Kagame Got A Lecture From DR Congo’s Tshisekedi On Leadership
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General Paul Kagame received an unexpected lecture on leadership from DR Congo’s new leader Etienne Tshisekedi. The two heads of state were addressing the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. Said Tshisekedi:
”Our countries will be neighbors forever, as leaders, we are here temporarily but our countries will always be there. Conflict with each other is a waste of time, time that could be used to build our countries.”
Kagame who has been in power for 25 years, changed the Constitution to stay in power until 2034, invaded DR Congo twice, sponsored all manner of militias, fought Uganda inside DR Congo, could not have possibly missed Tshisekedi’s lecture on leadership. Tshisekedi was reminding Kagame that Kagame, too, is on planet earth temporarily and that DR Congo and Rwanda will outlive him. Kagame should stop fighting.
Tshisekedi was not yet done. He reportedly statedthat “neighboring countries should consider building bridges that join them, instead of building walls that separate them.” Again, Kagame could not have failed to grasp what Tshisekedi leadership lecture was about. It is no other than Kagame who closed the Rwanda-Uganda common border and contradicted himself on why he did so. Initially, Kagame said border closure was due to construction and later changed the story: ”The problem is not the road or the road being constructed. The problem is politics” — said Kagame.
Tshisekedi showed Kagame what leadership is about in another way. Tshisekedi was asked what he and his Ugandan counterpart, President Yoweri Museveni, discussed regarding the Rwanda-Uganda border closure. Tshisekedi visited Uganda before going to Rwanda. Tshisekedi’s response was as follows:
”It is better to keep it confidential because the forum is not the right moment to discuss that.”
Over to you, General Paul Kagame.
