President Paul Kagame yesterday delivered the keynote speech at the event to mark the 20th Anniversary of Unity Club. 

Formed in 1996, Unity Club is an association that brings together current and former cabinet ministers and their spouses, to promote social cohesion and contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of the country. 

The event attracted various government officials and heads of public institutions to reflect on the past two decades of the association while forging the way forward.

--READ ALSO: First Lady: Integrity among leaders key to national unity--

President Kagame while challenging participants, asked, "What is the alternative to unity?” before he went on to explain that indeed the choice made by Rwandans to put unity at the forefront, of rebuilding a divided nation then, was the most fitting of all.  

"We speak of unity because we as a country have known the consequences of division. The alternative to unity is chaos and a nation destroyed by its own people," Kagame said.

VIDEO IN KINYARWANDA: President Kagame speaks at the Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Unity Club

"We are here to remind each other of the importance of unity and of recognizing each other's humanity," Kagame added.

Kagame acknowledged that Rwanda has two extreme narratives; the worst possible narrative of self-destruction during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the positive extreme of forging its way to socioeconomic development in the last 22 years. 

"Today we have seen that the same Rwanda that was capable of the worst is also capable of great achievements. It is our responsibility to ensure that we never go back,” he reiterated. 

The Head of state noted that, turning against one another will only serve the interests of those who benefit from the country’s self-destruction.

The event involved testimonies from Nelly Mukazayire, the Deputy Director of Cabinet in the Office of the President of Rwanda and Gerardine Umutesi, a Genocide survivor and the head of health unit at Imbuto Foundation.

Mukazayire’s mother is a Genocide perpetrator, who is serving a life sentence in a Kigali prison, for her role during the Genocide.

Describing herself as a "living testimony of the new Rwanda", Mukazayire said that her current position in the highest office of the government is proof that Rwanda has chosen unity and equality of opportunities for all Rwandans based on their ability and not their identity.  

Mukazayire hails the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which upon stopping the Genocide led the creation of a Government of National Unity that became the corner-stone of the rebuilding process.

She says that the government has underpinned the principles of inclusion, fighting injustice, equal rights and opportunities for all Rwandans.

Sharing her testimony as a survivor of the Genocide Against the Tutsi, Umutesi lauded the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, for not only according her the opportunity to work with her organization but also personally taking part in the healing of Genocide survivors.

President Kagame urged members of the Unity Club that, even though it might not be possible to change the history, they can change the country’s future narrative for good; through playing a role in sustaining what the country has achieved so far. 

Kagame also hailed the founding members of the Unity Club for establishing the platform through which leaders are able to share the country’s past experiences, allowing them to draw lessons to develop a united nation. 

Kagame also hailed the 17 recipients of awards in recognition of their outstanding acts of humanity in helping Rwandans to survive the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Selected from across the country and locally referred to as Abarinzi b’Igihango (protectors of friendship pact), the seventeen people received ‘Unity Awards’ from the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission and the Unity Club.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw