KIGALI — President Paul Kagame has called on Rwandan youth to take personal responsibility for overcoming harmful habits, particularly alcohol and drug abuse, emphasizing that lasting transformation requires internal discipline rather than outside intervention.
Speaking to thousands of young people at the #MeetThePresident engagement at BK Arena on Wednesday, October 21, Kagame stressed that interventions by families, authorities, or even the law are inherently limited if an individual is unwilling to change themselves.
“Unless individuals make a personal commitment to changing their behaviour, they risk falling back into the same habits,” Kagame told the crowd. “You can be punished, imprisoned, but if you do not decide for yourself, it will be meaningless.”
To illustrate his point, the President shared two deeply personal anecdotes demonstrating the limits of external help and the value of questioning societal norms.
In one striking account, Kagame recalled becoming concerned about a close aide who was repeatedly unavailable in the evenings. Initially assuming the aide was busy with family responsibilities, the President eventually decided to investigate the pattern.
“One day I surprised him and sent security to look for him and bring him to me,” Kagame recounted. From upstairs in his office, the President watched as the man arrived, heavily intoxicated, struggling to climb the stairs and holding onto the wall for support. The following morning, with the effects of the alcohol still visible, Kagame attempted to counsel the aide, hoping the direct intervention would serve as a turning point. It did not succeed.
For Kagame, the experience was a stark reminder that even direct intervention from the highest authority cannot force behavioral change if the individual lacks personal resolve.
In a second story, Kagame challenged the young audience to rethink accepted societal habits, particularly regarding financial extravagance and alcohol. He described helping a young man—whom he had previously supported through school—plan a wedding with a budget of roughly Rwf10 million. Instead of spending the funds on a lavish celebration, Kagame encouraged the young man to host a simpler, alcohol-free wedding and invest the money in building his new family’s future.
The two experiences served as a powerful dual lesson for the youth in attendance: recognizing the boundaries of trying to save someone who refuses to save themselves, and the critical importance of making deliberate, responsible choices for one’s own future.
