annals of Rwanda’s history, should be celebrated. What is unique about Rwanda’s democracy is that even parties that have lost in national elections have representatives in cabinet as well as the national legislature.This is not the-winner-take-it-all type of democracy, reminiscent of Western democracies, but a democracy that takes cognisance of its past and conscious of its present and future. It is fitting, therefore, that as we forge ahead, we should take time to learn from our bitter past so as to avoid pitfalls that could thwart our efforts in our match to development and prosperity.

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Why Rwandans reflected on their 50 years of independence