Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the current President of Rwanda. He came to prominence as the leader of the guerrilla Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) army, whose invasion of Rwanda is often cited as the primary reason the Rwandan Genocide came to a close. The RPF's victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the genocide. In 2003, he became the first democratically elected^{citation needed} President of Rwanda following the genocide.^[1]

Early life

Kagame was born to a Tutsi family in Ruhango, Rwanda in October 1957 to Deogratius and Asteria Rutagambwa^[2]. In November 1959, an increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian Military, sparked a revolt, eventually resulting in the overthrow of Mwami Kigeri V Ndahindurwa in 1961.^[3] During the 1959 revolt and its aftermath, more than 150,000 people were killed in the fighting, with the Tutsis suffering the greatest losses. Several thousand moved to neighbouring countries including Burundi and Uganda.^[3] In all, some 20,000 Tutsis were killed. In 1960 Kagame left with his family at the age of three and moved to Uganda with many other Tutsis. In 1962 they settled in the Gahunge refugee camp, Toro, where Kagame spent the rest of his childhood years.^[4] He attended Ntare Secondary School in Uganda.^[5]

Military service

This same year, Kagame was instrumental in forming, along with his close friend Fred Rwigema, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), which was composed mainly of expatriate Rwandan Tutsi soldiers that had also fought with the NRA; the RPF was also based in Uganda.^[6]

In 1986, Kagame became the head of military intelligence in the NRA, and was regarded as one of Museveni's closest allies.^[6] He also joined the official Ugandan military.^[6]

Rwandan invasions and genocide

In October 1990, while Kagame was participating in a military training program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the RPF invaded Rwanda in the struggle for the liberation of Rwanda's minority ethnic group Tutsi. Only two days into the invasion, Rwigema was killed, making Kagame the military commander of the RPF.^[6] Despite initial successes, a force of French, Belgian, Rwandan, and Zairean soldiers forced the RPF to retreat. A renewed invasion was attempted in late 1991, but also had limited success.^{citation needed}

The invasion increased ethnic tension throughout the region, including in neighbouring Burundi where similar tensions existed. Peace talks between the RPF and the Rwandese government resulted in the Arusha accords, including political participation of the RPF in Rwanda. Despite the agreement, ethnic tensions still flared dangerously.^{citation needed}

On 6 April 1994, a plane carrying both the Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down by a surface-to-air missile as it approached Kigali airport. All on board were killed. The deaths immediately sparked the Rwandan Genocide and an estimated 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed. Under the Arusha accords, the RPF had a small contingent of troops present in Kigali at the time. The outbreak of genocide ended what vestiges remained of the cease fire. The climax of the war was reached on the 4th July 1994 when RPF, under the leadership of General Paul Kagame, took control of the whole country and rooted out the self-appointed genocidal government of Jean Kambanda, which was fuelling the killings.^{citation needed}

Because French citizens died during the crash of the plane, an investigation was carried out by Jean-Louis Bruguière, a French judge, who controversially concluded that the shooting of the plane was ordered by Kagame. In November 2006 Jean-Louis Bruguière signed international indictments against nine of President Kagame's senior aides and accused Kagame of ordering the assassination of two African presidents (Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and his counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi). Kagame could not be indicted under French law (as a head-of-state he has immunity from prosecution). The indictments have failed to produce any arrests due to the perceived partiality and controversial motives behind their issuance.

The indictment was based upon declarations by fugitives and disgruntled former lower rank RPF members stating that the RPF was the only organization with the missiles that were used in the assassination. It failed however to explain the contradictory fact that at the time of the shooting of the plane, the french military was in control of Kigali Airport.^[7] and corroborated by several witnesses including former intelligence RPF members, the most publicly known being Abdul Ruzibiza.^[8] The Association des Avocats de la Defence has also released a statement backing Jean-Louis Bruguière allegations.^[9]^[10]

The former chief prosecutor for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Judge Richard Goldstone, stated that "Well I don't think that case has been made at all. It's a very political judgement and I don't believe that it's borne out by the evidence." .^[11] Thus expressing the widely held view that the indictments were being used as a political weapon by the French establishment, as way of discrediting the RPF and shifting the blame for the genocide that was conducted by the former government that had received strong financial and military backing from Paris.

In a 2007 interview with the BBC, Mr Kagame said he would co-operate with an impartial inquiry.^[11]

The Second Congo War

Kagame was part of the cabinet of President Pasteur Bizimungu, who came to power in the aftermath of the genocide. Kagame was made Vice President of Rwanda and Defense Minister. Bizimungu was also a member of the RPF, and as its military leader, Kagame was viewed as the power behind the throne, and eventually became President when Bizimungu was deposed in March 2000.^{citation needed}

In 1998, Rwanda got heavily involved in the Second Congo War, supporting a well-armed rebel group in Congo, the Congolese Rally for Democracy. Together with Uganda, Rwandan forces invaded the mineral-rich north and east of Democratic Republic of Congo, citing Congolese anti-Tutsi policies and historical Rwandan heritage in the area. The government of Congo soon found itself supported by several other African nations, and mounted a counter attack, with limited success.

