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Despite its vast natural wealth, the Democratic Republic of Congo is trapped in cycles of war, corruption, and foreign meddling. Armed militias, reportedly backed by Rwanda, have seized parts of the mineral-rich east, raising fears of wider conflict and possible regime change. Journalist and author Michela Wrong joins the podcast to unpack the stakes of Congo's latest crisis—and why it matters beyond the region. Her recent Foreign Affairs article, “How Far Will Rwanda Go in Congo?” offers key insights into a conflict that echoes global struggles over resources, borders, and power.
The idea of Rwanda invading the Democratic Republic of Congo looks, on paper, preposterous. However, as an alliance of rebel groups seized Goma, the biggest city in the DRC’s east, we ask: what is the plan? Fred Bauma joins Andew Mueller with the latest from Kinshasa. Then: Jason Stearns and Michela Wrong tell us about the history behind this conflict and consider the view from Rwanda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée.
Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée.
Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée le samedi. Même recette le dimanche pour anticiper la semaine à venir. Un rendez-vous emblématique pour mieux comprendre l'air du temps et la complexité de notre monde.
Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée le samedi. Même recette le dimanche pour anticiper la semaine à venir. Un rendez-vous emblématique pour mieux comprendre l'air du temps et la complexité de notre monde.
« Pendant des années, le monde a célébré Paul Kagame comme le sauveur du Rwanda, l'homme qui a mis fin à l'un des pires génocides de l'histoire moderne et transformé son pays en un modèle de développement économique en Afrique. Mais derrière cette façade de succès se cache une réalité bien plus sombre, que j'ai mis au jour dans mon livre "Assassins sans frontières" – Michela Wrong, a propos de son live ‘Assassins Sans Frontières »
It's thirty years since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, perpetrated by the Hutu-led government. British journalist Michela Wrong's book Do Not Disturb, The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad explores the legacy of the genocide, exposing a murderous in-coming regime that operates on a "grand scale deceit", exercising a destabilising influence on the wider region. Michela has reported from and written about Africa for almost three decades, working for Reuters and the Financial Times. Michela is visiting NZ this week, giving a series of talks at the invitation of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.
During her trip to Australia, Michela Wrong, a respected author known for her perceptive analyses of African countries such as Eritrea and Rwanda, engaged in a discussion with SBS Tigrinya. She illuminated the themes explored in her book "I Didn't Do It for You," particularly delving into the complex political environment of Eritrea. Additionally, she highlighted the burgeoning presence of young Eritrean movements dedicated to instigating transformation within the nation.
GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Michela Wrong, is a British journalist and author who spent more than two decades writing about Africa. Her postings as a journalist began in Europe and then West, Central and East Africa. She has worked for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times before becoming a freelance writer. GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Dr Carole Lieberman, internationally renowned as ‘The Terrorist Therapist', is a Board Certified Beverly Hills psychiatrist, 3-time Emmy honored television personality, radio talk show host, best-selling author and professional speaker. Since 9/11, recognizing that what the world needs most is help coping with the ultimate monster under the bed… terrorism, Dr Carole has devoted herself to encouraging people to break through their denial and giving them the psychological tools they need to survive. X: @DrCaroleMD
Michela Wrong, spécialiste de l'Afrique et auteure de plusieurs ouvrages sur des pays africains, dont le Rwanda, s'exprime sur le 30ème anniversaire du génocide des Tutsi.
Michela Wrong takes us on a journey through the collapse of Mobutu's Zaire with lessons on investigative journalism done right, the brutal lives of the common people, and trickle-down corruption in one of the worlds most effed up places.
As the UK's House of Lords currently debates the 'Safety of Rwanda Bill', this episode returns to Rwanda. We hear from Michela Wrong, an award-winning journalist and author who has spent over two decades writing about Africa. She has written for Reuters, the BBC and the Financial Times, amongst others. She has also written several books, including ‘Do Not Disturb' - a scathing assessment of Rwanda under President Kagame which brought our attention to her. We hope you enjoy. Link to the transcript of Baroness Hale's comments in the House of Lords as mentioned in the introduction: https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-02-19/debates/69F06855-C925-4753-9277-D92C1BEB6CD0/SafetyOfRwanda(AsylumAndImmigration)Bill
GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Michela Wrong, is a British journalist and author who spent more than two decades writing about Africa. Her postings as a journalist began in Europe and then West, Central and East Africa. She has worked for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times before becoming a freelance writer. GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: J. Michael Waller, author of Big Intel: How the CIA and FBI Went from Cold War Heroes to Deep State Villains is senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy and president of Georgetown Research, a political risk and private intelligence company. Waller worked for the CIA in Central America, did groundbreaking scholarship after the Soviet empire's breakup, and taught history and methods at America's premier intelligence schools. His work has appeared in the New York Post, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, and the Wall Street Journal.
Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill has passed its first hurdle - it says, as a matter of law, the East African state is “safe”. But is it? Is it a place we could confidently send those who have arrived on our shores seeking asylum, and be sure they would not be at risk? Or is it, in fact, a dictatorship with a history of persecuting and killing those who disagree with the president? Michela Wrong, a journalist who has spend decades reporting on Rwanda, and wrote the book Do Not Disturb - an account of the murder of a Rwandan opposition leader - give Phil and Roger a clear picture of just how safe Rwanda is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Michela Wrong is the author of ‘Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murderand an African Regime Gone Bad' and she joins John to discuss the UKgovernment introduction of emergency legislation called the "Safety of RwandaBill" to enable a controversial deportation scheme to Rwanda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode we welcome investigative journalist Michela Wrong. Micheal is a leading expert on Africa, particularly the great lakes region. She has written 5 books: a novel set in the horn of Africa and 4 non-fiction books. Her non-fiction and investigative work has focused on the history and politics of Congo, Eritrea, Kenya, and, more recently Rwanda. In 2021 she published Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, The book explores the repressive nature of the current Rwandan regime with a particularly focus on its extraterritorial repression, including the use of assassination. Building on Michela's book and on a report by Human Rights Watch, the episode covers the Rwandan regime, its intelligence services, and its practices. The core of the episode is a discussion of the use of extraterritorial assassinations. We cover the targets selected for assassination, the rationale behind assassination, and the methods used. We also cover plausible and implausible deniability, the signalling functions of these assassinations at home and abroad. Finally, we discuss the extent to which impunity and the absence of repercussions influences human rights, international norms, and other states' practice. Michela's book recommendations are: - The work of Gerard Prunier on Rwanda and the region, for example, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide, - The work of Rene Lemarchand, including his Remembering genocides in Central Africa, - David van Reybrouck, Congo: the epic history of a people.
