Category: News

The UAE Foreign Ministry has issued information on the volume of aid provided to the Gaza Strip.

The first to arrive was President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, who touched down at Kigali International Airport in Kanombe. His arrival was marked by a warm welcome from the Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, Gen (Rtd) James Kabarebe.

President Kiir’s visit is yet another testament to the enduring relationship between Rwanda and South Sudan. As the current chair of the East African Community (EAC), President Kiir’s frequent engagements with Rwanda, including his visit in February 2024, highlight the deepening ties within the region.

Following closely, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau arrived in Kigali, greeted by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa. A light rain shower, a brief respite after days of dry weather, accompanied his arrival.

The bond between Rwanda and Guinea-Bissau is steeped in history, with numerous agreements in place, including those related to trade, education, tourism, and air transport, further solidifying their long-standing relationship.

Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda, also arrived in Kigali to represent Uganda at the inauguration. His reception by his Rwandan counterpart, Gen Mubarakh Muganga, reflects the close military ties that bind the two nations.

Adding to the growing list of dignitaries, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe arrived in Kigali, where he was welcomed by Francis Gatare, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). The relationship between Rwanda and Zimbabwe has flourished under the leadership of both Kagame and Mnangagwa, evidenced by high-level visits and the signing of over 26 cooperation agreements across various sectors, including education, energy, justice, economy, social welfare, and culture.

Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, representing President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was also among the distinguished guests. Upon his arrival, he was received by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Irere Claudette. The strong bilateral relations between Rwanda and Senegal, highlighted by the opening of the Rwandan Embassy in Senegal in 2011 and a series of agreements, including cultural cooperation dating back to 1975, are further strengthened by his presence.

Ivory Coast is represented by its Vice President, Tiemoko Meyliet Koné, who arrived on Saturday evening. He was also welcomed by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Irere Claudette. His attendance at the inauguration scheduled on Sunday 11th August 2024, signifies the continued collaboration between Rwanda and Ivory Coast, as both nations look forward to furthering their mutual interests under President Kagame’s leadership.

These leaders are among the many dignitaries expected to attend President Kagame’s inauguration, symbolizing the global recognition and support for Rwanda’s continued progress under his leadership.

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which escalated in April 2023, has claimed more than 15,500 lives to date. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this war has led to a massive displacement crisis, with over 6.1 million people displaced within Sudan and more than 1.5 million seeking refuge in other countries.

UNHCR’s Rwanda branch reports a significant increase in Sudanese asylum seekers in Rwanda in 2024. As of August 6, 2024, 89 Sudanese refugees had arrived, including 58 individuals from 17 families living in Kigali and another 31 individuals from 20 families residing in the Mahama Refugee Camp in Kirehe District.

Among the 718, 354 individuals are from 197 families settling in Kigali and 364 individuals from 209 families residing in the Mahama camp.

In addition to these refugees, Rwanda received over 200 students from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Sudan at the end of 2023. These students continued their education at the University of Rwanda, with the partnership expected to extend to over 7,000 students. Prior to this, Rwanda had also welcomed refugees from Afghanistan.

Rwanda is currently home to over 130,000 refugees, many of whom have been in the country for more than a decade. Approximately 90% of these refugees reside in camps such as Kiziba, Nyabiheke, Kigeme, Mugombwa, and Mahama, while others live in various urban areas.

Rwanda has consistently emphasized the need for long-term solutions to the refugee and migrant crisis. In recent years, the country received thousands of migrants evacuated from camps in Libya, with 90% of them resettled in other continents. These migrants have come from various countries, including Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan.

Speaking to the youth during the 14th cohort of the Indangamirwa civic training program on August 9, 2024, Dr. Bizimana traced the roots of ongoing regional insecurity to the 1885 Berlin Conference and the subsequent formalization of borders on May 14, 1910, by Belgium, Britain, and Germany.

These decisions, he explained, led to the dismemberment of Rwanda, with several provinces, including Masisi, Rutshuru, Fizi, and Uvira, being annexed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and others to Uganda.

“These provinces were given to DRC even though they were inhabited by Rwandans. The people living in those provinces continued to speak Kinyarwanda because it was their language,” Dr. Bizimana stated. He further emphasized that “the consequences are evident, as in the eastern part of DRC, some of these residents are treated as outsiders, labeled as Rwandans, even though they are Congolese.”

This colonial redrawing of borders stripped Rwanda of territories that were predominantly inhabited by Rwandans.

Despite becoming Congolese citizens, these communities in eastern DRC have been subjected to persistent violence and discrimination, often labeled as outsiders simply because of their language and cultural ties to Rwanda.

Dr. Bizimana underscored that the violence against Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in eastern DRC is deeply rooted in these historical injustices. “This was the first harmful decision made by the Europeans. Had these provinces remained part of Rwanda, the current issues of injustice, killings, and hate ideologies in eastern Congo would likely not exist today,” he asserted.

The colonial-era decision to fragment Rwanda created deep-seated divisions that continue to manifest in the form of ethnic discrimination, killings, and systemic exclusion of these communities from leadership and governance in the DRC.

Ambassador Vincent Karega, Rwanda’s former representative in Kinshasa, reinforced this perspective by drawing parallels between the current governance challenges in the DRC and Rwanda’s past struggles from 1959 to 1994.

“The problem is that DRC is poorly governed, with divisions similar to those we experienced, where ethnic discrimination led to the exclusion of certain groups, particularly the Kinyarwanda-speaking community, to prevent them from competing for leadership positions,” Karega noted.

The Kinyarwanda-speaking population in the DRC is diverse, consisting of groups who settled there before colonization, those brought by Belgium during colonial rule, and Rwandan refugees who fled from 1959 onwards due to escalating insecurity. Despite a 1971 law granting these refugees Congolese citizenship, they have continued to face systemic violence and mistrust, a direct legacy of the colonial border realignments.

Dr. Bizimana’s remarks highlight the far-reaching consequences of colonialism, particularly how the arbitrary partitioning of Rwanda has fueled long-standing regional insecurity.

“The legacy of colonialism continues to cast a long shadow over the region,” Dr. Bizimana observed, noting that the scars of history are still deeply felt in eastern DRC, where violence, discrimination, and instability persist.

Had the territorial integrity of Rwanda been preserved, the region might have experienced a different trajectory- one of greater unity and peace.