Members of Parliament (MPs) who recently joined the Lower Chamber of Parliament and senators of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) yesterday attendde a history lecture to help them have a better understanding of the country’s history.

Historian Apollinaire Muvunanyambo who is also the Vice President of the National Association of Elders, was among those who helped the legislators understand the history.

He told them that ethnic differences among Rwandans were amplified by colonialists and used by self-serving Rwandans to destroy the country.

"It is unfortunate that Rwandans with influence from colonialists lost their shared values and started paying more attention to their differences. This is responsible for the problems the country still faces today,” he explained.

The two-day workshop was aimed at equipping the legislators with historical facts so they could share them with the people they represent.

"It is unfortunate that previous regimes rewrote history to satisfy selfish interests. This is an opportunity for us to get the un-tampered one from experts, which we will later share with the people we represent,” said MP Alphonsine Mukarugema.

According to the Commissioner in charge of Communication and Cadreship Development within the RPF, Protais Musoni, the legislators need a good understanding of the history of the people they represent in order to guide them when it comes to policy making.

Musoni said that the party is set to start a monthly sensitisation campaign of its electorate from the grass roots on matters concerning the country’s history.