Paul Kagame

“In a state of poverty, illiteracy, people just remain exposed to all kinds of manipulation. That's what we have lived. It's easier to tell a poor person, 'You know what, you are poor, you're hungry because the other one has taken away your rights.'”

“I said, maybe you need to take a risk with someone else. But they kept saying no, we want you to stay.”

“The judicial system of Rwanda is not subordinate to France or France's interests.”

“I grew up in a refugee camp. Thirty years. This so-called human-rights world didn't ask me what was happening for me to be there 30 years.”

“I don't think anybody out there in the media, U.N., human rights organisations, has any moral right whatsoever to level any accusations against me or against Rwanda. Because, when it came to the problems facing Rwanda, and the Congo, they were all useless.”

“Sometimes our partners from other countries ask us why we have not got further with our reconciliation, as if we possess a magic to just get rid of this tragic history of ours.”

“I would be very happy for a woman to succeed me.”

“There is a need to take advantage of the change that has taken place in the Congo, however tragic that has been in its coming.”

“You can be up there, talked about, appreciated all over the world, with people singing a lot of songs about you. But if you don't measure up and you are not really connected with your people... it will explode in your face, no question about it.”

“I get newspapers from Britain and other countries twice a week and read them almost page to page. Sometimes I find I'm reading things I don't even need to read, because my mind is still hungry.”

“We want to develop this can-do mentality.”

“To be effective at delivering a decent life for all, the U.N. must treat all the people it serves with impartiality and respect.”