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Kagame: The President of Rwanda Speaks
Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Ben Affleck, Natalie Portman, the CEOs of Starbucks and Visa, Howard G. Buffett, Robert de Niro, Susan Rice, Don Cheadle, and many other celebrities are amongst his most fervent admirers. For them, Paul Kagame is the man who produced the Rwandan Miracle. The one who was able to make a people and a nation rise from the ashes of the last genocide of the twentieth century. But this former refugee, once a warlord by necessity, who then became the president of a country that he endeavors to lead down the path of economic emergence with an iron hand, also has fierce enemies who consider him to be a sort of African Machiavelli. His opponents, human rights organizations in particular, criticize him for favoring development over democracy. Saint or demon, virtuous liberator or dictator: rarely has a head of state been as controversial as he. Twenty years after the genocide of the Tutsis from Rwanda, causing one million deaths in one hundred days in the Land of a Thousand Hills, Paul Kagame candidly reveals himself for the very first time.
François Soudan is the managing editor of Jeune Afrique, a leading news weekly based in Paris, and has authored biographies of Nelson Mandela and Muammar el-Qaddafi. Soudan has traveled to Rwanda on numerous occasions over the past twenty years. His interviews with Paul Kagame took place in Kigali between December 2013 and March 2014.
- GenresAfrica
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 23, 2017
I thought that the questions of the interviewer were typical of the condescending arrogance of Europeans (of an imperialist/colonizer mindset), toward Africans and also in the assumption that African leaders need to answer to the scrutiny of Western Imperialism over decisions they make that don't make it convenient for European Capitalist exploitation.
I am in awe of President Kagame's patient handling of the nature of these questions and the *position* from whence they spring. I have observed that his civilized diplomacy is characteristic of Rwanda's current dignitaries, that I have listened to and observed, so far. I only hope for the Rwandan people, that whoever follows Kagame as the next president, will honor his or her nation with the same dignity, integrity of spirit and certainty of sovereignty.
I am in awe of President Kagame's patient handling of the nature of these questions and the *position* from whence they spring. I have observed that his civilized diplomacy is characteristic of Rwanda's current dignitaries, that I have listened to and observed, so far. I only hope for the Rwandan people, that whoever follows Kagame as the next president, will honor his or her nation with the same dignity, integrity of spirit and certainty of sovereignty.
September 26, 2023
“Democracy is not an abstract theory. It is the product of an explicit and precise context. Look around you: there is not one unique form of democracy, but different democratic systems that range from constitutional monarchies to direct representation. A democracy must reflect the aspirations, history, and culture of the people within which it is attempting to take root; otherwise it is bound to fail. This is what we are trying to accomplish in Rwanda". ~Paul Kagame
I share the same views with Paul Kagame that democracy shouldn't be defined by western ideologies, democracy should be based and defined by a nation's past.
I share the same views with Paul Kagame that democracy shouldn't be defined by western ideologies, democracy should be based and defined by a nation's past.
March 28, 2018
Here his Excellency answers all the questions that have been circulating around the world.
It was a good insight into his mind.
Easy read
It was a good insight into his mind.
Easy read
Read
June 29, 2018A unique African Leader
Twenty four years ago, this July, Rwanda experienced a horrendous relapse of human sanity that left about 800 thousand (mostly) Batutsi (and moderate Bahutsi) dead. A rebel force stepped in and ended the senseless carnage to usher in what, at the time could only be an uncertain future for both the immediate Batutsi victims and the perpetrators (Bahutsi) of the most intense act of genocide in recent history. Indeed the most uncertain developments followed.
Rwanda defied the traditional primitive approach of perusing retribution or looking outside for best ideas on how to deal with a bad situation. The man who led the rebel force that prevailed against the terror of the machete wielding fellow countrymen hacking senselessly at their age old fellow countrymen only rose to leadership as president in 2000, six years after his act of valour.
As you will discover from Soudan’s book, this is not the only unusual thinking and approach to leadership of this unique African. I will share a few of those shortly. But for a bit, let’s look at why anyone should care to know about Paul Kagame and the story of Rwanda.
First, it is impossible to ignore both President Kagame and Rwanda, post conflict. Secondly, a little under two decades after taking his country’s reins, Mr Kagame has turned Rwanda into a success story globally. Quick highlights include: enhanced life expectancy of 65 years (up from 45), infant mortality has dropped by 60%, over a million Rwandans emancipated from extreme poverty and more than 90% of children under 12 go to school.
The country’s 12 year basic education policy and the investment committed to its drive has been so effective that Rwanda’s public schools became an extremely attractive option for parents ahead of schools run by religious groups and private schools – the last tottering on the brink of extinction. As of 2016 many private schools reported a two-thirds decline in student admissions as students left for public schools.
On the economic front, Rwanda has recorded a growth of around 7%. It ranks a solid second in the latest Doing Business report in Africa behind Mauritius. A result of Rwanda implementing the highest number of business reforms globally over the past 15 years – a total of 52! It takes ONE day to register a business in Rwanda without leaving your home!
