Lumumba traced the roots of genocide and mass atrocities to historical injustices, including slavery, colonial partitioning of Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884\u20131885, and global failures to act decisively in the face of warning signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He criticised the international community for its inaction during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, saying world powers, the United Nations, and regional actors \u201cwatched in silence for 100 days\u201d as atrocities unfolded in Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a million people were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, while survivors continue to live with the scars of one of the worst tragedies of modern history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critique of international justice systems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The scholar also questioned the effectiveness of international legal systems in delivering justice and preventing atrocities, arguing that global institutions have often failed to act in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He contrasted international mechanisms with Rwanda\u2019s community-based Gacaca courts, which he praised as an example of African-led justice and reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Gacaca system is African, Afrocentric, and authentic,\u201d Lumumba said, noting that while international tribunals handled fewer than 100 cases, Gacaca courts processed nearly 1.9 million, helping communities begin the process of healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rwanda\u2019s reconstruction as a model<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lumumba lauded Rwanda\u2019s post-genocide reconstruction, crediting national leadership led by President Paul Kagame and citizen resilience for the country\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRwanda, like the phoenix, rose from the ashes,\u201d he said, highlighting improvements in infrastructure, governance, public service delivery, and technology adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He described Kigali as a \u201cmodel city\u201d for urban planning, infrastructure development, and anti-corruption enforcement, saying it has become a benchmark for African development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you want to see how roads ought to be built, you go to Kigali. If you want to see how roundabouts are manicured, you go to Kigali. If you want to move away from the disorderly borders, you go to Kigali,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you want to see policemen who reject your money when you want to corrupt them, you go to Kigali. If you want to see how football stadia and basketball pitches are built within time and within budget, you go to Kigali. Kigali has become our pride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While praising Rwanda\u2019s progress, Lumumba cautioned that the risk of mass atrocities persists in the modern era, especially with the rise of digital technology and misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are today in the era of artificial intelligence. Today it would be quicker. Today, in the days of fake news, in the days of Instagram, in the days of WhatsApp, in the days of all these things, if the genocide wanted to commit genocide, they would do it in the twinkling of an eye. Today they would use drones,\u201d he warned, amid concerns over rising ethnic slurs targeting Banyamulenge and Tutsi communities in the eastern DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He urged global institutions and regional bodies, including the East African Community, to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete action to ensure prevention of future atrocities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lumumba emphasised that genocide prevention is a shared moral duty rooted in all major faith traditions and ethical systems, citing teachings from Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and African traditional beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNever again must not be a slogan; it must be a commitment,\u201d he said, urging the international community to uphold its responsibility to protect vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kenyan scholar and Pan-Africanist Prof. PLO Lumumba has hailed Rwanda\u2019s remarkable transformation over the past three decades, describing the country as a global model of resilience, reconstruction, and governance following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000109567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000109565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000109567,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","width":1024,"height":682},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000109565"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000109570,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109565\/revisions\/2000109570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000109567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000109565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000109565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000109565"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000109565"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000109565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y81XQAE6xSV.jpeg\")