The war was brought to an end by the RPF’s military victory, which, upon assuming control of government in 1994, promised to re-launch the process of transition to democracy. Regrettably, the promised transition to democracy has failed to materialize. On the contrary, Rwanda is now far less free than it was prior to the outbreak of the genocide. President Paul Kagame has converted both the RPF and the Rwandese Patriotic Army – now the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) – into instruments for sustaining his personal and
absolute control of the state. Indeed, due to President Kagame’s maneuvering, the entire political system, despite the false and misleading appearance of a multi-party democracy, does not, in fact or deed, provide any real or meaningful opportunity for political participation or political opposition.
