I had to fight hard for everything. I wanted to get out. I want to take my destiny into my own hands and escape the vicious cycle of retaliatory violence. This struggle has shaped who I am to this day.

Africa’s story has been written by others; we need to own our problems and solutions and write our story.

I know that the fact that I am candidate to my own succession in 2017 can be perceived to be a bad thing by some part of the public opinion outside Rwanda and I don't mind because I know that I am doing it for a good cause. It really doesn't matter to me that my name is associated to those critics as long as I know that I am doing the will of the people.

Politics is not only about personal choice. That one also needs to take into consideration what the people want because in the end, they are the ones who decide.

There are some who are scared by unity and by building a country on the basis of ideas.

When people accuse us of taking coltan from Congo, I don't understand what they mean. The quality of our own coltan here from Rwanda is much better. But still people from the UN come here, we show them our coltan mines, we show them the documents, then they go and say: Rwanda smuggles coltan.

Up to a certain extent the UN soldiers are useful. But they are consuming a lot of resources in relation to the little work they are doing.