An impoverished African country which has received hundreds of millions of pounds in aid from British taxpayers is paying £30 million to sponsor Arsenal – one of the world's richest football clubs.

Rwanda, which is getting £62 million this year alone from the UK, has paid the Premier League club to promote the country's tourist industry on players' shirts.

The astonishing deal will also give Rwanda's despotic ruler Paul Kagame and his cronies the use of an exclusive hospitality box at the London club's Emirates Stadium, piles of match-day tickets and access to star players for promotional work.

Last night, furious critics of the UK's £13 billion-a-year foreign aid programme said the deal proves that British taxpayer cash is being flagrantly wasted.

Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams presents a jersey to Ruwandan dictator Paul Kagame in 2014 as she spends £30 in UK aid to sponsor the team

Blair's friend accused of war crimes Paul Kagame is one of Africa’s most controversial leaders – but has been repeatedly defended by Tony Blair. The former Labour prime minister has a close relationship with the Rwandan tyrant, even though he has been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses. Mr Blair has described Kagame as a ‘visionary leader’ and a friend. He made the central African country the focus of his Africa Governance Initiative charity. The initiative saw him placing officials in Rwanda’s institutions such as the president’s policy unit. Mr Blair has said: ‘I’m a believer in and a supporter of Paul Kagame. I don’t ignore all those criticisms, having said that. But I do think you’ve got to recognise that Rwanda is an immensely special case because of the genocide.’ The former PM made no fewer than six visits to Rwanda between 2007 and 2011. Eight years ago the United Nations accused Kagame’s forces of war crimes, including possibly genocide. Advertisement

Last year, Britain gave £27 million directly to the Rwandan government for poverty relief and spent a further £37 million on aid projects in the country.

But despite the vast amounts of cash being given by the UK and other countries, hospitals, schools, businesses and homes are without electricity much of the time.

Most people survive on less than £1 a day under Kagame's tightly controlled authoritarian regime.

Meanwhile, teachers in some parts of Rwanda have not been paid for five months.

Instead, Kagame, who has been accused of murdering and torturing his opponents, funds 'prestige' projects such as running an airline which loses £750,000 a week.

The message 'Visit Rwanda' will be emblazoned on Arsenal players' left sleeves and on pitch-side screens, at an annual cost of £10 million for the next three years.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen described the deal as 'an own goal for foreign aid'. 'This is absolutely astonishing,' he added.

'British taxpayers will be rightly shocked to learn that a country supported by huge handouts from the UK is in turn pumping millions into a fabulously rich football club in London. It's ludicrous.

'If this isn't a perfect own goal for foreign aid, I don't know what is. It serves to expose the complete idiocy this system is based on.'

London-based Rwandan human rights campaigner Rene Mugenzi, whose life is under threat from Kagame's hitmen, said: 'It is hard to believe that Arsenal really conducted due diligence on this obscene deal, and they should scrap it.

'How can a country which receives tens of millions of UK aid start spending money on a football club in London, just because the president supports them?

'Britain should stop giving money to Rwanda because it just frees up their government to spend money on crazy things like this.'

Mesut Ozil appeared in the Visit Ruwanda ad paid for with cash that should have been spent improving the country

Earlier this year, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt pledged that the British Government would no longer invest 'when others should be putting their hands in their pockets', adding that the public had 'legitimate' concerns over how the UK's £13 billion aid budget was spent.

A Department for International Development spokesman said: 'All UK aid to Rwanda is earmarked for specific programmes, such as education and agriculture.

We track results to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers. We are helping Rwanda to stand on its own two feet.'

An Arsenal spokesman said: 'Rwanda… is now regarded as one of the most advanced and respected countries in Africa.

'We believe that, having conducted due diligence, it is a partnership that will help Rwanda meet their tourism goals while developing football in the country.'

The Rwandan Development Board declined to comment to The Mail on Sunday, but its CEO, Clare Akamanzi, said last week: 'We're thrilled to be partnering with Arsenal and showcasing the vibrancy and beauty of our country.'