By David Himbara
Addressing the African CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, General Paul Kagame said some strange things. Very strange indeed, incoherent — and worrying, if I were his doctor. The statements become more bizarre when you realize the audience Kagame was addressing. He was addressing business leaders looking at business potential in Africa. Kagame’s strange statements must have given the CEOs more reason to worry about Africa, and Rwanda in particular, led by a warrior. Here is Kagame in his own words.
”If you think that you don’t like President Kagame of Rwanda because you think what should happen in Rwanda is supposed to be dependent on you, your views and decisions. This is bad politics.”
“To say the least if we can’t work together as brothers, sisters, friends, we can decide to give each other peace and forget what we have to do together but above all avoid quarrels that will be destructive because no one will win from any serious quarrel.”
“To imagine that because you don’t like Kagame you will change him and put someone else, it is impossible.”
“It suffices if we chose to concentrate on things that matter to us as individual countries, as well as things that matter to all of us together and put aside these issues.”
“The problem is not the road or the road being constructed. The problem is politics. We have 100s of people from Rwanda, arrested, detained in prisons for years in Uganda, without being charged or appearing anywhere in court.”
”After the signing of the CFTA, I went to see the President of Uganda & briefed the leadership.I told them big things are happening but the two countries are caught up in small matters that we can’t even justify.”