Chief Justice Domitilla Mukantaganzwa has called on parents and lecturers to play a more active role in instilling values of humanity in young people, warning that education without moral grounding can have devastating consequences.
She made the remarks on April 22 during the 32nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the University of Rwanda’s Huye Campus.
Addressing students, staff and survivors, Mukantaganzwa framed commemoration as both a moment of remembrance and a call to action in building a united Rwanda.
“Commemoration is a time to honor the lives of our loved ones and to strengthen us as we continue building a Rwanda that every citizen identifies with,” she said.
Mukantaganzwa emphasized that promoting unity is not a one-time effort, but a continuous responsibility, particularly for leaders and elders who understand the consequences of division and discrimination.
Reflecting on the roots of the genocide, she noted that those who planned and executed it were not outsiders, but fellow Rwandans—many of them educated within the country’s institutions, including the former National University of Rwanda.
This, she said, underscores the risks of an education system that does not emphasize values.
“The fact that people were killed by their fellow citizens is not surprising,” she said, pointing to the long history of institutionalized division under past regimes, including those of former presidents Grégoire Kayibanda and Juvénal Habyarimana.
During those periods, she noted, Tutsis were systematically excluded from opportunities such as higher education, with discriminatory policies limiting access and subjecting those who succeeded to harassment and stigma.
Mukantaganzwa stressed that remembrance should go beyond recalling history and instead shape identity and values. “Knowledge without humanity and core values is meaningless,” she said, noting that some educated individuals became perpetrators during the genocide.
She urged parents and educators to take responsibility for shaping not only knowledgeable but also responsible and compassionate citizens.
“Guide children and students by instilling in them love for their country and Rwandan values,” she said.
Mukantaganzwa also warned against ongoing efforts to deny and trivialize the genocide, calling on institutions such as the University of Rwanda to strengthen research and preserve the truth to counter genocide denial and ideology.
Despite the country’s painful past, she acknowledged Rwanda’s progress since 1994, noting that it has rebuilt on the foundations of unity and reconciliation.
“Today, we uphold the dignity of every human being,” she said, adding that the country’s future depends on preserving these values and passing them on to future generations.
Pichou Byiringiro / The Kaminuza Star