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88-442: The building, on the site of a former bus station, was developed by Rwandan businessman Hatari Sekoko and built by Chinese engineers. The building work began in 2006 and the complex opened in 2011. Since his accession to power in 2000, President Paul Kagame has sought to transform Rwanda from an impoverished country dependent on subsistence agriculture into a middle income country with a strong service sector . This policy, which

176-560: A Rwandan Patriotic Front veteran of the Rwandan Civil War , worked in Japan from 1995 to raise capital, before returning to Rwanda to start a coffee distribution business and later diversifying into real estate and hospitality. The first phase of the project was the construction of the car park building, which began in 2007. At that stage the tower was proposed as a circular building with a spiral design, which would act primarily as

264-710: A desire to plunge Rwanda into disorder and therefore provide a platform for the RPF to complete their conquest of the country. Evaluating the two arguments later in 2018, Caplan questioned the evidence used by Bruguière and Rever, stating that it has been repeatedly "discredited for its methodology and its dependence on sources who have split bitterly with Kagame". Caplan also noted that Hutu extremists had made multiple prior threats to kill Habyarimana in their journals and radio stations, and cited eyewitness accounts of roadblocks being erected in Kigali and killings initiated within one hour of

352-432: A food court, on the first floor of the commercial centre, a fitness center and a daycare nursery. Retail space within the tower consists of a bar/restaurant on the lower ground floor, a branch of Bank of Kigali on the ground floor, and a restaurant with roof top bar and nightclub on the top floor. Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( / k ə ˈ ɡ ɑː m eɪ / kə- GAH -may ; born 23 October 1957)

440-487: A heavy presence in Kinshasa. Congolese in the capital resented this, as did many in the eastern Kivu provinces, where ethnic clashes increased sharply. In July 1998, Kabila fired his Rwandan chief-of-staff, James Kabarebe , and ordered all RPA troops to leave the country. Kagame accused Kabila of supporting the ongoing insurgency against Rwanda from North Kivu, the same accusation he had made about Mobutu. He responded to

528-518: A mandate to oversee eventual independence . Rwandans were made up of three distinct groups: the minority Tutsi were the traditional ruling class, and the Belgian colonial administration had long promoted Tutsi supremacy, while the majority Hutu were agriculturalists. The third group, the Twa , were a forest-dwelling pygmy people descended from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, who formed less than 1% of

616-461: A new government. After Museveni's inauguration as president he appointed Kagame and Rwigyema as senior officers in the new Ugandan army; Kagame was the head of military intelligence. In a 2018 paper, Canadian scholar and Rwanda expert Gerald Caplan described this appointment as a remarkable achievement for a foreigner and a refugee. Caplan noted Museveni's reputation for toughness, and said that Kagame would have had to be similarly tough to earn such

704-570: A peacekeeping force, arrived and the RPF were given a base in the national parliament building in Kigali to use during the establishment of the BBTG. On 6 April 1994, Rwandan President Habyarimana's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport , killing both Habyarimana and the President of Burundi , Cyprien Ntaryamira , as well as their entourage and three French crew members. The attackers remain unknown. Prunier, in his 1995 book, concluded that it

792-467: A position. He also commented on the nature of military intelligence work, saying "it is surely unrealistic to expect that Kagame refrained from the kind of unsavory activities that military security specializes in." In addition to their army duties, Kagame and Rwigyema began building a covert network of Rwandan Tutsi refugees within the army's ranks, intended as the nucleus for an attack on Rwanda. In 1989, Rwanda's President Habyarimana and many Ugandans in

880-647: A propaganda campaign to bring the Hutu to his side. He integrated former soldiers of the deposed genocidal regime's military into the RPF-dominated national army and appointed senior Hutu to key local government positions in the areas hit by insurgency. These tactics were eventually successful; by 1999, the population in the north west had stopped supporting the insurgency and the insurgents were mostly defeated. Although his primary reason for military action in Zaire

