Paul Kagame: Savior or Strongman? The Mystery Man of Rwanda

He has been called many things. He was the savior of Rwanda. But who is this guy really?

It was April 1994. This small, landlocked country in East Africa, known as the land of a Thousand Hills, was about to experience a horror beyond imagination. The assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana led to one of the darkest moments in the history of Rwanda. Within hours of his death, the streets of Kigali, the capital, were filled with roadblocks. Armed militias, known as the Interahamwe took to the streets with machetes in hand, as if they had been waiting for these moments.

In the 100 brutal days that followed, over 800,000 men, women and children were brutally murdered. Tutsi families were dragged from their homes and slaughtered. Hutus who refused to join the killings were killed as well. Streets that were once busy with life became scenes of unspeakable horror.

Now, amidst this chaos, rose a certain 36-year-old man leading a group called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). They charged into the heart of the genocide with the vision of a Rwanda that could rise from the ashes. They declared war on the perpetrators, pushing them far into exile.

It’s been more than 30 years since this war and Rwanda has changed beyond recognition. The streets, once covered in blood are now lined with green trees and modern buildings. Rwanda is now called the Singapore of Africa, a paradise for tourists built by the steady and strong hands of this man, Paul Kagame. The 36-year-old who led the fight against the Rwandan genocide more than 30 years ago.

To some, Paul Kagame is a hero, a visionary leader who defied all odds to rebuild a nation that was once broken. However, in recent years, the tune seems to have changed for this man. After about 25 years in power, voices of dissent are beginning to grow louder. Voices that believe Kagame to be just another ruthless authoritarian figure, silencing opposition voices at home and destabilizing other governments abroad. His leadership has sparked global debates, leaving the world to wonder: is he still the Savior the people grew to love, or has he morphed into a brutal dictator clinging on to power?

I want to tell you the story of how a young refugee boy became one of the most powerful leaders in Africa, and how his regime is shaping the destiny of Rwanda’s giant neighbors, who are growing increasingly worried about his influence in the Great Lakes region.

This is the story of Paul Kagame, the mystery man of Rwanda.

A History Forged in Colonial Division

To understand the complicated history of Rwanda that led to the unfortunate events of 1994, we first need to go back in time to centuries ago, before Rwanda was even a country.

A long time ago, three groups of people lived together in this land: the Twa, the Hutu, and the Tutsi. Historians believe the Twa were the first to arrive, living in the forest as hunters. The Hutu came next, between the 5th and 11th centuries, settling as farmers. Much later, in the 14th century, the Tutsi arrived. They were cattle herders and warriors who eventually took control of the land, creating a system called Ubuhake, where Hutu farmers worked for the Tutsi in exchange for land and cattle. But over time this system became unfair, with the Tutsi holding most of the power while the Hutu were treated as second-class citizens.

By the time the 19th century rolled around, European explorers had arrived, with Rwanda now caught between three European powers: the Germans, the Belgians and, of course, the British, who were all fighting for control. Then, in 1885, at the Berlin Conference, European powers divided Africa amongst themselves. Rwanda and its neighbor Burundi were given to Germany.

During the German rule, nothing changed much in Rwanda. They let the Tutsi leaders stay in power and forced Hutu chiefs in the north to obey them. But during World War One, Germany lost Rwanda and Burundi to Belgium, and this was when things began to change.

At first, the Belgians continued to rule through the Tutsi, but later they reduced the Mwami’s (king’s) power and changed the Ubuhake system. By 1952, the Belgians felt something was still missing, so they introduced political reforms. But instead of bringing peace, it sort of made things worse. The Tutsi were favored and left to control the government while the Hutu were left in lower positions.

The colonizers also spread the belief that the Tutsi were superior to the Hutu, treating them as if they were from different races. Now, before colonial rule, these groups weren’t so fixed, as someone could change their status over time based on wealth or marriage. But the Belgians made sure it became permanent by creating identity cards, labeling people as Tutsi, Hutu or Twa, setting the stage for future violence.

