The agreement was signed in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, August 20, by Rwanda’s Inspector General of Police, Felix Namuhoranye, and Yoo Jae-Sung, Commissioner General and Chief of the Republic of Korea National Police.
Rwanda’s Ambassador to South Korea, Nkubito Manzi Bakuramutsa, witnessed the signing ceremony.
The MoU provides a framework for cooperation in combating transnational organised crime, sharing information and expertise, and strengthening the skills and capabilities of police officers in both countries.
The partnership will also facilitate joint training and other capacity-building programmes aimed at enhancing policing capabilities and strengthening cooperation between RNP and KNPA.
Rwanda established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea in 1963.
The relationship grew stronger with the opening of a diplomatic bureau in November 2008 and later upgraded to an embassy in February 2009.
Rwanda National Police Chief Felix Namuhoranye and his South Korean counterpart Yoo Jae-Sung sign a police cooperation agreement in Seoul on August 20, 2026.RNP Inspector General of Police Felix Namuhoranye and Commissioner General Yoo Jae-Sung exchange documents after signing a police cooperation MoU in Seoul.Rwanda and South Korea have agreed to strengthen police cooperation in combating transnational organised crime and sharing expertise.
Despite these efforts, the terrorist group has survived, rebuilt its ranks and continued to play a significant role in the conflicts that have plagued eastern DRC.
The Congolese government has once again pledged to dismantle the FDLR under agreements that would require its fighters to lay down their weapons, relocate to designated camps and eventually return to civilian life.
However, former members of the FDLR interviewed by IGIHE say similar promises have been made before without producing lasting results.
They allege that Kinshasa’s previous efforts to neutralise the group were often accompanied by political manoeuvring and that the same pattern could continue under the latest arrangements.
Pastor Niyonzima Jean Damascène, who previously worked in intelligence and reconnaissance for the FDLR before returning to Rwanda in 2023, told IGIHE that the group’s relationship with successive governments in Kinshasa dates back decades.
He said that when tensions escalated between the government of Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Rwanda, Kabila sought the support of former Rwandan government soldiers, commonly referred to as Ex-FAR, and Interahamwe militia who had fled to different African countries.
According to Niyonzima, the groups reached an agreement to cooperate militarily and pursue a common objective against Rwanda.
“At that time, they agreed to work together against the Tutsis. After defeating them, they would push them out and help them capture Rwanda. That agreement is still in place today because some forces have left the FDLR and joined the FARDC. They include generals, colonels and others who have joined,” he said.
Joseph Kabila succeeded his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, as president of the DRC in 2001.
Niyonzima said Joseph Kabila later sought to relocate FDLR fighters within the country because of disagreements with the group. In 2002, he said, the fighters were placed in camps but were not fully disarmed.
According to Niyonzima, a major development came in 2003 when Congolese forces pursued FDLR fighters who had been based in Kamina. The fighters subsequently moved towards eastern DRC, where they joined other members of the group.
Niyonzima alleged that Congolese forces sometimes staged operations against the FDLR while maintaining an understanding with its commanders.
He claimed commanders on both sides would communicate before an operation, allowing FDLR fighters to withdraw before Congolese troops arrived.
“If one commander had worked with another commander, and one of them was sent to the east to fight the FDLR, he could not actually fight us. He would tell us, ‘We are going to attack this place. Leave because we are coming and we will burn it,’” he said.
He claimed that Congolese forces would then carry out the operation to create the impression that they had defeated the FDLR.
“They would actually come and burn the area, but because we had agreed beforehand, we would have already left. They would burn houses to show that they had carried out an operation, but they would leave equipment behind. When we returned, we would find the equipment they had left for us. That is what we used,” he said.
Maj. (Rtd.) Makuza Anastase, who worked closely with FDLR president Lt. Gen. Victor Byiringiro before returning to Rwanda in 2020, also claimed that the FDLR maintained relationships with successive governments in Kinshasa.