What more? Rwanda has become a global leader in promoting women’s involvement in actively determining their destiny in places that create and influence national policy and the numbers are just staggering: 64% of elected lawmakers (parliamentarians) are women, half of the Supreme Court judges are women and so are 9 out 21 cabinet ministers! This is not accidental – Kagame believes very strongly in making it possible for women to get ahead and his argument is simple:
“Women make up 52% of the Rwandan population. It seemed entirely natural to me that every citizen counts. We are building a new country; therefore, we can’t possibly ignore 52% of the population!” he says in the book, but his convictions in this direction go deeper.
“…we also believe in women's rights and the importance of women in our society. Frankly, if I were a woman, I would have waged a war a long time ago to liberate women, as I did to liberate my country…” and “… If oppressed women should wage a war, I would readily smuggle ammunition to them, for it would be a justified war.”
Top that!
And as for the little men who struggle with their insecurities, his response is very clear:
“Well, they should keep that to themselves! In the past, women have been denied education, business opportunities, and the ability to speak in public. On what grounds?”
And he throws in some numbers to make a solid argument:
“I can guarantee you that 52% of society accepts this shift! And of the remaining 48%, there are at least 20% to 28% who agree with us. So altogether we have a rather strong majority of supporters.”
And there is more we learn from this book: a 15 year tête-à-tête between veteran journalist Soudan and H.E. President Kagame. A lot I guarantee you and the questions asked in the book are as pointed as the answers are candid and unconventional. Kagame takes no prisoners in his responses.
He takes us through the history of a genocide that started brewing in 1959 when he was only two and only exploded 35 years later. He shows us the invisible, but big ugly, hand of the Belgians played in the conception of what resulted into the atrocious events of 1994, thanks to another of the perennial repeats of the African’s gullibility to European’s pre and post-colonial strategies, going all the way back to the heartbreaking days of slavery.
The conversations captures his ordeal as a refugee banished from his homeland at age four and his excursions of over three decades during which he gained a philosophy that could only accrue to Paul Kagame and his unique circumstances of holistic education on the run for his life, in the bush, in the classroom, military academies (conventional and otherwise), on the war front, as a rebel, a daring adventurer who forms an own army within another country’s army, a liberator and an elected president.
All this continuously shapes him into a refreshingly different whiff of political relief that goes against the entrenched counterproductive culture of greed characterised by ‘eating’ and cronyism that’s held back or turned some post-colonial African states into basket cases over the past several decades.
“God created me in a very strange way,” he reasserts in the book and admits to be at a cross roads of A SERIOUS MAN: a man of power, who excels in promoting his country abroad, is efficient, dependable, and readily a visionary when it comes to the future of Rwanda AND a NON-CONFORMIST who rules with firmness, putting development before liberty in pursuit of the Lee Kuan Yew sort of grand dreams, for the African Great Lakes region.
“I do the best I can for my country in a difficult regional context and in exceptional historical circumstances.”
And difficulties inevitably abound when a people are forging ahead with their vision: the outsiders’ opinions and obsessions (often self-serving), reality constantly fighting idealism, corruption, leaders and people’s attitude toward money and wealth, handling aid, population growth, by the willpower to do whatever a people can on their own as they rise from their ashes and achieve whatever they can, and emerge with enough integrity and dignity to be proud of as a self-determined people.
And small things, like not having a sound philosophy for separating power and family, can be as costly to integrity and political careers as we have seen in recent political developments in the region. Kagame’s philosophy concerning his relatives is simple:
“I don’t believe that my relatives deserve things beyond any other ordinary citizen. Not to disqualify them as my relatives—I love, respect and associate with them. I simply don't believe in special favors. I wouldn’t hesitate to use my private and personal means for their benefit but everything has a limit. I will not use my power to deprive someone else of something so that my relative may have it instead.”
Hey, listen, this review is just around 1,200 words long. The book has about twenty-two times more words. Read it get a chance to ‘hear’ everything from the horse’s mouth. President Paul Kagame possess an exceptional clarity of thought that makes his answers pure entertainment to go through. And, even then, it’s a short book (141 pages) took me just two hours to read.
Twenty four years ago, this July, Rwanda experienced a horrendous relapse of human sanity that left about 800 thousand (mostly) Batutsi (and moderate Bahutsi) dead. A rebel force stepped in and ended the senseless carnage to usher in what, at the time could only be an uncertain future for both the immediate Batutsi victims and the perpetrators (Bahutsi) of the most intense act of genocide in recent history. Indeed the most uncertain developments followed.
Rwanda defied the traditional primitive approach of perusing retribution or looking outside for best ideas on how to deal with a bad situation. The man who led the rebel force that prevailed against the terror of the machete wielding fellow countrymen hacking senselessly at their age old fellow countrymen only rose to leadership as president in 2000, six years after his act of valour.
As you will discover from Soudan’s book, this is not the only unusual thinking and approach to leadership of this unique African. I will share a few of those shortly. But for a bit, let’s look at why anyone should care to know about Paul Kagame and the story of Rwanda.