968-506: A senior Ugandan army officer after many military victories led Museveni to the Ugandan presidency . Kagame joined the RPF, taking control of the group when previous leader Fred Rwigyema died on the second day of the 1990 invasion. By 1993, the RPF controlled significant territory in Rwanda and a ceasefire was negotiated. The assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana set off

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1056-460: A viewing platform. By 2008, Sekoko's team had changed the building's shape to elliptical in order to create more floor space within the tower. Sekoko contracted Chinese company China Civil Engineering Construction to construct the building, and also sourced raw materials from his own depot in Guangzhou , China. The building was completed in early 2011, and retailers and companies began to occupy

1144-540: Is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded Rwanda in 1990. The RPF was one of the parties of the conflict during the Rwandan Civil War and the armed force which ended the Rwandan genocide . He was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he

1232-441: Is based on liberalising the economy, privatising state owned industries and reducing red tape for businesses, has led to a strong GDP growth between 2004 and 2010 of 8% per year. The changing economy has prompted a construction boom as the need for office and urban residential space has increased. The Kigali City Tower project was begun in 2006 by Rwandan businessman Hatari Sekoko, through his company Doyelcy Limited. Sekoko,

1320-489: Is considered authoritarian, and human rights groups accuse him of political repression. Overall opinion on the regime by foreign observers is mixed, and as president, Kagame has prioritised national development, launching programmes which have led to development on key indicators including healthcare , education and economic growth . Kagame has had mostly good relations with the East African Community and

1408-467: The 1980 Ugandan general election . Museveni disputed the result, and he and his followers withdrew from the new government in protest. In 1981, Museveni formed the rebel Popular Resistance Army (PRA); Kagame and Rwigyema joined as founding soldiers, along with 38 Ugandans. The army's goal was to overthrow Obote's government, in what became known as the Ugandan Bush War. Kagame took part in

1496-684: The Battle of Kabamba , the PRA's first operation, in February 1981. Kagame and Rwigema joined the PRA primarily to ease conditions for Rwandan refugees persecuted by Obote. They also had a long-term goal of returning with other Tutsi refugees to Rwanda; military experience would enable them to fight the Hutu-dominated Rwandan army. The PRA merged with another rebel group in June 1981, forming

1584-592: The First Congo War . The ADFL, helped by Rwandan and Ugandan troops, took control of North and South Kivu provinces in November 1996 and then advanced west, gaining territory from the poorly organised and demotivated Zairian army with little fighting. By May 1997, they controlled almost the whole of Zaire except for the capital Kinshasa ; Mobutu fled and the ADFL took the capital without fighting. The country

1672-697: The Interahamwe paramilitary group. By late 1996, the Hutu militants represented a serious threat to the new Rwandan regime, and Kagame launched a counteroffensive. Kagame first provided troops and military training to aid a rebellion against Zaire by the Banyamulenge , a Tutsi group living near Bukavu in the Zairian South Kivu province. With Rwandan army support, the Banyamulenge defeated local security forces and began attacking

1760-670: The National Resistance Army (NRA). In the NRA, Kagame specialized in intelligence-gathering, and he rose to a position close to Museveni's. The NRA, based in the Luwero Triangle , fought the Ugandan army for the next five years, even after Obote was deposed in a 1985 coup d'état and the start of peace talks . In 1986, the NRA captured Kampala with a force of 14,000 soldiers, including 500 Rwandans, and formed

1848-616: The United States ; his relations with France were poor until 2009. Relations with the DRC remain tense despite the 2003 ceasefire; human rights groups and a leaked United Nations report allege Rwandan support for two insurgencies in the country, a charge Kagame denies. Several countries suspended aid payments in 2012 following these allegations. Since coming to power, Kagame has won four presidential elections , but none of these have been rated free or fair by international observers. His role in

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1936-596: The genocide , in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Kagame resumed the civil war and ended the genocide with a military victory. During his vice presidency, Kagame controlled the national army and was responsible for maintaining the government's power, while other officials began rebuilding the country. Many RPF soldiers carried out retribution killings. Kagame said he did not support these killings but failed to stop them. Hutu refugee camps formed in Zaire and other countries and

