Kagame Warns Against ‘Racist’ Attitudes During Trial of Hotel Rwanda Hero, Seeks ‘Fair Trial’

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame says he wants to see a fair trial for Paul Rusesabagina, the man portrayed as a hero in a 2004 Hollywood movie about the Rwandan genocide.

In an interview with France 24, the president warned against “racist” attitudes towards Rwanda’s judicial system.

“I want to see a fair trial myself. Why do you think being fair belongs to U.S and the EU, and not to us?

“It’s like the only thing to be fair in Rwanda or in Africa it has to be supervised by Europe or US or some other place. No. Absolutely no,” he said.

Mr Rusesabagina is accused of terror charges related to deadly attacks in Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 by the FLN, the armed wing of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), a coalition of opposition parties of which he is vice-president.

While his lawyers have denied the charges against him, he says he was illegally abducted in Dubai last August and flown to Rwanda

But President Kagame said there was nothing wrong in how the arrest was made.

“What’s wrong in tricking a criminal you are looking for?” he posed.

In March, Mr Rusesabagina said he would not appear in court again as he did not expect justice.