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Unless his reign is short, a Roman Catholic pontiff will appoint most of the men who vote for his successor. But Pope Francis’ additions to the College of Cardinals since his election in 2013 also have served another purpose – tilting the leadership structure of the Roman Catholic Church away…

Dr Leon Mugesera board a prison van back to jail from one of the countless court appearances in Rwanda The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) has ruled that Dr Leon Mugesera has been jailed under inhumane and cruel conditions as he serves life sentence for genocide. The…

When it is harvesting season, you will find scenes like these across northern Rwanda as individual farmers and cooperatives flood their produce on the market before it rots Have you noticed that from July to October, an annual phenomenon happens whereby prices of potatoes, a common delicacy, start to increase…

UN special envoy for the great lakes region Huang Xia (left) was in Burundi on Tuesday for meeting with President Ndayishimiye President Evariste Ndayishimiye has dismissed a UN proposal for a third interlocutor to mediate between Burundi and Rwanda. UN special envoy for the great lakes region Huang Xia was…

Col Tom Byabagamba in the military court during the trial of the first cases since 2014 Jailed Col Tom Byabagamba, who protected President Paul Kagame for many years, saw his ongoing prison term increased this Tuesday to nearly 20 years. A lower court in Kigali agreed with government prosecutors that…

António Guterres: “I am issuing an SOS for the needs of developing countries.” The UN Secretary-General has told a G20 summit that a global scheme to make COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics affordable and accessible to anyone, anywhere, who needs them – is running short of money. The leaders who participated…

There have been a series of arrests in Europe in recent months of Rwandans accused of participating in the 1994 genocide. After Félicien Kabuga in France, three people were arrested in Belgium in October and another one in the Netherlands (see Box). Who are they? Belgium, which is the European…

Such scenes of COVID-19 testing will continue for at least another four years before any vaccine is available Poor countries like Rwanda will have to wait much long to access any possible COVID-19 vaccine as rich countries have already snapped up billions of doses. It means that the two vaccines…

At the release of the repatriated into Rwandan society during an event on Tuesday in Rusizi district In white or yellow T-shirts, some in short or trousers, and all donning ‘boda boda’ – a common footwear in rural Africa, they sang and danced. While many of them were oblivious of…

Women inmates dance at new year party inside Mageragere prison at end of 2019. Everyone with a family member in jail is worried about their love one there There is growing public concern over the situation in prisons as cases of COVID-19 infections continue to increase – with people worried…

The months-long closure of national parks and continued travel restrictions due to COVID-19 has disrupted a critical revenue source for great ape conservation: sustainable tourism.Countries which rely on tourism as a significant source of their GDP must continue to place biodiversity principles at the heart of recovery efforts, and explore…

Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli Tanzanian President John Magufuli said Friday that freedom and democracy have limits, after a disputed election which saw scores of opposition members arrested and his main rival leave the country. Magufuli was declared the victor of October 28 election with 84 percent of the vote,…

Inside Mageragere prison in Kigali during new celebrations on December 31, 2019. The facility has nearly 12,000 inmates The Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS) and health officials are investigating how COVID-19 reached two jails yet visits have been banned since March. Mageragere prison in Kigali, a maximum security facility on Wednesday…

Tidjane Thiam, the renowned French-Ivorian banking titan, has been appointed by government of Rwanda as board chair of agency charged with mobilizing much-needed investment cash. Thiam resigned as CEO of Credit Suisse in February after a damaging scandal in which he is said to have authorised massive spying program on…

A woman whose abuse case gripped the nation in July is living, is living through more misery despite several government agencies claiming to have helped her to safety. RIB handed the victim Irene Uwimbabazi on this past Sunday to Ruhango district to be supported to recover from her horrific ordeal.…

This toddler was photographed at a 2018 campaign rally of the ruling RPF party parliamentary bloc. By 2024, the toddler will be about 10 years old. Government spending on nutrition programs for babies and mothers has increased more than six-fold in past 5 years but thousands of babies will not…

Fortunat Biselele (R) was always besides the late Etienne Tshisekedi, father of current DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi is a man on a mission. A delegation he sent to Kigali this Saturday for meeting with President Paul Kagame, speaks volumes about what his intentions are.…

The now-former US President Donald Trump has rejected the results Donald Trump rejected the outcome of the 2020 election and promised further legal challenges as Democrats and liberal groups celebrated Joe Biden’s victory. Trump, who was at his golf course in Northern Virginia when the race was called, issued a…

Marguerite Barankitse (C) meets Pope Francis in February last year, one of her many global recognitions due to her work Burundian global campaigner Marguerite Barankitse has cancelled the scholarships of over 100 Burundian refugee students that were funded through her organisation Maison Shalom. The affected students received email from Maison…

The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Hazza AlQahtani on Thursday paid a courtesy call on the incoming Antoine Cardinal Kambanda. The UAE envoy met Kambanda at his office at the Archdiocese of Kigali. Cardinal Kambanda was named on October 25 and will be installed as Rwanda’s first Cardinal at…

A mine in eastern Congo A New York court on Wednesday sentenced OZ Africa, a subsidiary of multi-billion-dollar hedge fund Och-Ziff, for corruption linked to mining projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It awarded $135 million in restitution to the former shareholders of Africo Resources Ltd, who lost their…

This is how the border looked like before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the site is nearly deserted Provincial officials from western Rwanda and eastern DR Congo have agreed to partially open the Rubavu-Goma border – but the restrictions still remain in place. Rwanda’s western province governor Alphonse Munyentwari was across…

The Rwanda Development Board in 2017 introduced “Investor Open Day” where it says the business community get to speak to officials and raise any concerns they have The World Bank will set up a new platform in Rwanda to protect foreign investors amid concerns that when they get here, their…

Just one of the victims of Beni’s endless bloodshed (Photo: HRW) At least 21 people were massacred around 4am on Saturday and more than 20 kidnapped in latest attack on region close to Beni, a troubled DR Congo area. Among those killed include 15 women. An entire village in area…

Rwanda’s Senate President Dr Augustin Iyamuremye (L) and President of Belgian Parliament Éliane Tillieux The President of Rwanda’s Senate Dr Augustin Iyamuremye said Saturday that manner in which the Belgian counterpart replied to his letter demonstrated the “colonial” mindset still prevailing. Iyamuremye’s comments were in reference to a highly controversial…

Ombudsman Anastase Murekezi is also a former Prime Minister. Despite all the laws and tough actions against corruption, the people involved are not easy to catch, the Ombudsman Anastase Murekezi has admitted. In past year, President Paul Kagame has upped the rhetoric against corruption, and several high ranking officials including…

Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente speaking today at the IMIHIGO function Nearly 50 percent of the government’s emergency economic recovery fund set up to cushion companies from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been spent. Figures released Friday by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente show that Rwf 44.3billion of the Rwf…

Incumbent President John Pombe Magufuli has won a comfortable second term with an absolute majority in Parliament The all powerful ruling party in Tanzania, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi or CCM party, has won all but two seats in Parliament – leaving the opposition crying fowl. In the 264-seat House, the…

River Akagera in the far ground forms part of the border between Rwanda and Tanzania. Communities on Rwanda side have been hardest hit as they are no longer trading with Tanzanians March 21, government closed Rwanda’s land border and airspace in frantic efforts to block possible carriers of the COVID-19…

Following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, the new government let small groups of displaced and returnees to settle around the Gishwati forest in current Rubavu district, Western Rwanda. By 1999, a total of 10,184 families comprising of 42, 913 persons were settled. They found the forest terribly destroyed, and…