18yrs after the Genocide, 25yrs of RPF and 50yrs of independence

This year’s Genocide commemoration has a special place in the history of this country. We do not only mark 18 years after the ugly side of our history but also mark a new generation that has come of age.The little boys and girls born in 1994 are 18 years today. One thing they all have in common is that none of these children was born under conditions that befit a newly born child. In fact, for some to be alive today is simply a miracle. Many were not given the chance to see day light as their parents only months pregnant, were hacked to death. Others were smashed on walls of churches like coconut seeds and a good number were ripped from mothers’ wombs by cold-blooded extremists turned butchers. Equally, the few who survived these scavengers or whose parents were not hunted, did not survive numerous child mortality diseases like Cholera.But the lucky ones, who survived and live to celebrate their 18th birthday this year, are Rwanda’s hope for the future. They are children raised in a different Rwanda – a Rwanda where every child has a right to life and a right to basic needs.They are children born and raised in an environment where meritocracy has replaced favoritism, unity replaced sectarianism, harmony replaced divisions, and hope replaced despair. In short, they are a class apart.But again, as we usher this new generation into adulthood, this year marks a silver jubilee of the formation of the political organisation that is largely credited for this renewed hope.RPF will be marking 25 years of its existence. From an outsider’s point of view, one can sum up the last 25 years of RPF’s existence as years of a struggle. A struggle of correcting the evil planted for many decades in this Nation. A struggle largely motivated by the desire of having a decent governance, prosperity and dignity for Rwandans. A silver jubilee of a political organisation is not something small. Many political parties never live to celebrate their first birthday. This is because some are formed with no sense of purpose or even political ideology. Others are formed to serve individual interests while a good number of them operate in an environment of no rules; where setting up a political party is as simple as opening a boutique.A political organisation is born out of a desire to satisfy certain collective interests that are shared by many. It’s born out of a call to end certain injustices. For it to survive there must be a just cause, a shared sense of purpose that forms the vision and mission of its existence. And this is why the RPF has largely succeeded. What makes this political organisation even more distinct, both in character and functionality, is the ability to stay the course and deliver exceptionally well on its vision and mission. But having a mission and vision is one thing, implementing it is another. The RPF has scored well on both fronts largely because of its strict demand for discipline and accountability from its cadres. Many of you have seen cases incidents where members of a political organisation behave like bandits or undermine their party line to the extent of publicly ridiculing it. Many of us have been treated to incidents where an MP belonging to a ruling party, takes to the floor of parliament and out-competes even the most vocal opposition figure in opposing their party line.You will not see that within the RPF. Not because this political organisation has tightened their lips but rather because of functioning internal structures where punches are possibly exchanged, debates exhausted but emerge out of it with one common position that serves the interests of the nation.Of course some will call it autocratic. I call it discipline – discipline not to wash your dirty linen in public. And, as I mentioned, some time back, give me political discipline and not Oil, Gold or Diamonds.Does this mean that the RPF is perfect? Not at all; like any political organisation it has had its shortfalls for the past 25 years. But what is certain is that it has built a system and structure to hold it together for the next generations to come. Interestingly, as we usher in a new generation of adults born at the time of the Genocide and as RPF, a party that stopped the Genocide marks its 25 of existence, this nation will at the same time be celebrating 50 years of independence this year.Unfortunately, because of the ugly history, which teaches us that the 1962 independence was not freedom for all but rather the genesis of problems that defined this nation for decades, there’s little to celebrate.Therefore, the people to enjoy the sweet fruits of true independence are the young men and women who celebrate their 18th birthday this year. They are a generation born and raised in a free society where every Rwandan enjoys equal rights.This is the generation that will be the new face of this country and will define its future. This generation will be a litmus test for the successes or failures of the political organisation marking its silver jubilee this year.On twiiter @aasiimwe

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18yrs after the Genocide, 25yrs of RPF and 50yrs of independence