He said public announcements that the Congolese government was preparing to dismantle the FDLR did not always reflect what was happening on the ground.
“I think there was a time when you would hear Congo saying that it was going to dismantle the FDLR. That was simply a way of deceiving the international community. In reality, that is not how things happened,” he said.
Makuza alleged that Congolese forces would announce military operations, launch heavy bombardments and instruct FDLR fighters to leave targeted areas before troops arrived.
“They would tell us to leave, we would leave, and then they would arrive and burn things to make it appear as though they had taken control of the area. Afterwards, they would leave,” he said.
He further alleged that the troops sometimes left ammunition and food behind for FDLR fighters.
According to Makuza, messages were also allegedly left on trees for FDLR fighters, including one that read: “Our enemy is one, it is Rwanda.”
Why Kinshasa continues to rely on the FDLR
The administration of President Félix Tshisekedi, which succeeded Joseph Kabila’s government, has at times characterised the FDLR as a group largely composed of elderly fighters and therefore lacking the capacity to pose a serious security threat to Rwanda.
Makuza disputed that description, arguing that the FDLR has evolved over generations.
“An elderly person is someone who fled when he was already old. I am also getting older. But haven’t I had children? Didn’t others have children? We reached there and had children, those children grew up, and others are still being born. The FDLR is not made up of elderly people because it does not belong to one, two or three people. There are many of them. Those who went there as children and those who were born there are all part of the FDLR,” he said.
Makuza argued that elderly fighters represent only a small proportion of the group and claimed that its ranks increasingly include younger people who were born into families linked to its founders.
Niyonzima and Makuza both argued that the Congolese government has continued to rely on the FDLR because they consider its fighters more experienced and more willing to engage in combat than many Congolese troops.
Niyonzima said Kinshasa has particularly turned to the FDLR whenever its forces face significant military pressure.
“Kinshasa often turns to the FDLR, especially when it is under pressure. Since 1998, whenever it faced difficult situations, that is what happened. When M23 first emerged, Congo also relied on the FDLR, and it has done so again recently,” he said.
FDLR and Wazalendo cooperation
Niyonzima said cooperation between the Congolese government and the FDLR has become more visible in recent years, particularly through the broader alliance involving Wazalendo militia.
He claimed that FDLR-linked fighters and other armed groups have been deployed alongside Congolese forces in battles against AFC/M23.
“They fought during the first M23 rebellion, and now they are openly working together against the current M23. They have hidden behind the term Wazalendo. There are groups that the FDLR helped establish. Nyatura is one of them. The FDLR trained them and provided them with equipment,” Niyonzima said.
He said FDLR and Nyatura fighters are often deployed to areas where fighting is particularly intense because, in his view, they have more battlefield experience than regular Congolese troops.
“Where the FDLR and Nyatura are deployed, it becomes difficult for M23 to dislodge them. The Congolese government sees that these are fighters and thinks, ‘If I remove these people, I will lose a lot. I will not have this kind of strength again,’” he said.
According to Niyonzima, when fighting intensifies, Congolese forces provide FDLR and other Wazalendo members with equipment to help them confront AFC/M23 fighters.
Maj. (Rtd.) Makuza Anastase said claims that the FDLR is made up only of elderly fighters are false, arguing that the group is predominantly composed of young combatants.Pastor Niyonzima said that whenever FARDC forces planned to attack the FDLR, they would warn the group in advance so its fighters could withdraw from their positions.
Fayulu made the remarks during a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, where he argued that the Banyamulenge are not Congolese.
He said ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have their own languages, but claimed that the Banyamulenge do not because they speak Kinyarwanda, which he used to argue that they originate from Rwanda.
“Which Congolese person does not have a language? Raise your hands. Is Kinyamulenge a language spoken in Congo? They speak Kinyarwanda,” Fayulu said.
He went on to question whether the Banyamulenge are among the ethnic groups that make up the DRC.
