Charles Munyaneza speaks about his role as executive secretary of the Rwandan National Electoral Commission and the efforts to rebuild the country after the 1994 genocide. He begins his discussion by describing his experience working as the director of Political Affairs and Territorial Administration for the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately after the genocide. He describes the situation in Rwanda in which many refugees had fled their land years before the genocide. With the new government, many refugees returned, causing a shortage of land and jobs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was forced to look for innovative solutions to restructure the division of territory in Rwanda. Finally Munyaneza speaks about his efforts in the National Electoral Commission to push decentralization through promoting local self-determination.
Case Studies: The Promise of Imihigo: Decentralized Service Delivery in Rwanda, 2006-2010 and Government Through Mobilization: Restoring Order After Rwanda's 1994 Genocide
Full Interview
At the time of this interview, Charles Munyaneza was the executive secretary of the Rwandan National Electoral Commission. Beginning in 1994, Munyaneza served as the director of Political Affairs and Territorial Administration in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Local Government. He played an active role in the restructuring of land ownership in Rwanda through a series of policies known as imidugudu. In 2000 he began work for the National Electoral Commission and oversaw its decentralization efforts. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Makere University in Uganda and a master of business administration degree from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.