On 10^th April 2018, in an interview with China Business Magazine, Ambassador Kayonga, described the destruction and trauma caused by the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994 and the progress of the country since then.

Rwanda has made great progress after the genocide against the Tutsi mainly owing to the visionary leadership of the President of Rwanda H.E Paul Kagame and the resilience of the Rwandan people.

The Ambassador narrated the factor of discrimination and ideology of hatred in the genocide and their roots in the colonial period. Rwandans were once a united people despite their ethnic identities. They were united by the culture, the language and lived next to one another on the same hill sides.

The Ambassador further elaborated that the genocide ideology and finally the genocide itself, became a strategy at first by the colonialist and later on by the new leaders in Rwanda, to monopolize power. It is therefore to same degree a product of greed and political myopia.

Commemoration is also an opportunity for the “International community to reflect on its failure to address issues such as impunity, and irresponsiveness in the face of such inhumanity against fellow man.

Rwandans have rebuilt their country in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Reconciliation has contributed to unity and the former victims and perpetrators now live side by side in peace and calm.

Concerning Rwanda’s new vision and how cooperation with China can contribute, the Ambassador clarified the role of China so far in the progress we see not only in Rwanda but also in other African countries. China and Africa cooperation has greatly improved conditions on the continent since 2000 and more so following the implementation of the FOCAC Action plan 2016-2018. China and African leaders are eagerly waiting to advance the cooperation in the next phase following the next Summit this coming September.

ENDS.