The World Travel Awards honor outstanding organizations across various tourism sectors, including hotels, national parks, and conservation areas. This year’s awards ceremony will be held in Bahrain on December 9, 2025.
Akagera National Park is competing in the category of “Africa’s Leading National Park,” which highlights parks known for their iconic and powerful wildlife. Its competitors include Kruger National Park (South Africa), Chobe National Park (Botswana), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe), Nyerere National Park (Tanzania), and Serengeti National Park (also in Tanzania).
To win the award, Akagera must receive the highest number of votes cast via the official World Travel Awards website. Voting closes on May 4, 2025.
Spanning 1,120 square kilometers, Akagera is home to over 11,000 animals, according to a survey conducted in August 2023. These include the “Big Five” species, namely; lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffaloes.
According to the park’s management, several factors contribute to Akagera’s popularity among visitors including the presence of the Big Five, its easy accessibility from Kigali due to improved infrastructure, discounted rates for Rwandans who visit as groups, high security, and a range of accommodation options, from budget lodges to luxury stays.
In 2023, the park recorded 54,141 visitors, including 26,047 Rwandans, 23,560 international tourists, and 4,534 foreign residents living in Rwanda.
80% of our economy is a “boda boda” economy which means we live in a hands to mouth economy. People leave their homes when they actually don’t know whether they will earn something,” Mawejje, 30 said.
Describing his as a “boda boda” manifesto, he said the current setup of the country can only be referred to as a boda boda economy that he said pretends to grow steadily but “gets stuck somewhere because everyone is in debts.”
“People are desperate to an extent of thinking that if they spend hours in betting clubs maybe God will do miracles. Government has reduced its valued tax payers to beggars where everyone thinks in someone’s pocket,” Mawejje said.
He decried that youths who are vital in the development of any country are flying out for greener pasture leaving a generation that is not productive, and those who stay behind spend most of their times in discussing the “Premier League”
“We don’t have medicines in hospitals, police and military officers sleep in dilapidated units, roads are in a poor state and civil servants are paid pea nuts, not because Uganda is poor but because there are those who think they can eat anything that exists,” he observed.
Mawejje said he aims to introduce a seven-point program that he said will liberate the country.
“I want to tackle unemployment among youths, improve the health and education sectors, reduce the number of districts, constituencies, ministries, departments and agencies, put in place constitutional reforms to give voting rights to diaspora and prisoners and also clip the president’s powers,” he said.
They are accused of involvement in the abduction last year of Amir Boukhors, 41, a critic of Algeria’s government with a large audience on social media, who was reportedly granted asylum in France in 2023.
Barrot urged Algeria to “abandon” the expulsions and said France was ready to “respond immediately” if they went ahead.
“I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures… if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately,” he said.
He claimed that the expulsions were a response to the indictment of three Algerian nationals in Paris, including the consular official, on charges including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement and participating in a terrorist organization.
Algeria’s foreign ministry said it had summoned French ambassador Stephane Romatet in response to “express its strong protest” and called for the official’s immediate release, according to the official Algerian news agency.
Boukhors, also known as Amir DZ who has lived in France since 2016, was abducted in April 2024 in the southern suburbs of Paris and released the following day, according to his lawyer Eric Plouvier.
Plouvier told the media that Boukhors had been “the subject of two serious attacks, one in 2022 and another on the evening of April 29 2024”.
French media reported that he was forced into a car with a flashing light by “fake police officers”, then released the next day without explanation.
Algeria has issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and links to terrorist organizations. He denies the allegations. In 2022, the French courts refused his extradition.
The case is the latest in a growing number of incidents to have exacerbated a rift between France and Algeria. They include the arrest and imprisonment in Algeria of French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal, who was accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity.
Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris last year after France backed Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The 12 French officials asked to leave on Monday include some members of the French interior ministry.
It added that the individual “was arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels.”
The ministry claimed the move was “not a coincidence as it happens in a very specific context with the aim of stymying the process of relaunching bilateral relations”.
Tentative steps have been made to repair relations between the two nations with a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Abdelmadjid Tebboun taking place in March.
“The two presidents had a long, frank and friendly exchange on the state of bilateral relations and the tensions that have built up in recent months,” a joint statement read.
Following an official visit to Algeria on 6 April where he met with Tebboun, Barrot said he hoped for a “new phase” in relations.
These people were “executed on an ethnic basis” after the RSF took control of the city on Thursday, the Coordination of Resistance Committees in the state’s capital El Fasher said, identifying all the victims as civilians.
The local volunteer group accused in a statement the militia of “committing widespread violations, forcibly displacing residents, and shutting down all communication networks.”
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Emergency Lawyers Initiative, another volunteer group, confirmed in a statement that the RSF killed 52 civilians, burned residential homes, and looted properties in two days after entering Umm Kadada.
