Rwanda shrugs off 'sportswashing' criticism in pursuit of a winning development formula

FILE - Children practice the sport of fencing, on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda, April 4, 2024. FILE - Formula One President Stefano Domenicali is seen before the start of the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, June 30, 2024. FILE - Rwanda's President Paul Kagame casts his vote in a presidential election, in Kigali, July 15, 2024.

He may be the president of a small, landlocked state in central Africa, but Paul Kagame has always had outsize dreams.