First, it is impossible to ignore both President Kagame and Rwanda, post conflict. Secondly, a little under two decades after taking his country’s reins, Mr Kagame has turned Rwanda into a success story globally. Quick highlights include: enhanced life expectancy of 65 years (up from 45), infant mortality has dropped by 60%, over a million Rwandans emancipated from extreme poverty and more than 90% of children under 12 go to school.
The country’s 12 year basic education policy and the investment committed to its drive has been so effective that Rwanda’s public schools became an extremely attractive option for parents ahead of schools run by religious groups and private schools – the last tottering on the brink of extinction. As of 2016 many private schools reported a two-thirds decline in student admissions as students left for public schools.
On the economic front, Rwanda has recorded a growth of around 7%. It ranks a solid second in the latest Doing Business report in Africa behind Mauritius. A result of Rwanda implementing the highest number of business reforms globally over the past 15 years – a total of 52! It takes ONE day to register a business in Rwanda without leaving your home!
What more? Rwanda has become a global leader in promoting women’s involvement in actively determining their destiny in places that create and influence national policy and the numbers are just staggering: 64% of elected lawmakers (parliamentarians) are women, half of the Supreme Court judges are women and so are 9 out 21 cabinet ministers! This is not accidental – Kagame believes very strongly in making it possible for women to get ahead and his argument is simple:
“Women make up 52% of the Rwandan population. It seemed entirely natural to me that every citizen counts. We are building a new country; therefore, we can’t possibly ignore 52% of the population!” he says in the book, but his convictions in this direction go deeper.
“…we also believe in women's rights and the importance of women in our society. Frankly, if I were a woman, I would have waged a war a long time ago to liberate women, as I did to liberate my country…” and “… If oppressed women should wage a war, I would readily smuggle ammunition to them, for it would be a justified war.”
Top that!
And as for the little men who struggle with their insecurities, his response is very clear:
“Well, they should keep that to themselves! In the past, women have been denied education, business opportunities, and the ability to speak in public. On what grounds?”
And he throws in some numbers to make a solid argument:
“I can guarantee you that 52% of society accepts this shift! And of the remaining 48%, there are at least 20% to 28% who agree with us. So altogether we have a rather strong majority of supporters.”
And there is more we learn from this book: a 15 year tête-à-tête between veteran journalist Soudan and H.E. President Kagame. A lot I guarantee you and the questions asked in the book are as pointed as the answers are candid and unconventional. Kagame takes no prisoners in his responses.
He takes us through the history of a genocide that started brewing in 1959 when he was only two and only exploded 35 years later. He shows us the invisible, but big ugly, hand of the Belgians played in the conception of what resulted into the atrocious events of 1994, thanks to another of the perennial repeats of the African’s gullibility to European’s pre and post-colonial strategies, going all the way back to the heartbreaking days of slavery.
The conversations captures his ordeal as a refugee banished from his homeland at age four and his excursions of over three decades during which he gained a philosophy that could only accrue to Paul Kagame and his unique circumstances of holistic education on the run for his life, in the bush, in the classroom, military academies (conventional and otherwise), on the war front, as a rebel, a daring adventurer who forms an own army within another country’s army, a liberator and an elected president.
All this continuously shapes him into a refreshingly different whiff of political relief that goes against the entrenched counterproductive culture of greed characterised by ‘eating’ and cronyism that’s held back or turned some post-colonial African states into basket cases over the past several decades.
“God created me in a very strange way,” he reasserts in the book and admits to be at a cross roads of A SERIOUS MAN: a man of power, who excels in promoting his country abroad, is efficient, dependable, and readily a visionary when it comes to the future of Rwanda AND a NON-CONFORMIST who rules with firmness, putting development before liberty in pursuit of the Lee Kuan Yew sort of grand dreams, for the African Great Lakes region.
“I do the best I can for my country in a difficult regional context and in exceptional historical circumstances.”
And difficulties inevitably abound when a people are forging ahead with their vision: the outsiders’ opinions and obsessions (often self-serving), reality constantly fighting idealism, corruption, leaders and people’s attitude toward money and wealth, handling aid, population growth, by the willpower to do whatever a people can on their own as they rise from their ashes and achieve whatever they can, and emerge with enough integrity and dignity to be proud of as a self-determined people.
And small things, like not having a sound philosophy for separating power and family, can be as costly to integrity and political careers as we have seen in recent political developments in the region. Kagame’s philosophy concerning his relatives is simple:
“I don’t believe that my relatives deserve things beyond any other ordinary citizen. Not to disqualify them as my relatives—I love, respect and associate with them. I simply don't believe in special favors. I wouldn’t hesitate to use my private and personal means for their benefit but everything has a limit. I will not use my power to deprive someone else of something so that my relative may have it instead.”
Hey, listen, this review is just around 1,200 words long. The book has about twenty-two times more words. Read it get a chance to ‘hear’ everything from the horse’s mouth. President Paul Kagame possess an exceptional clarity of thought that makes his answers pure entertainment to go through. And, even then, it’s a short book (141 pages) took me just two hours to read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews