After a conspicuous two-week absence from the public eye, Rwandan President Paul Kagame reappeared on Tuesday, June 24, hosting former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at Urugwiro Village in Kigali.
According to an official statement from the Rwandan presidency, the two leaders held a “wide-ranging discussion” on regional security, African cooperation, and global developments.
“They discussed the situation in the region, along with various key issues of continental and global significance,” read the post, which was accompanied by a photo of the two men in conversation.
“The two leaders shared insights on pathways toward stability, cooperation, and progress.”
Kagame’s public re-emergence comes amid an intense swirl of online speculation regarding his health, with some suggesting he had died or was gravely ill.
These unverified claims gained traction on social media, particularly among Congolese circles and prominent Rwandan exiles such as David Himbara.
Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo last week dismissed the rumours as “baseless,” saying the central African president was simply on a personal break and remained in good health.
Kagame, 66, has led Rwanda since 2000 and has often been at the centre of online misinformation campaigns, particularly during regional tensions with DR Congo.
His sudden absence this month, without official explanation, left room for conspiracy theories to flourish in a region already fraught with political and ethnic rivalry.
This is not the first time Kagame’s absence has sparked health rumours. In 2014, he disappeared from public view for several weeks, prompting a wave of speculation and celebrations in Kinshasa about his death.
A similar incident occurred in 2021 when he was absent from key national events, again fuelling online claims about his condition especially in Uganda at a time he was at loggerheads with President Museveni.
The meeting with Obasanjo signals a return to public duties and may help put an end to the speculation that has gripped both critics and supporters over the past fortnight.