Kagame Depleted His Genocide Capital. No President Or Prime Minister From The East African Community, The Southern African Development Community, Or The Commonwealth Attended The 25th Genocide Memorial. This Is Also True Of Influential Powers Such As The US, Germany and France.

On the 25th Genocide Memorial held on April 7, 2019, General Paul Kagame cut a particularly lonely figure. He was shunned by most regional and world leaders. Not even one leader came from the neighborhood, the East African Community (EAC) — Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda stayed away. The entire Southern African Development Community (SADC) stayed away. The US, Germany and France were a no show.

Kagame is reaping what he sowed . The General’s relations with neighboring states and those further afield are broken — thanks to his wildly out of control actions. For example, Kagame is currently the subject in South Africa courts for sending hit squads to murder his opponents. This is not new. Governments of Sweden and the UK in the past warned members of Rwandan diaspora were in danger from Rwandan agents operating in the respective countries. Kagame has recently closed the common border with Uganda through which much of Rwanda’s US$3.4 billion international trade transits to the Kenyan port of Mombasa onto foreign markets. The common border with Burundi is closed.

Kagame has in the past used his genocide capital to seek pity while unleashing violence at home and abroad. This is no longer working. Few, if any leaders still fall for genocide capital. No wonder Kagame is shunned like a leper.