The Rwanda Cultural and Heritage Academy (RCHA), Rwanda Heritage Hub (RHH), and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, on May 22, inaugurated a new permanent exhibition at Kandt House Museum, in Nyarugenge District, Kigali.

The exhibition aims at exploring the history of colonialism on Rwanda’s governance, history, and culture. It showcases the remnants of colonialism that are still evident today in Rwanda, Africa and the globe.

The event was attended by Ambassador Heike Uta Dettmann, Germany’s envoy in Rwanda, several other diplomats, RCHA staff, and other dignitaries. In 1887, Richard Kandt, a German physician and explorer, came to Rwanda and spent four years looking for the source of the Nile River. At that time, Kigali hosted a population of about 2,000 people, including 420 foreigners who were mainly Indians and Arabs, and nine Germans.

Kandt’s choice of Rwanda for a residence was apparently because of its central location and good climate. His European-style residential brick house is the only remaining building of the former Boma village, located in Nyarugenge District. The house was turned into a natural history museum in 2004 and is recognised as the Kandt House Museum of Natural History.

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According to Robert Masozera, the Director General of RCHA, the decision to revamp the exhibition previously presented in this museum was based on two main reasons.

Glorified very negative aspects of colonialism

Firstly, "for our visitors, both national and international", the existing exhibition was seen as a tribute to the first German colonial resident, Kandt, which glorified him instead of highlighting the very negative aspects of colonialism.

"Their critics went even further, suggesting that the museum's name should be changed and the monument in front of it removed."

Another reason, he said, was that "the content of the existing exhibition was incomplete and somewhat muted, leaving visitors to their own interpretation of the story."

Masozera noted that the exhibition was revamped to meet visitors' expectations of a museum dedicated to colonialism.

"The goal is to help everyone reflect on colonial history and its impact on the culture, history, and governance of colonised countries. The museum aims to help Rwandans and Germans learn from their shared history and build a better future together. The exhibition was also changed to preserve Rwandan history so that future generations can learn from it," he said.

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Inside the exhibition, there are three parts: history of Rwanda before colonialism, during colonialism and the Pan-Africanism movement across Africa, and the last phase which is the impact and remnants of colonialism as is evident to date.

The exhibition includes photos that highlight Rwanda's landscape and the history of its people. The photos portray Rwanda as a hilly country, densely populated in some areas due to family lineages, with beautiful scenery and an exceptionally fresh and healthy climate. The land is shown as fertile, with perennial streams, offering great prospects to white settlers.

The landscape photos also illustrate the colonial occupation, showing predominantly empty spaces and supposedly abandoned areas. The presentation was used to justify colonial appropriation by falsely describing Rwanda as an empty land, which led to the decision by colonial powers to occupy these areas just like any other part of Africa.

The exhibition features various aspects such as the colonialists’ missions, the search for the source of the Nile, and the Berlin Conference's role in the scramble and partition of Africa which led to the reduction of Rwanda's size. It covers colonial economic plans, German colonial administration, the choice of Kigali as the colonial capital, the emergence of new beliefs through "Christianization," and many more.

Nearing the end of the 20th century, a new movement for freedom fighters emerged across Africa, and Rwanda was no exception. Strong and prominent figures rose between 1945 and 1975, including King Mutara Rudahigwa (Rwanda), Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe), and others, to fight for independence and reclaim lost freedoms in a process known as decolonization.

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Additionally, the exhibition highlights the remnants of colonialism on 'Black people' worldwide, including artificial border conflicts and the post-colonial era in Africa. It also addresses contemporary movements like "Black Lives Matter", reflecting postcolonial critics' belief that the legacy of colonialism persists beyond "formal declarations of independence".

The still prevailing "eurocentric perspective" in politics, media, culture and science shows that the decolonization process is far from complete in this respect and in the field of technical and industrial development there is still a kind of ongoing colonisation for economic exploitation.

Above all, post-colonialism critics are dedicated to the question of how cultural differences are constructed and translated into power relations.

Rwandans are urged to visit and learn more about their history.