President Kagame addresses Indangamirwa 16th Cohort, during a #MeetThePresident session, | Gabiro, 28 July 2026
Seventeen years ago, when I lost my father, the ground beneath my feet simply dissolved. The world felt as though it was caving in. My mind was bombarded by a persistent, heavy whisper that life would never be the same again.
In our home, he had been an anchor—a man who defied conventional rigidity, rejecting the notion that certain household tasks belonged exclusively to boys or girls.
Under his roof, chores were randomly and equally shared. But above all else, his everyday message to me was distilled into a single, unyielding command: Never be a coward.
He spoke from the deep, agonising scars of history. Like so many families of his generation, they had suffered severely as refugees, carrying the raw, bleeding memory of displacement in their hearts.
Yet, his recurring refrain was a gift of perspective: “You have a rare chance that some of us never had; you have got back a country we once called home. Work hard. Suffer hard. Never complain wherever you feel unfairly treated—at school, at work, in whatever you do. Keep fighting until you sail through,” he always said to me.
From my earliest days in primary school, these were the stories he repeated during every quiet moment we shared.
As a son, I felt deeply inspired, forged by a standard that demanded absolute resilience. But that chapter closed entirely too early. The early morning of August 2009. A bad morning in my life.
Just when I needed him most, he was gone. The finality of it felt absolute.
Yet, looking back across the years, I realise something profound: a distant, guiding parent was already there, holding the broken pieces of a nation together and showing us how to stand tall.
For anyone who has carefully studied the trajectory of President Paul Kagame—from the harrowing days of the struggle to liberate Rwanda to his most recent, masterclass interactions with the youth—you come to realise that President Kagame is more than a political figure.
He is a living archive of wisdom, a foundational book whose chapters you can live by for the rest of your life.
The privilege of a country called home
This reality hit home with renewed force during yesterday’s “Meet the President” interaction with the 16th cohort of the Itorero Indangamirwa youth camp at the Gabiro Combat Training Centre.
Listening to his address, one is struck by a timeless truth: young Rwandans today possess something infinitely precious that generations before them were systematically denied.
As the President reflected with the youth, he and his age-mates never had the luxury of a secure, sovereign country to call their own in their formative years.
They were forced into the wilderness of statelessness, wandering as refugees, stripped of identity and dignity.
But today’s young Rwandans have inherited a country—sovereign, stable, and fiercely proud.
The contrast is stark, and the responsibility is monumental. To the young people of Rwanda, the message is clear: even if you are an orphan, even if life has dealt you heavy blows, you have a living leadership and deep counsel that can completely shape you into a strong, valued human being.
You are equipped to transform society, build industries, and develop a nation that will stand tall for generations to come.
As President Kagame reminded the youth in Gabiro, the ball is now squarely in their court. The generation of liberators cracked open the door to history, stopped a genocide, and reclaimed a homeland.
Now, the burden—and the glorious privilege of carrying that torch forward rests entirely on the shoulders of the youth.
Beyond a coward: Uncompromising call to work and dignity
My late father’s voice, telling me “never be a coward,” finds its absolute echo in the philosophy of leadership that President Kagame instils in Rwandan youth.
True patriotism is not measured by comfort; it is measured by the willingness to endure, to sweat, and to refuse defeat.
When young Rwandans are told to work hard and own their destiny, it is a call to reject entitlement.
A country regained is not a country guaranteed; it must be preserved through relentless effort, intellectual rigour, and moral clarity.
Whether you are sitting in a lecture hall, managing a newsroom, coding a software solution, or tilling the land, the standard remains identical: do not shy away from hardship. Run toward the challenge.
When you look at Rwanda’s trajectory over the last three decades, it is a testament to what happens when a people refuse to let circumstances dictate their ceiling. President Kagame has repeatedly taught us that dignity cannot be donated; it must be constructed brick by brick, citizen by citizen.
Carrying the torch to the next level
To every young Rwandan reading this—whether you are striving in Kigali, studying abroad, or building your future in distant corners of the world, remember the shoulders upon which you stand.
You carry the aspirations of those who died in the wilderness of discrimination and those who fought bleeding wars to hand you a passport that opens doors with dignity.
We have a country. We have a home. And in the profound counsel of our leaders and the undying memories of our fathers who prepared us for this hour, we have all the blueprint we need.
Let us work hard. Let us suffer the demands of excellence without complaint. And above all else, let us never, ever be cowards. The torch is ours to carry.
The Writer, Dan Ngabonziza, is the Managing Director, Kigali Today Ltd, the parent company of KT Press, KT Radio 96.7FM, KigaliToday.com (Kinyarwanda) and Kigali Today TV channel.
