This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
July 4, 2019, marked a significant day in Rwanda as the nation celebrated Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the 100-day genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
President Paul Kagame, in a speech at the Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali, praised the liberation fighters for their role in rescuing the country from the mass killing.
"For the last 25 years, we have done our best to govern according to the liberation ideals that we fought for," President Kagame said. "The conduct of our forces is one example. This fight was necessary and indeed unavoidable. If there will ever be a necessity for more fighting, we will be there," he added.
The event, which also marked the day the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) came to power, was attended by several African heads of state, including Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa, Namibia's Hage Gottfried Geingob, and Somalia's Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
President Kagame's government has prided itself in stopping the genocide, ensuring peace and security, and improving the country's economy. He noted that Rwanda's "survival was in doubt" during the three months of the genocide, but that his forces had brought the killing to an end by July 4, 1994.