By November 1959, a violent incident sparked a Hutu uprising in which hundreds of Tutsi were killed and thousands were forced to flee to neighboring countries. This marks the beginning of the Hutu Peasant Revolution which lasted until 1961. By the time Rwanda became independent in 1962, about 120,000 Tutsis had fled to neighboring countries seeking safety from the Hutu, who were now in power. Among them was this two-year-old boy named Paul Kagame.

The Refugee Boy Who Dreamed of Home

Born in October 1957, in a small village called Tambwe, Paul Kagame was the youngest of six children in a Tutsi family. His family had royal connections, but that did not save them from the violence. They went to the northeast of Rwanda, where they reunited with Kagame’s father, who soon realized that nowhere in Rwanda was truly safe. So he decided to take his family into Uganda.

Life in Uganda was hard. Kagame and his family settled in the Nshungerezi refugee camp. The Rwanda refugees, known as the 59ers, were outsiders. They had lost their country, their home, and their identity. But at the camp Kagame met a boy who would change his life forever: Fred Rwigyema.

The two boys soon became inseparable. They explored the camp together, listening to older refugees tell stories about their homeland, stories that began to instill some form of drive in them. From here, the boys started dreaming of maybe one day going back to Rwanda.

Kagame was a smart kid, eventually accepted into Rwengoro Primary School, where he walked ten miles every day to school. He was top of his class, earning the highest grades in the district. However, being a refugee meant he had a glass ceiling. He wasn’t allowed Ugandan citizenship, which meant he couldn’t get a scholarship for secondary education. A family friend from Belgium decided to step in, taking full responsibilities of Kagame’s education.

But the good fortune he enjoyed didn’t erase the feeling of being treated like an outsider. The stories of his father about why he and many others were forced to leave their country sparked a strong desire in him to fight for freedom.

At the young age of 15, Kagame lost his father. Around the same time, his closest friend Fred Rwigyema disappeared, leaving the boy all alone. His new situation left him angry most of the time. Soon, Kagame started getting into fights at school, defending himself and other Rwandan children against Ugandan students who insulted them. He eventually got expelled and had to complete his studies at Old Kampala Secondary School in 1976.

After graduating, Kagame tried to find opportunities, but none came. He began a journey of self-discovery. In 1977, Kagame convinced a Ugandan official to give him a special travel document. With that, he crossed the border into Rwanda for the first time since he was a child. He only went out at night, walking through the city he had only heard about in stories. Those visits opened his eyes. He saw how the country was divided along tribal lines, and how Tutsi people like him were treated unfairly.

Then one day, he heard the surprising news that his childhood friend Fred Rwigyema, was looking for him. Fred had joined a rebel group in Uganda, led by Yoweri Museveni, a man fighting to overthrow the brutal dictator Idi Amin. Fred had trained in Tanzania, became a soldier, and was now part of a real revolution.

In 1981, Kagame and Fred joined Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA), a small but determined rebel group, to fight Ugandan’s dictator. Over the next five years, the rebels fought a brutal war against the Ugandan government in the Ugandan Bush War. Kagame became an expert in intelligence, quiet, observant and strategic. He rose in rank, becoming one of Museveni’s trusted officers.

Museveni finally won and took power in Uganda in 1986. Kagame and his comrades, now experienced soldiers, held key positions in the new government.

The Fight for the Land of a Thousand Hills

In 1988, Rwanda refugees in Uganda, many of whom had served in the NRA, formed a secret group to push for their right to return home. They created the Rwandan Refugee Welfare Foundation, which would later become the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

By 1989, Kagame’s role in Uganda was becoming complicated. The Ugandan government was getting nervous about the Rwandan exiles in their army. These concerns led to Kagame being sent away from the government. He was sent to the United States Army Commander and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, one of the most prestigious military schools in the world. He studied war strategy, intelligence, and leadership, but he never stopped thinking about Rwanda.

