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The imposing and flexible man sneaked into the room, as if not to scare his guests. Although his entrance smothered the muffled conversations, his presence lacked the awesome feel of your vintage African chef.
For the six-foot-two Rwanda's president Paul Kagame does not exude the aura of Big Man around him as many of his peers on the mainland. On the contrary, he is wearing that timid and self-effacing attitude that belies a leader who fired his country from obliteration 24 years ago when Hutu supremacists killed nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in three months.
Today, Mr. Kagame, literally and figuratively, while his country is experiencing impressive results on many fronts.
Referred to as "African Singapore" or "Switzerland of Africa", Rwanda has, according to Mr. Kagame, jumped from one President Kagame is in the room to respond to questions from students of the African Leadership University Business School on "Umwiherero". (hiding place) – the beloved National Leadership Retreat of his government.
In the audience are Zimbabwean nabob and Zimbabwean telecommunications philanthropist Masiyiwa and Ghana's Fred Swaniker, the founder of the university.
Professor Catherine Duggan, vice-dean of the school, begins the session with a question about the difference between operating during the years of liberation and now in the government
replied Mr. Kagame, smiling slightly , alluding to his country's sponsorship deal, Sh4.6 billion Arsenal, which has fueled controversy mainly in the Netherlands and the UK – Rwanda's leading donor countries.
Kigali defended the agreement for top-level English club players to wear "Visit Rwanda" shirts for the next three years, saying that money is part of his marketing budget and from the funds of tourism
"The liberation struggle has a lot to do with the fight against fires.The cost of failure was high," began Kagame, speaking in his characteristic way to the Soft voice.
"The situation did not forgive if you delayed even a second, we got used to this phase (where) it was important to have the details", he said, leaving a glimpse which could explain its strict operating mode which has given a ruthlessly effective government.
Government employees in Rwanda are required to be at their office before 7 am and are promptly dismissed if they do not deliver.
million. Kagame said that he did not see any other way that his country could reach where he wanted to be than by reporting on his demarches.
"It's good to look at the big picture, but it's not an empty picture, it relies on some layers of detail … otherwise the big picture will just be a name. That's what makes the difference, "he said.
And this difference is striking: almost zero corruption, soaring investors, operational health system, high literacy levels, better Internet service than some parts of the developed world and good network of paved roads.
Little formal education, Mr. Kagame is a consummate reader. "I'm afraid to say I do not know, I'll try to get an idea," he explained during the session.
"How can I wait and hope that everyone does what is right?", He asked rhetorically.
"Sometimes I read things that I do not even need to read." He told The Telegraph in a past interview.
He refined this thirst for detail as a fighter in the rebel army of Yoweri Museveni, where he specialized in collecting intelligence. Mr. Kagame led the guerrilla forces of his Rwandan Patriotic Front that routed the Rwandan army in July 1994.
"We start by having a conversation with the leaders, we are in agreement then each one comes back to what he has to do. "[traduction] He describes his working relationship with his officials as" cordial "and sometimes" uncomfortable. "together for the common good, but I'm not wanted to be very kind to you, sometimes we take care of the difficult things and that can be uncomfortable. "
" You are a minister endowed with resources to spend, but in the end, it is for the people. If you take them for your own use, it's not okay, "he says nonchalantly, but anti-corruption tsars in Rwanda enjoy real power and can use it zealously if need be. .
million. Kagame is reluctant to answer the question of his current position as the African Union's current leader in influencing change on the continent, suggesting that his priorities were in Rwanda.
Journalists were admitted to the interactive class of the Kigali Congress Palace to imbibe Mr. Kagame's wisdom; do not ask questions.
And the war of liberation seems to be the harmony table of all that Mr. Kagame does. Any conversation with him must go back one way or another at this time.
"During the fight, we could come to you and say," Come on, I'll sell my chicken. "You might think it's a small thing, but it does mean a lot. we believe in a cause, "he recalls, and it is the kind of dedication that Mr. Kagame seems to expect from the people he directs.
He never tired of reminding everyone that Rwanda's circumstances are unique – an asset it often uses to deflect Western criticism of the country's democratic record. (Politicians who have tried to oppose him in the polls of the year the last was brutally repressed.)
The international media monitoring organization, Reporters Without Borders, also described Rwanda as one of the most severe media environments in the world.
" It was a country that died 24 years ago. There is the movie Shooting Dogs, which really depicted the UN in a bad light. It became the mission of the UN to shoot dogs to prevent them from eating bodies, but they could not stop people from being killed. In 1994, bodies were scattered all over the country, "says Kagame.
He traces the monthly sweeping of Rwandan streets – for which the country became world famous – to a visit to Kigali from the founding president of the Tanzania, Julius Nyerere When Nyerere came here in 1995, he marveled: "How do you guys have the right to smile?" I said that this incredible ability to overcome the craziness of 1994 can be used to remake Rwanda.It does not need money to do it. "
An admirer of Nyerere, who invaded the city. Idi Amin's Uganda, Mr. Kagame was accused of using similar tactics in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, where he supported the rebel group. overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, then found himself entangled in a new war that took place in six countries.
After the national cleanup picked up, Mr. Kagame moved to the real things – the infrastructure.
"In our mind, we wanted to write a better story for ourselves, and as we did one thing, it showed that we could succeed in the next one, so our momentum grew, offsetting our bad reputation." he explained.
Despite his strong man's tactics, one can not help but feel real support for Mr. Kagame in the streets of Rwanda.
"Kigali was nothing, everything was destroyed, it is as if a country was born again," says Mr. Philbert Ndahiizo, a taxi driver who was 22 years old during the genocide.
"This development you see," he said, pointing to a section of the brilliant capital.
This year is also the year when Mr. Kagame became president after the resignation of his predecessor, Pasteur Bizimungu, who resigned as president. .
One of the new areas of rapid expansion of Kigali is the special economic zone, a 276-hectare land near Kigali International Airport, donated by the government to boost production .
The government builds infrastructure – roads, power grids, water, sewage – and facilitates licenses to favor companies exporting at least 80% of their products outside the African Community of Africa. ;East.
million. Kagame modeled Rwanda on Singapore and the other "Asian Tigers", which emerged from poverty in less than a generation through disciplined and authoritarian leadership and entrepreneurship.
And for the moment, Rwanda is about to become a commercial, banking and communication center.
Some analysts fear, however, that this progress may be a little too intimately related to the personal power and good will of the 60-year-old leader who led the nation of Central Africa for nearly two years.
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