2024-577: The 1979 war during which Museveni's rebel group, FRONASA , allied with the Tanzanian army and other Ugandan exiles, defeated Amin. After Amin's defeat, Kagame and other Rwandan refugees pledged allegiance to Museveni, who had become a cabinet member in the transition government. Kagame received training at the United States Army Command and General Staff College , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . Former incumbent Milton Obote won

2112-668: The 1995 Kibeho massacre , in which soldiers opened fire on a camp for internally displaced persons in Butare Province . Australian soldiers serving as part of UNAMIR estimated at least 4,000 people were killed, while the Rwandan government claimed that the death toll was 338. The post-genocide Rwandan government took office in Kigali in July 1994. It was based loosely on the Arusha Accords, but Habyarimana's party, MRND

2200-437: The 4-story commercial center, and a car parking block which is also 4 stories tall. As of 2013 the tower is the tallest building in Kigali and Rwanda. The total retail floor space is around 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) while office space is 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft). The tower block is occupied mostly by office space, with only the ground, lower ground and top floors being retail. Each floor of

2288-601: The Bega clan, Deogratias Rutagambwa had family ties to King Mutara III , but he pursued an independent business career rather than maintain a close connection to the royal court. Kagame's mother, Asteria Bisinda, descended from the family of the last Rwandan queen, Rosalie Gicanda , that is from the Hebera branch of the royal Nyiginya clan. At the time of Kagame's birth, Rwanda was a United Nations Trust Territory which had been ruled, in various forms, by Belgium since 1916 under

2376-426: The Hutu refugee camps in the area. At the same time, Kagame's forces joined with Zairian Tutsi around Goma to attack two of the camps there. Most refugees from the attacked camps moved to the large Mugunga camp. In November 1996, the Rwandan army attacked Mugunga, causing an estimated 800,000 refugees to flee. Many returned to Rwanda despite the presence of the RPF; others ventured further west into Zaire. Despite

2464-604: The Hutu-led government in Rwanda. Kagame accused Bizimungu of corruption and poor management, while Bizimungu felt that he had no power over appointments to the cabinet and that the Transitional National Assembly was acting purely as a puppet for Kagame. Bizimungu resigned from the presidency in March 2000. Historians generally believe that Bizimungu was forced into resigning by Kagame after denouncing

2552-590: The National Assembly and attempting to sow discord within the RPF. However, Kagame told Kinzer that he was surprised by the development saying that he had received the "startling news" in a phone call from a friend. Following Bizimungu's resignation, the Supreme Court ruled that Kagame should become acting president until a permanent successor was chosen. Kagame had been de facto leader since 1994, but focused more on military, foreign affairs and

2640-632: The Nshungerezi refugee camp in the Toro sub-region in 1962. It was around this time that Kagame first met Fred Rwigyema , the future leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front . Kagame began his primary education in a school near the refugee camp, where he and other Rwandan refugees learned how to speak English and began to integrate into Ugandan culture. At the age of nine, he moved to the respected Rwengoro Primary School, around 16 kilometres (10 mi) away. He subsequently attended Ntare School , one of

2728-536: The RPF attacked the camps in 1996, but insurgents continued to attack Rwanda. As part of the invasion, Kagame sponsored two rebel wars in Zaire. Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels won the first war (1996–97), installing Laurent-Désiré Kabila as president in place of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and returning Zaire to its former pre-Mobutu name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The second war

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2816-551: The RPF during the genocide have also been documented in a 2000 report compiled by the Organisation of African Unity , and by Prunier in Africa's World War . In an interview with journalist Stephen Kinzer , Kagame acknowledged that killings had occurred but said that they were carried out by rogue soldiers and had been impossible to control. RPF killings continued after the end of the genocide, gaining international attention with

2904-703: The RPF leader shortly after joining and, while still working for the Ugandan army, he and Kagame completed their invasion plans. In October 1990, Rwigyema led a force of over 4,000 RPF rebels into Rwanda at the Kagitumba border post, advancing 60 km (37 mi) south to the town of Gabiro. Kagame was not present at the initial raids, as he was in the United States, attending the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On

