Paul Kagame

In 1989, he married Jeannette Nyiramongi and the two went on to have four children. They have one daughter, Ange, and three sons, Brian, Ian, and Ivan.

Though he won the 2003 elections, he was extremely aggressive towards his Hutu opponents. The politician went so far as to arrest his opposition’s supporters and forced several candidates to withdraw from the race. Similarly in his 2010 election, opponents were not allowed media time and an opposition party leader was mysteriously murdered.

The U.N. has evidence implicating Kagame’s staff in war crimes and possibly acts of genocide from 1996 to 1998. Their reports tie the dictator to the large-scale massacre of thousands of civilians and mass rape. Many countries have chosen to look the other way in fear of destabilizing Rwanda.

Paul Kagame was born on October 23rd, 1957 in Rwanda to a Tutsi family with royal ties. His mother was descended from the last Rwandan queen and his father had ties to King Mutara III. Shortly after his birth, the Tutsi lost political power and the family fled to Uganda, where he spent most of his childhood in exile.

His early education took place near the refugee camp until he moved to ‘Rwengoro Primary School’. Graduating with top marks, he was able to attend one of the best schools in Uganda, the ‘Ntare School’.

Tragedy struck in the early 1970s when he lost his father, resulting in a significant decline in his academic achievements. A short time later, he was suspended from school.

He got his political and military start during the Ugandan Bush War. In 1981, he became a founding soldier for the ‘National Resistance Army’, a rebel group aimed at overthrowing Uganda’s government.

In 1986, his rebel army of an estimated 14,000 soldiers overthrew Uganda’s government and formed a new one. He became the head of military intelligence and began working on plans to attack and invade Rwanda.

In October of 1990 the military man took command of the ‘Rwandan Patriotic Front’. For the next three years, his army and the Rwandan army were at a standstill and eventually compromised, with the RPF gaining significant roles in the transitional post-war government.

With the assassination of Rwandan President Habyarimana on April 6, 1994 came a mass genocide against the Tutsi and moderate Hutu. In three months’ time, Kagame was able to defeat the Rwandan army extremists, effectively ending the conflict and creating a new government.

From 1996 to 2003, he was central in supporting the First and Second Congo Wars in order to protect Rwanda from Hutu sympathizers. The wars resulted in a loss of an estimated 3 -7 million lives through war, disease, and starvation.

The mass killing of Tutsis and even moderate Hutus by the extremist Hutus during 1994 is considered one of history’s worst and quickest genocides. The dedicated army leader, Kagame, and his soldiers seized control of the country effectively ending the conflict. He has since been serving as the de facto leader of the country.