The High Commissioner of Rwanda to Ghana Mrs. Rosemary Mbabazi on Friday April 19, 2024, called on His Majesty, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II – the King of the Asante Kingdom in Ghana.

The Asantehene presides over 78 paramouncies, making the Asante Kingdom the single biggest traditional jurisdiction in Ghana, with his subjects accounting for more than a third of Ghana’s estimated population of 33 million.

H.M Otumfuo is also the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) which has hosted many Rwandan students over the years who have pursued medical courses and other science disciplines. Currently, KNUST hosts a little over 20 Rwandan students.

The courtesy visit by High Commissioner Mbabazi took place at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, the seat of the Asantehene that also serves as his official residence.

In her remarks, the High Commissioner congratulated Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on the 25^th anniversary of his enstoolment as the Asantehene and commended him on his exemplary leadership.  

She recounted the existing fraternal relations between Rwanda and Ghana, which has continued to grow since 1994 when the Ghanaian contingent within the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) stayed and contributing to saving lives during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda despite an order by the UN Security Council to withdraw its UN Peacekeepers at Rwanda’s greatest hour of need.

During the visit, the High Commissioner also informed the Asantehene of the activities that the High Commission of Rwanda in Ghana has planned for the 30^th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi and extended an invitation to him to join Rwandans and friends of Rwanda in these activities.

In collaboration with Rwandans in Ghana and various stakeholders, the Rwandan High Commission has planned a Walk-to-Remember in memory of the over one million victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, a Symposium on the Genocide, and an official commemoration ceremony, all of which are happening this May.

His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commended Rwanda’s leadership for the gains that the country has made especially under the leadership of President Paul Kagame and expressed his willingness to honour the High Commissioner’s invitation to visit Rwanda at the earliest opportunity.

The Asantehene also used the opportunity to encourage African countries to continue to unite and integrate their economies under the Africa Continental Free Trade agreement.