First Lady Jeannette Kagame on Saturday, November 7, attended a theatrical performance by Rwandan comedian and actor Diogène Ntarindwa, popularly known as Atome, who used humour and impersonation to tell stories about Rwanda’s history and his family’s experience of exile.
The French-language one-man show, titled Carte d’Identité, was staged at the Kigali Convention Centre and attracted several dignitaries and an audience largely made up of young people.
Through different characters, Atome recounted the experiences of his father, Philippe Niwemuto, who fled Rwanda with his wife, Kabanyana Savela, first seeking refuge in what was then Zaire before moving to Burundi.
Atome was born and raised in Burundi, where his family had established a relatively comfortable life. However, he said his parents continued to long for a return to Rwanda, although the authorities at the time maintained that the country was full.
The comedian used impersonations to bring the family’s experiences to life, including playing his father, his late mother and people whose lives were affected by the liberation struggle and the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He also portrayed the experiences of soldiers during the struggle to liberate the country, including the hardships they faced before its conclusion.
Ntarindwa said he developed the play as a way of helping young people understand Rwanda’s history through storytelling and humour.
“I had been watching stories about history and campaigns encouraging people to stop drinking alcohol on social media. I started thinking about how I could help young people understand this history in a way that would appeal to them. That is when I came up with the idea of creating this play,” he said.
He explained that performing the different characters himself was important because he wanted to portray the people whose experiences he knew personally.
“The person I was portraying was my own father. At some point I played my mother, who has also passed away, as well as someone who was blinded by an explosion and another person who lost a leg. I felt I had to perform their lives as I knew them,” he said.
Alika Nyanja Karemera, who attended the performance, said humour could help young people engage with difficult historical experiences.
“Humour can be a powerful way of bringing difficult history to people. It helps young people understand it, become more curious and look at things from a different perspective,” she said.
Another attendee, Israel Nturo Mupenzi, said young people had a responsibility to learn from the past and contribute to shaping the country’s future.
He said people today may not be responsible for events that happened before their time, but they have a duty to take responsibility for what happens in the present and in generations to come.
During the event, Atome also gave the audience a preview of a project he plans to develop in 2027, titled Legacy Project: Igitaramo cy’Inkotanyi.
The preview, called Sound Track, featured songs, performances and representations of experiences associated with the liberation struggle. The planned project will use music, theatre and other forms of artistic expression to share Rwanda’s history.
