Rwanda stands out despite rot

It seems a foregone conclusion that Paul Kagame will be elected again as president of Rwanda – yet his apparent “president for life” status will not attract comment from those who regard Rwanda as an African success story.

Kagame, leader of the erstwhile Rwanda Patriotic Front, has been de facto leader of the country since the end of the 1994 genocide.

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Officially president from 2000, Kagame has presided over a country which has recovered remarkably from the slaughter, which cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

With 65% of the population aged under 30, 66-yearold Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

He has almost cult-like status… but he rules with an iron fist. That much was clear in the fact that just two challengers for the top position were “approved” to run against him.

The Rwanda government is also suspected to be behind assassinations of Kagame’s opponents, around Africa.

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Kagame’s army is also accused by the United Nations of backing – and fighting alongside – M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a conflict which has taken the lives of South African soldiers.

But Rwanda has a soaring growth rate and is peaceful and clean… and that does stand out in Africa.