It was a quiet morning on October 1st, 1990, when a group of armed men of the RPF crossed a small bridge into Rwanda. Leading them was Fred Rwigyema. But one important man was missing from this invasion: Paul Kagame. He was still in the United States.

At first, everything went smoothly. They quickly took over military posts and captured small towns. But on the second day of the invasion, Fred Rwigyema was killed. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened. Panic quickly spread in the camp.

Back in Kansas, Kagame received the devastating news. He knew the rebellion was collapsing. And without hesitation, he returned to Africa. Arriving at the battlefield to find his comrades disorganized and losing hope. But Kagame was not a man to give up; he quickly changed their tactics, adopting guerrilla warfare. He led his fighters into the harsh Virunga mountains, where they survived under brutal conditions.

Three months later, the RPF struck again. On January 22nd, 1991, 700 fighters crept down from the mountains and took control of the town of Ruhengeri. As the war raged on, Rwanda’s government became more desperate and turned to France for more weapons and military support. France, seeing Rwanda as part of their influence in Africa, sent help.

By June 1992, Kagame declared a ceasefire and agreed to meet with the Rwandan government in Arusha, Tanzania, for peace talks. 13 months later, in August 1993, they signed the Arusha Accords, which promised a shared government and the return of refugees.

Unfortunately, the radical Hutu party, the CDR, which had been left out of the new government entirely, was furious and vowed revenge. The government’s ruling elite intensified the war by creating a Hutu Power radio station, RTLM, which spread hate-filled speeches against the Tutsis, such as “The Hutu Ten Commandments” and calling for their extermination.

In the months and weeks leading up to the genocide, the government took delivery of hundreds of thousands of shipments from China, containing machetes, axes, and other weapons disguised as farming tools. The deals were brokered through the Rwandan embassy in Paris. Soon, there were enough machetes to arm every third adult male in the country.

The Genocide and the Savior

On April 6th, 1994, President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down as he was flying back to Rwanda. In less than an hour, roadblocks appeared all over Kigali. The genocide had begun.

The RTLM hate radio station went into overdrive: “The Tutsis have killed our president. Now is the time to finish the Tutsi cockroaches!” The killing started almost immediately. Mobs were roaming the streets with machetes and guns, searching for anyone with an identity card that marks them as Tutsis.

In the first 24 hours, 6,000 people were killed. Within the next three days, the number had climbed to 20,000. Paul Kagame had hoped for peace, but now, seeing the genocide unfold, he soon realized that there was one option left: to fight back.

Kagame and his fighters fought bravely and tirelessly to take back Rwanda and stop the genocide. They moved fast, attacking government forces and pushing toward Kigali. By June, half of his army was surrounding Kigali. The French sent troops under the excuse of a humanitarian mission, but their real goal was to protect the government forces that were carrying out this massacre.

Despite these efforts, Kagame’s fighters kept advancing, and on July 4th, 1994, they entered Kigali. The government forces fled. Two weeks later the RPF took control and declared victory. The genocide was over, but the country was in ruins, shattered and scattered by the horror that had unfolded.

The Rise of the Strongman

Paul Kagame, now 36 years old, became the Minister of defense and vice president. Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, was made president to give the impression of a balanced government. But the real power remained with Kagame and the RPF.

The defeated Rwandan army and Interahamwe militia had escaped to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC), and were preparing to fight back. Kagame asked the UN to disarm the camps, but nothing was done. In 1996, Kagame decided to take matters into his own hands. He launched a military campaign to destroy the camps and bring the refugees back to Rwanda. This operation was also aimed at overthrowing Zaire’s leader Mobutu Sese Seko, who had supported the genocidaires.

Working with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, Kagame helped rebels led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila march across the country in what became known as the First Congo War (1996-1997). Mobutu was overthrown, and over a million refugees returned back home to Rwanda.

However, in 1998, Kabila turned against his Rwandan allies and kicked them out. Kagame, furious that Kabila was now supporting Rwandan rebels, backed a new rebellion and invaded the Congo yet again. This led to the Second Congo War, leading to bloody battles over Congo’s rich resources.

