Addressing a press conference in Kigali on March 1, President Paul Kagame said that he doesn’t know whether he will be a candidate during Rwanda’s 2024 presidential elections.

“It could be, may be it won’t be. Go home with 50-50,” he told a Mozambican journalist.

This answer attracted Rwandans attention on social media, many stating that they want him on the ballot in the next presidential election because they still see him as the right person to continue leading the country.

“We can't let our President retire! Paul Kagame still has a lot to do and Rwandans want him in power as long as possible,” said one Twitter user.

 

“Please No! I beg him to leave that (50-50), and let the chances of being presidential candidate be 100%,” said another.

 

By and large, from the Rwandans’ viewpoint, here are five reasons why the nation still needs him.

 

1.   Peace and security is his top priority

 

From 1950s to 1994, Rwanda was an unstable country whose leaders promoted discrimination and division among citizens.

 

President Kagame who headed RPF Inkotanyi that stopped the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, led the post-genocide Rwanda and invested all his effort in bringing peace and security in a devastated country.

 

He helped establish a sense of belonging to many Rwandans who had completely lost it.

 

He removed ethnic categorization from identity cards, eradicated divisionism, established national unity and reconciliation, healed the wounds of genocide, restored a proper justice system, built strong and disciplined security forces, among others. Rwandans are enjoying living in a safe and secure country.

 

Kagame has even gone beyond Rwanda’s borders and provided military support in countries like Mozambique, South Sudan and Central African Republic to restore peace and security.  

 

2.   Strongly committed to Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation

 

Rwanda has undergone an astounding transformation in two decades since President Kagame took office in 2000.

 

He inherited a country whose government and political institutions were broken, a large segment of the population killed and the economy in total meltdown.

 

He managed to change nation from a failed state to an exemplary African nation. A success that can only be reached by few leaders in this world.

 

Life expectancy improved from 49 years in 2000 to 69.6 years in 2022, poverty fell from 77 per cent in 2001 to 55 per cent in 2017, maternal mortality ratio has declined to 203 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 down from 1,071 in 2000 while under-five mortality dropped to 45 deaths per 1,000 in 2020 from 196 deaths in 2000.

 

Rwanda has broken the mold of African dependency and embraced free market reforms that has enabled average annual growth of 7 per cent since 2000, a fact UNESCO has called “the Rwandan miracle.” But, it has not reached yet where it wants to be. Rwanda aspires for middle income country status by 2035 and a high-income country status by 2050.

 

President Kagame is highly committed to investing in technology and innovation to improve service delivery and accelerate economic transformation and development. Rwandans need him to reach to these long term goals. He is a man of action.  

 

3.   Zero tolerance to corruption and irresponsibility

 

Kagame is known for his fearless spirit and strong determination to zero tolerance against corruption and ineptitude. Ministers, high level officials, government staff and local leaders who committed corruption crimes, mismanagement of public resources or professional malpractices have been publicly suspended and some arrested and held accountable.

 

“Government is not that political animal that is there to eat up the people but one that serves the people,” said Kagame.

 

His strong anti-corruption stance has contributed to developing the culture of transparency and accountability among government officials. This paved the way for Rwanda to be among the least corrupt countries worldwide and attracted foreign investment.

 

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International ranked Rwanda as the fourth least corrupt country in Africa.

 

4.   Gender equality advocate

 

Fighting gender inequality has been one of Kagame’s priorities since coming to power.

 

For Kagame, gender equality is neither a favor nor something men should be thanked for, but the right of women to play the role they want to play.

 

To date, Rwanda is the world leader by having many females in parliament, 61.3 per cent in the lower house, and 38.8 per cent in the Senate. In the cabinet, women and men have equal representation. Many programs empowering girls and women have been established in education, employment, and entrepreneurship, among others.

 

Rwanda’s stand is; the right policy frameworks, politics and legal reforms will assure equal rights and opportunities for men and women.

 

Kagame made Rwanda one of the most pro-women countries in the world. Women feel safe and secure, motivated, empowered, free to do whatever they want without any discrimination. They are protected from any gender based violence.

5.   Political stability

 

Security, rapid economic development, a reduction in poverty and mortality rates, access to health care, equal opportunity for education, policies that empower women, and others, would all not be possible in Rwanda if it was not for Kagame’s ability to establish and maintain political stability.

 

Over two decades now, Rwandans have been enjoying stability which helped them to significantly improve their living standards. This is something they don’t want to lose. They already experienced the dark history of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.