{"id":121593,"date":"2026-04-07T14:10:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/kwibuka32-rwanda-will-not-die-twice-says-kagame"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:28:05","slug":"kwibuka32-rwanda-will-not-die-twice-says-kagame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/kwibuka32-rwanda-will-not-die-twice-says-kagame","title":{"rendered":"Kwibuka32: Rwanda Will Not Die Twice Says Kagame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>President Paul Kagame has said \u201cRwanda will not die twice,\u201d like it happened during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, underscoring the country\u2019s resilience and commitment to protecting its future.<\/p>\n

He was speaking at Kigali Genocide Memorial on Monday, April 7 as Rwanda and the international community marked the 32nd commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi (Kwibuka32).<\/p>\n

At memorial, which is the final resting place for over 250,000 Genocide victims, Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame lit the Flame of Remembrance, which continues for 100 days of Kwibuka. The flames symbolises hope for the country that lost more than a million lives over 100 days of the Genocide.<\/p>\n

Kagame, the First Lady and other officials and representatives of Genocide survivors laid wreaths in honour of Genocide victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who try to deny or distort [ the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi] have a difficult task if they seek to change people\u2019s history,\u201d Kagame said in his remarks.<\/p>\n

He noted that efforts to rewrite Rwanda\u2019s history are more prevalent abroad, where some people, for various reasons, attempt to misrepresent the events leading up to and during the genocide.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople cannot simply rewrite such history,\u201d he said, adding that times have changed and Rwanda is no longer vulnerable in the way it once was.<\/p>\n

Kagame stressed that the country has learned from its past and will not allow a recurrence of the atrocities witnessed in 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one will ever die like that again. You cannot kill someone twice. If you try, they will stop you before you do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we stand here, some people watching us, those who mock from outside, should understand that Rwanda will not die twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda will not die twice. Whether it is the older generation or our children, no one will kill us twice. It is impossible; it will not happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He added that Rwandans will continue to live with dignity and self-determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will live as people are meant to live. We do not ask anyone for permission to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the commemoration event, a Genocide survivor called Theoneste Ngiruwonsanga shared his experience in 1994.<\/p>\n

Ngiruwonsanga, born in what is now Nyamasheke District, said Tutsi families lived in constant fear even before the Genocide.<\/p>\n

He described fleeing with his family after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, losing relatives along the way, and narrowly surviving attacks by the Interahamwe militia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 14 years old… boys were taken to a pit and killed,\u201d he recalled. He survived multiple attacks. He survived because, in a church he and others had sought refuge, bodies of victims piled on him and the killers could not find him.<\/p>\n

Ngiruwonsanga also recounted prolonged violence in his area due to the so-called Zone Turquoise, and abuses committed during that period. He said the arrival of RPF-Inkotanyi brought hope and safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have rebuilt our lives… I went to university, and all four of my children are in school. Let us continue building our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\r\n