Speaking in a candid conversation on The Long Form podcast hosted by Sanny Ntayombya, Onyango-Obbo described the RPF as Africa\u2019s first true statehood movement and shared vivid memories of encountering President Paul Kagame, who at the time was commander of its armed wing, the RPA, and whose quiet resolve in Rwanda\u2019s rugged bush foretold his role in transforming a shattered nation.<\/p>\n
Onyango-Obbo described the RPF\u2019s struggle, which ended the 100-day Genocide against the Tutsi in July 1994, as unique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not a classical liberation movement against dictatorship,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was to get the largely Tutsi refugee population to return home.\u201d <\/p>\n
He likened the movement\u2019s geopolitical significance to the forces behind Israel\u2019s founding, noting its improbable success. Operating deep in Rwanda\u2019s hinterland, far from coastal supply lines, the RPF faced steep odds as a minority force, never exceeding 15% of Rwanda\u2019s population even with full Tutsi support. Yet, under Kagame\u2019s command, it triumphed.<\/p>\n
Onyango-Obbo revealed that his access to the RPF, facilitated by childhood ties in Fort Portal and the group\u2019s openness to African journalists, offered a rare perspective. <\/p>\n
“The RPF was one of the first movements to give preference to African journalists to cover them,” he recalled.<\/p>\n
Onyango-Obbo, then a budding journalist, travelled to Rwanda\u2019s war-torn north and saw stark contrasts\u2014abandoned government barracks stocked with beer and cigarettes, while barefoot RPF fighters in tattered t-shirts pushed forward. <\/p>\n
Among them, Kagame, then a Major General, struck him as contemplative yet tough. His quiet resolve anchored the movement\u2019s gruelling campaign after he stepped in to lead following the death of Fred Rwigema, just one day after the liberation war began.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was almost exactly as he is today,\u201d he said, noting Kagame\u2019s unassuming demeanour.<\/p>\n
Unlike flamboyant rebel leaders like Angola’s Jonas Savimbi, Onyango-Obbo revealed, Kagame\u2019s authority was subtle. <\/p>\n
“He was contemplative, thoughtful, not rushed to judgment, but tough. Your first sense would be, ‘How is he the leader?’ He didn\u2019t broadcast it visibly. As president, he has trappings that make him stand out, but back then, unlike Jonas Savimbi, who lived like a king in the bush, Kagame didn\u2019t,” he observed.<\/p>\n
“You needed to know him to understand his place. If you were a visitor, guessing the leader, you wouldn\u2019t pick him.”<\/p>\n
In the unforgiving Muhabura mountains, where RPF fighters endured brutal cold and some froze to death with guns still clutched in their hands, Paul Kagame\u2019s unyielding grit stood out. <\/p>\n
Onyango-Obbo, witnessing the rebels\u2019 resilience in the mountains, became convinced of their unstoppable force. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf they came down the mountain,\u201d he believed, \u201cthey wouldn\u2019t be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Onyango-Obbo noted that Kagame\u2019s relentless persistence, which later drove Rwanda\u2019s successful methane extraction projects on Lake Kivu despite numerous failures, confirmed his unwavering belief that no challenge was insurmountable.<\/p>\n
“His views have broadened, but he\u2019s the same person. The idea of impossible doesn\u2019t exist for him. He wouldn\u2019t have succeeded if it did,” he explained.<\/p>\n
“For example, after the war, they explored methane extraction. They had many failures, but he didn\u2019t give up despite disappointments. Now, with methane plants on Lake Kivu, looking back to 2000, anyone would have thrown in the towel.”<\/p>\n
He also shared his first impression of Rwigema, describing him as warm and easy to connect with, even from a distance.<\/p>\n
“He was easily the most charismatic person I\u2019ve met. He radiated it from a distance. He had a very easygoing personality. You wouldn\u2019t imagine he was a soldier. It\u2019s difficult for people who\u2019ve been in the trenches to escape being soldiers, but he could,” he narrated.<\/p>\n
The Ugandan author also shared a memory of seeing Rwigema in Kampala near the Diamond Bank building, heading to a bookstore. <\/p>\n
“He drove up in a VW Golf, got out in jeans, an untucked shirt, and sandals, going to the bookshop. We shouted at him, he gave high-fives, greeted people in the street, alone, without guards. That\u2019s the kind of person he was.”<\/p>\n
In the interview, filmed in Nairobi, Kenya, the Ugandan journalist also recalled early warning signs of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Just weeks after the RPF\u2019s October 1990 offensive, he visited a Ugandan border camp where Tutsi refugees bore machete wounds inflicted by Interahamwe militants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe infrastructure of the genocide was already baked into Rwandan society,\u201d he said, lamenting journalists\u2019 failure to foresee the horror.<\/p>\n
Beyond Rwanda, Onyango-Obbo shared reflections on East Africa\u2019s trajectory. He warned that Uganda, after nearly four decades under President Yoweri Museveni, faced a fractured future, potentially splintering into autonomous regions by 2070 due to regional distrust and unresolved grievances. <\/p>\n
He predicted that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia could stabilise within 15 years, possibly through federalism or an al-Shabaab-led regime, while South Sudan and Burundi risked prolonged stagnation. <\/p>\n
Watch the full interview below: <\/p>\n