After she took part in a ceremony to introduce a clan head, the vice president of the Rwandan senate wrote and uploaded a lengthy apology to President Paul Kagame on Twitter.
Espérance Nyirasafari said she had “done a horrible thing” for taking part in that function, an act that the governing RPF party said “threatens the unity of all Rwandans”.
Several other party members who participated in the incident have also issued apologies.
In the aftermath of the incident, one vice-mayor made the decision to resign on Monday night.
The clan leader, who was introduced at the function earlier this month, also expressed remorse and offered an apology.
Given the sensitivity surrounding ethnicity in Rwanda, which still persists nearly three decades after the genocide that claimed the lives of around 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in just 100 days, Mrs. Nyirasafari’s apology casts doubt on her political influence and position.
Throughout her career, she has held various prominent roles, serving as a national prosecutor, minister of gender, and minister of sports and culture.
In her apology, she expressed regret for not taking action to prevent the clan meeting from occurring.
Public apologies are not uncommon for the RPF, and the opposition believes that their purpose is to publicly shame and discredit officials who might otherwise express differing policy ideas.