“Are the Banyamulenge Congolese? Look at the ethnic groups in Congo. There is no such ethnic group,” he said.
Amb. Nduhungirehe condemned Fayulu’s remarks, drawing a comparison with rhetoric used by a section of Rwanda’s political class in the years leading up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
“Ethnic hatred, historical distortions and cynical remarks have reached a worrying level within the Congolese political class, including part of the opposition,” Amb. Nduhungirehe said.
“This strangely reminds me of a section of Rwanda’s political class between 1990 and 1994 which, as part of a genocidal process of delegitimisation, claimed that Rwandan Tutsi were not true indigenous people,” he added.
In the years preceding the Genocide against the Tutsi, extremist propaganda sought to portray Tutsis as foreigners who had taken control of Rwanda.
In November 1992, Léon Mugesera, a prominent figure in the then-ruling MRND party, delivered an inflammatory speech in Kabaya, in the former Gisenyi Prefecture, in which he called for Tutsis to be sent back to “Abyssinia” through River Nyabarongo.
Questions surrounding the citizenship and identity of the Banyamulenge have remained a longstanding source of political controversy in the DRC.
Human Rights Watch has documented how, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s, some politicians in then-Zaire sought to strip Banyamulenge of citizenship by portraying them as immigrants from Rwanda.
Amb. Nduhungirehe also criticised those who give platforms to politicians making such statements, warning that they could eventually be held responsible for doing so.
“At some point, those who roll out the red carpet for these unscrupulous politicians, instead of taking action against them, will also have to answer for it,” he said.
Minister Nduhungirehe likened Fayulu’s remarks on the Banyamulenge to rhetoric used by a section of Rwanda’s political class between 1990 and 1994 to delegitimise Tutsis.
Two rooms were filled with ivory-colored coffins, side by side, each draped with the Namibian flag. The mortal remains of 84 indigenous people had been held at the Iziko South African Museum for more than 100 years and were said to have been used for “scientific reasons.”
Chairperson of the Council of Iziko Museums of South Africa Marvin Mdhluli said: “They entered the South African Museums as objects of race-based pseudo-scientific research,” aimed at portraying indigenous communities as having inferior attributes and status.
In a separate room stood two coffins containing the remains of political prisoners Festus Nehale, who died in 1971, and Simon Petrus Nileng, who died in 1974. Both had been imprisoned on Robben Island, South Africa’s notorious prison where anti-apartheid and other political prisoners were detained during apartheid. They were buried in Cape Town.
Members of the Namibian delegation solemnly bowed their heads before the coffins before addressing guests at the ceremony.
The handover also included grave goods and body casts, including beads, ostrich eggs and jewelry with lineage to Namibia.
“For too many years, the remains of our freedom fighters and ancestors were kept far from the land they called home. This was an injustice to them, their families and their communities,” South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie said in a statement.
“By bringing these political heroes and ancestors home, representing the Ovambo, Himba, San, Nama, Damara and Herero peoples, we restore their dignity, identity and rightful place in their homeland,” he said.
Namibia’s Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture Sanet Steenkamp said the liberation heroes will be reburied at Namibia’s Heroes’ Acre on August 24.
“Now they return to a free and sovereign Namibia,” she said. “Some of these ancestors were taken from their communities and became part of the colonial scientific and museum collections where they were treated as objects, rather as people.”
Two rooms were filled with ivory-colored coffins, side by side, each draped with the Namibian flag. The mortal remains of 84 indigenous people had been held at the Iziko South African Museum for more than 100 years and were said to have been used for “scientific reasons.”South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie (R) speaks during a repatriation ceremony at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, August 19, 2026. Namibia’s Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture Sanet Steenkamp (R) speaks during a repatriation ceremony at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, August 19, 2026. TO GO WITH “South Africa returns ancestral remains to Namibia for colonial redress, healing”.