“The RSF also stormed the local hospital, assaulted patients, and executed four medical staff members, including the hospital’s director,” it added.
There has been no comment from the RSF regarding the claims.
Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which has claimed more than 29,600 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group cited by the United Nations.
On Sunday, Minister of Minerals Anthony Mavunde launched the new plant—Solar Nitrochemicals Limited—located in Kisarawe district, Coast Region.
The facility is part of the government’s ongoing strategy to add value to local industries and strengthen key economic sectors, especially mining.
Minister Mavunde highlighted the critical role of the new plant in enhancing mining efficiency and reducing dependency on imported explosives.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating a stable investment climate, acknowledging the role of investors in creating employment and driving national revenue.
With the country’s annual explosives demand at 26,000 tonnes and 10 million pieces, the plant is expected to produce 22,000 tonnes and 15 million pieces each year.
This production capacity is not only expected to meet most of the domestic demand but also create opportunities for exports to neighboring markets.
In her address, delivered during the official Kwibuka31 event for the Rwandan community in Liège on April 12, Ikirizaboro asserted that remembrance should never be contingent on international tensions or fluctuating political interests.
“The duty of remembrance must never depend on geopolitical considerations… The memory of the victims cannot be adjusted for political convenience. It demands consistency, truth, and courage,” Ikirizaboro declared, speaking to mourners and survivors who assembled despite the city’s leaders absence.
“Can inaction or silence be justified, even under so-called ‘geopolitical’ pretexts? No. Inaction, even from afar, normalizes evil. And forgetting kills a second time,” she added with conviction.
Ikirizaboro described the withdrawal as more than just a refusal, labeling it an act that “reopens our wounds and awakens our old demons.” Nevertheless, she affirmed the unwavering resolve of the Rwandan community in Liège to honor the memory of the over one million lives lost.
“It is together, and only together, that we will continue to honor the memory of the victims and uphold the values of peace, justice, and human rights,” she concluded with determination.
Michael Bisschops, president of Les Territoires de la Mémoire, an organization which works with URGT to organize commemoration events, also challenged the consequences of silence and political disengagement in the face of historical responsibility.
Speaking on behalf of the organization, Bisschops reflected on the decision by city officials in Liège to abstain from the commemoration, characterizing it not as a logistical matter but as a profound moral failing.
“Not commemorating is to abandon—again—those who were massacred in silence. It is to let their cries fade, as if their lives never mattered,” he declared somberly.
Referencing Primo Levi’s stark warning—“what happened could happen again”—Bisschops urged participants to reject indifference cloaked in neutrality.
“Your silence—your absence here today—is also a political message. A message we hear. A message we reject,” Bisschops continued, directly addressing the city’s withdrawal, which was attributed to “geopolitical issues” in the Great Lakes region.
“Liège should not have stepped away. Liège should have remained faithful to its history and to the values it stands for. To forget, to retreat, is a grave mistake at a time when politics of hatred and division are intensifying across the world,” he added with concern.
The commemoration week concluded on Sunday, April 13, coinciding with the remembrance of politicians assassinated for their opposition to the genocide plans and their execution.
However, the spirit of remembrance and commemorative activities will continue for 100 days, marking each day of the horrific period during which over one million Tutsi were brutally murdered.
{{Photos from the commemoration event held at the Memorial in Liège. }}
Speaking to the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), Mayor Dusengiyumva confirmed the casualties and property damage, stating, “Two people were killed, 27 houses were destroyed, and several roads were temporarily closed due to the rain.”
He further noted that the city authorities are collaborating closely with residents to relocate those residing in areas identified as high-risk and are strongly advising the public to avoid water drainage channels during periods of heavy rainfall.
The Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA) has previously reported the significant impact of disasters nationwide, revealing that 191 lives were lost to such events across Rwanda in 2024.
Currently, authorities are issuing urgent calls for vigilance to residents of Kigali, as well as those in the Northern and Western provinces and the southern districts of Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru, as forecasts indicate more heavy rains are expected in the coming days.
This recent disaster follows a weather advisory issued on April 11, 2025, by Rwanda’s Meteorology Agency, Meteo Rwanda, which predicted rainfall levels between 25mm and 60mm from April 11 to 13.
The forecast explicitly warned the public about potential hazards, including flooding in swamps, landslides, soil erosion, the collapse of unstable slopes, and the risks associated with lightning.
Meteo Rwanda had urged all Rwandans to proactively implement preventive measures to mitigate the dangers posed by the anticipated heavy rainfall.
Nguema secured a commanding victory with 90.35% of the vote, Interior Minister Hermann Immongault confirmed. His closest rival, former Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, garnered just 3.02%.
The election registered 920,200 eligible voters, including over 28,000 from abroad, and achieved a voter turnout of 70.4%, the minister added.