An April 2001 United Nations report alleged "mass scale looting" of Congolese mineral resources. The report claimed that senior members of the Rwandan government had made hundreds of millions of dollars from illegal mineral trading, and that:

A June 2001 Amnesty International report implicated Rwandan and Rwandan-backed forces (amongst others) in the deliberate killing of thousands of Congolese civilians.

Although the Rwandan and Ugandan governments claim to have withdrawn their forces from Congo, there are consistent reports of ongoing Rwandan involvement in support of rebel fighters trying to protect local Tutsi minorities against remnants of the Interahamwe, the militia involved in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. However, in September 2007, the Rwanda government has strongly denied any involvement in the current Congo fighting.

Critics allege that the Rwandan occupation of the Eastern Congo has been motivated chiefly by a desire to exploit Congolese mineral resources. Paul Kagame has, in turn, claimed that these criticisms are based on Hutu-extremist propaganda, and that Rwanda's sole reason for occupying the Congo has been to defeat the remnants of the Hutu-extremist militia who fled there from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.

A 2002 United Nations report elaborated on the allegations of illegal profiteering by Rwandan and Ugandan forces in Congo^[12]:

President Kagame

Paul Kagame became President of Rwanda in March 2000^[13], after Bizimungu was deposed. Three and a half years later, on August 25, 2003, he won a landslide victory in the first national elections since his government took power in 1994 winning 94% of the votes.^[13].

Kagame is highly critical of the United Nations and its role in the 1994 genocide. In March 2004, his public criticism of France for its role in the genocide and its lack of preventative actions caused a diplomatic row.^[14] In November 2006, Rwanda severed all diplomatic ties with France and ordered all its diplomatic staff out of Rwanda within 24 hours following Judge Bruguiere issuing warrants accusing nine high ranking Rwandans of plotting the downing of President Juvenal Habyarimana's airplane in 1994 and also accusing Kagame of ordering the plane shot down.^[14]

In recent years, Kagame has stated that it is Rwanda's role to play a part in the prevention of Genocide in Africa and elsewhere. As such, the Rwanda Defense Forces have become one of the major contributors of African peace keeping in Darfur^[15], as well as the newly created hybrid AU-UN force. In June 2008, Kagame criticized the authoritarian regime of President Mugabe in Zimbabwe.^[16]

Quotes

Honors and accolades

Kagame was in March 2003 awarded the 2003 Global Leadership Award by the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). He received the award in recognition of his "commitment and tireless work to address crises, to foster understanding, unity, and peace to benefit all people. YPO regard his role in reconciling the Tutsi and the Hutu differences in Rwanda and in developing a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a benchmark of great leadership, uncommon inspiration and remarkable achievement.

In September 2005, Kagame was awarded the African National Achievement Award by the Africa America Institute in the USA.

In May 2006, Kagame was given the 2006 ICT Africa Award, an award that is designed to recognize and reward organizations and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in promoting the use of ICTs for the overall development of the African continent.

In August 2007, Kagame was given the Hands Off Cain Award for his role in ending the death penalty in his country.

In December 2007, Kagame was given the African Gender Award in Dakar, Senegal for his role in promoting gender equality in Rwanda.

References

^ Official Website for H.E. Paul Kagame
^ ^a ^b "Official Website for H.E. Paul Kagame". Government of Rwanda. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ ^a ^b Octave, Mugabowineza. "Rwanda:Before and after the 1994's genocide" (DOC). University of Kansas. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ Jackie Jura. "Rwanda lured Kagame home".
^ "President attends Ntare School day". Statehouse.go.g. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Kagame: Quiet soldier who runs Rwanda". BBC. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ "Kagame accused over plane attack". BBC News (2004-03-10). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
^ "L'actuel président montré du doigt". Radio Canada (2006-04-20). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
^ Cathy Majtenyi (2006-11-24). "Rwanda Orders Closure of French Embassy in Kigali". Voice of America. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
^ "French judge accuses Rwandan leader in '94 plane downing". CNN (2007-01-30). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Rwanda leader defiant on killing claim". BBC. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/706b89b947e5993dc1256c590052b353 United Nations, October 2002: Final report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of DR Congo
^ ^a ^b "Incumbent wins in Rwanda's first presidential vote since genocide". USA Today. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ ^a ^b "French foreign minister laments Rwanda's move to cut diplomatic ties". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ "Rwandan troops spearhead peace force for Darfur". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 26 November 2007.
^ Zimbabwe:A total failure says Kagame
^ ^a ^b ^c "Paul Kagame quotes". Thinkexist.com. Retrieved on 25 November 2007.

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