In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Michela Wrong, a renowned author and journalist, to discuss her recently published book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, about the murder of Patrick Karegeya and the regime of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. They also discuss the Rwandan Genocide and Kagame's rise to power and Britain's decision to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Quelle est la vraie nature du régime rwandais ? Pourquoi l'élimination physique d'un certain nombre de dissidents à l'étranger ne fait pas scandale ? Dans Rwanda, assassins sans frontières, publié aux éditions Max Milo, l'autrice et journaliste britannique Michela Wrong, qui a travaillé à Reuters et à la BBC, vient de publier en français un portrait sans complaisance du président Paul Kagame. Après la récente libération du héros du film Hôtel Rwanda en mars 2023, Paul Rusesabagina, elle dévoile un aspect méconnu du régime de Kigali. RFI : Michela Wrong, dans ce voyage à l'intérieur du Front patriotique rwandais (FPR), vous enquêtez sur tous les dissidents qui ont été assassinés à l'étranger : Seth Sendashonga au Kenya en mai 1998, Patrick Karegeya en Afrique du Sud en janvier 2014. Pourquoi faites-vous la comparaison avec l'assassinat de Trotski sur ordre de Staline (en août 1940 à Mexico) ?Michela Wrong : Effectivement, mon livre parle d'une campagne d'assassinats et d'intimidations des dissidents rwandais à l'étranger. Et beaucoup d'entre eux étaient des anciens copains, des anciens dirigeants du FPR. J'ai fait la comparaison avec Trotski parce que Kagame est un peu comme Staline, il est vraiment obsédé par ce groupe d'anciens dirigeants du FPR qu'il a connus depuis longtemps, depuis son enfance. Ils ont lutté ensemble en Ouganda et après au Rwanda. Et il regarde ces gens vraiment comme des menaces à son régime, parce que ce sont des gens qui le connaissent mieux que tout le monde. Et comme Staline, il a utilisé les amis pour entrer dans l'intimité de ces gens-là. Alors par exemple, [Patrick] Karegeya s'est fait piéger par Apollo [Kiririsi Ismael], c'était un homme d'affaires rwandais que Patrick Karegeya considérait comme un ami. Alors il a été invité dans une chambre d'hôtel par Apollo et, là-bas, il y a eu un escadron de la mort qui lui a sauté dessus, qui l'a étranglé.Ce qui est frappant dans votre enquête, c'est qu'on apprend que les assassins rwandais du dissident Patrick Karegeya sont parfaitement identifiés par la police sud-africaine, mais que la justice sud-africaine renonce à les poursuivre et à les juger, et qu'elle assume ce renoncement…Oui, il y a eu une procédure de 5 ans avant que l'assassinat de Patrick Karegeya arrive au tribunal. Et moi, j'étais étonnée, j'étais parmi les très rares journalistes qui se sont présentés au tribunal. Et on a compris plein de choses, il y avait toute une lettre écrite par la police sud-africaine pour expliquer au parquet pourquoi on n'avait pas poursuivi ce cas. Ils [les enquêteurs] disaient clairement que c'était parce qu'on savait qu'il y avait des liens entre l'escadron de la mort et le gouvernement de Kigali. C'était très embarrassant et très gênant, et on a décidé de ne pas poursuivre l'affaire. Ils ont dit cela dans une déclaration qui a été publiée par le parquet sud-africain.Vous montrez bien comment, depuis le génocide des Tutsis en 1994, le président Kagame exploite habilement le sentiment de culpabilité de la communauté internationale pour s'affranchir d'un certain nombre de règles internationales en toute impunité. Mais la libération le 25 mars dernier de l'opposant Paul Rusesabagina, qui a été rendu célèbre par le film Hôtel Rwanda, n'est-ce pas la preuve que quelquefois Paul Kagame doit céder aux pressions internationales, notamment américaines ?Oui, effectivement. Ce qu'on voit avec Paul Kagame, c'est que c'est quelqu'un qui se montre implacable, un homme dur. Mais c'est aussi un monsieur qui est très sensible, même obsédé par son image, sa réputation à l'étranger. Alors, dès qu'il voit qu'il y a eu un changement dans ses relations avec un allié important -et dans ce cas-là, c'étaient les États-Unis-, il peut changer de politique tout d'un coup. Quand il a vu qu'il y avait même la Maison Blanche, le Département d'État, Hollywood qui soutenaient la famille de Rusesabagina, qui mettaient la pression pour sa libération, il a cédé tout d'un coup. Et je pense que, là, il y a une leçon pour tout le monde parce que, souvent, on n'ose pas critiquer ce gouvernement et on n'impose pas de sanctions sur le gouvernement de Kigali parce qu'on pense que ça va mener nulle part. Mais, effectivement, on voit que la pression, ça marche.Vous allez jusqu'à écrire que le président Paul Kagame a besoin d'une guerre perpétuelle avec un ennemi bien identifié pour survivre politiquement…Effectivement, si on regarde l'histoire du FPR, on voit qu'ils n'ont pas seulement bouleversé le gouvernement de Juvénal Habyarimana, le président rwandais [jusqu'en 1994]. Ils ont aussi bouleversé le président Mobutu [Sese Seko] du Zaïre. Après, ils ont fait la guerre à Laurent-Désiré Kabila, le monsieur qu'ils avaient mis en place pour le remplacer. Après, ils se sont même bagarrés avec leurs alliés ougandais de Yoweri Museveni, à Kisangani et ailleurs. On voit vraiment que c'est un régime qui a vraiment un profil militaire. Et oui, Paul Kagame a besoin de cela. Il a besoin de se montrer fort au niveau militaire et aussi de convaincre le monde que lui et sa communauté [tutsi] sont toujours menacés. Alors cela justifie le fait qu'il est un président très répressif, autoritaire, qui ne tolère absolument pas le débat, les critiques ou les gens qui essaient de l'affronter chez lui. Je trouve que c'est vraiment un système très fragile et, pour moi, c'est surréel que tant de pays en Occident considèrent ce monsieur comme un symbole de stabilité. Pour moi, c'est le contraire.
Michela Wrong, journalist and author of It's Our Turn to Eat, speaks to Dr. Sam Power, Senior Lecturer in Politics at the Centre for the Study of Corruption. Named as the top book on corruption by The Guardian in 2023, It's Our Turn to Eat tells the story of John Githongo, the Kenyan activist and whistleblower interviewed in Episode 96. Michela talks to Sam about the issues raised in the book as well as her other writing including Do Not Disturb, her latest book on the abuse of power by the Kagame regime in Rwanda.
This week: Michela Wrong asks whether anywhere is safe for Kagame's critics (00:58), Emily Rhodes charts the rise of fake libraries (07:54), and Cindy Yu reviews a new exhibition at the British Museum on China's hidden century (15:25). Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.
After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Paul Kagame was widely seen as a hero—a rebel leader who came to the rescue of his people and helped stop the killing. Over the last 30 years, the Rwandan president has cultivated this vision of himself, and the West has been eager to believe it. But for Michela Wrong, a journalist who has covered Africa for decades, cracks in this story became too big to ignore. In her most recent book, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, she investigates the 2014 political murder of a former Rwandan spy chief who fled the country after a falling out with Kagame. Her reporting uncovered the true nature of Kagame's regime, painting a picture of a dictator who will stop at nothing to silence his critics. Now, in a piece for Foreign Affairs, Wrong reports on Kagame's meddling in eastern Congo and how his support for the M23 rebel group is risking a broader regional conflict. We discuss her reporting on Kagame, how Rwanda is working to destabilize central Africa today, and why the West is doing so little to stop it. You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.
