Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the new voice of the African Union (AU), is a man with two faces. He has a significant international following (including Trump) but also several human rights critics, ranging from Amnesty International to Human Rights Watch.

In his acclaimed acceptance speech in Ethiopia last week, Kagame made quite an impression with his direct and unflustered message. At a time when the AU – celebrating more than five decades of existence – is failing to demonstrate the leadership skills to lead the continent towards “a prosperous and peaceful Africa”, Kagame’s speech served as a wake-up call. For an Africa freed of the horrors of internal wars and armed conflicts by 2020, Kagame is a proponent of African solutions for African problems, with the hope that continental initiatives will be more strategically relevant than following the Western agenda into a blind alley.

“It is a solemn honour, to accept the call to serve as Chairperson of our Union. Thank you for your double trust. First as the leader of the reform process and now as the leader of our Union. I promise to do this with you and do the best job I can. Obviously, I will need your full support (…) Technology has evolved so rapidly in recent years, that Africa’s window to follow that strategy is narrowing much more rapidly than previously understood. We are running out of time, and we must act now to save Africa from permanent deprivation.”

“No country or region can manage on its own. We have to be functional, and we have to stay together (…) Today, we will launch the Single African Air Transport Market. This is a major step forward for transportation. We are nearly ready to adopt the Continental Free Trade Area. It really needs to be done this year. Freedom of movement for people in Africa is equally important, and it is achievable in 2018. By committing to break down these barriers, we will send a tremendous signal in Africa and beyond, that it is no longer business as usual. Our people deserve a brighter future. Their sacrifice and hard work should be rewarded with better lives for families and communities.”

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We have to acknowledge the fact there is positive progress as far as governance is concerned on continental Africa. For a very long time, the leaders of the African Union were sitting without Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Angola’s Eduardo Dos Santos. But... Kagame is quite divisive. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented extensively his controversial and deadly attacks on political opponents, journalists and even human rights activists. Many of those political killings and disappearances have been blamed on Kagame’s government, who has been the de facto “elected” leader of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide. The argument from his entourage is that Africa needs some strong and stable leadership, a “benevolent dictator” of sorts, an African Lee Kwan Yew*.

While critics posit that he is an authoritative figure, intolerant of legitimate opposition, Kagame is credited with leading Rwanda to stability and remarkable economic growth. His focus on fighting corruption during his mandate with the AU should also ring alarm bells for those who have, for far too long, abused the vulnerability of the continent. Kagame is a man known to keep his promises.

Concerning rights, in Kagame’s words: “Human Rights: who has the right to lecture us on rights after what we went through? All of us Rwandans – now around 11 million – who can tell us what is good for us and what is bad for us? - We know it already. How can you give lessons to someone who has walked in the dark and met the worst of darkness? We have met with the worst; we have been there – we know it well. They draw cartoons, call me Hitler – I ignore them, I am not bothered at all. I just hold them in contempt. That’s all.”

«Democracy: we don’t need any lessons in this. We know the value of freedom, democracy, justice, social and economic transformation – we know this from the life we have led. Some people want to encourage political hooligans (…) And as they talk about freedom of expression, they don’t want you to express yourself about their responsibility in this genocide. What freedom are you teaching me? If you can’t take full responsibility for what you did, for the politics that killed one million people of Rwanda, why do you teach me freedom yet in that freedom you don’t want me to put the blame on you, and rightly so?”

Time will tell if Kagame is ultimately the evil that we should have avoided at all costs or the good that we have been waiting for so long in Africa. He has only one year to try and turn things around and his plate is already full with the countless issues plaguing Africa’s progress. Even with his desire to be ruthlessly efficient and to fight corruption and money laundering, this might be a tall order for even Kagame…

*In 1964 and 1966, Lee Kwan Yew, visited Africa and met with a cross section of African leaders. In his memoirs «From Third World to First: The Singapore story», he reveals his impressions about African leaders, with particular emphasis on Nigeria and Ghana. Comparing what he saw with the level of puritanical discipline he had enforced in his own country, he concluded that African leaders «were a set of people dancing to a different tune”. Source: Crisis of Leadership (https://archive.org/details/TheCrisisOfLeadershipInAfricaTheObservationsOfLee-KwanYew)