The memorials include the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi, the Nyamata Memorial in Bugesera, the Murambi Memorial in Nyamagabe, and the Bisesero Memorial in the Western Province.
In 2022, before their designation as World Heritage Sites, these four memorials recorded over 101,000 visitors—54,845 of whom were foreigners and 46,600 Rwandans.
Following their inscription on the World Heritage List in 2024, total visitor numbers surged to more than 193,000. The number of foreign visitors more than doubled, exceeding 120,000, while Rwandan visitors increased to over 73,000.
Veneranda Ingabire, Executive Director of Memory and Genocide prevention at the Ministry of National Unity, told RBA that the 54.2% rise in foreign visitors reflects the memorials’ growing international visibility.
She noted that the world has embraced the responsibility to promote these sites’ significance and encourage more visits to deepen understanding.
Lydie Mutesi from Aegis Trust, the organization managing the Kigali Genocide Memorial, emphasized that their team has been strengthened with new knowledge and capacity to professionally accommodate the increasing number of visitors.
Enhanced training ensures that Rwanda’s history is preserved and communicated effectively, allowing the memorials’ message to resonate worldwide.
The four Genocide Memorials were officially inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on September 20, 2023, marking a major milestone in their preservation and global recognition.
The brief but widely circulated footage shows Macron stepping out of a plane in Hanoi on Sunday evening as part of a state visit to Vietnam.
As he emerges at the aircraft doorway, Brigitte Macron’s hands suddenly reach out and shove his face. The president appears momentarily startled but quickly regains his composure and waves to the press waiting on the tarmac.
Speaking to reporters in Hanoi on Monday, Macron, who is 24 years younger than his 72-year-old wife, sought to clarify the situation: “There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife, and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe,” he said. “We were just joking around, as we do quite often.”
SHOCKING: French President Emmanuel Macron SHOVED IN THE FACE by his wife Brigitte as they exit a plane in Vietnam! This looks like an EXTREMELY toxic relationship. Imagine your husband leading a nation, trying to stand up to powerhouses like Putin & Trump & his toxic wife… pic.twitter.com/7PWc1CkaG7
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) May 26, 2025
The Élysée Palace, after initially downplaying the footage, later explained that the couple were “unwinding” and “playfully teasing each other” ahead of the start of their formal engagements.
A presidential source quoted by CNN described the incident as “a moment of closeness,” adding: “No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists.”
Macron, who has increasingly found himself the target of disinformation campaigns linked to Russia, criticised the amplification of the clip by what he described as a familiar ecosystem of online actors.
“People have thought I shared a bag of cocaine, tussled with the Turkish president, now that I’m having a domestic dispute with my wife… None of this is true. Everyone needs to calm down,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Élysée also refuted another viral claim, circulated by pro-Kremlin accounts and U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, that Macron was using cocaine aboard a train to Kyiv with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The claim stemmed from a crumpled tissue seen in footage. French officials responded by posting an image with the caption: “This is a tissue. For blowing your nose.”
As the disinformation swirl continued, Macron emphasised the importance of not letting such moments overshadow diplomacy.
“Commentators even explained this morning that my diplomacy was that of a battered husband,” he joked.
Meanwhile, the president’s Southeast Asia trip continued on a more serious note. France and Vietnam signed €9 billion worth of deals on Monday, covering sectors including aerospace, defense, energy, transportation, and pharmaceuticals.
Among them was an agreement for Vietnam to purchase 20 Airbus aircraft — part of efforts to boost bilateral ties amid growing trade instability linked to U.S. tariffs under Donald Trump’s administration.
The visit marks the first formal state trip to Vietnam by a French presidential couple in nearly a decade.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, German Federal Foreign Office spokesperson Kathrin Deschauer said there was no formalized military cooperation with Uganda.
The Ugandan military said Sunday that it has suspended all defense and military cooperation with Germany in response to “credible intelligence reports” that German Ambassador to Uganda Mathias Schauer is actively engaged in subversive activities in the country.
Deschauer noted that Germany was not aware of any background or context that could explain such allegations.
Han and Choi have been under investigation as suspects of insurrection and prevented from leaving the country in the middle of this month.
The police special investigative unit summoned Han and Choi as well as Lee Sang-min, former interior minister who was prohibited from leaving the country last December, for questioning on Monday.
The three former government officials were suspected of being involved in the botched martial law bid by former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was removed from office in April.
These include Eswatini, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Zimbabwe, Georgia, France, Poland, Oman, Suriname, and Canada. The move is expected to strengthen Rwanda’s international connectivity and support its ambitions in aviation, trade, and tourism.