2992-495: The Rwandan army, and by the end of October, the RPF had been pushed back into the far north east corner of the country. Kagame returned to Africa and took command of the RPF forces, which had been reduced to fewer than 2,000 troops. Kagame and his soldiers moved west, through Uganda, to the Virunga Mountains , a rugged high-altitude area where the terrain worked in their favour. From there, he re-armed and reorganised

3080-473: The Rwandan army. These actions caused an exodus of around 300,000 Hutu from the affected areas. Prunier wrote in 1995 that the RPF were surprised that Hutu peasants "showed no enthusiasm for being 'liberated' by them". In her 2018 book In Praise of Blood , however, Canadian journalist Judi Rever quoted witnesses who said that the exodus was forced by RPF attacks on the villages including the laying of landmines and shooting of children. Caplan's paper questions

3168-489: The Rwandan genocide. The camps were set up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but were effectively controlled by the army and government of the former Hutu regime, including many leaders of the genocide. This regime was determined to return to power in Rwanda and began rearming, killing Tutsi residing in Zaire, and launching cross-border incursions in conjunction with

3256-485: The Story: Genocide in Rwanda , written for Human Rights Watch , Rwanda expert Alison des Forges wrote that despite saving many lives, the RPF "relentlessly pursued those whom they thought guilty of genocide" and that "in their drive for military victory and a halt to the genocide, the RPF killed thousands, including noncombatants as well as government troops and members of militia". Human rights violations by

3344-683: The Tutsi. Kagame responded by suspending peace talks temporarily and launching a major attack, gaining a large swathe of land across the north of the country. Peace negotiations resumed in Arusha, and the resulting set of agreements, known as the Arusha Accords , were signed in August 1993. The RPF were given positions in a broad-based transitional government (BBTG) and in the national army. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR),

3432-446: The army and was the de facto ruler of the country. German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle stated that "Bizimungu was commonly seen as a placeholder for Kagame". The infrastructure and economy of the country suffered greatly during the genocide. Many buildings were uninhabitable, and the former regime had taken all currency and moveable assets when they fled the country. Human resources were also severely depleted, with over 40% of

3520-435: The army began to criticise Museveni over his appointment of Rwandan refugees to senior positions, and he demoted Kagame and Rwigyema. Kagame and Rwigeema remained de facto senior officers, but the change caused them to accelerate their plans to invade Rwanda. They joined an organisation called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a refugee association which had been operating under various names since 1979. Rwigyema became

3608-493: The army, and carried out fundraising and recruitment from the Tutsi diaspora. Kagame restarted combat in January 1991, with an attack on the northern town of Ruhengeri . Benefiting from the element of surprise, the RPF captured the town and held it for a day before retreating back into the forests. For the next year, the RPF waged a hit-and-run guerrilla war , capturing some border areas but not making significant gains against

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3696-578: The assassination of exiled political opponents has been controversial. Kagame was born on 23 October 1957, the youngest of six children, in Tambwe, Ruanda-Urundi , a village located in what is now the Southern Province of Rwanda. His father, Deogratias Rutagambwa, was a member of the Tutsi ethnic group, from which the royal family had been derived since the 18th century or earlier. A member of

3784-590: The best schools in Uganda, which was also the alma mater of future Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni . According to Kagame, the death of his father in the early-1970s, and the departure of Rwigyema to an unknown location, led to a decline in his academic performance and an increased tendency to fight those who belittled the Rwandan population. He was eventually suspended from Ntare and completed his studies at Old Kampala Secondary School. After completing his education, Kagame made two visits to Rwanda, in 1977 and 1978. He

3872-589: The complex in 2011, run by franchisee Deacons Kenya , while luxury coffee house Bourbon Coffee runs a cafe and outdoor seating area, one of its five outlets in the city. The third floor of the commercial center houses the Century Cinema complex. The cinema has four screens: three regular screens with 233, 135, 70 seats respectively, and a 4D film screen (marketed as 5D) which seats 18, the first of its kind in East Africa. Other retail providers include

