Paul Kagame is one of the hardest leaders to grasp in the 21st century. And yet, the man who has led Rwanda for close to twenty years, has pulled his country, after one of the worst Genocides in history, to the status of role model for Africa and beyond. Thanks to what, and at what cost?
Le Point paid a visit to Kigali to get a closer picture of the “Rwandan miracles…”
In 1994, the country is completely ruined, banks are empty, crops rot in fields and the bodies of 800,000 to one million victims - mainly Tutsi, the minority – litter streets and fields in the entire country. Some Hutus who took part in the killings, flee to Zaïre (the current Democratic Republic of Congo). Survivors discover their relatives massacred, their houses looted and their livestock stolen and slaughtered.
Twenty-five years later, the scenery is something else. There are no more ethnic groups, no Hutus, no Tutsis nor Twas, but 12 million Rwandans. Youth now throw parties on roofs of terraces in Kigali, while others open incubators and start-ups in the new economy. The streets of the capital are spotless: an army of cleaners relay to clean them. Barber shops, haircut saloons, manicure, pedicures and décor shops, restaurants seem open all day long. Is this where lies the seed of the “new Rwandan” that Rwanda wants to see emerge? The one whose staff nickname “The Boss” met with Le Point on Friday, January 31, for an interview which lasted over two hours at the office of the President in Village Urugwiro, Kigali.
Paul Kagame is Rwanda’s strongman since he led the Rwanda Patriotic troops to victoryin 1994. His personality was forged during his exile in the refugee camps in Uganda, where his Tutsi family fled to escape massacres when he was 4 years old. But the chasm never narrows between his critics that denounce his will to muzzle individual freedom, and his praise-singers who are often international economists and experts still divided between a sentiment of guilt in the post-Genocide era and admiration for the “modern” African leader…
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his close friend, describes him as “a visionary leader”. Recently, Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, revealed in an interview with Le Point that “he was impressed by Paul Kagame”: “It takes courage to rebuild a country like Rwanda, decimated by a Genocide with surreal brutality “.
Before insisting on the qualities of President Kagame: “Maybe he doesn’t necessarily meet all democratic criteria but I can confirm that he has vision for his country and Africa in general. He knows where he is taking his country.” It now becomes clearer why official delegations from Gabon, Togo, Benin, Burundi, Burkina or many others, have been going to Kigali to learn from the Rwandan model.
On February 9, Paul Kagame; 62, was elected by his African peers as the new Chairperson for the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), the continental body in charge of infrastructure for development.
This outspoken man, sometimes not very diplomatic, was described by Philip Gourevitch, an author who wrote a reference book on the Genocide in Rwanda, as “unapologetically authoritarian”.
This “Rwandan miracle” must not make us forget that there is still much to be done. In a report released in February 2018 by Amnesty International, the organisation raised questions on repression of the opposition and serious cases of restrictions on various rights, criticism often described by President Paul Kagame as “excessive and unfair”.
On the other side, other institutions such as International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are not short of praises towards the country’s transformation, as the country is expected to take over the presidency of the Commonwealth and will host the organisation’s next summit slated for this coming Spring.
This country of Paul Kagame is not short of surprises as it has concurrently succeeded to put its former minister of foreign affairs Louise Mushikiwabo at the helm of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
This small country has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), committing to establish an emergency transit mechanism in Rwanda for African refugees and asylum seekers. A strong political and diplomatic action that aims to show that Rwanda is a country to be reckoned with.
France’s influence is weakening in sub-Saharan Africa, to the benefit in particular of China, Turkey, or Russia. Does that scare you?
We are not afraid of anyone (Laughs). We are strong, at least mentally. Not because we are a powerful country, or have the most advanced technology, but because the path of our development and the policies that lead to it are clearly outlined. Whether it is China, Turkey, the United States, Russia, we deal with everyone. Most of them are neither our friends nor our enemies. By principle, Rwanda does not interfere in the internal affairs of these countries, and they also expect our support on several issues. If we have our point of view on these subjects we share it. Otherwise, we choose to remain silent.
What do you expect from France? Forgiveness? Business? Investments?
