A recent liberation-related event came and went almost unnoticed. It was reported in the media but not many paid attention. Even if someone had pointed it out to most Rwandans, they would probably have shrugged and said it had nothing to do with them.

Yet it did. Perhaps in an indirect way, but still it made an important statement.

I am talking about the return of lions to Rwanda. Seven of them arrived from South Africa and were taken to the Akagera National Park. The lions made news in the foreign press, almost overshadowing the key event of liberation. In a way it was fitting that they arrived when they did because they have some connection to liberation.

They are linked to our history in complex ways.  For one, they disappeared at a critical moment in our history, when the genocide against the Tutsi was being committed, and in its immediate aftermath. You might say they were victims of the events of the time.

In another sense, their disappearance was significant as it marked the departure of the regime that had given them a status well above that of Rwandans. In their twisted logic, lions could occupy a huge chunk of territory, but some Rwandans were told the country was full to the brim and they could not find enough space to build even a hut.

The rulers of the day did not raise lions and other animals to that lofty status out of any love for them. They were feted only to be killed in what was called sport, but which was really a sadistic obscenity of people glutted on power and privilege. They were the unfortunate targets of that derived satisfaction from killing.

Of course, lions were not killed, but they were preyed on all the same. They were too much prized for that. They were kept to maintain a lie that the killers were in fact very keen conservationists, and that was supposed to humanize them.

In the event, the lions departed the Rwandan scene at about the same time that their co-hunters and killers of innocent game were defeated and fled.

It is not even fair to place the lions and killer rulers together. Yes, they all kill. But lions kill for necessity, for survival. They do not have to hate their prey.  The others killed for hate and greed, and to project power.

The lions are back, but not to join overfed rulers to hunt and kill other animals or to give them respectability among conservationists.

Their return marks something deeper – a return to normality. To value other beings, give them a home and protect their right to exist is a mark of decency. That is what normal people do.

It is like all those things we do without thinking very much about them. We live with neighbours, give them a helping hand when they need one, rejoice or grieve with them and occasionally quarrel, but usually make up after that. That is what living together means. It does not mean excluding or exterminating others, even animals.

Being normal, leading regular lives and enjoying our natural heritage are some of the things that make us human, and that is a result of real liberation. That is also the significance of the return of the lions. It is a measure of how far we have come from the dark days.

Of course, you might rubbish all this and say that we are restoring the lion population for selfish reasons, to trade them for money from tourists. Granted. But even that means we recognize their value and like all valuable assets, are ready to protect them.

Now, Rwandans have lived with lions in the past, especially in Umutara, although not always peacefully. But they did co-exist all the same. Often, this relationship involved show of strength and resolve from man and lion in their respective desire to guard their right to exist. Sometimes one killed the other, but not in a wanton sense. Still, one might even say there was mutual respect between them.

In another sense, the return of the lions signifies the restoration of a sense of values and balance in our existence. We do not have to destroy nature to prove we are the masters of this earth. In any case we do not have exclusive rights to it. We are actually co-heirs of its bounty. We forget this at our own peril.

It happened here. Some people thought they had exclusive ownership of this country and went about systematically eliminating the co-owners of this land. We all know where this got us.

Today we celebrate liberation from all that. We rejoice in the restoration of the dignity of our citizens. But dignity is never complete until we recognize the right of others to have the same privilege and right. That is the real meaning of ubuntu. Having ubuntu is the real measure of a liberated individual or nation.

In restoring the lion population, we are demonstrating that quality, and it is a measure of how we have freed ourselves.

jorwagatare@yahoo.co.uk