By David Himbara
General Paul Kagame used to make the list of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people. In 2009, for example, he made the list and was described as “the face of emerging African leadership” and “his reconciliation strategy, management model, empowerment of women in leadership and insistence on self-reliance are transforming a failed state into one with a bright future.”
By 2012, Time was describing Kagame as “Rwanda’s strongman” with his “90%-plus election victories, the violent deaths of several opponents and the proximity of Rwanda’s economic success to Congo’s blood minerals.” When Kagame failed to make the 2021 Time’s 100 Most Influential people, his ambassador to Zimbabwe came to the rescue. James Musoni got the Chartered Institute of Project Management Zimbabwe to award Kagame “the Best Project of the Year Award in recognition of the construction of the Bugesera International Airport.” Wonders never cease – stay tuned.