During the same session, the Cabinet also adopted a national data sharing policy aimed at establishing a secure and legally compliant framework for sharing data across public institutions.
The Cabinet further approved periodic reports on Rwanda’s implementation of international human rights treaties.
Additionally, a Ministerial Order concerning the guardianship of children by the state and regulations on intercountry adoption was approved.
The meeting also noted upcoming national events. The 18ᵗʰ National Agriculture Show is scheduled to take place in Mulindi, Kigali, from June 18 to 27, 2025.
Rwanda will also host the 2025 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Annual Meeting in Kigali from October 6 to 10.
According to a notice dated May 25, 2025, laboratory analysis of the product revealed that it does not meet the required national standard RS 344:2023 for plant-flavoured alcoholic drinks. As a result, the Rwanda FDA has declared the product illegal and unsafe for public consumption.
INEZA Ayurvedic Ltd, the manufacturer of Ubutwenge, is based in Musanze District, Busogo Sector, Gisesero Cell. Authorities confirmed that the company has been producing the drink without proper authorisation and outside the required safety guidelines.
Rwanda FDA has instructed the public to immediately stop consuming the drink to avoid potential health risks.
Retailers have also been ordered to remove all Ubutwenge stock from their shelves and return it to distributors. Wholesalers are required to accept the returned products and coordinate their return to the manufacturer.
Furthermore, the manufacturer has been directed to ensure the safe disposal of all recalled stock.
“The manufacturer, INEZA Ayurvedic Ltd, is requested to organize the immediate and safe disposal of returned stocks of Ubutwenge,” said Prof. Emile Bienvenu, Director General of Rwanda FDA.
The launch event took place on Friday at the MIC Branch, BPR’s flagship location for the Ikamba proposition, and brought together women entrepreneurs, key partners such as GIZ,Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), and the KCB Foundation, as well as BPR Bank’s management and staff.
Ikamba combines both financial and non-financial services tailored to the needs of WSMEs. These include flexible cash-flow-based loans of up to Frw 100 million, reduced transaction fees, smart savings options, and access to dedicated WSME branches with personalized support.
Additionally, members benefit from business insights, capacity-building programs, and discounted access to the BPR Biashara Club, all geared toward fostering business growth and financial inclusion.
In her remarks, Patience Mutesi, Managing Director of BPR Bank Rwanda, emphasized the bank’s commitment to economic inclusion: “With Ikamba, we are making a bold statement – that Rwandan women in business deserve more than just access to finance; they deserve a partner that understands their unique journeys.
“We are proud to launch this proposition at our MIC Branch, with plans to roll it out to more branches across the country. Ikamba reflects our values of inclusivity, resilience, and innovation.”
BPR is partnering with Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) and GIZ to bring Ikamba to life.
Commenting on the development, Jean Bosco Iyacu, CEO of AFR, remarked: “Ikamba is a result of strategic co-design with BPR Bank to unlock financing for women entrepreneurs in a way that is practical, scalable, and sustainable.
“We are proud to support this initiative, which aligns with our mission to facilitate a diverse and inclusive financial sector that supports increased resilience and sustainable livelihoods for all and contributes to Rwanda’s economic transformation.”
BPR’s MIC Branch is the first dedicated location to roll out the Ikamba proposition. The bank plans to expand to additional branches over time to ensure broader accessibility and continued support for women entrepreneurs across Rwanda.
In a statement, PNAT confirmed it has formally lodged an appeal against the May 16 decision, which concluded there was “no serious and consistent evidence” linking the 82-year-old to either complicity in genocide or participation in a conspiracy to commit genocide.
The prosecutor’s office is requesting further investigations to pursue potential charges of conspiracy to commit genocide, in a case that has dragged on for nearly two decades.
The May 16 ruling dismissed the PNAT’s supplemental indictment request filed in September 2024, which sought to indict Habyarimana after years of stalled proceedings.
The judges noted that “the rumour is persistent” regarding her alleged involvement, but insisted that “it cannot be treated as proof in the absence of specific and consistent evidence.”
Reacting to the appeal, Agathe Habyarimana’s lawyer expressed frustration with the prosecutor’s decision to continue pursuing the case, describing it as a “denial of justice”.
“Faced with an empty case, as analysed by the ten judges who have handled it, they stubbornly persist in a purely delaying strategy aimed only at postponing the inevitable dismissal… all to satisfy diplomatic interests,” he said.
But civil party groups and genocide survivor associations argue that Habyarimana was not a passive figure during the Genocide against the Tutsi.
According to the Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda (CPCR), which filed the original complaint in 2008, she was a central member of the Akazu, the elite circle of Hutu extremists believed to have planned and coordinated the Genocide against the Tutsi.