3960-551: The country's security than day-to-day governance. By 2000, the threat posed by cross-border rebels was reduced and when Bizimungu resigned, Kagame decided to seek the presidency himself. The transitional constitution was still in effect, which meant the president was elected by government ministers and the Transitional National Assembly rather than by a direct election . The RPF selected two candidates, Kagame and RPF secretary general Charles Murigande ;

4048-490: The country, familiarise himself with the political and social situation, and make connections that would prove useful to him in his later activities. In 1978, Fred Rwigyema returned to western Uganda and reunited with Kagame. During his absence, Rwigyema had joined the rebel army of Yoweri Museveni . Based in Tanzania , it aimed to overthrow the Ugandan government of Idi Amin . Rwigyema returned to Tanzania and fought in

4136-503: The crash – evidence that the shooting of the plane was ordered as the initiation of the genocide. Following Habyarimana's death, a military committee led by Colonel Théoneste Bagosora took immediate control of the country. Under the committee's direction, the Hutu militia Interahamwe and the Presidential Guard began to kill Hutu and Tutsi opposition politicians and other prominent Tutsi figures. The killers then targeted

4224-508: The credibility of many of the witnesses Rever had spoken to, but noted that "there are considerable other sources besides Rever that attest to RPF war crimes". Following the June 1992 formation of a multi-party coalition government in Kigali, Kagame announced a ceasefire and initiated negotiations with the Rwandan government in Arusha , Tanzania . In early-1993, groups of extremist Hutu formed and began campaigns of large-scale violence against

4312-410: The disbanding of the camps, the defeated forces of the former regime continued a cross-border insurgency campaign into Rwanda from North Kivu . The insurgents maintained a presence in Rwanda's north western provinces and were supported by the predominantly Hutu population, many of whom had lived in the refugee camps before they were attacked. In addition to supporting the wars in the Congo, Kagame began

4400-407: The entire Tutsi population, as well as moderate Hutu, beginning the Rwandan genocide . Over the course of approximately 100 days, an estimated 206,000 to 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed on the orders of the committee. On 7 April, Kagame warned the committee and UNAMIR that he would resume the civil war if the killing did not stop. The next day, the Rwandan government forces attacked

4488-689: The expulsion of his soldiers by backing a new rebel group, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), and launching the Second Congo War . The first action of the war was a blitzkrieg by the RCD and RPA, led by Kabarebe. These forces made quick gains, advancing in twelve days from the Kivu provinces west to within 130 kilometres (81 mi) of Kinshasa. The capital was saved by the intervention of Angola , Namibia and Zimbabwe on Kabila's side. Following

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4576-523: The failure of the blitzkrieg, the conflict developed into a long-term conventional war, which lasted until 2003 and caused millions of deaths and massive damage. According to a report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), this conflict led to the loss of between 3 million and 7.6 million lives, many through starvation and disease accompanying the social disruption of the war. Although Kagame's primary reason for

4664-406: The force commander of UNAMIR, this success was due to Kagame being a "master of psychological warfare"; he exploited the fact that the government forces were concentrating on the genocide rather than the fight for Kigali, and capitalised on the government's loss of morale as it lost territory. The RPF finally defeated the Rwandan government forces in Kigali on 4 July, and on 18 July took Gisenyi and

4752-560: The godfathers of the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the continuation of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". The report also claimed that the Rwandan Ministry of Defence contained a "Congo Desk" dedicated to collecting taxes from companies licensed to mine minerals around Kisangani , and that substantial quantities of coltan and diamonds passed through Kigali before being resold on

4840-513: The international market by staff on the Congo Desk. International NGO Global Witness also conducted field studies in early 2013. It concluded that minerals from North and South Kivu are exported illegally to Rwanda and then marketed as Rwandan. Kagame dismissed these allegations as unsubstantiated and politically motivated; in a 2002 interview with newsletter Africa Confidential , Kagame said that if solid evidence against Rwandan officers

4928-542: The ministers and parliament elected Kagame by eighty-one votes to three. Kagame was sworn in as president in April 2000. Several Hutu politicians, including the prime minister Pierre-Célestin Rwigema , left the government at around the same time as Bizimungu, leaving a cabinet dominated by those close to Kagame. Bizimungu started his own party in 2001, but Kagame's government banned it on the grounds that political campaigning

