Presidential transition

The view of Kigali in 1990 (left) and how it looked in 2020 (right)

Following the swearing in of Kenya’s new President, William Ruto, in September, deniers of Rwanda’s history lamented and especially questioned why President Paul Kagame doesn’t follow Kenya’s ‘example’ and hand over the presidency. 

Ill-intentioned propagandists including the likes of Filip Reyntjens, a Hutu Power ideologue who was senior advisor to President Habyarimana from 1976-1994, often claim that Kagame ‘amended’ the Constitution to extend his time in office. Reyntjens was the author of the 1978 Rwandan Constitution that entrenched ethnic divisions and gave absolute powers to the president. Ethnic discrimination and dehumanization of the Tutsi was the root cause of the genocide.

Rwanda’s detractors always fail to mention that it was Rwandan citizens who freely voted for the revision of Article 101 of the Rwandan Constitution, allowing the extension of presidential term. Rwanda’s current Constitution enshrines the principles of consensual democracy based on a system of power sharing and a quest for consensus among political parties. That is why the President of the Republic and the President of the Chamber of Deputies come from different political organizations. A political organization with the majority in Parliament does not take more than 50 percent of positions in Cabinet.

The genocide against the Tutsi was organized and executed by political actors. In order to avoid violent and confrontational politics in the new Rwanda, the Urugwiro debates subscribed to consensual democracy based on the history and contextual realities of Rwanda.

 Additionally, a National Forum for Political Organizations (NFPO) was established for permanent consultation between political parties to have a minimum common understanding on issues of national interest. All the 11 legally registered political organizations in Rwanda are represented within the NFPO.

Comparing Rwandan democracy – out of context – to Kenya’s is naivety. It is turning a blind eye to the catastrophic history that Rwanda went through, 28 years ago, and the fact that it’s building from scratch. Democracy is not a one size fit all. Each country has the liberty to decide what size fits her context based on culture, history, people’s aspirations, and so much more.

Unlike Kenya, Rwanda’s policies and governance system were shaped by its very recent tragic history. The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi left more than one million people killed. It destroyed the very fabric of Rwandan society. Kagame and the RPF liberated Rwanda from the shackles of ethnic extremism, exclusion, as well as persecution, and a new nation emerged.

Ever since, Rwandans made a pact with their government and with themselves to be united, despite the toughness and complexity of the situation. The established government managed to nurture an inclusive and welcoming society where everyone on the country's territory finds equality before the law, safety, security and equal opportunities.

Rwanda has, so far, made substantial and even remarkable progress in all aspects of its life since its rebirth, in 1994. There are valid reasons why Rwanda’s leadership, journey, democracy and governance cannot be compared to Kenya’s, or any other country.

In July 1994, The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) that defeated the genocidal regime and stopped the genocide against the Tutsi, established a government of national unity. It excluded political parties such as the MRND, CDR and other Hutu Power factions that were implicated in the genocide. Between May 1998 and March 1999, the government of Rwanda convened an all-inclusive consultative forum in Kigali. The forum convened political actors, representatives of civil society organizations, religious leaders, academia and opinion leaders…in debates aimed at charting a new long-lasting political dispensation. Focus was strengthening national unity, establishing an inclusive and fair state and transforming the economy.

From these debates, two political directions were recommended. The first was to strengthen national unity as the major pillar that all other national policies must converge. Second was to ensure that development strategies are citizen-centred.

Critics of Rwanda’s approach to democracy deliberately ignore the big picture of where the country has come from and its aspirations for a better future void of political violence.

Like Kagame has emphasized in the past, in Rwanda, “We don't follow rules, we follow choices. There is no rule book for us.

“There is a tendency, that the world has a rule book everyone reads from. We choose which way we want to go."

Rwanda’s success story is built on home grown solutions including unconventional political approach that works within Rwanda’s context. True, Rwanda is no perfect country. But the most important thing is that the choices Rwandan leaders make are about serving Rwandans. 

In 2019, the World Bank ranked Rwanda as the best country in improving quality of life, rule of law, accountability and transparency at continental level. In 2021, Rwanda was among the top five fastest growing economies in the world. The country is Africa’s third least corrupt country, the safest in Africa and sixth globally for solo travelers.