Paul Kagame has been President of Rwanda since 2000. He can be blamed more than any other person for the unsatisfactory way in which the 1994 Rwandan Genocide has been remembered, both inside Rwanda and across the World. Kagame has centralised power around himself, painting himself as the man who stopped the terrible events of 1994 in their tracks, and telling Rwandans that only he can bring stability to a country that in most of our lifetimes tore itself apart in the worst way imaginable. As my guest today tells us, this is not only fatuous, but worse, the West believes Kagame. Kagame is seen as a reliable ally of the governments in Washington and London. The West has chosen not to delve into the conflicting narratives surrounding the genocide, and lazily believes the one that suits its interests best: that Kagame, whilst a little rough around the edges, is a consummate stabilitocrat. He wouldn't hurt a fly; a person perhaps, but as long as he doesn't present problems for them, they're willing to turn the other cheek. My guest for today's conversation is Michela Wrong, a British journalist and author who focuses on Africa, previously working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC and the Financial Times. Her recent book, Do Not Disturb, details the terrible lengths to which Kagame has gone to remain in power.
Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, Iran, Niger, Bhutan and Lithuania. Russian troops captured Irpin, north-west of Kyiv, early on in the invasion. When the satellite town was liberated, the atrocities of Russian soldiers were laid bare. Nick Redmayne spoke to the residents who returned home about how they are trying to rebuild their lives. Following the protests which began in mid-September, after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, news of the first public execution of a protestor in Iran drew international condemnation this week - though protests show no sign of abating. Azadeh Moaveni was in Tehran when the protests began and found the desire for change runs deep in Iranian society. Michela Wrong visits a safe house in Niamey, Niger, where eight elderly Rwandan men are being detained, having been prosecuted for their role in the Rwandan genocide. Four have now been acquitted, and four have served their prison sentences. She hears what happened to them since their trial- and the challenges posed by their rehabilitation. Last year, Bhutan decriminalised homosexuality. Michelle Jana Chan speaks to gay activists, including Miss Universe Bhutan, about how far the population in the Himalayan Kingdom, is keeping step with political change. Lithuania was once the heart of a large empire in the Middle Ages, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Hundreds of years ago, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania invited members of the Karaim community from Crimea to serve as guards and soldiers of an empire. Simon Broughton attended a festival celebrating their culture in Trakai.
Eritrea's long struggle for independence finally ended in victory three decades ago. It seemed like a fresh beginning for one of Africa's smallest countries. But the Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki soon established a highly repressive political system that caused many young people to flee. Since 2020, Afwerki's army has been a key protagonist in one of the world's most destructive wars.Michela Wrong, journalist and the author of several books about African politics including I Didn't Do It For You, joins the podcast to discuss a history of modern Eritrea.Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode I interview Michela Wrong about her book Do Not Disturb, which is about the murder of Rwanda's former head of intelligence Patrick Karegeya. We talked about her interviews with people who had been asked to murder Karegeya, what it was like to criticise Rwandan president Paul Kagame, and how it felt when he responded on national television. We also discussed her experience reporting on the genocide and how the book addressed journalism's ability to report on such events.You can buy Michela's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/michela-wrongThe book she recommended was Naples '44 by Norman Lewis:https://uk.bookshop.org/books/naples-44-an-intelligence-officer-in-the-italian-labyrinth/9780907871729And finally is a link to my books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.
Michela Wrong's book, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, explores the 2013 murder of an exiled Rwandan official. In this bonus episode, hear Laura Seay's review of the book, first published in The Monkey Cage in August 2021. Books, Links, & ArticlesDo Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad by Michela Wrong"Michela Wrong's New Book Explores the 2013 Murder of an Exiled Rwandan Official" by Laura Seay
In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear a conversation between renowned journalist Michaela Wrong and Carine Kanimba, an activist and daughter of Hotel Rwanda's Paul Rusesabagina — who saved more than 1,200 people in his hotel during the 1994 genocide.
In this episode, I speak with Theo R. A few months ago, I learned about Theo from reading Michela Wrong's book Do Not Disturb about Rwanda as part of DWN Bookshelf. Theo had been a member of the President's inner circle, from the time of the struggle when RPF sought to take control of the country and then later into government. Theo embarked on the Fletcher School's GMAP degree around the time he decided to go into exile in 2005. Our conversation covers Theo's life as a refugee and the ways it shaped him, his youthful days animated by powerful Marxist ideas, his joining RPF and being part of shaping the new Rwanda, and his gradual realisation that he no longer shared the values of its leadership, prompting a journey back into refugee life.Recorded on 15 March 2022.Instagram: @at.the.coalfacePlease subscribe to At the Coalface wherever you get your podcasts to receive a new episode every two weeks: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsSupport the show
Michela Wrong is a journalist, and “not just any journalist,” as Jay says in his introduction: She is “a famed, and superb, chronicler of Africa.” Along with her journalism, she has written five books, rightly acclaimed. “In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz” is a fascinating depiction of Mobutu and Zaire. Ms. Wrong's latest book is […]
Michela Wrong is a journalist, and “not just any journalist,” as Jay says in his introduction: She is “a famed, and superb, chronicler of Africa.” Along with her journalism, she has written five books, rightly acclaimed. “In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz” is a fascinating depiction of Mobutu and Zaire. Ms. Wrong's latest book is “Do Not Disturb,” about Rwanda. You will enjoy this conversation about a... Source
Michela Wrong is a journalist, and “not just any journalist,” as Jay says in his introduction: She is “a famed, and superb, chronicler of Africa.” Along with her journalism, she has written five books, rightly acclaimed. “In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz” is a fascinating depiction of Mobutu and Zaire. Ms. Wrong’s latest book is “Do Not Disturb,” about Rwanda. You will enjoy this conversation about a... Source
In this week's episode: Is Boris going to limp on? In her cover piece this week, Katy Balls writes that although Boris Johnson believes he can survive the partygate scandal, he has some way to go until he is safe, while in his column, James Forsyth writes about why the Tories have a summer of discontent ahead of them. They both join the podcast to speculate on the Prime Minister's future. (00:44) Also this week: Why is the Rwandan government taking our asylum seekers? We have heard the arguments behind the Home Office's plan to send migrants to Rwanda. But why is Rwanda up for this arrangement? Michela Wrong, the author of Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, explores this question in this week's Spectator and she joins the podcast along with MP Andrew Mitchell. (14:50) And finally: Can AI take on the art world? Sean Thomas writes in this week's magazine about how some AI programs appear to have become rather good at painting. But what does this mean for the future of art? He joins the podcast along with Lukas Noehrer the organiser of The Alan Turing Institute's AI & Arts group and Professor Stefano Ermon of Stanford whose research has made much of this technology possible. (28:16) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore Produced by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk
In this week's episode: Is Boris going to limp on? In her cover piece this week, Katy Balls writes that although Boris Johnson believes he can survive the partygate scandal, he has some way to go until he is safe, while in his column, James Forsyth writes about why the Tories have a summer of discontent ahead of them. They both join the podcast to speculate on the Prime Minister's future. (00:44) Also this week: Why is the Rwandan government taking our asylum seekers? We have heard the arguments behind the Home Office's plan to send migrants to Rwanda. But why is Rwanda up for this arrangement? Michela Wrong, the author of Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, explores this question in this week's Spectator and she joins the podcast along with MP Andrew Mitchell. (14:50) And finally: Can AI take on the art world? Sean Thomas writes in this week's magazine about how some AI programs appear to have become rather good at painting. But what does this mean for the future of art? He joins the podcast along with Lukas Noehrer the organiser of The Alan Turing Institute's AI & Arts group and Professor Stefano Ermon of Stanford whose research has made much of this technology possible. (28:16) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore Produced by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk
