Rwanda’s Forgotten Dictator
How Paul Kagame’s Firm Hold on Power Threatens the Future of Rwandan Unity
By Christina Lu
In 2009, former U.S. President Bill Clinton proudly declared Rwandan President Paul Kagame to be “one of the greatest leaders of our time.”[i] “Paul Kagame freed the hearts and minds of his people to think about the future,” Clinton proclaimed, moments before awarding him the Clinton Global Citizen award in Public Service.[ii]
In many ways, this praise is well-deserved: just 24 years after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the country has undergone a remarkable transformation. The Rwandan capital of Kigali, once a site of mass slaughter, is now a regional tech hub that shines with skyscrapers and startups. And it was Kagame who drove these changes, strategically harnessing ethnicity to unify—and therefore stabilize—post-conflict Rwanda.
But his changes have come at a cost. Underneath Kigali’s allure is a troubling pattern of repression: jarring incidences of human rights abuses, political suppression, and restricted speech, all in the name of unification. By using repression to foster this unity, Kagame has fractured the tenuous peace that he has worked so carefully to build. In silencing journalists and crushing legitimate opposition, not only has Kagame failed to unify Rwanda, but he has also sowed the seeds for future conflict.
Kagame Takes Control: Manipulating Identity to Bring Unity
When Kagame first came into power in July 1994, the country was reeling from the aftermath of the genocide. The Rwandan genocide—rooted in years of hostility between the country’s two major ethnic groups, the Hutu and Tutsi—claimed the lives of over 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, in just 100 days.[iii] In its wake, Kagame was faced with a difficult task: stabilize the country and pave a path forward for peace and reconciliation.
24 years later, Kagame has successfully molded Rwanda into the new “Singapore of Africa”—an entirely unrecognizable country on both economic and social fronts.[iv] Economically, Rwanda has surpassed all expectations: the country averaged a GDP growth rate of over 8% over the past decade, while doubling life expectancy and reducing child mortality rates by 70%.[v]
Socially, Rwanda is unified—or it at least appears to be. Since taking office, Kagame has made unity-building efforts the focus of his domestic policy, even launching an “I am Rwandan” campaign to wipe the ethnicities of Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa from existence.[vi] He then cemented these changes into law. Besides prohibiting public references to ethnicity, Kagame also criminalized questioning or “trivializ[ing] the genocide” and “engaging with ‘genocide ideology,’” which he defined vaguely as behavior that “aim[s] [to] propoun[d] wickedness or incit[e] hatred,” like “laughing at one’s misfortune.”[vii] And with there being no major conflicts since the genocide, and former Hutu and Tutsi now living peacefully as neighbors, Kagame’s changes seem to be successful—at least on the surface.
A Fragile Peace
Kagame turned to ethnic identity to bring order and unity to post-genocide Rwanda. But by using oppression to foster this unity—a tactic that has also allowed him to consolidate power—he has only further fractured the country.
Through criminalizing discussion of ethnicity or the genocide, Kagame has smothered all criticism of his administration. His intentionally vague revisions to the Rwandan constitution ensure that anybody who dares to discuss—or even ask about—ethnicity is labeled as pro-genocide, anti-unity, or divisionist. Under the guise of promoting unity, Kagame prohibits speech that challenges his leadership and ensures that dissenters are swiftly punished.[x]
With these laws in hand, Kagame has freely attacked opposition. Since taking office, he has dismantled press freedoms and jailed—some even say killed—journalists, while forcing other members of the opposition to flee the country.[xi] In 2014, while responding to murder allegations, Kagame told reporters that while he “did not kill this person,” he “actually wish[ed] [we] did it. I really wish.””[xii] He later added, menacingly: “You can’t betray Rwanda and not get punished for it ... anyone, even those still alive, will reap the consequences. Anyone. It is a matter of time.”[xiii]
But what does it mean to betray Rwanda? In 2015, the U.S. State Department denounced Rwanda for excluding opposition parties from elections and arresting their leaders on spurious charges.[xiv] Is objecting to the government’s manipulation of critical electoral processes a betrayal? What about condemning Rwanda’s assault on human rights advocates and dissidents, as Kagame’s so-called traitors have?[xvi]
In 2015, Kagame took his control one step further and instituted a constitutional referendum to extend his presidential term—an amendment that would allow him to retain power until 2034. In a vote that Kagame himself called a “formality,” the referendum passed with 98% of the vote, amid charges of fraudulent polling and the removal of opposition.[xix] “This is another seven years to take care of issues that affect Rwandans and ensure that we become real Rwandans who are (economically) developing,” Kagame told the public after he won.[xx] And the success of these seven years depends entirely on the stability—and unity—of the country.
