The conference, which will feature the Policymakers Roundtable, is scheduled to take place in Kigali from September 9 to 10, 2025.
Key topics on the agenda include linking sports with tourism, monetizing sports, advancing sports development, attracting sponsors, and demonstrating the benefits of investing in the sector.
Last year’s edition brought together around 400 participants, including athletes from various disciplines in Rwanda, leaders of sports federations, investors, journalists, and institutions connected to the sports industry.
Minister of Sports, Nelly Mukazayire, emphasized that the Forum is helping to reshape African perspectives on the role of sports.
“This Roundtable marks a pivotal step in unlocking the transformative potential of Africa’s sports industry. By strengthening our national policies and aligning them with Agenda 2063, we aim to foster a thriving sports ecosystem that drives job creation, sparks innovation, and accelerates socio-economic development across the continent.
“Together, we are setting the stage for a new era where sports become a powerful catalyst for Africa’s growth and global leadership,” she noted.
Among the prominent figures who attended last year was El Hadji Diouf, the legendary footballer.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine must be directly involved in the peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Everything that concerns Ukraine should be discussed exclusively with Ukraine, he said, calling for preparations for a trilateral dialogue involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
Zelensky underscored the need for a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine.
He also urged the imposition of stronger sanctions on Russia if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire.
According to Zelensky, he and Merz had a video meeting on Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte, among others.
Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15 in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Ament, 18, plays for Tennessee Basketball in the United States known for nurturing top talent. He has been in Rwanda for several days on holiday, also taking time to explore his mother’s homeland.
During their discussions, Minister Mukazayire and Ament explored opportunities to develop basketball, as well as the importance of sports in fostering values, inspiring youth, and highlighting talents.
While in Rwanda, Ament visited children playing basketball in Kayonza and joined them in training sessions. He also visited Volcanoes National Park.
Recently ranked fourth among the top 100 young basketball players in the U.S., Ament is considered a rising star, with speculation already suggesting he could be in the 2026 NBA draft.
With a Rwandan mother, Ament recently unveiled a custom-made shoe by Reebok featuring the colors of the Rwandan flag.
Last year, he represented Team USA in the 2024 FIBA U-18 Americas Championship, where the team won the gold medal.
The massacre, carried out on the night of 13 August 2004, was orchestrated by the armed group FNL-PALIPEHUTU, with alleged support from elements of the Congolese army. Two decades later, the Banyamulenge say justice has never been delivered—while killings, displacement, and persecution persist.
{{Justice denied, persecution continues}}
Speaking on behalf of the Coordination des Mutualités Banyamulenge, community leader Jules Rutebuka said countless efforts to seek justice have been ignored.
“We filed cases in Burundi against those who admitted responsibility, including Agathon Rwasa and Pasteur Habimana, but they still walk free. We also appealed to the DRC, where Congolese soldiers were implicated, yet nothing was done. Every authority we approached has failed us,” he said.
Rutebuka noted that although the commemoration looks back to 2004, Banyamulenge and other Congolese Tutsi remain targets today. Livestock are seized, homes burned, and people killed or displaced simply for speaking Kinyarwanda.
“This is why we chose self-defense. We cannot continue to offer our necks to the killers,” he added.
{{Survivors’ testimonies}}
For survivors like Michel Gahakanyi, the memory of Gatumba is still vivid. Then just 22, he recalled how attackers stormed the camp, surrounding it before targeting Banyamulenge refugees who had been deliberately separated from others.
“They came prepared, poured gasoline on our shelters, and burned people alive. Anyone who tried to run was shot. My sister was killed in front of me and set on fire. I escaped through piles of bodies,” he said.
Reflecting on the present, Gahakanyi argued that the same forces that killed them in 2004 are still active—now working alongside President Félix Tshisekedi’s government in DRC.
“The Burundians who killed us then are the same ones killing us today, this time with official backing. We want justice, but if it doesn’t come, we will defend ourselves until peace is restored. This is our country, and we will not give it up,” he warned.
{{A fresh wound}}
The community was recently shaken by the arrest of Laurent Ruboneka Musabwa, a Gatumba survivor and embassy staff member in Burundi. On 27 July 2024, Burundian security forces detained him and flew him to Kinshasa in a chartered plane arranged by the DRC government.
