Kagame Hands AU Chair to Egypt

The chairmanship of the African Union (AU) by President Paul Kagame this weekend came to an end, with the Rwandan head of state passing on the duties to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

During his time at the helm Kagame pursued an active, reformist agenda, supporting a continent-wide import tax to fund the body in a bid to reduce its dependence on external donors. However, he could not secure the support necessary for many of his reforms with other regional players reluctant to strengthen the institution. Kagame also found himself at odds with many key players when he expressed doubts regarding the official results of the DRC’s recent elections in which President Felix Tshisekedi was named the winner. 

The new chair of the AU Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to have a much stronger focus on security issues.