Lumumba cautioned against revisionism and denialism, arguing that forgetting history increases the risk of repeating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are gathered here because history has taught us that if we are not careful, the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed to past global failures, including the inability of the international community to prevent the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, where a million people were killed over a 100-day period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scholar criticised the role of international institutions during the genocide, saying the world \u201cwatched in eloquent silence\u201d as violence unfolded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe United Nations, East Africa, Africa, and the big powers with nuclear weapons watched,\u201d he said, adding that places of worship were turned into sites of mass killings while the world remained paralysed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also referenced broader historical injustices, including slavery, colonial partitioning of Africa, and genocides in other parts of the world, arguing that global systems have repeatedly failed to prevent mass atrocities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Call for stronger international responsibility<\/strong>*<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lumumba urged international and regional bodies to take a more proactive role in preventing genocide, rather than issuing declarations without implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is not the function of the international community to issue diktats without understanding circumstances on the ground,\u201d he said, calling instead for meaningful engagement with local realities amid concerns over rising ethnic slurs targeting Banyamulenge and Tutsi communities in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stressed that prevention requires moral responsibility rooted in shared human values found across all major religions and philosophies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lessons from Rwanda\u2019s recovery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While reflecting on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Lumumba also highlighted Rwanda\u2019s recovery as a powerful example of resilience and reconstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He praised the country\u2019s leadership, led by President Paul Kagame and citizens for rebuilding a nation once devastated, noting that Rwanda has become a model of governance, order, and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRwanda, like the phoenix, rose from the ashes,\u201d he said, describing Kigali as a benchmark for urban planning, infrastructure, and institutional efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He further commended Rwanda\u2019s use of the Gacaca courts, which he described as an African-rooted system that contributed to reconciliation and justice by handling millions of cases at the community level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technology and new risks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lumumba also warned that modern technology could accelerate the spread of hate and violence if misused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are today in the era of artificial intelligence\u2026 if those who wanted to commit genocide decided to do so, they would do it in the twinkling of an eye,\u201d he cautioned, highlighting the risks posed by social media and digital platforms in spreading misinformation and hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concluding his remarks, Lumumba insisted that remembrance must be tied to responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNever again must not be a slogan; it must be action,\u201d he said, urging governments, institutions, and citizens to actively work to prevent the conditions that lead to genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He ended with a call for unity and vigilance, emphasising that the lessons of history must be translated into sustained global action to ensure such atrocities are never repeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kenyan scholar and Pan-Africanist Prof. PLO Lumumba has called for urgent global action to prevent genocide, warning that the phrase \u201cNever again\u201d risks becoming meaningless unless it is backed by concrete commitment and accountability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000109576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000109575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","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":2000109576,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1080,"height":878,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","width":150,"height":122},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","width":300,"height":244},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","width":768,"height":624},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","width":1024,"height":832},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/550525924_1242092394582444_718890316638805200_n.jpg","width":1080,"height":878}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109575","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=2000109575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000109577,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000109575\/revisions\/2000109577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000109576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000109575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000109575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000109575"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000109575"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000109575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HGf5Y_bXUAAUM8V.jpeg\")