Special Projects & Analysis

Rwanda is facing a monumental crisis. Government data shows that since 2016 to end of 2019, a total of 78,646 girls under 18 years were impregnated by men – some fit to be their grandfathers. The eastern province accounts for biggest number at 36.1% of the cases, southern at 21%,…

Faced with a stark choice; capture or death, 18-year-old, Yussuf Abdullah chose to fight. He battled the swiftly advancing heavily armed Rwandan special forces. The rusty gun Abdallah was carrying jammed. It couldn’t fire. Today the frail-looking teenager, also wounded on the leg, is in the custody of Mozambican government…

IN BRIEF: Rwanda’s per capita fish consumption is 2.3 kilograms, far below its neighbours Burundi (3.6 kilograms), Tanzania (8 kilograms) and Uganda (10 kilograms). The global average of 20.5 kilograms per capita. Reason? Rwanda’s lakes and rivers are producing insufficient fish to satify the demand, despite a five-fold increase in…

As we celebrate World Freedom Day today, May 3, 2021, it is important to remember three Rwandan journalists arrested and imprisoned in 2018 for doing their job. The three were denied bail and their case is yet to be heard, about three years after their imprisonment. In early October 2018…

In space of 13 years, government of Rwanda has conducted three in-depth investigations on the role of the French government in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Two of the investigations were damning. As old alliances shift, so has the manner in which France’s presence in Rwanda is being construed.…

For over a year now, the country has been in and out of different forms of lockdowns in a government attempt to control spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Except for isolated cases of people arrested for flouting the regulations, the general observance has been overwhelming. One such case of a…

For every video that actor and comedy producer Gratien Niyitegeka posts on YouTube channel with his name, he is assured of more than 100,000 views within 24hours. Every week, Niyitegeka produces ‘Papa Sava’ series that tells a story of family relations, love affairs, friendships and neighbours in an ordinary Rwandan…

Mr. President, two days ago, on February 10, 2021, I published a letter addressed to you concerning the effects of COVID-19; how these have affected our country’s development path and the problem with the strategy currently in place to curb the pandemic. This part of the letter contains recommendations on…

Dear Mr. President, I’m writing to you about COVID-19 and its impact on the life of ordinary citizens, livelihoods of our communities and the economy. The objective is to share what I have learnt about the unprecedented social, economic and political effects of this pandemic on our country, with the…

About 1.5million people in Rwanda’s capital Kigali are back in a government-instituted lockdown beginning the night of January 18. This lockdown is to control the spread of new COVID cases in the city. Other regions of Rwanda will only have to observe a night curfew beginning early evening.  For tens…

Medical doctors, scientists, medical experts and government officials are still learning about coronavirus as it continues to spread here in Rwanda and ravage nations across the globe. So far, the most disturbing finding is that Covid-19 appears to have lingering effects long after a person has recovered. Scarring of lungs,…

Four people are currently in Rwandan jails over content they posted on their YouTube channels – just a few of the more than 10 YouTubers who have fallen victim after posting content that mqy have rubbed the authorities the wrong way. In the past five years, there has been explosion…

Have you noticed that from July to October, an annual phenomenon happens whereby prices of potatoes, a common delicacy, start to increase significantly in Rwanda. The situation usually becomes so serious, it dominates local news headlines for weeks. After that period, potatoe prices again come down on the market. The…

Schools are unlikely to fully open anytime soon since they were closed on March 12, two days before the first COVID-19 case was announced in Rwanda. At least 14% of the 78,108 total teachers for secondary school level and below, were employed by private schools. While their counterparts employed by…

Rwanda’s past successes have been notable, but the country has set even more ambitious goals for its future. A study published August 18 by the International Monetary Fund explains some of the key factors behind Rwanda key successes, including unique institution-building. The study titled “The Development Path Less Traveled :…

Rehabilitation or transit centers are spread across different parts of Rwanda. As per official narrative, transit centers is where delinquent youths are held for a few days, before being transferred to rehabilitation center to be reformed and given a new lease of life. However, over the years, the testimonies of…

A 51.54km road project in Northern Rwanda may have improved the lives of thousands, but has also destroyed the livelihoods of many others. On the same project, expropriations were done. However, when it came to payments, the level of impunity witnessed there is shocking. Our investigation, done in collaboration with…

“I am in a meeting. Will call back.,” is how many officials respond to media requests – and never call back. Even worse, reporters have experienced rejection and harassment. Ordinary people who speak to media are also targeted. How open and transparent are Rwandan officials when it comes to journalists…

An estimated 1.5 million people living in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, don’t have clean water fit for human consumption.  This, despite bordering Lake Kivu – one of the African Great Lakes with size more than 1,000 square miles. But the lake…

Government institutions are overspending billions of Rwandan Francs each year, from local to Senate level. As The Chronicles reports, there is a pattern behind that needs to be addressed. Not only to avoid such tremendous overspending in future, but also to regain the citizens’ trust. Imagine a situation where a…

Five men are in custody for allegedly withholding the food meant for the vulnerable in their localities. The food was a central government scheme to feed the poorest during the COVID-19 lockdown. All of the men are village leaders from different areas. These five suspects, awaiting possible prosecution and jail,…

Despite US President Donald Trump’s claims, a pandemic has long been among the top threats listed by America’s intelligence community. But even the country’s best analysts could not foresee that it would happen under a leader willing to sacrifice so many lives on the altar of his ego. ATLANTA –…

As of April 12, in the east African region the COVID-19 inflections appear to be very small in Burundi (5) and South Sudan (4). In Rwanda, number stood at 120, for Kenya 191, Uganda 53 and Tanzania 32. The coronavirus appears to be much more lethal in some countries than…

China’s success in “flattening the curve” of the COVID-19 epidemic has been held up as a model for the rest of the world to emulate. But what the world really needs to understand is that China’s “victory” required massive sacrifices by doctors, nurses, and other health workers whose names we…

In one family, a mother lives with four children in a ramshackle mud house. Two of the children are severely malnourished they don’t look their age. Not far away in neighboring village, another mother has three children, all of whom are supposed to be attending primary school, but are not.…

Villagers in sectors along Rwanda-Uganda border live in fear. Gangs of men have been left to maraud the area as they go about their business smuggling Kanyanga, a crude alcohol, into Rwanda. Anyone who reports their movements risks death. Some families are so scared they don’t want to talk, even…

Nine years ago, Government of Rwanda through the Local Government Ministry got some funding for a unique model housing village in Karongi district from ADRA, the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Today, the site for the village stands as an ugly reminder of how a good…

A nearly Rwf 4 billion hotel lays complete but idle. The paint is slowly going off. Workers are regularly seen trimming the bush trying to creep into the large complex. Though empty, this hotel is by far the only multilayered complex in this region. In downtown, a small and dull…

A government scheme that ranks health centers by how many women they enroll on birth control is having unexpected consequences, including women being denied other services if they resist. Health centers are using all possible means at their disposal to force as many women on the list. Our investigation in…

In 2016, Immaculée Nyirahabimana a teacher at Nyacyonga Primary School in Gasabo district sought a loan of Rwf 8m from Umwalimu SACCO Remera branch in Kigali, which is also the SACCO’s headquarters. The Branch manager at the time Rugambwa Pacifique asked teacher Nyirahabimana to first deposit Rwf 850,000 on her…