Originating in a historic problematisation of development and a review of colonial remains, this thesis aims to shed light on how music is present in a decolonisation process in Rwanda, as part of the country’s development. An ethnographic field trip to Rwanda, constitutes the empirical foundation, as I look to the historic and current role of music in Rwanda to outline its potential impact on development. Drawing on de-colonial theory and affordance theory, musicking in Rwanda is assessed in relation to previously identified ‘musical affordances’ to trace how these help materialise decolonial aspirations, giving rise to a bidirectional relationship within which music shapes and is at once shaped by Rwandan culture. This theory is further contextualised through a case study featuring three sources of data, from within the Rwandan music scene. The analysis opens up for a discussion on fruitful connections between cultural heritage and contemporary Rwandan cultural identity, illuminating how qualities of music and aspirations for decolonisation support each other. When paired with previous research, insights from the field trip highlight how music in Rwanda affords the formation of knowledge, mediation of cultural heritage and a reshaping of cultural identity and social relations, which speaks for its efficacy as a tool for decolonisation and its relevance within the development discourse.