By David Himbara
Kagame’s More Bad News from America – Samantha Power Who Insisted that the Rwandan Strongman Shouldn’t Seek a Third Time, Is in Charge of US Foreign Aid. Samantha Power famously stated in 2015 that “the United States expects President Paul Kagame to set an example for the region and step down at the end of his second term.” Power was at the time the US ambassador to the UN. General Kagame and his government rebuked Power. Then Rwandan ambassador to the UN, Eugene Gasana blasted Samantha Power in the following terms: “Mrs. Power does not have power over Rwanda…We want this man [Kagame] there…He was the only one to take responsibility and stop the genocide; he is our hero.”
Fast forward to 2021 – Samantha Power is the Administrator of USAID, the world’s largest international development agency, and by far, the largest bilateral foreign aid donor to Rwanda. American bilateral foreign aid to Rwanda averaged US$177.9 million in 2018 and 2019. So, what might Kagame-Samantha relationship turn out to be, moving forward? Samantha Power’s boss, President Joe Biden has already isolated Kagame. Meanwhile, Ambassador Gasana has since fled his former hero fearing that Kagame will kill him for unexplained reasons. Gasana now lives in exile in the United States. Stay tuned.