5016-470: The national parliament building from several directions, but the RPF troops stationed there successfully fought back. Kagame began an attack from the north on three fronts, seeking to link up quickly with the troops isolated in Kigali. An interim government was set up but Kagame refused to talk to it, believing that it was just a cover for Bagosora's rule. Over the next few days, the RPF advanced steadily south, capturing Gabiro and large areas of countryside to

5104-414: The next day. Pasteur Bizimungu remained president but the makeup of the new government was predominantly RPF Tutsi loyal to Kagame. Twagiramungu and Sendashonga moved abroad to form a new opposition party shortly after leaving the government. Sendashonga, who had also spoken out about the need for punishing killings by rogue RPF soldiers, moved to Kenya. Having survived an attempt on his life in 1996, he

5192-463: The north and east of Kigali. They avoided attacking Kigali or Byumba at this stage, but conducted manoeuvres designed to encircle the cities and cut off supply routes. Throughout April there were numerous attempts by UNAMIR to establish a ceasefire, but Kagame insisted each time that the RPF would not stop fighting unless the killings stopped. In late April, the RPF secured the whole of the Tanzanian border area and began to move west from Kibungo, to

5280-445: The orders of Museveni. In a 2005 conversation with Caplan, Prunier provided a different account, stating that Bayingana and Bunyenyezi's killers were recruited by Kagame. Caplan notes that lack of research means the truth of this is uncertain, but that if true, the "tales of death and intrigue [offer] yet another insight into Kagame's character". Rwigyema's death threw the RPF into confusion. France and Zaire deployed forces in support of

5368-402: The parliament, effectively make Rwanda a one-party state , as "under the guise of preventing another genocide, the government displays a marked intolerance of the most basic forms of dissent". Since ascending to the presidency in 2000, Kagame has faced four presidential elections , in 2003, 2010, 2017 and 2024. On each occasion, he was re-elected in a landslide, winning more than 90 percent of

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5456-551: The population having been killed or fled. Many who remained were traumatised; most had lost relatives, witnessed killings, or participated in the genocide. Kagame controlled the national army and was responsible for maintaining the government's power, while other officials began rebuilding the country. Non-governmental organisations began to move back into the country, and the international community spent US$ 1.5 billion on humanitarian aid between July and December 1994, but Prunier described this as "largely unconnected with

5544-424: The population. Tensions between Tutsi and Hutu had been escalating during the 1950s, and culminated in the 1959 Rwandan Revolution . Hutu activists began killing Tutsi, forcing more than 100,000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Kagame's family abandoned their home and lived for two years in northeastern Rwanda, eventually crossing the border into Uganda . They moved gradually north, and settled in

5632-777: The real economic needs of the community". Kagame strove to portray the government as inclusive and not Tutsi-dominated. He directed removal of ethnicity from citizens' national identity cards, and the government began a policy of downplaying the distinctions between Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The unity government suffered a partial collapse in 1995. The continuing violence, along with appointing of local government officials who were almost exclusively RPF Tutsi, caused serious disagreement between Kagame and senior Hutu government members, including prime minister Faustin Twagiramungu and interior minister Seth Sendashonga . Twagiramungu resigned in August, and Kagame fired Sendashonga and three others

5720-428: The rest of the north west, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide. At the end of July 1994, Kagame's forces held the whole of Rwanda except for a zone in the south west, which had been occupied by a French-led United Nations force as part of Opération Turquoise . Kagame's tactics and actions during the genocide have proved controversial. Western observers such as Dallaire and Luc Marchal ,

5808-539: The second day of the attack, Rwigyema was shot in the head and killed. The exact circumstances are disputed; the official line of Kagame's government, and the version mentioned by historian Gérard Prunier in his 1995 book on the subject, was that Rwigyema was killed by a stray bullet. In his 2009 book Africa's World War , Prunier says Rwigyema was killed by his subcommander Peter Bayingana, following an argument over tactics. According to this account, Bayingana and fellow subcommander Chris Bunyenyezi were then executed on

