Rwandans across the country, on Saturday, met at the village level to reflect on the country’s past, its present challenges and the future during the Liberation Day celebrations. 

The Day is celebrated in remembrance of the defeat of the genocidal regime and the end of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

In Kigali, Mayor Fideli Ndayisaba attended celebrations at Amajyambere Village, Remera Sector in Gasabo District.

Ndayisaba urged residents to maintain the spirit of patriotism, reminding them that the struggle to fully liberate Rwanda is still ongoing.

"We have to maintain our dignity, courage and discipline if we are to fully liberate ourselves. Several people constantly try to break our spirit but we can’t allow that to happen. The unity we have should be stronger than the efforts to break it,” he said.

Augustine Neto Nzabahimana, a senior citizen, gave a detailed talk on how Rwanda was colonised. He also explained how and who orchestrated, organised and devised the plan to divide Rwandans along ethnic lines.

"Before liberation, one required a travel document from one district to another yet they were both in the same country,” Nzabahimana said.

"The Belgians did this because they wanted us to hate each other, fight each other and be less developed. They are the same people who killed King Rwagasore of Burundi, King Rudahigwa of Rwanda, Patrice Lumumba of DR Congo and others. Their plan was to drive us apart,” he added.

Musanze District

In Musanze, the president of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Bishop John Rucyahana, told residents at Muhoza Sector that although the country was liberated from bad leadership, there is still a lot of work to be done to fight external forces that are still bent on destabilising and dividing Rwandans.

Rucyahana, who was the chief guest at the celebrations, said the time had come for Rwandans to work hard for dignity and sustainable development, something that, he says, was taken away by past bad leadership for many decades.

"We were liberated by RPA from the shackles of the genocideal regime but we are yet to be completely liberated, we are still confronted by the West who still want to rob us of our dignity,” Rucyahana said.

He urged Rwandans to learn from history if they are to overcome challenges.

"We lost more than a million Rwandans during the Genocide, while thousands of others were killed years before the tragedy. If we have not learnt anything from the past, then we still have a long way to go. We need to be united and strive for togetherness as Rwandans,” Rucyahana said.

Most Musanze residents The New Times spoke to say the Liberation Day means a lot to them. They said they were first liberated when the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) put a stop to the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and then later ended the insurgency waged by the Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, especially in the north.

"We are grateful to our heroes and are committed to fighting anything that can take our country back into darkness,” said Charles Ngoga, a Musanze resident

Forty-year-old Francine Mukandekezi said the Liberation war must continue, but in a different form.

"We cannot take up arms and start fighting the way our brothers and sisters did in 1990. However, we know that our task is to make sure that the old mindset of ethnicity and genocide ideology remains in the past. We have to move forward and ensure our country is better,” she said. Kayonza District

In Kayonza District, Eastern Province, a frenzied celebration covered the air in Kayonza town as students from several schools waved colourful banners and Rwandan flags celebrating the men and women who liberated the country 21 years ago.

The crowd ululated and cheered as veterans, most who had trouble walking and required physical support or sticks, made their way up the street.

One of the students in attendance, Jean de Dieu Musonera, 17, said he was proud to meet the people who liberated the country.

"At the time the Liberation war started, some of the RPA soldiers were in their late teens or early 20s, but they were determined to contribute to the cause. These men and women fulfilled their duty to their country. They are our heroes,” he said.

Musonera said a chance to meet the people who participated in the struggle to liberate Rwanda was an eye-opener.

"This is an important occasion. It is a big anniversary and it is important that we were able to meet these veterans. Their names will find their way in our history. They deserve the utmost respect of our nation,” he said.

The students gave the veterans gifts of assorted items as a sign of recognition of their role in liberating the country.

Regina Mukantabana, 22, a Senior Six student, was a one-year-old baby when the RPA soldiers saved her and her mother from interahamwe militia. Her mother, who was on the verge of death due to prolonged hunger and injuries sustained from interahamwe attacks, had passed out and Mukantabana was desperately suckling her breast.

Musonera says she will forever be thankful to all those who fought and supported the Liberation war.

"I only heard the story of how I survived from my mother, my father and six elder siblings had been killed when the RPA soldiers saved us. I commend the work of the liberation. I am ambitious and expect to also serve this country well in the future,” she says.

Fifty-one-year-old retired Major Aloys Gaphizi, who was in a wheelchair at the event, told The New Times that he was overwhelmed by the young people’s attitude.

"This is, perhaps, the most moving experience I have had. I am happy that they no longer view us only as fighters, but liberators and living symbols of our common value. This is the only way that the spirit of resistance, the spirit of liberty can be passed on,” he said.

The Mayor of Kayonza District, John Mugabo, thanked the veterans for their sacrifices and said Rwandans will always be grateful.

"I stand here, in front of your families and friends to empasise that we have not forgotten; that we have remained grateful. This day brings up thousands of stories of remembrance, mostly of pride, and sometimes of pain, and friendship as we move forward in building our nation,” he said.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw