Over the past few days, the public discourse in the country has been dominated by discussions around a gathering that took place some two weeks back, which brought together hundreds of people, ostensibly to install the chief of the Abakono Clan. The event which took place on July 9 in Kinigi Sector, Musanze District, attracted over 600 people, including some governing officials, heads of institutions, business operators and security personnel, among others. To the naive, this was a social gathering that should not have attracted any kind of scrutiny, however, when you critically analyse it, such practice would most likely have far-reaching implications if not castigated. It is an undeniable fact that the absence of a national identity was a major tool during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and other pogroms that preceded it, meaning that anything that could threaten this identity must be fought tooth and nail because if unchecked, can have very bad consequences. The event, which was streamed live on social media including YouTube had almost passed unnoticed until it got the attention of President Paul Kagame who then referred it to the structures of the ruling party, RPF-Inkotanyi, mainly because most of the attendants of the coronation gathering were party cadres, including senior members. President Kagame is also the Chairman of the ruling party. During a subsequent meeting that convened at the party headquarters on Sunday, July 23, different speakers delved in detail, the ills such discriminative social groups can lead to. Among those invited included senior party cadres, members of other political organisations that operate in the country, the youth, and most importantly, the party members who organized and attended the meeting, including the so-called chief. They were given an opportunity to share the lessons learnt from this and committed to not engage in such acts, which again is part of the culture that we have known Rwanda’s leadership post-genocide; giving people a chance to atone for their misdeeds and pledge to right things. Such should therefore serve as a constant reminder that we cannot take things for granted. Much has been achieved to unify the country but then so much needs to be done to consolidate those achievements, and that will take a collective effort.
