Rwanda Deserves UK Censure Over Handling of 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero
The Biden administration's declaration that Paul Rusesabagina has been "wrongfully detained" in Rwanda is a welcome departure from nearly three decades of American indulgence of Paul Kagame, the country's autocratic president. This sets a useful precedent for other countries that have until now turned a blind eye to Kagame's dictatorial drift.
Rusesabagina, whose role in saving more than 1,000 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide was the subject of the film "Hotel Rwanda," was arrested in Kigali in 2020 after what his lawyers and family described as a rendition operation in which he was picked up in Dubai. He had been an outspoken critic of the Kagame regime. Following what human-rights groups denounced as a "show trial," Rusesabagina was sentenced last fall to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges.
The US says it hasn't taken a position on whether Rusesabagina, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, is innocent or guilty. But according to a State Department spokesperson, "The determination took into account the totality of the circumstances, notably the lack of fair trial guarantees during his trial." Responsibility for the case now falls on President Biden's special envoy for hostage affairs rather than the consular staff at the US Embassy in Kigali.
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In addition to raising the political profile of the Rusesabagina case, the reassignment will draw renewed international attention to other examples of the Kagame government's silencing of its critics. International human-rights groups say Rwanda's intelligence network has abducted and assassinated Kagame's enemies at home and abroad and jailed people for speaking out. The government denies the allegations.
In the past, the US has ignored rights groups' criticism of Kagame on the grounds that he was instrumental in ending the bloody civil war that killed more than 800,000 Rwandans. His defenders in Washington have argued, speciously, that his iron-fisted rule was necessary to keep a lid on ethnic hatreds. But the Biden administration is signaling that Kagame's free pass has expired and that his actions will be examined more closely.
This scrutiny comes at an especially awkward moment for Kagame, who is preparing to host the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month. This gathering of representatives from 54 countries was meant to be an opportunity for Kagame to flex Rwanda's soft power as an exception to the political instability and economic decline in East Africa — and to show off his international stature.
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He has been waiting for this moment since 2007; that year, after a diplomatic spat with France, Rwanda applied for membership in the Commonwealth, which is made up mainly of former British colonies. (Rwanda was in turns a German and Belgian colony before allying itself with France after independence.)
Since then, Kagame has worked to strengthen Kigali's ties to London, the most controversial manifestation of which is Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to send asylum seekers who cross the English Channel to Rwanda. Tens of thousands of people make the journey across the channel every year. Despite concerns that offshoring them to Rwanda contravenes international law as well as warnings about Rwanda's treatment of refugees from elsewhere, British authorities are expected to send the first batch to Kigali any day now.
Kagame may have been hoping the headlines over the arrival of the asylum seekers will have been forgotten by the time his British guests turn up for the Commonwealth summit: As well as Johnson, Britain will be represented by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. But with the Biden administration's announcement about Rusesabagina, it is inevitable that journalists will press Charles and Camilla on their views about their host's treatment of those who cross him.
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Johnson would be wise to preempt any embarrassment, for himself as much as for the royals, by issuing a statement echoing American concerns about the fairness of Rusesabagina's treatment. He would do better still by calling for Rusesabagina to be treated humanely — his family says he suffered a stroke in prison — and be given a second, more transparent trial.
With the US having withdrawn Kagame's free pass, the British government shouldn't allow him to ride out this controversy.
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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs. Previously, he was editor in chief at Hindustan Times, managing editor at Quartz and international editor at Time.