Rutebuka condemned the arrest: “Musabwa was a lifeline for refugees and vulnerable people. Now he joins many others unjustly taken simply because they are Banyamulenge, Tutsi, or suspected of ties to M23. They are innocent, yet they are persecuted for their identity.”
Community members fear more arrests could follow, as many Banyamulenge live under constant threat.
{{Who will deliver justice?}}
The Gatumba Refugees Survivors Foundation (GRSF) filed a case with the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging prosecution of those responsible for the massacre. Similar complaints were lodged in Burundi and the DRC. But nearly 21 years later, impunity prevails.
Former FNL fighters were shielded by immunity under the Dar es Salaam ceasefire agreement of 7 September 2006.
Lawyer Innocent Nteziryayo, who represents GRSF and other Congolese Tutsi groups, said: “We submitted all the evidence required. For two years, we have been gathering additional proof, linking it with independent reports, and presenting it to courts. Burundi, the DRC, and even the ICC have our files. They acknowledged them—but no court has acted. We will keep reminding them.”
{{Gratitude and determination}}
The Banyamulenge community expressed gratitude to Rwanda for hosting many survivors and providing safety and opportunities to rebuild their lives.
Still, Rutebuka stressed that this does not replace their right to return home: “We thank Rwanda for sheltering us. But the Congolese government must recognize that we have the right to live in our own land.”
The Banyamulenge’s plight stretches back decades. Since colonial times, they have been denied recognition as full citizens of Congo. They suffered massacres during the Mulele rebellion in 1964, and waves of violence returned in the 1990s.
Since 2017, violence has intensified once more, with Mai-Mai militias collaborating with Burundian groups like Red Tabara and FNL-PALIPEHUTU. Attacks have ravaged South Kivu—killing civilians, torching homes, looting livestock, and forcing thousands into displacement.
In a press statement, the council members also expressed grave concern about the implications of such actions, which represent a direct threat to Sudan’s territorial integrity and unity and further risk exacerbating the ongoing conflict in Sudan, fragmenting the country and worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
They unequivocally reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to Sudan’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity. They stressed that any unilateral steps that undermine these principles threaten not only the future of Sudan but also the peace and stability of the broader region.
They reiterated that the priority is for the parties to resume talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and “create the necessary conditions for a political resolution on the conflict.”
They also recalled Security Council Resolution 2736, which demands that the RSF lift the siege of El Fasher and calls for an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around the city. They also expressed grave concern about incoming reports of a renewed RSF offensive in El Fasher and urged the RSF to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the city.
The council members condemned reported attacks in the Kordofan region in recent weeks by the parties, which have caused the deaths of large numbers of civilians. They also expressed deep concern over the impact of the conflict, including attacks on humanitarian operations. They called on the parties in Sudan to allow and facilitate safe and unhindered humanitarian access in a manner consistent with the relevant provisions of international law.
They urged all UN member states to refrain from external interference that seeks to foment conflict and instability, to support efforts for durable peace, to abide by their obligations under international law, and to implement relevant Security Council resolutions.
The offensive will later target refugee camps in central Gaza and the southern area of Al Mawasi, where most of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents have taken shelter, according to a statement by the Israeli military.
The principles of the plan were approved in a meeting of security officials earlier on Wednesday, the statement said, adding that “the central concept for the plan for the next stages in the Gaza Strip was presented and approved, in accordance with the directive of the political echelon.”
Zamir’s approval came three days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had been ordered to enter the “decisive stage” of the Gaza war, aimed at seizing the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza, and Al Mawasi’s southern area, an order widely condemned amid Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
It also came as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told a press briefing on Wednesday that Israel rejects a two-state solution and “will not allow” the establishment of a Palestinian state.
On Sunday, a rare emergency weekend meeting held by the UN Security Council saw widespread outrage at the Israeli plan. Yet the session ended with no resolution as the United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, sided with Israel.
“If these (Israeli) plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca warned the Council.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israel over Gaza and accused Netanyahu of running a “network of massacres” and seeking to prolong his political survival at the cost of further bloodshed in the region.
On late Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held a phone conversation, during which they reiterated rejection of the Israeli plan, calling it “an attempt to deepen the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, continue the genocide war against the unarmed Palestinians, undermine their right to self-determination and establish their independent state.”
They also regarded the plan as “a blatant violation of international law and humanitarian international law,” read a statement released Wednesday by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense, told Xinhua at least 41 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Wednesday.
In southern Gaza, 12 people were killed by Israeli army gunfire while waiting to receive food near an aid center southwest of Khan Younis. In central Gaza, five people were killed and 10 others injured as the Israeli army targeted civilian gatherings near the aid distribution point at the Netzarim axis. Four were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid near Kissufim, east of Deir al-Balah, Basal said.
In Gaza City, at least 12 were killed during an Israeli airstrike at the home of the Abu Daf family in the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of the city, and eight others, including five children, were killed when tents housing displaced people were targeted in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, south of the city, Basal said.
According to local eyewitnesses, the Israeli army continued to demolish residential buildings in Rafah, Khan Younis, and eastern Gaza, in addition to artillery shelling in the eastern outskirts.
The developments came as a delegation of Hamas leaders, headed by Khalil Al-Hayya, on Wednesday continued its meetings in Cairo with Egyptian officials on ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News channel, citing an Egyptian official source, reported that the delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss resuming Gaza ceasefire talks, to reach a temporary 60-day truce agreement.
However, Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24 on Tuesday in an interview that Israel is “not going back to partial agreements,” accusing Hamas of “misleading” Israel, without providing details.
Gaza-based health authorities reported on Wednesday eight more deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including three children, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 235, including 106 children.
The total number of people killed by Israeli strikes since October 2023 has risen to 61,722, with another 154,525 wounded, according to the health authorities.
The medal ceremony took place at the Bossembele Base Camp, located in Ombella-M’Poko Prefecture. It was presided over on behalf of the MINUSCA Force Commander, by Col Mohamed Said, Deputy Sector Commander for Sector West.
Col Mohamed Said appreciated the Rwandan contingent for their contribution to the peacekeeping mission.
He also emphasized that the UN service medals symbolize appreciation for peacekeepers who demonstrate dedication, professionalism, and commitment to protecting civilians and restoring peace in accordance with the mission’s mandate.
“On behalf of MINUSCA force commander and entire MINUSCA leadership let me congratulate you, for the past ten months in which you have served with unwavering courage, professionalism and dedication in one of the most challenging peacekeeping environments.
“Your commitment in protecting civilians, supporting stability and upholding the principles of the United Nations has left a lasting impact on the local communities in your areas of responsibility, “he said.
He further expressed his appreciation to the leadership of the Rwanda Defence Force for maintaining a highly trained, well-equipped, and mission-ready force, underscoring Rwanda’s continued commitment to international peacekeeping effort.
Lt Col Ndanyuzwe Muzindutsi, the RWABAT-2 contingent commander, appreciated the MINUSCA Leadership and local government for their support and collaboration during the mission. He said the medals are a motivation to peacekeepers to continue their duties with courage and sacrifice.
Throughout their deployment, the Rwandan contingent, RWABAT-2, conducted a range of operations along Main Supply Route One linking Bangui to Cameroon.
These included patrols, supply convoy escorts, and road clearance activities—all aimed at ensuring the security and accessibility of the vital corridor linking Bangui to Cameroon.
They are accused of offences linked to the alleged illegal purchase of airline tickets using a Ministry of Defence account.
The case relates to APR FC’s trip to Egypt in September 2024 to play Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League, a visit that included members of the press among the travelling party.
Those appearing before the court include RCS spokesperson CSP Hillary Sengabo, CSP Olive Mukantabana, and three RDF officers, among them Captain Peninah Mutoni and Captain Peninah Umurungi.
Civilian defendants include journalist Ndayishimiye Reagan, known as Rugaju, Ishimwe Ricard, and former journalist Mucyo Antha Biganiro.
Military prosecutors accuse the group of complicity in receiving and issuing unauthorised documents, as well as complicity in the misuse of public funds for purposes other than those intended.
The lawyer representing Capt Mutoni stated that their client was not ready to stand trial because they received the prosecution’s case at 8 p.m., and the lawyer only saw it in the morning on August 13.
Additionally, Capt Mutoni’s lawyer explained that she is pregnant and does not have the strength to proceed, especially since she was scheduled to visit the doctor that day.
The prosecution countered, arguing that despite Capt Mutoni’s condition, the 27 other co-defendants should continue with their trial. They requested that Capt Mutoni be granted a new trial date.
Capt Mutoni’s lawyer further argued that because all the defendants are charged in the same case, her client’s trial should not be separated from the others.
The lawyer also mentioned that Capt Mutoni is dealing with serious health issues, having recently fainted due to low blood pressure while in detention.
