President Paul Kagame has warned Rwandans against excessive spending on weddings, urging couples to prioritise building stable homes and securing their long-term future rather than spending large sums on lavish celebrations.
He delivered the message on October 21, 2026, at BK Arena during the Youth Meet the President dialogue, which brought together more than 10,000 young people.
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Kagame Shares Experience of Supporting a Young Man
To illustrate his message, Kagame shared the story of a young man he had supported professionally and financially, including funding his education up to postgraduate level. Kagame said: “However, no matter how I lived with him, I noticed certain habits and tried to advise him, saying, ‘These habits will ruin you, yet you lack nothing. I do everything you want for you, so there is no reason to destroy yourself.”
He explained that when the young man grew older, he approached him seeking assistance to organise his wedding, saying he was facing financial difficulties.
Young Man Presents Wedding Budget of Nearly Rwf10 Million
Kagame said the young man presented him with a written list of expenses for which he wanted financial assistance. Kagame said: “He had brought a piece of paper in his pocket with a list of what he wanted me to help him with. He took it out and gave it to me, and I read it. I realised the expenses were adding up to nearly Rwf10 million. I looked at it and asked him, ‘If I gave you this money, would all these needs be taken care of?’ He replied, ‘Absolutely,’” .
The President said he later discovered that the young man had approached several people for financial support, including businesspeople who had promised to contribute towards the wedding. He also learned that the young man wanted to hold the celebration at a luxurious hotel, prompting Kagame to suggest a different approach.
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Kagame Offers Alternative to an Expensive Wedding
K agame said he offered to help the young man organise a successful wedding but advised him against spending excessively on a hotel he had not built himself.Instead, he offered him a garden at Village Urugwiro, where he promised to arrange an attractive tent for the ceremony. He also said he would ask security officials to ensure that all invited guests could access the venue.
The President added that he helped the young man obtain wedding clothes for himself and his companions, who travelled abroad by plane to purchase them.
President Questions Need for Lavish Celebrations
Kagame said he asked the young man how many guests he expected to attend the wedding. The young man estimated that approximately 600 people would be present. The President questioned the value of spending excessively on a celebration where some guests might drink so much that they would no longer remember whose wedding they had attended.
He said he therefore decided that alcoholic drinks would not be served in the garden at Village Urugwiro. Instead, guests would be offered plenty of fresh juice, coffee, tea and soft drinks. Kagame also promised to give the young man the Rwf10 million he had requested, but only after the wedding.
The President said: “I told him, ‘I want you to use this Rwf10 million after the wedding to find something that will help build your home, rather than letting people drink it away until it is gone. That is what I did.”
Young Man Realises He Lost Nothing by Avoiding Excessive Spending
Kagame said that some time after the wedding, he asked the young man what he believed he had lost by not spending the Rwf10 million on the celebration.
According to the President, the young man replied that he had lost nothing. The example illustrated Kagame’s message that people should prioritise decisions that support their long-term well-being instead of spending excessively on short-lived celebrations at the expense of building their homes.
Kagame Urges Rwandans to Advise One Another
The Head of State encouraged Rwandans to make decisions that help them build their lives rather than undermine their future. He also called on people to advise one another and speak up when they see others engaging in harmful behaviour.
Kagame said: “Each person builds themselves, and each person determines where to begin, whether by building themselves up or destroying themselves. Other things, such as family and country, are also important. It is good when people advise one another and say, ‘Stop that.’ Do not simply accept anything that comes your way. Reach a point where you can tell someone, ‘Stop.”
His message emphasizes the importance of financial discipline, responsible decision-making and mutual guidance in building strong families and contributing to the country’s development.
