Rwandese President Paul Kagame said that Zimbabwe’s political leaders have to convince their subjects first before attempting to convince outsiders of the country’s trajectory.
Kagame said this on Wednesday while addressing the media on the eve of Rwanda’s 25th liberation commemorations in Kigali. He said:
The Zimbabweans are irreplaceable in dealing with their own country. It has to be practical.
I hope all of us understand. Even for us, we want to show we want results. We don’t want anybody to give us credit for nothing.
So, for us, it is to say we can be with you, and work with you and share whatever we can from outside but it’s a responsibility of the Zimbabweans as has been of Rwandans. When it comes to Rwanda, there is no question about it.
We want to do something and convince our own people, later on, convince these outsiders who, or sometimes who would never be convinced. The moment you are with your people, it’s a done deal.
Kagame also chided Western countries for their hypocrisy by expecting Zimbabwe to implement reforms and make progress while it is under sanctions that they imposed. He said:
When you are under sanctions, you are being denied the tools to apply, to actually change the situation.
So, you can’t be the same person who has applied the sanctions and then you say ‘I want you to change in a very short time’ …