Lawyer Ibambe Jean Paul, representing one of the accused, Nemeye Olivier, argued that the trial should proceed despite Capt Mutoni’s objection. He stated that if she is not ready to stand trial, the other defendants were prepared to proceed.
The lawyer clarified that his client also has a wedding on August 16 but did not request a delay for the trial. He also asked for his client to be allowed to attend the trial while not in detention.
After reviewing the situation, the court accepted the objection based on Capt Mutoni’s pregnancy and ordered that she be taken to the hospital. Her trial has been rescheduled for August 18, while the trial for the other 27 defendants will continue.
{{Closed session}}
The prosecution explained that they accuse CSP Sengabo, CSP Mukantabana, and Capt Umurungi of being accomplices in the crime of providing unauthorized documents and misusing public funds.
The prosecution added that the other defendants face charges of aiding and abetting in receiving unauthorized documents, misusing public funds, and using forged documents.
The prosecution requested that the trial be held in camera to avoid public statements that could compromise national security and ethics.
“The crimes they are accused of are connected to the Ministry of Defence, and it is impossible to separate the Ministry of Defence from national security,” the prosecution stated.
The defense lawyers requested that the trial be held in public, but if necessary, the military-related charges should be heard in camera.
They argued that closing the trial was unnecessary since it does not threaten national security but pertains to national assets, which concerns the people of Rwanda.
The court ruled that the trial will be held in camera due to its connection with national security. All non-participants were asked to leave before the further proceedings.
The numbers have been rising. In 2019, 707 people were diagnosed, dropping slightly to 495 in 2020, before climbing to 603 in 2021.
By 2022, the figure had jumped to 926, then doubled to 1,845 in 2023. In the first half of 2024 alone, 1,349 people were recorded.
The data comes from four major hospitals: the University Teaching Hospital of Butare, the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, King Faisal Hospital, and Mediheal Hospital and Fertility Centre.
In response to the growing need, Rwanda’s Parliament passed a new law regulating healthcare services on 4 August 2024, introducing a clear legal framework for assisted reproduction.
The legislation covers in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), surrogacy, and the preservation of eggs and sperm for future use. It allows married couples or individuals whose infertility has been confirmed by a qualified medical professional to access these services.
Surrogacy will also be regulated. It involves fertilising an egg with sperm in a laboratory to create an embryo, which is then transferred to a surrogate’s womb, typically via IVF. The new law requires a formal agreement between the surrogate and the intended parents, overseen by doctors, to ensure all parties understand their roles and obligations.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Yvan Butera, said the law was a “major milestone” in improving access to healthcare.
“We continue to receive a high number of requests for assisted reproduction from people who cannot conceive naturally. This law establishes clear guidelines on how such services will be provided, removing barriers for those who currently have to seek them abroad,” he recently posted on X.
Infertility in Rwanda is linked to a variety of causes. Dr. Butera noted that 30 percent of cases are related to men, 30 percent to women, another 30 percent to both partners, and 10 percent to unknown factors.
The IVF process, often used when other treatments fail, involves stimulating a woman’s ovaries with hormones to produce eggs, which are then retrieved and fertilised with sperm in a lab.
The resulting embryos are monitored for several days before two are typically implanted into the uterus to increase the chances of pregnancy. This approach explains why IVF often results in twins or multiple births.
The procedure is becoming more common in Rwanda. At Kanombe Hospital alone, more than 108 babies had been born through IVF by July 2024. Globally, IVF contributes to the birth of over half a million babies each year.
The law also permits the storage of eggs and sperm for individuals at risk of infertility due to illness or other medical conditions. Approval will be granted by a doctor, and the preserved material can be used later when the individual is ready to conceive.
Health officials say that with demand for assisted reproduction climbing each year, the new legal framework will make these services more accessible within Rwanda, ensuring they are delivered safely, ethically, and without the need to travel abroad.
Maiga, along with his chief of staff and several financial and administrative officials, was detained by the National Economic and Financial Unit over alleged embezzlement of public assets and forgery related to the Prime Minister’s Office accounts for 2021-2024.
Maiga’s lawyer, Cheick Oumar Konare, also confirmed the detention in a Facebook post.
Maiga, a key figure in the “Movement of June 5 – Rally of Patriotic Forces” (M5-RFP), served as prime minister from June 2021 to November 2024, when he was replaced following tensions with the ruling junta.