This unity is in threat. Kagame barred ethnicity to unify Rwanda, but when the government targets journalists and dissidents and forces them to flee the country, there is no unity—only fear. A country is not unified, or at peace, when the state effectively bans opposition parties from partaking in elections.
Kagame’s policy initiatives have turned Rwanda into an impressive economic hub, but his manipulation of ethnicity has also been used to crush competing narratives and exclude legitimate opposition. By suppressing these different perspectives, not only has Kagame failed to achieve his goal of unifying Rwanda, but he has also set the stage for future conflict.
Looking Forward
In 2011, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed Kagame as “a visionary leader.”[xxi] You can’t argue with the fact that Rwanda has gone on a remarkable path of development,” he told reporters.[xxii] “Every time I visit Kigali and the surrounding areas, you can just see the changes being made in the country.”[xxiii]
There is no doubt that Paul Kagame has led Rwanda on a remarkable path of economic recovery and development since the genocide. But by manipulating ethnicity, subduing opposition, and attacking journalists, Kagame has only sowed the seeds for division. If he continues down this path, he risks further destabilizing an already fragile country.
Bibliography
[i] Asiimwe, Arthur. "Clinton: Why I Admire Kagame." The New Times. Last modified September 26, 2009. Accessed January 20, 2019. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/11451.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] "Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened." BBC. Last modified May 17, 2011. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13431486.
[iv] Caryl, Christian. "Africa's Singapore Dream." Foreign Policy. Last modified April 2, 2015. Accessed January 19, 2019. https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/02/ africas-singapore-dream-rwanda-kagame-lee-kuan-yew/.
[v] Gettleman, Jeffrey. "The Global Elite's Favorite Strongman." The New York Times Magazine. Last modified September 4, 2013. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/magazine/paul-kagame-rwanda.html.
[vi] Laraus, Jake. "I Am Rwandan: Promoting Reconciliation, Unity, and Nation-Building in Rwanda." Human Rights Brief. Last modified April 21, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2019. http://hrbrief.org/2014/04/i-am-rwandan-promoting-reconciliation-unity-and-nation-building-in-rwanda/.
[vii] Gettleman, Jeffrey. "The Global Elite's Favorite Strongman." The New York Times Magazine. Last modified September 4, 2013. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/magazine/paul-kagame-rwanda.html.
[viii] Seay, Laura. "Is Rwanda's Authoritarian State Sustainable?" The Washington Post. Last modified June 3, 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/06/ 03/is-rwandas- authoritarian-state-sustainable/.
[ix] Gettleman, Jeffrey. "The Global Elite's Favorite Strongman." The New York Times Magazine. Last modified September 4, 2013. Accessed January 19, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/ magazine/paul-kagame-rwanda.html.
[x] Thomson, Susan. "WHISPERING TRUTH TO POWER: THE EVERYDAY RESISTANCE OF RWANDAN PEASANTS TO POST-GENOCIDE RECONCILIATION." African Affairs 110, no. 440 (2011): 439-56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41240214.
[xi] "Rwanda's Paul Kagame: Visionary or Tyrant?," BBC News, last modified August 3, 2017, accessed January 15, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/10479882.
[xii] Oscar Rickett, "Twenty Years after Its Genocide, Rwanda Still Has Issues," Vice, last modified May 1, 2014, accessed January 14, 2019, https://www.vice.com/da/article/4w7ndd/rwanda-twenty-years-on-oscar-rickett.
[xiii] Ibid.
[xiv] Steven Feldstein, "Rwandan Human Rights and U.S. Relations with Rwanda," U.S. Department of State, last modified May 20, 2015, accessed January 17, 2019, https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/rm/2015/242893.htm.
[xv] Ibid.
[xvi] Ibid.
[xvii] Zack Baddorf, "Rwanda's President Kagame Wins Landslide Victory" [Voice of America], last modified August 4, 2017, accessed January 21, 2019, https://www.voanews.com/a/rwanda-kagame-wins-landslide/3973491.html.
[xviii] Ibid.
[xix] Ibid.
[xx] Ibid.
[xxi] "President Kagame a Visionary - Tony Blair," The New Times, last modified January 2, 2011, accessed January 20, 2019, https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/83205.
[xxii] Ibid.
[xxiii] Ibid.