Rwanda has been heralded as an African success story by the international community: its people, ravaged by genocide, have become unified and prosperous under Paul Kagame's regime. The conventional narrative of Rwanda's post-conflict development is challenged by today's guest, journalist and author, Michela Wrong. Her book, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, tells the wild story of Patrick Karegeya, as she reveals the dark and compelling reality of a regime that is extensively commended by the Western World. Shortened Bio: Half-Italian, half-British, Michela Wrong grew up in London. She took a degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge and a diploma in journalism at Cardiff. She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France and Ivory Coast. She became a freelance journalist in 1994, when she moved to then-Zaire and found herself covering both the genocide in Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and Reuters. She later moved to Kenya, where she spent four years covering east, west and central Africa for the Financial Times newspaper. Whether fiction or non-fiction, Michela Wrong's books on contemporary Africa aim to be accessible to both members of the general public and experts in the field. Backed up by nearly three decades of experience writing about the continent, they have become a must-read for diplomats, aid workers, journalists a{and strategists and regularly feature on the “required reading” lists of International Relations and African Studies courses at university. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism “that combined moral vision and professional integrity.” She is regularly interviewed by the BBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters and has published opinion pieces, features and book reviews in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New York Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Standpoint, Foreign Policy magazine, and Conde Nast's Traveler magazine. She is a consultant for the Miles Morland Foundation, which funds a range of literary festivals, workshops and scholarships for African writers, and an advisor to the Centre for Global Development. Website - https://michelawrong.com/ Book - https://michelawrong.com/books/ Artwork by Phillip Thor - https://linktr.ee/Philipthor_art To watch the visuals with the trailer go to https://www.podcasttheway.com/trailers/ The Way Podcast - www.PodcastTheWay.com - Follow at Twitter / Instagram - @podcasttheway (Subscribe and Follow on streaming platforms and social media!) As always thank you Don Grant for the Intro and Outro. Check out his podcast - https://threeinterestingthings.captivate.fm Intro guitar copied from Aiden Ayers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UiB9FMOP5s *The views demonstrated in this show are strictly those of The Way Podcast/Radio Show*
* Intervju med författaren Michela Wrong om hennes bok "Do not disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad" * De kommande lokalvalen i Sydafrika * Vaccin mot malaria * Kortnotiser
On this week's episode, Fraser Nelson starts by reading the leader. Britain has a labour shortage and our immigration system is a mess - why not have an amnesty for migrants without legal status? (01:00) Michela Wrong is on next. She found herself in the sights of Rwandan President Paul Kagame after she wrote a book exposing the abuses of his regime. (07:05) Mark Mason reads his piece to finish the podcast. Ordering at the bar isn't just about buying a drink, he says. (20:00)
Is going into exile safe any longer? A few years ago, a former Rwandan intelligence chief hiding out in exile was found strangled to death in a Johannesburg hotel room. Hanging on the door outside was a “Do Not Disturb” sign. It had been placed there to buy the assassins a bit of extra time as they fled the country. This episode looks at the alarming rise in transnational repression and cross-border killings, where dictators and despots hunt down their enemies no matter where they are in the world. In the process, we ask whether dissidents can ever be safe in the 21st century, or if it's just a matter of time before their murderous authoritarian regime hunts them down. This episode features Michela Wrong, a phenomenal journalist and author of Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, which you can and should buy here: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/michela-wrong/do-not-disturb/9781610398435/ It also features the voices of Isabel Linzer and Nate Schenkkan at Freedom House, and you can find their report on transnational repression here: https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression And we speak to Geoffrey York, who has reported on Rwanda for years as the Africa Bureau Chief of the Globe & Mail. You can find his reporting here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/geoffrey-york/ Pre order Brian's book - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Corruptible/Brian-Klaas/9781982154097 Support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/powercorrupts
A powerful investigation into a grisly political murder and the authoritarian regime behind it: Do Not Disturb upends the narrative that Rwanda sold the world after one of the deadliest genocides of the twentieth century. We think we know the story of Africa's Great Lakes region. Following the Rwandan genocide, an idealistic group of young rebels overthrew the brutal regime in Kigali, ushering in an era of peace and stability that made Rwanda the donor darling of the West, winning comparisons with Switzerland and Singapore. But the truth was considerably more sinister. Vividly sourcing her story with direct testimony from key participants, Wrong uses the story of the murder of Patrick Karegeya, once Rwanda's head of external intelligence and a quicksilver operator of supple charm, to paint the portrait of a modern African dictatorship created in the chilling likeness of Paul Kagame, the president who sanctioned his former friend's assassination. Book: https://www.amazon.com/Do-Not-Disturb-Political-African/dp/1610398424 Half British, half Italian, Michela Wrong has spent nearly two decades writing about Africa. As a Reuters correspondent based in first Cote d'Ivoire and former Zaire, she covered the turbulent events of the mid 1990s, including the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko and Rwanda's post-genocide period. She then moved to Kenya, where she became Africa correspondent for the Financial Times. In 2000 she published her first non-fiction book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of Mobutu. Her second non-fiction work, "I Didn't Do it for You", focused on the Red Sea nation of Eritrea. Her third, "It's Our Turn to Eat", tracked the story of Kenyan whistleblower John Githongo. "Borderlines", set in a fictional country in the Horn of Africa with a fiercely-disputed border, marked a move into fiction. "Do Not Disturb", which came out in 2021, is a scathing assessment of Rwanda under President Paul Kagame. She lives in London. Learn more: http://michelawrong.com/books/ Marian L. Tupy is the editor of HumanProgress.org, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, and coauthor of The Simon Project. He specializes in globalization and global well‐being and politics and economics of Europe and Southern Africa. Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy Learn more: https://www.humanprogress.org/
In Part Two Normie, Dave, Russell, and Sarvesh continue their conversation about Atai Life Sciences and how the introduction of for-profit psychedelic pharmaceutical corporations have shifted capital away from non-profits. This episode gets extra wacky and dark as they dive into Atai Founder & Chairman Christian Angermayer's role on Rwandan president Paul Kagame's Advisory Council. According to Human Rights Watch, journalist Michela Wrong, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, various governments, and many other media outlets, Kagame is a tyrant who has murdered, disappeared, and arrested numerous political opponents, journalists, critics, and citizens. Co-hosts: Brian Normand, David Nickles, Russell Hausfeld, Sarvesh Ramprakash. Editor: Matt Payne Additional links: The real life “Black Panther” miracle by Christian Angermayer Hotel Rwanda activist's daughter placed under Pegasus surveillance Christian Angermayer's ATAI Life Sciences is positioned to take the psychedelic throne from MAPS Analyzing the Atai Life Sciences IPO | Business Trip podcast Support: If you like the show please support us on Patreon or make a tax-deductible donation. **Thank you to our Patreon podcast and video supporters: Reliable Spores, Houston Puck, Dave Hodges, Jon Hanna, James Hubbard, Lindsay Munson, Evan Freimuth, Abigail Bianchi, Meghan Kennedy, Dave Ayers, Darrell Duane, Tehseen Noorani, Tariqul Islam, Clifford Hudson, Daniel McQueen, Maryann Kehoe, Ben Yono, Nathan Espinosa, Annick McIntosh, Starbuck, Aaron Williams, Jenine Innes, Julia A, Jesse Liberty, Christian Dawley, Leon Boroditsky, Samy Tammam, Amanda Alexander, Jason Gross, Paige Hausfeld, John Bannon, Clifford Hudson, Sandra Dreisbach.
