Some fete President Kagame like a rock star for pulling Rwanda back from the edge, but several also think Kigali is some kind of little evil empire ruled by an iron-fisted former guerrilla leader who does not entertain critics.

A rebuilt Rwanda, three decades later

By Charles Onyango-Obbo More by this AuthorNo African country invokes as much passion and divides opinion as Rwanda.
Many people in Africa and the rest of the world think it is proof that miracles are possible and that the continent can reach for and touch the sky.
In some places in the world, President Paul Kagame is feted like a rock star.
On the flip side, several also think Rwanda is some kind of little evil empire ruled by an iron-fisted former guerrilla leader, which they accuse of building its fortune from plundering its mineral-rich neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo which is 95 times its size.
Bashing President Kagame and his ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), and genocide denial, have become what from Kigali is seen as a small thriving cottage industry, especially in parts of western Europe, North America and Francophone Africa.