Rwanda has put the genocide behind it to become East Africa’s trailblazer

An ambitious recovery programme has seen Rwanda make major economic, political, and social strides in the past 15 years. Nation Correspondent KEZIO-MUSOKE DAVID reports from KIGALI

Ten members of his Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), a high-level think-tank, are non-Rwandans who meet twice a year, once in Kigali and once in the US.  

But not everyone thinks Kagame is doing a great job. Sceptics say that it the revision of the events that happened during the genocide that has provided the government with a cover for repression of a meaningful political opposition.

Some, including genocide “naysayers” and “revisionists” say the current government is using the past to justify having a de facto one-party state, a claim the opposition has dismissed as unfounded. 

And while Kagame has won praise for stamping out corruption and restoring stability, critics have raised questions about his regime’s involvement in the unrest in neighbouring DRC. Still, even his harshest critics acknowledge that the recovery and reconstruction that have taken place under his leadership has been impressive.