Rwanda’s sole hero Paul Kagame “won” the 4 August election by 99%. Emboldened by his Western benefactors and cheerleaders, Kagame rules with reckless intransigence and impunity. He has conveniently forgotten that the civil wars of 1959 and 1990s were about the exclusion of whole ethnic groups from state power. The dream of freedom and peace remains distant for Rwandans.

Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame will stage sham elections this week to keep himself in power for another term. He has already arranged to stay in office until 2034, if he chooses. Those who challenge the vote count often wind up dead, or in prison, like Victoire Ingabire – which is fine with Washington, Kagame’s major backer.

The Rwandan dictator has mastered the philosophy of the big lie: if you keep repeating a falsehood over and over again, people will sooner or later believe it. Kagame has grossly exaggerated his social and economic accomplishments of the past 23 years. He says he has built the Singapore of Africa. In reality, though, Rwanda is the poorest country in East Africa, except for Burundi.