Thirty-six years after the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), the military wing of the RPF-Inkotanyi, began the liberation struggle on 1 October 1990, Rwanda marks the anniversary with a message to a new generation. The country that was rebuilt from the ruins of the Genocide against the Tutsi now asks its young people to protect their minds and bodies from alcohol and drugs, so that they stay fit to carry national development forward.
The history behind that message is well documented. The RPF/RPA ended the Genocide against the Tutsi in July 1994 and then set up a Government of National Unity. That government removed ethnic labels from official documents and ended the long exile of Rwandan refugees. It also organised the repatriation of all Rwandans, including people who had fought on the opposing side. These choices set the foundation of a state built on citizenship rather than ethnic identity.
Unity and Reconciliation: From Programme to Everyday Identity
The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), established in 1999, drove the national reconciliation programme, working alongside community justice through the Gacaca courts, home-grown solutions such as Umuganda and Itorero, and civic education. Since 2021, this mission has also been in the hands of MINUBUMWE, the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement, which carries it into policy and civic education. The Ndi Umunyarwanda (“I am Rwandan”) programme, launched in 2013, asks every citizen to see themselves first as Rwandan, whatever other affiliation they might have. Three decades on, those principles shape how institutions speak to young people who were born after 1994.
For many of those young people, the threat now comes from somewhere else. The government is turning its attention to substance abuse, which officials see as a risk to the productivity and health of the generation expected to deliver Rwanda’s long-term development goals. At a nationwide Youth Special Umuganda on 19 September, young people, officials, artists and content creators gathered in support of the Sober Generation Initiative, a youth-led campaign promoting drug prevention, responsible behaviour and Rwandan values. Youth Minister Dr Jean Nepo Abdallah Utumatwishima was among the officials who joined the Kigali activity, alongside Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana and RDF Chief of Defence Staff General Mubarakh Muganga.
Officials have been explicit that the campaign must be more than a slogan. Speaking at the Umuganda, one official urged young people to make the initiative a culture among youth, and warned that drug involvement saps the strength to do productive work. The concern covers more than traditional alcohol. Authorities cite illicit and substandard alcohol and vape products as growing risks, and have repeatedly warned about the illicit spirit known locally as ibyuma.
The campaign is also reaching districts and sports grounds. On 27 September, Sports Minister Nelly Mukazayire joined Gakenke residents in sports activities promoting sober living, saying sobriety should help young people make wise decisions rather than serve as a slogan. Gakenke officials report that the district’s effort has gone beyond messaging: more than 7,500 litres of illicit drinks have been disposed of, worth over Rwf18 million, and hundreds of substandard bars have been closed. Other institutions are adding to the push. Rwanda National Police launched the “SI ZO ZAWE, ZANGE” campaign in July 2026, and the TUNYWE LESS initiative encourages people to drink less.
The numbers show why the authorities consider this a national resilience issue. A national campaign led by the Ministry of Health with Rwanda National Police and the National Rehabilitation Service reported more than 6,000 people in treatment at four rehabilitation centres, with alcohol the most abused substance. The 2021–2022 STEPS survey found that 48.1 per cent of adults aged 18 to 69 had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days. Health officials stress that children under 18 should not drink, a call the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, has also made, urging that no alcohol be given to anyone under 18, a message directed first at parents and families.
The link between 1990 and 2026 is a theme of responsibility across generations. The liberation generation fought to give Rwandans a country in which every citizen counts, and that country now depends on young people who can think clearly, work productively and take part in building it. As Rwanda marks 36 years since the struggle began, the call to “stay sober, stay ready” is presented as an extension of that same mission: one that ends in a healthy, united, self-reliant nation, not in a single battle won.
