The veterans, currently on a seven-day visit to Rwanda, were commended on Friday, August 16, during an engagement with young people at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. The dialogue aimed to inspire Rwandan youth with lessons of resilience, shared humanity, and moral courage.
Veneranda Ingabire, Executive Director of Memory and Genocide Prevention at the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE), expressed deep gratitude to the peacekeepers for returning to Rwanda to retrace their steps and revisit sites marked by painful memories.
"Your decision to be here today is not a passive one, but an active testament to your enduring connection with our country. You chose compassion over comfort. Thank you. You stayed, and by doing so, you saved lives. Your decision was not just an act of defiance," Ingabire underlined.
She told the peacekeepers that they have returned to a nation that is no longer defined by its past, but is now united and building a hopeful future that stands on the bare principles of courage and resilience they maintained.
"Look at these men. They are not just heroes of a distant past. They are living examples of what it means to be a person of that past," Ingabire said.
Speaking on behalf of the Rwanda Defence Force, Defence Spokesperson Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga also saluted the former peacekeepers for risking their lives to protect civilians.
"We are here not just to listen to history, but to engage with living witnesses who defied orders, stood their ground, and risked their lives to protect innocent civilians during one of the darkest chapters in human history, the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi," he said.
Brig Gen Rwivanga lauded the heroism of Ghanaian and Senegalese peacekeepers, who refused to abandon their posts and instead chose to stay on, protecting those under threat. He explained that in those days, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was under immense strain.
When the Belgian contingent withdrew and the UN Security Council voted to reduce the force, most countries pulled out their troops.
But soldiers from Ghana and Senegal refused to abandon their posts, making them direct targets. Despite this, they continued evacuations, escorted survivors to safety, and provided protection in desperate situations.
Maj Gen (Rtd) Clayton Boanubah Yaache who served with the Ghanaian contingent under UNAMIR in Rwanda explained why they chose to stay while other countries withdrew.
'We didn't stay because we had superior weapons or a more defined mandate. We stayed because of something deep inside us, something that transcended orders or protocol told us that walking away from Rwanda would mean abandoning our shared humanity. As a soldier, I had sworn an oath to serve and protect," he noted.
The visiting delegation includes Maj Gen (Rtd) Clayton Boanubah Yaache, Brig Gen (Rtd) Martin Owusu-Ababio, Brig Gen Elhadji Babacar Faye, Major (Rtd) Peter Sosi, Ex WO II Lucas Norvihoho, and Ex WO I Sampson Agyare.
IGIHE
