Liberation 30: How RPF-led government uprooted corruption in Rwanda

Author: Samson Kasujja

• 2024-07-04 05:30:00

A steel Anti-Corruption Monument at Kigali Convention Centre.

As Rwanda celebrates the 30th anniversary after the liberation struggle when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) with its armed wing, RPA, defeated the repressive regime and stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the country has a number of success stories to tell.

Its journey to uprooting corruption is among them.

Released on January 30, the 2023 annual Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International ranked Rwanda 49th in 180 countries and territories surveyed. It was an improvement from the country’s previous position of 54th, in 2022.

The global anti-corruption and injustice watchdog shed light on the global landscape of corruption, providing insights into countries’ efforts in combating corrupt practices.

Rwanda is the fourth in Africa, and the first in East Africa in fighting corruption. This did not happen overnight. It is a result of the zero tolerance to corruption policy. Thanks to the government which initiated the policy to hold accountable every individual involved in corruption.

The RPF-led government struggled to uproot favoritism, which used to dominate all sectors of life in Rwanda three decades ago. 

“One can hardly believe this is Rwanda, a country in which 30 years ago it was almost impossible for some children to join high schools or university without having a relative in government institutions,” said a 64-year-old man living in Kigali.

He explained that public servants were quick to ask for bribes (either money or sex) whenever citizens approached them for certain services.

“Officials who did not live up to the agreed standards (of no corruption) were dismissed or brought to justice. Some thought we could not afford to take this zero-tolerance approach given the fragility of our environment,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame said in June 2019, while addressing the National Anti-Corruption Summit.

Kagame added that the truth, however, is that “we couldn’t afford not to do it. It is the foundation of the modest progress for which Rwandans continue to work.”

Rwanda has put in place measures and strategies to fight corruption including an anti-corruption policy, laws, and various institutions responsible for combating corruption and injustice.

Above all, Rwandans treat corruption as an enemy of the country and fight it together for development. 

“Our President [Kagame] made us believe that it is possible to live in a country with no corruption, no favoritism, and no discrimination. From the beginning we did not think it was going to work, but it finally worked,” said Alphonsine Mukabaranga, an elderly woman.

Rwanda’s journey to fighting corruption is among its aims to promote the principles of good governance in all institutions and among the general population to achieve “the Rwanda we want”.

These principles include; transparency, improved service delivery, fighting corruption, fighting forms of injustice, and citizens participation in policy and decision-making.

As Rwandans celebrate liberation, it is a constant reminder that the country has been liberated from the shambles of corruption, and upholding these values is the only way forward.