Today, we are meeting with Executive Secretary Charles Munyaneza of the Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission. We leave the CUP (Center for Unity and Peace) on the early side and soon we are arriving at the clean and imposing government compound that houses both the election commission and the Rwandan IRS. A crew of men in blue jumpsuits squat on one of the manicured lawns weeding the grass by hand. The cheap cost of labor continues to amaze us and the uneven dirt road we arrived on remains fresh in our minds as we watch the men groom the lawn, sometimes pulling at stubborn weeds with both hands. For many of us, the wildly fluctuating level of infrastructure quality and maintenance within the same city continues to be a source of confusion.
The complex of buildings that houses, amongst other government offices, the National Electoral Commission. These are newly built, as are many of the government buildings in Kigali. It takes time to rebuilt a nation after an event like a genocide. With increased stability in the last 10 years, Rwanda has been able to focus more on the development of infrastructure than it had in the immediate aftermath of the genocide.
The day is hot and bright. A Rwandan flag flutters vigorously in the light breeze as we crowd under the commission entrance’s shady overhang. Two soldiers with machine guns exchange greetings with us as we wait for our bags to be checked in turn before entering.
Flags at the government offices flying in the hot, equatorial breeze.
We enter the National Election Commission building after being screened.
Inside, the building is spacious, modern and the white marble surfaces are familiarly spotless. Now, it is easy to forget the bumpy dirt road we took to get here. We are ushered through the building to a comfortable upstairs conference room.
The presentation by Executive Secretary Munyaneza gives us a general overview of the Rwandan democratic process in the wake of the 1994 genocide. As a speaker, he is clear and insightful.
Charles Munyaneza, our speaker, is the Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Commission.
He tells us that he has worked his way up the ranks of the Kagame Administration to his current cabinet post. Despite his busy schedule, he takes an hour with us.
We come to understand from Munyaneza’s presentation that almost all new laws are being made in the context of post-genocide Rwanda and with the ever-present goal of a unified national identity in mind. The huge role propaganda played in the genocide has led the government to enact what it sees as a series of restrictive yet necessary policies surrounding political campaigning and free speech.
We learn how the road to Rwanda’s current manifestation of democracy has had its bumps. In 1994, in the face of other more pressing post-genocide issues, election reform was put on the back burner. Widespread poverty made the Rwandan poor’s priority not elections, but survival, and the Rwandan government faced the considerable challenge of coaxing the return of its many citizens living outside of its borders, almost 50% of its former population.
Founded in 2001, the National Electoral Commission has worked to convince the Rwandan people that elections can directly improve their living situation. Eighteen years after the genocide, over 90% of Rwandans vote. This impressive turnout says a great deal about Rwandans’ commitment to taking charge of their country’s future. When we consider that voter participation is well below 50% in the US, Rwandans’ level of civil commitment is truly breathtaking.
Rwanda has had considerable success in designing an electoral system that caters to its specific past and its vision for its future. A quota system ensures women make up at least 30% of all governmental bodies and the parliament is currently composed of more than 50% women. Many of us get the sense that strong female representation is one of key factors in Rwanda’s unique approach to and success in its own reconstruction.
A group photo in front of the National Election Commission with Mr. Munyaneza's press secretary.
Sculpture at the National Election Commission symbolizing Rwandans' rebuilding of their nation.
Post-presentation, we stop for coffee at Bourbon Coffee, the Kigali ex-pat hotspot. We all relax and recharge with a combination of lattes, ice-cream and light conversation. We discuss our amazement at local women’s poise while carrying often very heavy loads on their heads. Father Philbert assures us this ability is shared by male Rwandans and is quick to demonstrate with the wooden block that numbers our table at the café.
Later, as we enjoy a leisurely lunch out on the patio at CUP, we consider all that the US with its many sectarian divisions might have to learn Rwanda’ newly united national identity.
After lunch, we drive through the downtown. Everyone hangs out the bus windows, basking in the contagious energy of Kigali street life. There is a considerable amount of hustle and bustle as men push past each other with four boxes of merchandise piled high on their heads. The streets are lined with moto-taxis whose operators wait for patrons near their bikes chatting in small clusters. Other bikes shoot by our bus. We are amazed at these drivers ‘ability to weave in and out within the maze of pedestrians and cars.
Busy street life in Kigali.
This will be Kigali's new city hall.
Much of the city is under construction. We noticed that there are paint and building supply stores everywhere, attesting to this construction boom.
A completed office and retail building in Kigali.
The American Embassy, Kigali.
We have the chance to stop by the Anglican Diocese of Kigali to admire the light-filled windows of the cathedral and take a walk through the beautiful grounds, including a children’s playground.
The inside of the Anglican cathedral.
Does Trotter think he's a bishop?
Caroline and Annie play the drums!
MacLean, Sarah, and Trotter at play.
Some of us pose outside the Anglican Cathedral of Kigali.
Police on the street near the cathedral. In Kigali, we have noticed at heavy police and military presence. We have been told that this is due to occasional incursions of exiled Hutus who fled the country post-genocide but retain a desire to see a Rwanda freed of Tutsis.
Many of these men live on the borders of Rwanda, particularly in the Congo, making some borders unstable.
We relax after our tour at Hotel Milles Collines, where the actual events that inspired Hotel Rwanda took place. We have all seen the film and, while much of it was actually shot in South Africa, we are still very excited to experience the site in person. Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of the hotel in 1994, saved more than 1,500 of his fellow Rwandans by hiding them here and protecting them through a combination of his social contacts and political savvy. Some of us took a dip in the spectacular pool overlooking downtown Kigali.
Entering the famous Mille Collines. The hotel does not have any signs telling about what happened here in the 1994 genocide, which we find strange. We have been told that this is because Paul Rusesabagina is believed by some to have only offered sanctuary to those who had money to pay him, meaning that he profited from harboring people at the hotel. We believe that, whether or not you see Rusesabagina as a hero or not, the fact that over a thousand people survived here is worthy of note.
The patio at Mille Collines--lovely!
The pool at Mille Collines.
Annalise, Karen, and Kevin relax poolside with Fr. Philbert.
MacLean, Trotter, Judith, Caroline, and Brandy chill out!
~ Post written by Caroline Merck, Boston College law student
~ Photographs by Annalise Nielson, Northeastern University undergraduate
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