The telecommunications company is among the businesses supporting Rwanda’s development and its ambition to become a technology hub by providing fast and reliable internet services.
Beyond its core business in technology, Kopa Telecom also seeks to contribute to the well-being of communities through initiatives that promote better health and improve people’s livelihoods.
As part of these efforts, Kopa Telecom is supporting the Friends of World Vision Rwanda Annual Golf Tournament, which will be held at Kigali Golf Resorts & Villas on August 22, 2026.
Speaking to IGIHE, Kopa Telecom’s Head of Marketing and Sales, Rusaro Jesca, said the partnership with World Vision provides the company with an opportunity to strengthen its contribution to communities where it operates.
“We are partners with World Vision in this tournament so that, in the communities where we operate, we can give back and contribute to their development. This includes efforts to combat stunting and malnutrition. This is just the beginning, and we will do much more in the days ahead,” she said.
Rusaro said Kopa Telecom’s internet services mainly target large companies, offices, schools, hotels, financial institutions and other organisations that require fast, stable and reliable connectivity.
She added that the company’s services reach customers across Rwanda, with coverage of 99.8 percent of the country, including remote areas and communities located near Rwanda’s borders.
World Vision organised the golf tournament with the goal of raising $500,000 to support children affected by malnutrition. The funds will support various interventions, including the construction of a modern kitchen to prepare nutritious meals for children, among other initiatives.
As part of its broader programme, World Vision plans to support up to 2.5 million families between 2026 and 2030, with a focus on improving the well-being and living conditions of vulnerable communities.
Kopa Telecom staff explained what sets their internet service apartKopa Telecom Head of Marketing and Sales, Rusaro Jesca, plays golfKopa Telecom representatives also took part in the golf tournament.Kopa Telecom is one of the sponsors of the World Vision golf tournament.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4 was carrying seven people when it went down near Mount Ololokwe at about 9:13 a.m. local time, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The aircraft, operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, had been flying from Loisaba to Ewaso Nyiro.
Among those killed was Michele Sensi-Contugi, Ecuador’s Director General of the Strategic Intelligence Center (CIES) and an ally of President Daniel Noboa. His wife, Stephany Maria Hollihan Vásconez, also died in the crash. Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the couple were aboard the helicopter and said they held dual Ecuadorian and Italian citizenship.
Michele Sensi-Contugi, Ecuador’s Director General of the Strategic Intelligence Center (CIES), was among those killed in the crash.
The five Americans killed were identified as Roger Edward Duarte, Adam Martin Hlavaty, Henry Parra, Jose Alberto Suarez and Vásconez, according to officials. Suarez was president and general manager of several Telemundo stations.
The Kenyan pilot, Josh Outram, also died. Outram was described as an experienced aviator and founder of Africa Heli Adventures.
The helicopter crashed in rugged terrain near Mount Ololokwe and caught fire, complicating rescue and recovery efforts. The Kenya Red Cross said a multi-agency operation was launched, with difficult terrain and the active fire hampering access to the wreckage.
Kenya Red Cross emergency teams during a rescue and recovery operation after a helicopter crash killed tourists near Mt. Ololokwe in Samburu, Kenya, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
The U.S. State Department said the U.S. Embassy in Kenya was assisting local authorities and providing consular support to the victims’ families.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Luxury travel company &Beyond, which said the helicopter was carrying its guests, also expressed condolences. Lady Lori Helicopters said the cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Kenya’s Air Accident Investigation Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash. Authorities have not established a definitive cause, and officials have cautioned that the investigation remains ongoing.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4 was carrying seven people when it went down near Mount Ololokwe at about 9:13 a.m. local time, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
The sharp increase highlights the growing financial contribution of Rwandans living abroad, whose remittances support households while also helping finance businesses, property purchases and other investments in Rwanda.
Investments by Rwandans abroad have contributed to projects such as Inn of The Lac on the shores of Lake Kivu, Isange Estate and Imara Properties, among others.
