Three decades after Rwanda’s genocide, the past is ever-present
genocide. Over 100 days in 1994 masses of the majority Hutu population slaughtered hundreds of thousands of their countrymen, mostly from the minority Tutsi group. In these annual speeches Mr Kagame offers glimpses of why he is Africa’s most polarising leader.
In one breath there is the official narrative: Rwanda is now a miracle of peace, unity and prosperity—a beacon of progress lit from the embers of the genocide. In the next there are hints of the more sinister figure his critics decry, for instance in his disdain for those who challenge him. They also point out his brutal repression and his warmongering in neighbouring Congo.Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the genocide some observers in Kigali, the capital, hope that Mr Kagame will use the event to move beyond the question of whether Rwanda is Africa’s Singapore or Africa’s North Korea.
About two-thirds of Rwanda’s population are under 30. Some diplomats and businessmen wonder whether the 66-year-old president, who has, in effect, run the country since 1994, might speak of the next 30 years, loosen the grip of his authoritarian state and even suggest when he might plan to step aside.That is unlikely. In the “land of a thousand hills" only one man can have the moral high ground.
On July 15th Mr Kagame will almost certainly be re-elected as president with a margin that would make even Vladimir Putin blush, in a ballot neither free nor fair. Having won 98% of votes in a constitutional referendum in 2015 that still allows him to run for two more terms of office lasting until 2034, he is going nowhere.To assess Rwanda today, you can look at Mr Kagame’s policies in three places: at home, in the wider Great Lakes region, and in the rest of the world. Across them a picture
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