Kagame made the remarks during a conversation with CNN correspondent, Eleni Giokos at the opening of Africa CEO Forum 2026 in Kigali on Wednesday, May 14, 2026.
When asked about the often chaotic and undignified tone of social media used by global leaders, Kagame offered a calm and pragmatic view.
“The media has been democratized. I think it is important,” he said. “Everyone can express themselves and they will be heard. If you are wrong, there will be somebody to tell you, no, no, no, that’s not right. When it is right, people will say, wait a minute, I think there is a point here that we should be thinking about.”
Kagame acknowledged that social media lacks the decorum of traditional communication but argued it has opened up space and broken old conditioning.
He said the platform allows people to receive both criticism and advice directly.
“It has been so open that we have gone beyond having this narrow sense of being guided to things without sometimes thinking,” he noted.
When pressed on whether some of the things he sees on social media shock him, Kagame replied calmly: “I am not shocked. I said I have been immunized today. I am not shocked. I understand where the world we live in. It has changed.”
He added that after the last 30 years in leadership, he has come to accept that many things that would once have been shocking no longer are.
Leaders, he suggested, should scan information, make sense of it, and decide how to use it responsibly.
The President’s comments reflect a measured approach to the digital public square, contrasting with many leaders who often complain about or avoid social media altogether.
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