Beyond Rwanda’s killing fields: A country in recovery

While Rwanda is remembered for the 1994 genocide, John Hearne looks at how the country has made strides under Paul Kagame, a president not without his share of controversy

RWANDA has no right to be held up as a success story. It is a tiny, landlocked country right at the heart of central Africa. Unlike its largest neighbour, Congo, which is rich in copper, gold and diamonds, Rwanda has no mineral wealth.

It is vastly oversupplied with people. Only a little larger than Munster, it has a population of more than 12m, most of whom are dirt-poor subsistence farmers.