A powerful investigation into a grisly political murder and the authoritarian regime behind it: Do Not Disturb upends the narrative that Rwanda sold the world after one of the deadliest genocides of the twentieth century. We think we know the story of Africa's Great Lakes region. Following the Rwandan genocide, an idealistic group of young rebels overthrew the brutal regime in Kigali, ushering in an era of peace and stability that made Rwanda the donor darling of the West, winning comparisons with Switzerland and Singapore. But the truth was considerably more sinister. Vividly sourcing her story with direct testimony from key participants, Wrong uses the story of the murder of Patrick Karegeya, once Rwanda's head of external intelligence and a quicksilver operator of supple charm, to paint the portrait of a modern African dictatorship created in the chilling likeness of Paul Kagame, the president who sanctioned his former friend's assassination. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support
Season 03 Episode 11 - MUD BETWEEN YOUR TOES, CONVERSATIONS WITH MICHELA WRONG. Michela has been writing about Africa for the last 2 decades, reporting for Reuters, the BBC and the FT. She’s the author of 5 books about Africa, including : In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz, a fascinating and extremely readable account about the Zairean dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. In this episode, I chat to her about the state of Africa and of course, her latest book, Do Not Disturb: which explores the controversial career of Paul Kagame and the legacy of the Rwandan genocide. Listen to Mud Between Your Toes podcasts on iPHONE/Apple Podcasts.https://apple.co/32QTumi Listen to Mud Between Your Toes podcasts on Android/Samsung/Nokia.https://podcasts.google.com?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL211ZGJldHdlZW55b3VydG9lcy9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D Listen via the APP: https://mudbetweenyourtoes.podbean.com/ #MudBetweenYourToes#PeterWood#Petewoodhk #MichelaWrong #InTheFootstepsOfMrKurtz #DoNotDisturb #Journalism #Politics @FT #FinancialTimes #Reuters @BBCNews #BBCNews #Africa #Rwanda #DRC #Congo #Kagame #MobutuSeseSeko
We speak to British journalist and author, Michela Wrong, about her new book "Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad". It focuses on the assassination of Rwandan defector, Patrick Karegeya, in a hotel room in South Africa in 2014, for which the Rwandan government denied responsibility. The killers left a "do not disturb" sign on the door. She says Karegeya was one of a number of people who fell out with the Rwandan government and met unnatural deaths. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Africa is growing or, to be precise, Africa is growing more Africans. Projections show that by 2050 Africa's population is likely to double. By 2100 one in three people on Earth will be African, including almost half of global youth. But can Africa produce the food, energy, economic activity, education, and social and political stability that all those people, especially all those young people, need and deserve? And is democracy the best means to that end? How is Africa doing? In one sense, that's a nonsensical question to ask about 55 countries and almost 1.4 billion people, but even dumb questions can sometimes have smart answers. In this week's New Thinking for a New World podcast episode, Michela Wrong who has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, as a journalist, and as an author, talks about the people, the politics, and the day-to-day realities. Her latest book, Do Not Disturb, takes a deep dive into President Paul Kagame’s Rwanda which can be read as a window into Africa’s present and its possible future.
Near the end of this episode, host of the Departures podcast Robert Amsterdam tells his guest, "This is perhaps the best book I've ever read on Africa, and I've read a lot of books." Such is the esteem we hold for Michela Wrong, a British journalist who has covered Africa for decades for outlets such as the BBC and the Financial Times. Her latest book, "Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad," tells the inside story of the authoritarian regime of President Paul Kagame in Rwanda through the lens of one specific murder case - the 2013 killing of Patrick Karegeya, the former head of external intelligence, and extrapolating that investigation to reveal so much more about the country and the region. Wrong's book also serves as a sledgehammer to a number of myths that tend to be held up about Rwanda - not just the enormous chasm between its darling status among donor organizations and its reality as an apartheid state, but also crucial facts about Hutu victims of the genocide, the shooting down of the 1994 flight carrying the then-presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, and the "potemkin village" aspect of Rwanda's economic transformation.
On January 1, 2014, Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence Patrick Karegeya was found murdered in the bed of his upscale Johannesburg, South Africa hotel room. His nephew David Batenga became concerned after it had been several days since anyone had heard from him, and demanded the hotel open the door, despite the “do not disturb” sign on the handle. This murder is the entry point for a startling and powerful investigation from veteran journalist Michela Wrong, captured in her book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and An African Regime Gone Bad. In this week’s episode, Wrong joins us in conversation with In The Moment correspondent Chamidae Ford and explores how the murder was actually part of a grisly political plot. Following the Rwandan genocide, Wrong says, an idealistic group of young rebels overthrew the brutal regime, allegedly ushering in an era of peace and stability that garnered extremely positive attention from Western countries. But the truth is considerably more sinister, she argues. With direct testimony from key participants, she uses the story of Karegeya’s murder to paint the portrait of a modern African dictatorship created in the chilling likeness of Paul Kagame, the president who sanctioned the assassination of his former friend. This disquieting tale will have you on the edge of your seat, so listen in with Wrong and Ford—and stay in the know about what’s happening in this moment at Town Hall. Michela Wrong is a writer and journalist with more than 20 years’ experience of covering Africa. She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France, and Ivory Coast. In 1994, she became a freelance journalist, covering the genocide in Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and REuters. She is the author of three books of non-fiction and a novel, and her opinion pieces and book reviews have been featured in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New York Times, and more. Chamidae Ford is currently a senior journalism major at the University of Washington. Born and raised in Western Washington, she has a passion for providing a voice to the communities around her. She is a contributing writer at the South Seattle Emerald and is an editor at The Daily. Buy the Book: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/book/9781610398428 Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here.
On January 1, 2014, Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence Patrick Karegeya was found murdered in the bed of his upscale Johannesburg, South Africa hotel room. His nephew David Batenga became concerned after it had been several days since anyone had heard from him, and demanded the hotel open the door, despite the “do not disturb” sign on the handle. This murder is the entry point for a startling and powerful investigation from veteran journalist Michela Wrong, captured in her book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and An African Regime Gone Bad. In this week’s episode, Wrong joins us in conversation with In The Moment correspondent Chamidae Ford and explores how the murder was actually part of a grisly political plot. Following the Rwandan genocide, Wrong says, an idealistic group of young rebels overthrew the brutal regime, allegedly ushering in an era of peace and stability that garnered extremely positive attention from Western countries. But the truth is considerably more sinister, she argues. With direct testimony from key participants, she uses the story of Karegeya’s murder to paint the portrait of a modern African dictatorship created in the chilling likeness of Paul Kagame, the president who sanctioned the assassination of his former friend. This disquieting tale will have you on the edge of your seat, so listen in with Wrong and Ford—and stay in the know about what’s happening in this moment at Town Hall. Michela Wrong is a writer and journalist with more than 20 years’ experience of covering Africa. She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France, and Ivory Coast. In 1994, she became a freelance journalist, covering the genocide in Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and REuters. She is the author of three books of non-fiction and a novel, and her opinion pieces and book reviews have been featured in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New York Times, and more. Chamidae Ford is currently a senior journalism major at the University of Washington. Born and raised in Western Washington, she has a passion for providing a voice to the communities around her. She is a contributing writer at the South Seattle Emerald and is an editor at The Daily. Buy the Book: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/book/9781610398428 Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here.
