KAMONYI - THE Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) Presidential candidate, Paul Kagame, has said that he intends to increase free education from nine to 12 years.

Kagame, made the remarks during a campaign rally in Kamonyi District, where more than 95,000 RPF supporters had converged to listen to their candidates’ message. 

In 2003, while campaigning for the top office, Kagame pledged nine years of free education, a promise he has since fulfilled. Yesterday, he pledged an additional three years, making both primary and secondary school education free for all, if voted back into office.

The campaign rally in Kamonyi, just like previous ones, was characterized by extreme excitement as residents evidently celebrated Kagame’s visit.

According to the testimonies given during the rally, before Kagame came into office, Kamonyi was isolated and branded a cursed zone.  The District, that is located less than 30 kilometers from the capital, Kigali, had no electricity or piped water, until Kagame was elected President. 

The residents continuously sang songs in praise of Kagame, thanking him for the developments Kamonyi has registered, as well as restoring their dignity and pride as Rwandans.

Addressing the mammoth excited crowd, Kagame said that work becomes easier when there is a good understanding among the people and that Rwanda’s path to democracy, development, and good governance is very clear, with Kamonyi residents taking lead in that path.

He added that Rwanda is a privileged country with citizens who understand what exactly they want and make their own choices. He reminded the residents that the country has made tremendous progress in all sectors.

The candidate said that he has big plans for Kamonyi, adding that if elected, the district will benefit from the programmes as spelt in his manifesto.

Kagame, went on to assure the residents of security, saying that nobody can ever tamper with the safety of Kamonyi people.

The candidate castigated foreign critics, including some sections of the media, saying that the massive turn out at his rallies sends out the massage as what the Rwandan people want and those who criticize what is happening in the country know nothing about Rwanda. He added that nobody knows better what Rwandans want, than Rwandans themselves.

Kagame, reminded Kamonyi residents that the country was once known for dirty politics, and that the Rwandan people cannot accept to go down that path again.

At the rally, Celestine Habimana, gave a testimony on how his life changed after putting into practice advice from Kagame’s speech, he once heard over the radio.

"I based on his encouragement on innovativeness to start up a business. In partnership with my colleague, we started a small technical school with only Rwf 200, 000, and now the business is worth Rwf 30m, with over 120 students,” Habimana said.

Dativa Nirere, also told the crowd of how she set up a cassava business  with a only Rwf 50,000 and now the business is valued at Rwf 5m.

"I have gone through a series of trainings, I’m among the women leaders and I now know how to use a computer,” she said.

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