By David Himbara
When General Paul Kagame became the African Union (AU) Chairman for 2018, most people assumed he would have less time to engage in his favorite games — fighting perceived enemies.
We thought that the General would instead busy himself with promotion of continental and global trade. Wrong.
(1) Kagame fought the Donald Trump administration — which suspended Rwanda from duty-free access to the US market.
(2) Kagame was none too pleased when American Senators and Representatives criticized him for imprisoning his political opponent Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline.
(3) Kagame fought Uganda for expelling Rwandan illegal immigrants.
(4) Kagame fought Burundi over a long-running conflict that emanated from a failed coup d’etat in Burundi leading to Rwanda’s hosting the coup plotters.
(5) Kagame fought South Africa over broken diplomatic relations provoked by the murder and attempted murder of Rwandan exiles in South Africa.
(6) Kagame fought unnamed East African countries he accused of undermining regional integration.
There was one exception. Kagame made peace with France. Even Rwanda’s former foreign minister became Secretary-General to La Francophonie. The French also ended the investigation of the downing of the former Rwandan military strongman, Juvenal Habyarimana.
General Kagame is synonymous with conflict — 2019 won’t be any different than 2018.