5896-401: The senior Belgian peacekeeper in Rwanda at the time, have stated that the RPF prioritised taking power over saving lives or stopping the genocide. Scholars also believe that the RPF killed many Rwandan civilians, predominantly Hutu, during the genocide and in the months that followed. The death toll from these killings is in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. In her book Leave None to Tell

5984-435: The south of Kigali. They encountered little resistance, except around Kigali and Ruhengeri. By 16 May, they had cut the road between Kigali and Gitarama , the temporary home of the interim government, and by 13 June, they had taken Gitarama, following an unsuccessful attempt by the Rwandan government forces to reopen the road. The interim government was forced to relocate to Gisenyi in the far north west. As well as fighting

6072-554: The space thereafter. The three-screen Century Cinema complex was completed in March 2013 and opened in May 2013. Kigali City Tower is on Avenue du Commerce, also known as KN 76 Street, in Nyarugenge District , which is the central business district of Kigali. The building is on the site of the former central bus station, which was closed in 2005. The building consists of three components: the tower, which rises to 20 stories,

6160-445: The status quo have been arrested, forcibly disappeared, or killed, independent media have been muzzled, and intimidation has silenced groups working on civil rights or free speech". Following the 2017 poll, Human Rights Watch released evidence of irregularities by election officials including forcing voters to write their votes in full view and casting votes for electors who had not appeared. The United States Department of State said it

6248-642: The tower has 336 square metres (3,620 sq ft) of office space available. The largest retailer in the complex was a branch of the Kenyan supermarket chain Nakumatt , which occupied the ground and lower ground floors of the commercial centre, as well as the ground floor of the car park building. This was Nakumatt's second Kigali store, the other was in the Union Trade Centre . South African clothing store Mr Price opened its first Rwandan branch in

6336-533: The two wars in the Congo was Rwanda's security, he was alleged to gain economic benefit by exploiting the mineral wealth of the eastern Congo. The 2001 United Nations Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo alleged that Kagame, along with Ugandan President Museveni, were "on the verge of becoming

6424-495: The vote. A constitutional amendment referendum in 2015, which gave Kagame the ability to stand for additional terms, also passed by similar margins. International election monitors, human rights organisations and journalists generally regard these elections as lacking freedom and fairness, with interventions by the Rwandan state to ensure Kagame's victory. According to Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director for Human Rights Watch, "Rwandans who have dared raise their voices or challenge

6512-529: The war, Kagame was recruiting heavily to expand the army. The new recruits included Tutsi survivors of the genocide and refugees from Burundi , but were less well trained and disciplined than the earlier recruits. Having completed the encirclement of Kigali, Kagame spent the latter half of June fighting to take the city. The government forces had superior manpower and weapons, but the RPF steadily gained territory, as well as conducting raids to rescue civilians from behind enemy lines. According to Roméo Dallaire ,

6600-570: Was Vice President and Minister of Defence under President Pasteur Bizimungu from 1994 to 2000 after which the vice-presidential post was abolished. Born to a Tutsi family in southern Rwanda that fled to Uganda when he was two years old, Kagame spent the rest of his childhood there during the Rwandan Revolution , which ended Tutsi political dominance. In the 1980s, Kagame fought in Yoweri Museveni 's rebel army becoming

6688-408: Was "disturbed by irregularities observed during voting" as well as "long-standing concerns over the integrity of the vote-tabulation process". List of presidents of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution ), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of

6776-465: Was assassinated in Nairobi in May 1998, when a UN vehicle in which he was travelling was fired upon. Many observers believe Kagame ordered the killing; as Caplan noted: "the RPF denied any responsibility, which no one other than RPF partisans believed". Following the RPF victory, approximately two million Hutu fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries, particularly Zaire, fearing RPF reprisals for

6864-402: Was imprisoned until 2007, when he was pardoned by Kagame. Between 1994 and 2003, Rwanda was governed by a set of documents combining President Habyarimana's 1991 constitution, the Arusha Accords, and some additional protocols introduced by the transitional government. As required by the accords, Kagame set up a constitutional commission to draft a new permanent constitution. The constitution