In the year 2000, under mysterious circumstances, President Bizimungu resigned and Kagame became the acting president.

Under Kagame’s leadership, Rwanda focused on rebuilding and development. His government launched Vision 2020, a plan to transform Rwanda into a middle-income country. They improved schools, roads, health care and promoted gender equality. Rwanda also cracked down on corruption, with the government’s approach being authoritarian, but it brought stability and economic growth.

But then things quickly began to change.

The Grip of Power: Silencing Dissent

By 2003, as Rwandan people prepared for its first post-genocide presidential election, they began to notice something disturbing. Political debates disappeared, and journalists who questioned Kagame’s leadership were either jailed or vanished. The dictatorship had begun.

2003 Election: Kagame’s main challenger, Faustin Twagiramungu, an outspoken critic, found his campaign strangled by intimidation. He left Rwanda after losing the election in a landslide.
2010 Election: The opposition was even weaker. Victoire Ingabire, a returning politician, was arrested on charges of “genocide ideology” and “terrorism” and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- André Kagawa, the vice president of the opposition Green Party, was found dead, his body nearly decapitated.
- Jean-Léonard Rugambage, a journalist investigating the murder, was gunned down in front of his house.
Exiled Opponents Targeted: In South Africa, Patrick Karegeya, a former intelligence chief, was found strangled in a hotel room. His close ally, General Kayumba, survived multiple assassination attempts. South African intelligence directly implicated Kagame’s government in the killing. Kagame himself warned: “Anyone who betrays our cause will pay the price.”
Constitutional Changes: A constitutional referendum was held in 2015 with a suspicious 98% approval, allowing him to run yet again in 2017.
2017 Election: Kagame won 99% of the vote. Diane Rwigara, a young businesswoman who tried to run against him, was arrested on trumped-up charges.
High-Profile Kidnappings: Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of Hotel Rwanda, was lured into a trap and kidnapped from Dubai in 2020, then imprisoned on terrorism charges in a trial condemned worldwide as politically motivated.

Meddling in the Giant Neighbor

Kagame’s influence was not only at home; he was meddling in the affairs of other countries, especially his giant neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

For over a decade, Kagame had been accused of backing militias in the DRC, fueling a crisis that caused thousands of lives. Kagame’s government claimed to be defending Rwanda from a Hutu rebel group with ties to the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. But in reality, Rwanda’s involvement was about minerals and control.

CNDP (2004-2009): Laurent Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi general, formed the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). United Nations and Human Rights Organization investigations exposed the CNDP’s deep ties to Kagame’s regime, showing that the CNDP received direct military and logistical support from Kigali.
M23 (March 23 movement): By 2012, a new rebellion emerged in eastern Congo, made up of former CNDP fighters. Once again, the UN and human rights groups exposed Rwanda’s deep involvement. A 2012 U.N report directly implicated Rwanda as the main sponsor of M23, revealing that Rwandan troops were seen fighting alongside M23 rebels in North Kivu province.
Renewed Conflict: By 2022, M23 reemerged, launching fresh attacks on Congolese towns. The UN, human rights organizations and independent investigations provided clear evidence of Rwandan support.

Despite decades of evidence proving Rwanda’s role in fueling war in the DRC, Kagame remains a favorite of Western governments. Why?

Guilt and Blackmail: Many Western leaders feel guilty for failing to stop the Rwandan genocide. Kagame has skillfully used this to silence criticism, portraying himself as Rwanda’s savior who deserves unwavering support.
Strategic Interests: Rwanda is a key partner for the US and European nations in military operations in Africa. Kagame’s troops participate in UN and African Union missions, giving him diplomatic leverage.
Propaganda and Image: Kagame has built an effective propaganda machine, branding himself as a progressive leader. His government now openly sponsors European businesses, like the Arsenal Premier League football club, to whitewash his records.

As of 2024, M23 continues to fight in eastern Congo, displacing thousands of people. Kagame denies involvement, while the international community offers little more than empty statements.

Now the question is: when will this end?