C'est un livre qui fait beaucoup de bruit outre-Manche. La journaliste et auteur Michela Wrong vient de publier un ouvrage sur le Front Patriotique Rwandais de Paul Kagame et les crimes dont il est accusé, intitulé Do not disturb. Comment l'ancienne rébellion a-t-elle évolué ? Michela Wrong répond aux questions de Sonia Rolley. RFI : Pourquoi avoir choisi de faire de l’assassinat de Patrick Karegeya le centre de votre livre ? Michela Wrong : Je me rappelle le jour où j’ai entendu les nouvelles autour de l’assassinat de Patrick Karegeya. Je pense que pour moi c’est comme pour tout le monde, c’est un grand choc. Je me souviens très bien - quand j’étais plus jeune journaliste, que je voyageais au Rwanda dans les années qui ont suivi le génocide - Patrick Karegeya était le monsieur qui venait rencontrer tous les journalistes, qui expliquait ce que faisait le FPR… C’était un champion pour Paul Kagame. Il était loyal, tout le monde savait qu’il était son propre ami. Paul Kagame, qui l’a tué et qu’il connaît depuis l’école, quand ils sont de jeunes enfants… C’est vraiment spectaculaire comme événement ! Très choquant ! Après avoir fait les recherches pour votre livre, que pouvez-vous nous dire sur l’évolution de cette rébellion, le Front patriotique rwandais ? Je pense que c’est un mouvement qui a beaucoup changé. C’était des jeunes hommes. Ils étaient idéalistes, ils voulaient prendre le pouvoir… Mais ils avaient des idées, aussi : implanter la démocratie, de réconciliation ethnique avec les Hutus… Maintenant, le FPR c’est un mouvement qui a fait verser beaucoup de sang. Il a fait verser beaucoup de sang hutu et maintenant il fait verser aussi du sang tutsi, parce que les gens qui sont ciblés ce sont surtout les anciens dirigeants tutsis, proches de Kagame, parce que ce sont ces gens-là qui font peur. Ce sont des gens comme le général Kayumba Nyamwasa, Patrick Karegeya… Kagame a peur de ces gens-là ! Beaucoup plus que des Hutus, malgré le fait qu’il parle toujours du FDLR. Ces gens-là y voient un mouvement qu’ils ne reconnaissent plus. Un mouvement qui est très répressif, qui est absolument déterminé à retenir le pouvoir et qui est aussi en train de faire beaucoup d’argent, parce que tous les minéraux du Congo de l’Est, c’est à travers le Rwanda qu’ils passent. Ce n’est plus seulement un mouvement militaire ou un mouvement politique, c’est aussi un business et ils veulent rester là où ils sont, parce qu’ils font beaucoup d’argent. Dans votre livre, vous évoquez également l’assassinat de Seth Sendashonga, qui avait été ministre de l’Intérieur après le génocide et qui s’était retourné contre le FPR, un mouvement dont il faisait partie. En quoi cet assassinat à l’extérieur du pays marque également un tournant pour cette rébellion du FPR ? J’ai rencontré Seth Sendashonga à deux reprises. Une fois à Kigali, quand il venait de démissionner du gouvernement. La seconde fois, c’est à Nairobi, quand il a donné une conférence de presse dans laquelle il a accusé son ancien parti - le FPR - d’avoir fait des centaines de milliers de morts contre les Hutus, au Rwanda. J’ai entendu parler de tueries, de quelques atrocités… Il y a eu le rapport qui parlait de tout cela, mais à ce niveau-là, c’était un choc et j’ai eu des difficultés à y croire, comme beaucoup de journalistes, d’ailleurs. Pas longtemps après, il a été tué. C’est un moment important dans l’histoire du FPR, parce que je pense que les journalistes, les diplomates, les gens qui l’avaient beaucoup admiré, après cet assassinat se sont dit que c’est très impitoyable. C’est très important. Je pense qu’après, cette politique d’élimination est devenue vraiment quelque chose de très important dans le FPR. L’assassinat de Seth, c’était la première fois que l’on voyait cela. À un moment, vous écrivez dans votre livre – c’est un observateur étranger qui vous le dit – « Paul Kagame fait, simplement parce que Paul Kagame peut le faire ». Oui, je pense que cela a été la même histoire avec Mobutu, avec Kadhafi, avec Saddam Hussein, car ils sont entourés par les flatteurs. Et le problème avec Kagame, c’est avec ses amitiés aux États-Unis, en Grande-Bretagne… On l’a tellement flatté… Parce qu’il a reconstruit le pays… Le fait qu’il y avait des élections truquées, le fait qu’il y avait des abus vraiment très sévères à l’intérieur du pays, mais aussi à l’extérieur, les amis à l’Ouest n’ont pas vraiment dit grand-chose, alors Kagame a toujours été encouragé et croit qu’il peut faire ce qu’il veut. Je pense que c’est pour cela que l’on voit un comportement qui devient de plus en plus autoritaire avec les années qui passent.
When veteran correspondent Michela Wrong started researching her book, ‘Do Not Disturb – the story of a political murder and an African regime gone bad’ on the killing of Rwanda’s spymaster Patrick Karegeya, she knew it was going to prompt fierce arguments about President Paul Kagame’s record and the country’s direction.In this special edition of the Talking Africa podcast, Patrick Smith brings together Michela Wrong and Kenyan writer and historian Parselelo Kantai to discuss the issues raised in the book for Rwanda and the wider region.