6952-456: Was initially hosted by family members of his former classmates, but upon arrival in Kigali ; he made contact with members of his own family. He kept a low profile on these visits, believing that his status as a well-connected Tutsi exile could lead to arrest. On his second visit, he entered the country through Zaire rather than Uganda to avoid suspicion. Kagame used his time in Rwanda to explore

7040-542: Was launched in 1998 against Kabila, and later his son Joseph , following the DRC government's expulsion of Rwandan and Ugandan military forces from the country. The war escalated into a conflict that lasted until a 2003 peace deal and ceasefire. Bizimungu resigned in 2000, most likely having been forced to do so, following a falling out with the RPF. He was replaced by Kagame. Bizimungu was later imprisoned for corruption and inciting ethnic violence, charges that human rights groups described as politically motivated. Kagame's rule

7128-452: Was most likely a coup d'état carried out by extreme Hutu members of Habyarimana's government who feared that the president was serious about honouring the Arusha agreement, and was a planned part of the genocide. This theory was disputed in 2006 by French judge Jean-Louis Bruguière , and in 2008 by Spanish judge Fernando Andreu . Both alleged that Kagame and the RPF were responsible. Rever also held Kagame responsible, giving as his motive

7216-407: Was not permitted under the transitional constitution. The following year, Kagame issued a public statement to Bizimungu, warning him that the government's patience with his continued involvement in party politics was "not infinite", and Bizimungu was arrested two weeks later and convicted of corruption and inciting ethnic violence, charges which human rights groups said were politically motivated. He

7304-600: Was outlawed. The positions it had been assigned were taken over by the RPF. The military wing of the RPF was renamed as the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), and became the national army. Paul Kagame assumed the dual roles of Vice President of Rwanda and Minister of Defence while Pasteur Bizimungu , a Hutu who had been a civil servant under Habyarimana before fleeing to join the RPF, was appointed president. Bizimungu and his cabinet had some control over domestic affairs, but Kagame remained commander-in-chief of

7392-519: Was presented, it would be dealt with very seriously. In 2010, the United Nations released a report accusing the Rwandan army of committing wide scale human rights violations and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the First and Second Congo Wars , charges denied by the Rwandan government. In the late 1990s, Kagame began to disagree publicly with Bizimungu and

7480-841: Was released in 2003; it was approved by the parliament, and was then put to a referendum in May of that year. The referendum was widely promoted by the government; ultimately, 95% of eligible adults registered to vote and the turnout on voting day was 87%. The constitution was overwhelmingly accepted, with 93% voting in favour. The constitution provided for a two-house parliament, an elected president serving seven-year terms, and multi-party politics. The constitution also sought to prevent Hutu or Tutsi hegemony over political power. Article 54 states that "political organizations are prohibited from basing themselves on race, ethnic group, tribe, clan, region, sex, religion or any other division which may give rise to discrimination". According to Human Rights Watch , this clause, along with later laws enacted by

7568-568: Was renamed as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kabila became the new president. The Rwandan Defence Forces and the ADFL were accused of carrying out mass atrocities during the First Congo War, with as many as 222,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees declared missing. Kagame and the Rwandan government retained strong influence over Kabila following his inauguration, and the RPA maintained

7656-453: Was required to adhere to a set of fundamental principles including equitable power sharing and democracy. The commission sought to ensure that the draft constitution was "home-grown", relevant to Rwanda's specific needs, and reflected the views of the entire population; they sent questionnaires to civil groups across the country and rejected offers of help from the international community, except for financial assistance. The draft constitution

7744-575: Was the dismantling of the refugee camps, Kagame also began planning a war to remove long-time dictator President Mobutu Sese Seko from power. Mobutu had supported the genocidaires based in the camps, and was also accused of allowing attacks on Tutsi people within Zaire. Together with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Kagame supported the newly created Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFL), an alliance of four rebel groups headed by Laurent-Désiré Kabila , which began waging

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