President Paul Kagame has said that politics, religion, and culture complement each other, however, practising them should be done with caution against reaching extremism, noting that everything should be kept simple.

The Head of State and First Lady Jeannette Kagame joined government officials, private sector leaders, diplomats, and senior religious leaders, among others, at the Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast held at Kigali Convention Centre.

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The prayer breakfast event, organised by Rwanda Leaders Fellowship (RLF), seeks to instil Godly values in leadership, was held under the theme: "Foundations of a grateful nation.”

The occasion was in particular meant to serve as an opportunity to thank God for the successful elections and praying for the country’s development targets over the next five years.

Martine Muhongayire, Educational Advisor on International Baccalaureate Program at École Ste Anne de Kigali and a member of RFL, stated different reasons for thanksgiving such as the achievements in socioeconomic development of the country over the past mandate, the safe and peaceful elections, and domestically mobilising all the needed resources to conduct them.

In his address, the Head of State said that Rwanda’s uniqueness stems from its history, depending on how people look at it, meaning both the tragic past and how Rwandans were able to rebuild themselves from that history.

He said that he believes that the lessons derived from the bad actions someone can do, will enable people to continue showing positive things that can be done and sustained.

Kagame noted that thanksgiving cannot be an end in itself, noting that it can’t be just a ceremony but it should be about having tangible things to be grateful for, with everyone contributing.

Thanksgivings linked with being content

Kagame said that thanksgiving is an action that should be aligned with satisfaction, questioning the participants whether the wealth of a rich person provides them with satisfaction.

He pointed out that there are some cases when one has everything they could need but one day they commit suicide, meaning they actually lacked something important.

In social construct, Kagame noted that religion, politics and culture have their own uniqueness and results, adding that there is incompleteness when these three elements are isolated from each other.

"Those three things played their role in rebuilding ourselves. For Rwanda to rebuild and reach where we are now, we used those three things.”

He said that when religion is done in an appropriate manner, it gives people moral authority, equipping them with good morals, and the spiritual aspect helps in stability of people and society at large.

On the other hand, politics maps out the way of laws and policies while building on moral authority to provide security for the people, while culture holds values and moral boundaries that people deem suitable for themselves.

"If we are not careful about that mixture of good things that ought to be producing good things, it can cause harm,” Kagame said.

"Keep religion simple and it will work for you and produce good results. Politics should also be kept simple considering what is good for the citizens.”

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Eradicating scammers in religious organisations

Kagame reiterated that the issue of scamming people in the name of religion needs to be eradicated, pointing out that it is shameful that there are leaders who were bystanders in such cases.

He noted that addressing this issue requires people to know that such scammers in religious organisations are not actually sent by God, hence there shouldn’t be any excuse in dealing with them.

He said that everyone needs to know what needs to be done be in religion, politics, and culture.

Sharing the Word of God, Lambert Bariho, Director Ellel Ministries Rwanda, referred to Psalms 100 to highlight the importance of thanksgiving culture in a nation.

He noted that thanksgiving should be done at all times and in all circumstances, highlighting that a nation should give thanks for the achievements made and even for the targets yet to be attained.

Bariho said that one has to be grateful for God’s hand and also for people he uses as channels of blessings, at their different levels.

He added that a culture of thanksgiving removes complacency among the people and pushes them to work for greater opportunities, increases happiness and creates a positive mindset among the people.

"Thanksgiving is important for an individual, society, institutions, and the country. It is intentional and comes from the heart, not dependent on circumstances,” Bariho noted.

Moses Ndahiro, Chairman of RFL, said the prayer breakfast is in honour to thank God for the peaceful and successful election as has been the previous period in 2017.

He emphasised that having a President that loves God and does according to Godly values, is something that Rwandans are grateful for.

The organisation also holds monthly fellowships targeting different sectors to pray and reflect on better ways to deliver good governance to the people they serve.