Michela Wrong: Do not Disturb... with TRE´s Giles Brown
Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad (PublicAffairs, 2021) is a glorious piece of journalism. It tells the story of Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence turned government critic, Patrick Karegeya, and his falling out with the Rwandan leadership, including current President Paul Kagame. For Wrong, the murder of Patrick Karegeya provides a passage-way into broader conversations about how Rwanda has been ruled since the 1994 genocide. Why are members of the elite like Karegeya leaving Rwanda? And what do these elite flights tell us about political stability in contemporary Rwanda? Wrong’s storytelling choices draw the reader into Rwanda’s complex post-colonial political culture while reminding us that the story of Karegeya’s murder is emblematic of how the revolution eats its own. Susan Thomson is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism
Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad (PublicAffairs, 2021) is a glorious piece of journalism. It tells the story of Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence turned government critic, Patrick Karegeya, and his falling out with the Rwandan leadership, including current President Paul Kagame. For Wrong, the murder of Patrick Karegeya provides a passage-way into broader conversations about how Rwanda has been ruled since the 1994 genocide. Why are members of the elite like Karegeya leaving Rwanda? And what do these elite flights tell us about political stability in contemporary Rwanda? Wrong’s storytelling choices draw the reader into Rwanda’s complex post-colonial political culture while reminding us that the story of Karegeya’s murder is emblematic of how the revolution eats its own. Susan Thomson is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad (PublicAffairs, 2021) is a glorious piece of journalism. It tells the story of Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence turned government critic, Patrick Karegeya, and his falling out with the Rwandan leadership, including current President Paul Kagame. For Wrong, the murder of Patrick Karegeya provides a passage-way into broader conversations about how Rwanda has been ruled since the 1994 genocide. Why are members of the elite like Karegeya leaving Rwanda? And what do these elite flights tell us about political stability in contemporary Rwanda? Wrong’s storytelling choices draw the reader into Rwanda’s complex post-colonial political culture while reminding us that the story of Karegeya’s murder is emblematic of how the revolution eats its own. Susan Thomson is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies
Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad (PublicAffairs, 2021) is a glorious piece of journalism. It tells the story of Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence turned government critic, Patrick Karegeya, and his falling out with the Rwandan leadership, including current President Paul Kagame. For Wrong, the murder of Patrick Karegeya provides a passage-way into broader conversations about how Rwanda has been ruled since the 1994 genocide. Why are members of the elite like Karegeya leaving Rwanda? And what do these elite flights tell us about political stability in contemporary Rwanda? Wrong’s storytelling choices draw the reader into Rwanda’s complex post-colonial political culture while reminding us that the story of Karegeya’s murder is emblematic of how the revolution eats its own. Susan Thomson is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad (PublicAffairs, 2021) is a glorious piece of journalism. It tells the story of Rwanda’s former head of external intelligence turned government critic, Patrick Karegeya, and his falling out with the Rwandan leadership, including current President Paul Kagame. For Wrong, the murder of Patrick Karegeya provides a passage-way into broader conversations about how Rwanda has been ruled since the 1994 genocide. Why are members of the elite like Karegeya leaving Rwanda? And what do these elite flights tell us about political stability in contemporary Rwanda? Wrong’s storytelling choices draw the reader into Rwanda’s complex post-colonial political culture while reminding us that the story of Karegeya’s murder is emblematic of how the revolution eats its own. Susan Thomson is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies
Under Paul Kagame, the East African state has gone from genocidal hellhole to wannabe Singapore. Michela Wrong, author of critical biography “Do Not Disturb”, explains how, in feting the ex-guerrilla president, donors and investors ignored autocracy and murder. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Tom Tugendhat MP is the Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He tells Andrew Marr that he’s very much focused on British foreign policy priorities after Brexit. But the government’s new Trade Bill is facing opposition from those insisting that human rights abuses must be investigated before any deals are done. The MP for Tonbridge and Malling also highlights the need to be more aware of China’s economic ambitions and global role. Geeta Tharmaratnam is keen that more focus should be placed on Africa. As a venture capitalist and CEO of an investment company she see huge economic possibilities across the continent, especially in relation to African women entrepreneurs. She looks more closely at the African Continental Free Trade Area which was signed by a majority of countries in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018 and came into force this year. But the journalist Michela Wrong questions whether the Rwandan government, and especially its much feted leader President Paul Kagame can be trusted. Following the civil war and genocide in 1994 Kagame became vice-President and then leader of his country. He has prioritised national development and been successful in securing international aid, but Wrong follows the story of his rise to power and argues that he has overseen a regime intent on political repression. Producer: Katy Hickman
Georgina Godwin speaks to former foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC and ‘The Financial Times’, Michela Wrong. Reporting predominantly from Africa, she covered post-genocide Rwanda and the last days of the Mobutu dictatorship as well as numerous other stories across the continent. She has also written a number of books across both fiction and non-fiction, including her Pen prize-winning debut on Mobutu, ‘In the Footsteps of Kurtz’, and Orwell prize-shortlisted ‘It’s our turn to eat’. Her latest book ‘Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad’, focuses on Rwanda and its lurch towards authoritarianism.
This week on the Book Club podcast, I'm joined by the veteran foreign correspondent Michela Wrong to talk about her new book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. While Rwanda's president Paul Kagame has basked in the approval of Western donors, Michela argues, his burnished image conceals a history of sadism, repression and violent tyranny. She tells me what our goodies-and-baddies account of Rwanda's genocide missed, and why it urgently needs correcting.
This week on the Book Club podcast, Sam is joined by the veteran foreign correspondent Michela Wrong to talk about her new book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. While Rwanda's president Paul Kagame has basked in the approval of Western donors, Michela argues, his burnished image conceals a history of sadism, repression and violent tyranny. She tells Sam what our goodies-and-baddies account of Rwanda's genocide missed, and why it urgently needs correcting.
Since 2010, the China in Africa Podcast has brought balanced, wide-ranging conversations about one of the most consequential developments in the global economy and geopolitics to a worldwide audience. Today, in honor of the 500th episode, Kaiser and Jeremy chat with the show’s co-founders, Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden, about its history and the major trends in Sino-African relations that they've seen in a decade of focusing on China's expanding presence in Africa.Subscribe to the China in Africa Podcast on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher 10:43: Does Africa need aid or trade? 18:21: Beware binary tropes on China-Africa relations39:47: China’s high-risk vaccine diplomacy in Africa45:03: How Chinese international development efforts are shifting away from sub-Saharan AfricaRecommendations:Jeremy: I Didn’t Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation, by Michela Wrong. Cobus: A partner of the China-Africa Project: the Africa-China Reporting Project at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, a source for investigative reporting on China-Africa issues. Eric: The Twitter feed of Gyude A. Moore, former Minister of Public Works in Liberia, and an article written by Moore in the Mail & Guardian titled A new cold war is coming. Africa should not pick sides. Kaiser: Avast, ye swabs. Kaiser is studying up on pirate lore. He recommends The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down, by Colin Woodard.
From 2002 comes this interview with Michela Wrong, author of "In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster of Mobutu's Congo." The book is a chronicle of the rise and fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, who was the highly corrupt president of Zaire for 32 years.
The death of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld remains one of the biggest mysteries of the twentieth century. Journalist and author Michela Wrong talks to author Susan Williams about ‘Who Killed Hammarskjöld?’, Susan’s thrilling book which investigated this suspicious death and sparked an ongoing UN investigation.
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy are joined by Eric Olander, host of the China in Africa Podcast from the China Africa Project, and by Anzetse Were, a developmental economist based in Nairobi. They explore questions related to Kenyan debt and development, as well as Sino-American competition in East Africa. What to listen for on this week’s Sinica Podcast: 10:33: When did China begin to put concerted diplomatic effort into relations with African countries? What were the optics of China’s push into the African continent? Anzetse highlights three examples that led to China’s success in dealing with businesses and governments: “[Chinese diplomats] are quite humble in their articulation, certainly to African people, saying, ‘While this has been the Chinese experience, we don’t know what you want, what you can learn and what you don’t want to learn.’ So they’re not prescriptive. But of course the biggest thing that African governments like is that they don’t lecture about anything.” 19:05: Is China leading African countries into “debt traps”? What are the primary causes for concern regarding the debts of African governments, and the wider international community? Anzetse explains that it’s a confluence of factors, including transparency issues and the effects of kindling trade relationships with new partners: “There is concern in the global north, particularly Europe and North America, as to reexposure in African governments to debt…and their concern is that they’re doing it with a party that the world does not really understand in terms of how it deals with debt defaults and how it deals with repayments owed. I think that Europe and North America were much more comfortable when debt owed was in their hands, obviously because they had [control], but I think because they had a common understanding on how this would be addressed. They do not know how the Chinese are going to do this.” 42:21: America is restructuring the way it provides aid to the rest of the world through the International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) and the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act (BUILD Act), in an attempt to compete with China in the developing world. How effective is this restructuring? Eric provides some insight: “It’s not challenging China at all. It’s not intended to challenge China. Instead, they actually complement each other very, very well. So, a country like Kenya can turn to China for infrastructure and massive loans from the Chinese for a public sector type of development. But then, IDFC and the U.S. come in to fund American business and Kenyan business that can’t get funding anywhere else.” 49:36: What effect is the Belt and Road Initiative having in Africa? What about the African countries that are excluded from the plans, as China has made inroads, for the most part, on Africa’s eastern seaboard? Anzetse states: “I think the Chinese began to understand, ‘We do not want to start dividing African sentiments on China, we’re going to find a way to make sure all the regions in Africa are represented in this Belt and Road Initiative. Whether it will be practical is not clear.” Recommendations: Jeremy: I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation and In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo, both by Michela Wrong. Eric: Competing against Chinese loans, U.S. companies face long odds in Africa, an article in the New York Times by Ed Wong. Anzetse: Rhinocéros, by Eugène Ionesco. Kaiser: Lake Success: A Novel, by Gary Shteyngart.