Another initiative, Girinzu, aims to help Rwandans in the country and abroad access affordable housing.
Speaking to Rwandans living abroad during a meeting on August 14, 2026, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe thanked the diaspora for its continued contribution to Rwanda’s development.
Remittances nearly double in five years
BNR figures show that diaspora remittances to Rwanda have generally increased over the past five years.
In 2021, Rwandans living abroad sent $379 million to Rwanda up from $65 million of 2010. The figure rose to $461 million in 2022 and reached $505 million in 2023.
Remittances declined slightly to $502 million in 2024 before recording their strongest annual growth in 2025, when they increased by 27.3% to reach $640 million.
This represents growth of about 69% between 2021 and 2025, bringing diaspora remittances close to twice their 2021 level.
The continued increase underscores the growing role of the diaspora in supporting households and contributing to investment in Rwanda.
The 2024 FinScope survey found that 65% of adults in Rwanda had either sent or received money, with domestic transfers accounting for the largest share.
About 3% of adults received money from outside Rwanda, while 1% sent money abroad. The report found that, for both domestic and international transfers, the proportion of people receiving money was higher than that of those sending it.
Non-bank channels remain the most commonly used means of transferring money. Around 63% of people used non-bank channels, compared with 4%, equivalent to about 309,000 people, who used banks.
Mobile Money was the most widely used channel for sending and receiving funds.
For recipients, remittances are primarily used to meet everyday household needs. About 53% used the money to buy food and clothing, while 10% used it to start businesses.
Another 9% used the funds to pay school fees, 5% invested them, and 4% used them to pay for medicines and other healthcare-related expenses.
The figures show that while diaspora remittances remain an important source of household support, part of the money is also being directed towards businesses, property and other investments, strengthening the economic ties between Rwandans abroad and their home country.
Some remittances sent by Rwandans living abroad are channelled into investments in Rwanda.
The data shows that debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings stood at 32.266 trillion dollars and 7.782 trillion dollars, respectively, bringing total public debt outstanding to 40.047 trillion dollars as of Tuesday.
The milestone, reached months earlier than expected, reflects the U.S. federal government’s persistent budget deficits, as spending continues to exceed revenue, adding to the national debt.
The federal government has spent trillions of dollars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently pursued tax cuts and increased military spending. As a result, U.S. federal debt has grown rapidly in recent years, raising concerns in the bond market and pushing Treasury yields higher. Rising interest payments have further driven up the total size of the national debt.
A monthly report from the Treasury Department shows that the federal government recorded a fiscal deficit of 1.367 trillion dollars in the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, 2025. During that period, net interest payments totalled 827 billion dollars, exceeding defense spending of 713 billion dollars and ranking second only to social security spending, which amounted to 1.244 trillion dollars.
U.S. federal government debt surpassed 30 trillion dollars in January 2022, exceeded 39 trillion dollars in March 2026, and hit 39.7 trillion dollars in July 2026.
Local media described the national debt surpassing 40 trillion dollars as an ominous milestone for an economy resting on an increasingly shaky fiscal foundation.
Warning signs are flashing “with debt held by the public recently exceeding the size of our economy, the deficit-to-GDP ratio running twice as high as where it should be, and interest costs exceeding our national defense budget,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Wednesday in a statement.
“Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn’t exist solely on the government’s ledgers; it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another,” MacGuineas said. “The more we borrow, the more we exacerbate inflation, squeeze out other priorities in the budget, and leave ourselves vulnerable to emergencies at home and turmoil abroad.”
“Our current fiscal trajectory is plainly unsustainable,” said Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Even in the rosiest scenarios, we’re speeding toward a cliff and refusing to turn the wheel.”
“Federal debt is already raising the cost of living and choking out other spending and investment, threatening our economy and Americans’ long-term prosperity,” she added.
