Rwandan President Paul Kagame, adressing a full house at the Institue of Politics yesterday evening, faced repeated questions from the audience about the current Congo War as he tried to keep the talk focused on Rwanda's recent strides in its justice system and women's rights.

Kagame gave a short speech on his nation's domestic progress since Rwanda's 1994 genocide--in which Hutu extremists slaughtered as many as one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 90 days--that propelled the central African nation to the forefront of internationl news.

A lengthy question and answer period followed Kagame's 15 minute speech. Many of the questions from the audience focused on Rwanda's current involvement in the Congo War, a subject Kagame did not address in his remarks.

Yesterday's speech was part of an Amercan visit which included meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Congolese President Josheph Kabila.

In 1994, Kagame led the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to overthrow the Hutu power regime, halting the genocide.

Last night, Kagame claimed that, since 1994, three million Rwandan refugees have been repatriated and 300,000 orphans resettled in homes. Eighty-five thousand prisoners--suspected genocide perpetrators--remain in prison, he said, waiting to be tried.

"We are working toward the goal of replacing the culture of impunity with the rule of law," Kagame said in his prepared statement. "We are convinced we can continue to make progress."

Rwanda's judicial system was crippled by the genocide, as a vast majority of its judges were either perpetrators or victims of the slaughter.