This marks Gabon’s first presidential election since the ousting of former President Ali Bongo Ondimba, and represents a key milestone in the country’s return to constitutional governance following the political transition.
Organized by Peace and Love Proclaimers (PLP) Canada, the event—whose name “Ku Gicaniro” means “at the bonfire” in Kinyarwanda—served as a symbolic gathering space for community reflection and healing. It brought together youth, survivors, and allies in an artistic tribute to the more than one million lives lost during one of the 20th century’s darkest chapters.
The evening began with a moment of silence, a reading of victims’ names, and a candle-lighting ceremony that transformed grief into collective reverence. The moments honoured not just those who died, but who they were: students, sisters, fathers, dreamers.
A curated exhibition welcomed guests before the formal program, offering a powerful walk through visual and written testimonies. The intention, organizers said, was not to consume history, but to carry it—to resist forgetting through art and storytelling.
Art was at the heart of the program. Musical performances and a stage play provided emotional expression where words alone might fall short. The performance reminded the audience that “art remembers what history tries to forget.”
One of the most moving moments came when genocide survivor Mukarukundo Godelieve, known as Maman Casta, publicly shared her story for the first time in a heartfelt conversation with her daughter, Casta. The dialogue between mother and daughter became a powerful handoff of memory: an intimate, courageous act of intergenerational truth-telling.
A documentary screening followed, exploring how to teach the history of genocide to children. It posed a challenging but necessary question: How do you explain a wound this deep to a child? The film emphasized the importance of teaching with honesty, compassion, and clarity, especially as survivor voices grow fewer with time.
In his address, Pascal Kanyemera, President of the Humura Survivors Association, praised the youth-led effort, highlighting the role of digital platforms in combating genocide denial. He also spoke about Humura’s ongoing memorial initiatives to preserve truth and history.
The Rwandan Ambassador to Canada, Prosper Higiro, offered a powerful reminder that genocide is not an accident but a deliberate political crime. He spoke candidly about the ideology that preceded the 1994 atrocities and urged the youth to stand firm in defending unity, dignity, and truth.
The evening closed with remarks from Danny, Representative of PLP Canada, who reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to remembrance and youth engagement. He stated that the aim of PLP Canada is to create safe, intentional, and powerful spaces, where young people can remember, reflect, and reconnect with their identity and history.
The evening left attendees moved, inspired, and reminded that while the genocide against the Tutsi ended 31 years ago, the responsibility to remember — and to resist forgetting — lives on through the voices and visions of Rwanda’s youth.
On April 12, 2025, the ASA team visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial as part of the national commemoration marking the 31st anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
During the visit, they were guided through the memorial’s exhibits, which chronicle the events leading up to the genocide and the devastating consequences of hate-driven politics under the First and Second Republics. They also listened to powerful survivor testimonies and witnessed Rwanda’s extraordinary journey of recovery and reconciliation.
The visit concluded with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial’s mass graves, honoring the more than one million lives lost.
Christian Salifou, Managing Director of ASA International (Rwanda) Plc, described the visit as a meaningful act of remembrance and solidarity with the people of Rwanda and the international community.
He expressed gratitude to those who risked—and sacrificed—their lives to save others during the genocide, and stressed the importance of preserving historical truth and educating future generations to ensure such horrors are never repeated.
Gerard Mpyisi, Chairman of ASA International (Rwanda) Plc, expressed profound sorrow that the genocide was planned and executed while much of the international community remained silent.
He lamented the continued denial of the genocide by some global leaders even after it was stopped by the RPF Inkotanyi—many of whom chose to mischaracterize it as “ethnic conflict” rather than recognizing it as genocide.
“It’s heartbreaking that some of the people who denied the Genocide against the Tutsi were representatives of major international organizations, including the United Nations at the time,” Mpyisi noted.
He urged all Rwandans, wherever they may be, to remain vigilant and active in ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated. He also called for national unity in confronting and rejecting groups like the FDLR, which continue to propagate genocidal ideologies.
Several ASA International (Rwanda) staff who are genocide survivors shared emotional testimonies of the trauma they endured and the resilience they’ve shown in rebuilding their lives.
Jean Nepomuscene Ndagijimana, a survivor, recounted the harrowing experience of witnessing the murder of his relatives as a young child.
“I was only seven years old during the genocide. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but I saw it all,” he shared. “While hiding with my mother, I saw my uncle, Rutagarama, struck on the head with a machete. I became the eldest in my family after we lost 23 members of our extended family.”
Despite the trauma and the burden of caring for his younger siblings at such a young age, he managed to continue his education with the support of Genocide Survivors Assistance Fund (FARG). Today, he is a husband and father, and his siblings have also gone on to build meaningful lives.
The visit left a profound impact on the ASA team, strengthening their resolve to honor the memory of the victims, confront genocide denial, and promote a culture of peace, remembrance, and unity.