The CPCR has also accused Habyarimana of financing Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), the notorious broadcaster that incited mass violence against Tutsis, and of ordering the massacre of staff at an orphanage she founded.
Other allegations include her involvement in compiling hit lists of Tutsi elites and her support for the presidential guard’s terror campaigns following her husband’s assassination on April 6, 1994.
Despite residing in France since 1998, Agathe Habyarimana has neither been granted asylum nor extradited to Rwanda.
She was evacuated from Kigali on April 9, 1994, with French assistance under the orders of then-President François Mitterrand, a close ally of her late husband. In 2016, French authorities designated her an assisted witness, a status between that of a suspect and a simple witness.
The case has been derailed by multiple legal hurdles, including the 2022 decision by the investigating judge to signal a potential case closure due to “excessive delays.”
However, the PNAT reignited proceedings with a new indictment request in 2024 and continues to push for judicial accountability, citing the gravity of the charges and the ongoing demands for justice by survivors and civil society.
If the Paris Court of Appeal overturns the May 16 decision and grants PNAT’s request, Agathe Habyarimana could finally be indicted for her alleged role in orchestrating one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. Conviction on such charges would likely carry a life sentence.
The Court of Appeal’s response to the prosecutor’s appeal is expected in the coming weeks.
Unlike previous editions organized in collaboration with the Rwandan Embassy and Charleroi city authorities, this year’s event was independently coordinated by the local Rwandan community in Charleroi.
The commemoration was attended by key figures including Eugène Twagiramutabazi, President of Ibuka Mémoire & Justice – Belgique; Pamela Kamuzima, head of DRB-Rugali Section Charleroi; and Lina Mukandori, representing the association of genocide survivors in the city.
Also present was Marina Shumbusho, 24, who gave a moving testimony as a child born to genocide survivors. Friends of Rwanda and members of the diaspora from various parts of Belgium also joined the event.
In her remarks, Lina Mukandori reflected on Rwanda’s painful past, noting that 31 years ago, ethnic division led to atrocities where people turned against neighbors, friends, and even close relatives.
“Over the past three decades, Rwanda has chosen a different path—one of unity, rebuilding, and dignity,” she said.
She also addressed genocide denial, especially claims that the genocide began only after the 1994 plane crash that killed President Juvénal Habyarimana. “That’s not true,” she stated, referencing genocide researcher Gregory H. Stanton’s work on the stages of genocide planning.
Eugène Twagiramutabazi commended the youth for their involvement in organizing the event. “We remember, no matter what. Remembrance is not mine or yours—it belongs to all of us,” he said.
As in previous years, the ceremony also honored the 10 Belgian peacekeepers killed in Rwanda on April 7, 1994—including Charleroi natives Corporal Alain Debatty, First Lieutenant Thierry Lotin, and Corporal Marc Uyttebroeck.
The event began with the laying of wreaths at the Genocide Memorial in Parc Reine Astrid, a park in central Charleroi that also holds monuments tied to World War history.
A walk to remember followed, carried out under heavy rain, but continued undeterred, as participants remained committed to the cause.
The final segment included testimonies, solemn songs, reflection, and a night vigil featuring remembrance music and photos of victims—honoring their names, lives, and legacies.
A 21-day-old infant has tested positive for mpox in Moyale town, near the Kenyan border, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and Public Health Institute said in a joint statement.
Noting that subsequent testing also confirmed that the child’s mother is infected with the virus, the ministry said the child and his mother have been placed in quarantine.
According to the ministry, both the child and his mother have not suffered any serious health problems so far and are currently in stable condition. It said coordinated efforts are underway to trace the source of the infection.
As Ethiopia becomes the latest African country to report a mpox case, the total number of affected countries on the continent since the start of last year has now reached 26, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The ministry said that since the onset of the mpox outbreak in Africa, it has implemented a series of coordinated measures aimed at preventing the virus from entering the East African nation, while also establishing strategies to control its spread should it enter the country. It said an emergency coordination center has been established at the Public Health Institute to facilitate such efforts.
“The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, wishes to emphasize its commitment to enhancing ongoing measures aimed at preventing and controlling the spread of the disease,” it said. The ministry also urged anyone who has come into contact with individuals infected with the virus, as well as those exhibiting symptoms of mpox, to promptly seek appropriate medical care.
Given that the virus has been reported only in a confined area, the ministry said the public should remain calm and maintain their usual daily routines while adhering to safety protocols outlined by health authorities.
On Thursday, the Africa CDC announced that 25 mpox-affected African countries had reported more than 130,000 cases since the start of last year. Of these, 31,745 were confirmed, and about 1,774 related deaths were recorded.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is a rare viral disease transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. The infection often causes fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.
