Rwanda National Congress's beginning-of-Year Message for Our Struggle

PEOPLE BEFORE POWER

We begin this year with clarity. We are not a trend. We are not noise. We are not a reaction.

We are a people-centered movement rising because dignity has been delayed, justice postponed, and the future stolen from the many to protect the few. We exist because a society cannot call itself stable while fear replaces freedom. It cannot call itself developed while youth are managed instead of empowered. It cannot call itself peaceful while voices are silenced and truth is punished. This movement is born from a simple truth: Power must serve the people. The country must belong to its citizens. The future must be built by those who will live in it OUR PURPOSE We organize to restore human dignity, civic power, and social justice. We struggle to build a society where: Youth are educated, employed, and trusted — not controlled. Institutions protect citizens, not political interests. Leadership is accountable, not untouchable. Development serves households, not headlines. Peace is rooted in justice, not fear. We are not only resisting what is wrong. We are building what is right. OUR PRINCIPLES We commit ourselves to: • People before power Every policy, institution, and leader must answer to the lives of ordinary people. • Non-violent, disciplined struggle We reject destruction, tribalism, and hatred. Our strength is organization, truth, numbers, and moral clarity. • Political consciousness We believe an informed people cannot be permanently dominated. • Youth leadership The future will not be negotiated without the youth. We prepare a generation to think, organize, and lead. • Truth and accountability No authority is above questioning. No injustice is beyond exposure. OUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS YEAR 1. Political clarity We will define our demands, values, and vision in language ordinary people can own. 2. People’s organization We will build local circles, youth forums, and community networks that turn supporters into participants. 3. Political education We will study history, power, rights, and non-violent struggle to build a movement that understands what it is facing. 4. Youth mobilization We will train young people to become organizers, communicators, and community leaders. 5. Narrative power We will center the voices of citizens, challenge propaganda, and present a people’s vision of the future. 6. Community grounding We will listen before we lead. Serve before we speak. Build trust before we mobilize. 7. Movement discipline and care We will protect our integrity, our unity, and our people. OUR UNDERSTANDING No system changes because it is exposed. It changes when people are organized. No struggle is won by anger alone. It is won by clarity, structure, courage, and participation. No future is gifted. It is claimed, built, and defended by conscious citizens. OUR COMMITMENT This year we move: From posts to people. From outrage to organization. From awareness to action. From spectators to builders of history. We do not seek chaos. We seek a society that works. We do not seek power for ourselves. We seek power returned to the people. We do not inherit the future. We organize to create it. The struggle continues — not as a cry, but as a construction. Not as noise, but as a movement.

Not for power, but for the people.