Rwanda’s thick skin against criticisms is paying off

Author: Lindah Uwase

• 2023-09-08 05:23:00

When the Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army (RPF/A) stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the country was in total ruins. No one believed it would rebuild; in fact, some actors were suggesting either dividing the nation into two or annexing it to its bigger neighbours.

Western powers that supported the ousted Genocidal regime were definitely not happy with the RPF/A taking power. They did everything in their capacity to weaken the new government in Kigali, but only failed.

Now that taking the RPF out of power was impossible, the next move was to belittle any of their ambitions as a means to frustrate them and feel rejected. Little did they know that more criticism and condemnations only empowered Rwanda to move on, stand up, be counted, and reclaim its position in the global arena.

When Rwanda embarked on sports investment through sponsoring Arsenal FC, back in 2018, Western media was outraged, criticizing the investment. They called it sports washing, and they came up with all sorts of narratives; that Rwanda is poor, lacks democracy, human rights, and all sorts of accusations.

The criticisms were overwhelming, and unrelenting.

Rwanda should have stopped at the Arsenal sponsorship, but Rwanda had done its calculations well, and criticisms only made Rwanda stronger in the pursuit of even bigger deals. Sports investments are aligned with attracting tourists. By investing $40 million , it earned $800 million in return.  

The same criticisms poured when Rwanda invested in French giants Paris Saint-Germain, a year later. Still, Rwanda was unshaken by the criticism and went even further with a German giant, Bayern Munich, in another five-year investment partnership.

Back in the day, Rwanda chose Gacaca courts as a way of trying Genocide cases. The West criticized it yet, to date, no form of judicial mechanism has yielded better results and contributed to uniting Rwandans than Gacaca.

When Rwanda stood firm against the former Rwandan army (Ex-FAR) that were infiltrating the country and killing civilians in an attempt to continue the Genocide against the Tutsi, the West slapped Rwanda with severe sanctions.

When Rwanda embarked on infrastructure development like the construction of Kigali Convention Center, criticisms poured that the country would not afford to pay back the loans or even fully utilize the facility. Today, booking a venue in Kigali Convention Center requires one to do so two years prior to the event, as it is always fully booked.

Now that Rwanda is stable, and extending a helping hand to fellow African nations, still, the naysayers are armed with all sorts of criticism.

When northern Mozambique fell into the hands of terrorists, those who are quick to criticize Rwanda were silent. It was only when Rwanda was asked to help and offered help that the naysayers came forward, asking about when Rwanda would pull out and inquiring about who was funding Rwanda. None of that reached the ears of Rwanda; the former remained steadfast and kept up with the mission that has recorded tremendous success.

When it came to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rwanda was criticized for strictly adhering to global standards set by the World Health Organization. Rwanda ignored the criticisms and emerged from the pandemic with very low death rates, infections, and a high number of vaccinated people.

One might ask; what makes Rwanda so resistant to all sorts of heavy criticism?  To understand that, one needs to refer to President Paul Kagame's speeches.

In April 7, 2012, during the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, President Kagame said: "Today we are stronger, with greater ability and capacity than ever before. We have achieved stability; Rwandans feel good about their lives; their participation in the social and economic transformation of our country gives us hope that we can seize the many opportunities to rebuild our country even further."

Rwanda's focus and deliberate effort to stay the course are what have led Rwandans to have a high life expectancy.

The right to live is the most important human right, and Rwandans have it. So, the more criticisms against Rwanda, the better the country becomes. Criticisms are not pushing Rwanda off the cliff.  They are actually making the country climb higher.