By David Himbara
I came, I saw, and I conquered – this phrase, famously uttered by the Roman dictator, Julius Caesar, applies to a present day dictator, General Paul Kagame, who arrived in Pemba, Mozambique on Friday, September 25, 2021. Two-and-a-half months ago, Kagame launched an offensive to capture the rebel-held Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. Kagame came, saw and conquered. Who is footing the war bill?
Kagame has said Rwanda is footing the deployment bill for now, and that his troops will stay on to train the Mozambican army. He added in a recent interview on Rwandan television on September 5, 2021: “There is nobody who sponsored us for this… Our Minister of Finance knows how much we have been draining into this, but I think the outcome and cause are much bigger than the money we have spent. Maybe we will work with the Mozambican government to fill the gaps that have been created.”
Don’t believe a word of Kagame’s rhetoric. Both Rwanda and Mozambique are poverty-stricken and highly-indebted. But Cabo Delgado Province is home to France’s US$20 billion gas projects led by the French multinational Total. Over to you, President Emmanuel Macron. Stay tuned.