Contrary to what is commonly believed, authoritarian leaders who agree to hold elections are generally able to remain in power longer than autocrats who refuse to allow the populace to vote. Calling upon first-hand experiences, hundreds of interviews and election reports from Kenya, India, Nigeria, Russia, the United States, Zimbabwe and more, Professor Cheeseman discusses the limitations of national elections as a means of promoting democratisation, revealing the six essential strategies that dictators use to undermine the electoral process in an attempt to guarantee victory. How to Rig an Election has been described as “essential reading for everyone who wants to get democracy right again” by A.C. Grayling, “clear, punchy and potentially revolutionary” by Michela Wrong and the “one of the books of the year” by the Centre for Global Development.
Michela Wrong discusses her excellent book about Kenyan whistleblower John Githongo, the corruption he uncovered and what has--and hasn't--changed.
2014 Global Thinker and visual artist Sam Hopkins joins FP contributor Michela Wrong to discuss the aid industry's skewed view of East Africa — and how artists can offer a better picture.
Michela Wrong is a distinguished international journalist, and has worked as a foreign correspondent covering events across the African continent for Reuters, the BBC and the Financial Times. She writes regularly for Foreign Policy magazine and the Spectator. Based on her experiences in Africa, In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz, her first book, won the […] See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's over the mountains, it has no major roads, it's too dangerous, or tourists don't get it at all. Five writers with a desire for travel or living elsewhere, recall a city that once captured their hearts and minds for reasons of secrecy or isolation, or simply being off limits.Travel writer Michela Wrong sees beautiful Italianate buildings, and all things Futurist - in Africa. In Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, to be precise.Producer Duncan MinshullFirst broadcast in April 2013.
Om oljeboomen i Afrika som föder hopp - men också hot. Hör om de vita elefanterna, skrytbyggen som berikar politikerna i stället för lokalbefolkningen. Är kontinenten för alltid dömd till konflikter, korruption och maktmissbruk i råvarurikedomarnas spår? Hör röster från Lamu, Lagos och London - om oljans konsekvenser för Afrika. Fram till nyligen var Lamu en sömnig småstad, världsarvsmärkt för sin gamla stadskärna. Idag pågår där Östafrikas just nu största infrastrukturprojekt. Lamus nya hamn ska bli den centralpunkt varifrån oljan från regionens många oljefyndigheter ska skeppas ut. Områdets guvernör drömmer om att Lamu ska bli ett nytt Shanghai. Förutom den stora hamnen ska det byggas ett oljeraffinaderi, flera hotellkomplex, en internationell flygplats, järnvägar och oljeledningar till Etiopien och Sydsudan där flera av de stora oljefynden finns. Men kommer inkomsterna från oljan härmed att komma invånarna i Kenya, Etiopien och Sydsudan till del? Eller är hamnprojektet bara ytterligare ett i raden av vad som kommit att kallas för vita elefanter - det vill säga storslagna satsningar som sedan överges, ofta på grund av korruption? Konflikts Lotten Collin började sin resa för att söka svar vid källorna för det svarta guldet, i Sydsudan. Risken är stor att korruptionen ännu en gång kommer att sluka inkomsterna från oljan och att pengarna kommer att användas för att underblåsa etniska konflikter. Det menar journalisten och Afrikakännaren Michela Wrong. Under många år arbetade hon som Afrikakorrespondent åt BBC, Financial Times och Reuters. I sin mest uppmärksammade bok, It's Our Time to Eat - Det är vår tur att äta - beskriver hon i detalj korruptionens förgörande effekter i just Kenya, och hur korruptionen i sin tur hänger ihop med de våldsamma etniska motsättningar som präglat landet under de senaste åren. Konflikts Ivar Ekman ringde upp Michela Wrong för att höra hur hon tror att oljefyndigheterna och de gigantiska infrastrukturprojekten kommer att påverka landet. Hör också intervjun med Michela Wrong i sin helhet, på engelska: Idag hittas den åtråvärda oljan på allt fler ställen runt om i Afrika. För som en följd av de relativt höga oljepriserna blir också mindre oljekällor lönsamma att exploatera. Listan över afrikanska oljeländer har på senare år utökats med Etiopien, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique och Kenya. Det talas till och med om Somalia som kommande oljeproducent. Men redan på 50-talet upplevde Afrika en oljeboom. Då var det Angola, Libyen och Nigeria som satt på de lukrativa källorna. Men vad blev det egentligen av rikedomarna och vad kan de nytillkomna oljeproducenterna lära av sina föregångare där oljan sedan årtionden har genomsyrat hela samhället - ekonomin, miljön, och inte minst politiken. Nigeria är det land i Afrika som producerar mest olja. Här finns världens tionde största oljereserv. Konflikts reporter Lotten Collin reste till landets största stad Lagos. Många ser Nigeria som ett skräckexempel på hur oljepengarna snarare skadat än berikat landet. Trots att det är en av världens största oljeproducenter lever mer än häften av befolkningen under fattigdomsgränsen på en dollar om dagen. En av många som funderar över hur Afrikas nya oljeländer ska göra för att undvika exempelvis Nigerias misstag är Shanta Devarajan, Världsbankens chefsekonom för Afrika. Konflikts Daniela Marquardt ringde upp honom på huvudkontoret i Washington för att fråga om han tror att Afrika är dömt till konflikter, korruption och maktmissbruk i spåren av råvarurikedomarna. Programledare: Daniela Marquardt Producent: Kajsa Boglind
Journalist Michela Wrong looks at Eritrea and its president Isaias Afewerki. She has spent 13 years reporting in Africa and is the author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, about the Congolese dictator Mobutu, and I Didn't Do It for You, about Eritrea.
A roundtable discussion examining the current state of Kenyan politics, twenty years after it changed to a multi-party state. The change to multi-partyism in Kenya in the early 1990s brought with it the hope of significant developments for the East African country. This roundtable discussion examines, through presentations by scholars, a former Kenyan official, a journalist, and Great Britain's former ambassador to Kenya, what changes multi-partyism has had on Kenya. The panel includes (in order of presentation): Gabrielle Lynch, Leigh Gardner, Lillian Cherotich, Sir Edward Clay, Michela Wrong, and John Githongo. The round-table is moderated by David Anderson. [African Studies Centre, Oxford. http://www.africanstudies.ox.ac.uk]