He says that his choice to establish a home at Bugesera was due to an unwavering desire to disprove negative superstitions that have for long surrounded people living in this area.
'It has always been perceived that the people here are naturally cursed and condemned to die due to distorted historical narratives about this area. By coming here I wanted to prove them wrong,' Kagame said on Saturday, July 6, 2024, during his party's campaign rally in Ruhuha Sector, Bugesera District.
Historically, Bugesera was an uninhabited region of Rwanda, covered with dense forests and rife with Tse Tse flies.
After the 1959 revolution (during the regime of President Glegoire Kayibanda, and his successor Juvenal Habyarimana), many Tutsis were forcibly relocated to the Bugesera region.
The intention was to massacre them, to the extent that, whoever would survive, could be stung by the deadly Tse Tse flies.
In 1992, massacres that amounted to a rehearsal of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi occurred in Bugesera District. Interahamwe militia of the MRND and Impuzamugambi from CDR political party travelled from Kigali and launched attacks in Bugesera, killing many Tutsis.
From this perspective, Kagame says that he decided to build a home there, to defy that narrative, as a symbol that every Rwandan has a right to life and there is no place where people are cursed.
The Head of State had earlier responded in the affirmative to a request from renowned songbird Ingabire Jeanne Butera better known as "Knowless", who had pleaded with him to invite his neighbours for a get-together at his country home.
Prior to that, Butera shared her story of a humble beginning recalling how the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi left her with three family members who would die later on, leaving her with only one person in her life.
'My only surviving relative would go early in the morning, leaving me alone in the small house where we lived. Because I was afraid, I adopted a tactic of singing and shouting to scare them away,' she said.
Nine days to voting day, excitement and anticipation are mounting amongst the public, especially first-time voters.
'I can't wait for the voting day so that I can exercise my responsibility and engage in their country's democratic process,' said 19-year-old Fulgence Muhawenimana, a resident of Muhima Sector in Nyarugenge District.
Sam K Nkurunziza
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/kagame-reveals-why-he-owns-a-country-home-in-bugesera-district
