IF YOU happened to be in Rwanda during this past week you would have realised that Rwandans pay more attention to Liberation Day than they do Independence Day. And if you are unfamiliar to the country you are likely to find this state of things rather peculiar. As you get to know the country and speak to a few people, however, the reasons start to become clearer. 

Whether the person doing the explaining is aware of it or not, his or her explanation has a broader element. The likely unsaid story is a tragic one, a tale of independence and liberation movements in Africa. On the other hand will be a story that everyone knows, with people in markets and supermarkets able to provide details about Rwanda’s ruling party and their perceptions about it. 

The broad story is well documented. Indeed, one can pursue advanced studies on African Nationalism or on Liberation Movements. What is documented is that regimes that assumed political power after independence in Africa generally let the people down. They over-promised and under-delivered. 

People were so disillusioned by them that when the military intervened with coup d’états in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, they felt relieved. In reality, all the military was doing was to exploit people’s sentiments of disenchantment. Under its rule, things got even worse. There were no social services to speak of, most hospitals were dilapidated, and people were hungry, with children running around with pot-bellies from a disease most people cannot even pronounce today: Kwashiorkor. 

In short, independence had brought nothing but flags and national anthems. The military and liberation movements had disappointed, with the latter taking the support of the people for granted. In other words, people had discovered that the promises of independence and liberation had been a big lie.

RPF struggle different

In many ways, Rwanda’s situation was unique. And for that reason the RPF liberation struggle was different when compared to experiences elsewhere on the continent. 

For one, it is difficult to find another place on the continent where at independence hatred was directed towards an internal ethnic group and not towards white colonial masters. Second, whatever reservations people may have had about other groups, it was never to the extent of throwing them out of the country.

Third, most communal disagreements never led to the desire to wipe-out another group. Consequently, none of the liberation movements came to power only to find a society that was utterly decimated, requiring building anew. 

Despite these unique initial circumstances the RPF still believed that it could build a country "suitable for all, without ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty,” according Tito Rutaremara, a founding member and leading ideologue. 

Clearly, that is the rhetoric of all liberation movements. Once in power, however, a gulf usually develops between the rhetoric and the practice as ‘freedom fighters’ retreat to the politics of "Our turn to eat.”

Not with the RPF. Outside of South Africa (a negotiated settlement), one would be hard-pressed to find a liberation movement that was able to win state power and go on to integrate the defeated foes to the extent that the RPF has.  

Further, it has thus far been an organisation that holds its members accountable. Cadres are unable to hold the movement hostage and to ride roughshod on the account that they fought. Elsewhere, this attitude has historically eaten away liberation movements into oblivion. 

More importantly, the party has resisted the temptation to take the support and trust of the people for granted. It has, for the most part, delivered on its promises, whether it is free Nine Year Basic Education (9YBE) or its upper level program the Twelve Year Basic Education (12YBE) or the universal healthcare program known as Mutuelle de Santé; or the expansion of access to electricity, or the construction of roads, and so on. 

Also important is that where programs are initiated, they are fully implemented, and monitoring frameworks established. Officials are expected to use the available resources prudently, with the impact on the lives of the beneficiaries visible at a project’s evaluation. Meanwhile, all those involved at each stage are fully aware of what happens to crooked officials. 

To be sure, Rwanda is no paradise. It still has a sizeable portion of its population living in serious economic hardship. However, most of these people are unlikely to point to the government as the source of their difficulties. That is because most trust that it is genuinely committed to improving their lives. 

When compared to other liberation movements, therefore, the RPF outshines them due to its systematic approach to state management that is able to produce tangible results that help the party to retain the trust and support of the people. 

Will Rwanda’s party of liberation become too complacent to undermine the citizen confidence that it has worked so hard to earn and resort to taking them for granted? It remains to be seen.