Rwandan President Paul Kagame has delivered a sharp rebuke of the international sanctions regime, accusing powerful nations of wielding the punitive measures as political and economic weapons against weaker countries under the guise of justice.
Speaking on Thursday at the opening of the 13th Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Kagame said sanctions are governed by power dynamics rather than fairness, often deployed to serve geopolitical and economic interests of the world’s most powerful nations.
“Sometimes sanctions are just applied in a case of one who provides less than the other. It goes in favor of the highest bidder,” Kagame told an audience of some 2,800 delegates from more than 70 countries, including six African heads of state and hundreds of business leaders and investors. “When somebody knows they will extract more from a certain place, they will be more favorable to that place, even if they are the ones in the wrong.”
The Rwandan leader described a global order in which powerful countries no longer hide their influence. “The powers that be are holding a whip in their hands, beating up whoever they want to beat up. They are no longer even hiding it; it’s now just in the open,” he declared.
‘Sanctions Hurt, But We Will Not Capitulate’
Kagame’s comments came against the backdrop of US sanctions imposed in March on the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior military officers over allegations of supporting the M23 rebel movement in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The sanctions marked the first time Washington directly targeted the RDF as an institution.
Acknowledging the impact of the measures, Kagame was characteristically blunt. “Sanctions are meant to hurt people. Yes, they hurt – absolutely. That is the intended goal,” he said. “But I think we would be hurt more by not doing what we are doing. It costs more to say yes to the wrong thing.”
A Call for African Unity and Self-Reliance
Beyond condemning sanctions, Kagame used the forum to issue a sweeping call for African unity and economic self-determination. He warned that the continent risks continued exploitation unless it acts collectively to assert its interests.
“There will always be crises. We had slave trade, we had colonial times, wars, pandemics – they will happen all the time,” Kagame said. “We are in a different crisis now that is driven geopolitically, and we must learn from this and shape our own future.”
The president urged African leaders to move beyond endless analysis of global problems and focus on coordinated action. He pointed to the continent’s vast strategic advantages – including 60 percent of the world’s solar potential and abundant critical minerals – and questioned why Africa remains disadvantaged.
“These powers come here lecturing people on democracy and human rights with one arm, and with the other they are taking away everything people own,” Kagame said. “Africa must stop waiting to be ripped off and learn to say no.”
A Forum for Action
The two-day forum, held at the Kigali Convention Centre under the theme “Scale or Fail: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership,” brought together Presidents William Ruto of Kenya, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, Daniel Chapo of Mozambique, Mamadi Doumbouya of Guinea, and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon.
Organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, the gathering focused on building economic scale through regional integration, industrialization, and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
In his closing remarks, Kagame returned to his core message of continental self-reliance. “These pressures are reminding us to wake up,” he said. “Africa looking within is not entirely a bad thing.”