50 People Who Matter 2011 | 48. Paul Kagame

King Tutsi.

By Staff blogger Published 26 September 2011

The transformation of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide into one of Africa's fastest-growing economies can be attributed to the stewardship of Paul Kagame. The proposition is hard to test, however, because he barely allows dissent. Kagame won a second presidential term last year with 93 per cent of the vote, after banning all credible opposition parties. The moral authority he claimed for having ended the massacres, combined with charismatic advocacy around African development causes, made him a darling of western leaders, but abuses of power, both inside Rwanda and through military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been harder to ignore. Kagame has praised the Chinese model of economic development that emphasises growth and stability over political freedom, suggesting Rwanda will have to wait before its transition to democracy is complete.

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9 comments

Wed, 2011-10-19 08:38 — Emmanuel NKUSI B (not verified)

I ame reffering to your comment on President KAGAME Paul......Are you realy seriuous when you talk about abuses of power, both inside Rwanda and through military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo????....Please be serious and start by investigating on the ground before writing such incredible statement!!!

Wed, 2011-10-19 08:54 — CK Olivier (not verified)

Truly an inspiration to his people, the African Continent and all African leaders. I may however suggest not to refer to him as King Tutsi but King Rwanda. The man has fought and still fights hard to eradicate racial hatred and segregation that lead to the genocide in the first place. He is the leader of all Rwandans regardless of what they are.

Wed, 2011-10-19 11:11 — JC (not verified)

well-deserved HE

Thu, 2011-10-20 09:00 — SergeK (not verified)

The facts speak for themselves, you cannot develop a country from scratch without the consent and participation of the population, PKagame is therefore not King Tutsi but rather King of our hearts: the personification of our highest ambition in our most fragile moment.

Wed, 2011-10-19 12:52 — tiimyg (not verified)

I wonder what you base on to write such comments on someone who has done what Kagame has done to his country. Partly i don't blame because you think doing good things, any African leader should be a darling of the west, just a reminder you'll never know what his people love about him if you have not been in that country. You will never know how he advocates for unity if you don't know how many Hutu refugees he brought back from Congo, you will mos def never know how he wants Unity so badly to an extent of fostering forgiveness in Rwanda and forgiving genocide perpetrators. Check your motives Rwanda is no place else Rwanda is Rwanda and you need to visit it.

Wed, 2011-10-19 15:59 — Ngabo (not verified)

Advocating for the developpement of Africa, he beleives Africans can overcome theirs challenges only if they promote their home grown initiatives and choose the path of resilience and excell in whatever they do: "no one can know better how bad is hungry then the ones who suffer from it".
An average of 8% annual growth since 2000, more than 90% of the population covered by health insurance, more than 90% of school enrollement, zero tolerance on corruption, more than 50% of members of parliament are women, winner of the green policy award 2011, best reformer "doing business", first contributer of peace keeping in Africa, cleanest country in Africa: that's few about Rwanda's achievements under Paul Kagame. Co-chair of UN's MDG Advocacy group, Co-chair of ITU's Broadband Comission,
Elected with 93% by rwandans, he has got a vote of confidence by international community: Co-chair of MDG advocacy group, Co-chair of Broadband commission, adviser of the Word bank, Times 100 (testmony by pastor Rick Warren): this is Paul Kagame, the visionnary leader, our beloved President.

Thu, 2011-10-20 12:13 — A.G (not verified)

Kagame is an effective leader. Forget about everything else!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed, 2011-10-19 13:22 — Agaculama (not verified)

I agree with the article. Kagame is known for "having seized the power", "abuse of power", crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, both in Rwanda and RDC/DRC. There is NO freedom in Rwanda where only the jungle's law reigns. There is a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing for reducing the proportion of Bahutu and Batwa: destruction of Nyakatsi houses, sterilization of 700,000 male Hutu, vaccinations of young females for experimentalm purposes, abortion, sterilization of the ladies without consent after parturiency... Concerning the former comments, they are typically the work of "bamootsi" (barkers) agents of the new Rwandan Banana Republic regime, who are only useful as Smoke Screens for the Kagame dictatorship. Dixit Agaculama.

Mon, 2011-11-21 05:48 — Kingdala (not verified)

Please explain your logic. Because Rwanda agress with China's economic model, therefore it will not know democracy soon? Oh please, China's economy, though flawed empowers African countries compared to US which is super exploitative. I'm sorry, but I think you are quite ignorant about the transformations taking place in Rwanda. Maybe once you visit this beautiful country,you will change you not only ignorant, but quite arrogant incredulous statements. I'm sure you are better than this. This is quite embarassing, Im sure it's plagiarised.