“Forty trillion dollars should be a wake-up call. But neither Congress nor the president have a credible plan to stop it from growing,” said Carolyn Bourdeaux, executive director of Concord Coalition and Concord Action Fund. “We owe the next generation better than this crushing debt and another hollow promise that someone else will deal with it later.”
In a statement responding to the troubling milestone, White House spokesman Kush Desai said U.S. President Donald Trump had pledged to clean up former President Joe Biden’s fiscal mismanagement. “That’s why the Trump administration has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction again.”
This photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows the U.S. national debt surpassing 40 trillion U.S. dollars, in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)
APR FC will face Les Aigles du Congo in the preliminary round of the 2026/27 CAF Champions League after the two sides were drawn against each other on August 6, 2026.
The Rwandan champions had written to CAF requesting that the first leg be moved from the DRC, citing security concerns and the Ebola outbreak, which had raised concerns over travelling with the squad to Kinshasa.
APR FC had asked for the match to be played at a neutral venue, with the possibility of moving both legs to another country.
However, IGIHE has learned that CAF rejected the request and informed APR FC that the match would proceed as scheduled in Kinshasa.
The first leg is set to be played at Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, despite the venue not being among the stadiums most recently listed by CAF as approved to host its competitions in the DRC.
The DRC currently has two stadiums approved for CAF competitions, TP Mazembe Stadium and Frédéric Kibassa Maliba Stadium, both located in Lubumbashi.
Before CAF’s decision, APR FC head coach Abderrahim Taleb had raised concerns about travelling to the DRC, stressing that the health and safety of his players should be the club’s priority.
Following APR FC’s 2-1 friendly win over Etincelles FC on August 9, Taleb said, “We cannot put our players at risk,” adding that the club’s management was in discussions with CAF about potentially moving the match.
Les Aigles du Congo finished second in the 2025/26 DRC Premier League and will host APR FC in the first leg before travelling to Rwanda for the return fixture.
The winner of the tie will face the winner of the preliminary-round match between AS Port of Djibouti and Egyptian side Zamalek in the next stage of the competition.
APR FC will face Les Aigles du Congo in the preliminary round of the 2026/27 CAF Champions League after the two sides were drawn against each other on August 6, 2026.Les Aigles du Congo finished second in the 2025/26 DRC Premier League and will host APR FC in the first leg before travelling to Rwanda for the return fixture.
It is a small morning ritual, but it reflects the philosophy behind her new book, Rising with Dignity: The African Stoic, The Rwandan Way, a book about learning to manage what is within your control and respond thoughtfully to everything else.
For Uwanziga, Stoicism is not about becoming emotionless or simply enduring whatever life brings. It is a practical way of thinking about everyday life, how to deal with disappointment, manage anger, respond to pressure and, perhaps most importantly, how to get back up after falling.
The more than 250-page book took five years to complete, but its beginnings were much more modest, she told IGIHE in a recent exclusive interview.
Joy Uwanziga will launch her new book at the Kigali Marriott Hotel on August 29.
Uwanziga started by writing notes to herself, passages and reflections from Stoic philosophy that resonated with her. Over time, she began sharing some of those ideas with friends and family, eventually realising they could become something larger.
The book launches at Marriott Hotel Kigali on August 29 and will later be available through Amazon and bookstores in Rwanda.
Uwanziga is currently completing a PhD in migration studies at University College Cork. Before moving to Ireland, she spent several years at the Rwandan diplomatic mission in The Hague as a consular affairs officer. Rising with Dignity is her third book, following Manners in Rwanda, published in 2015, and a 2018 book on parenting.
A philosophy Rwandans already know
Uwanziga’s interest in Stoicism began with Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, the Roman emperor’s private reflections that have remained influential centuries later.
What drew her in was a powerful principle centred on separating what we can control from what we cannot.
“You can’t control external events, so don’t let them control you by the way you react,” she says.
It is a principle that can easily be applied to ordinary situations. You can prepare for an examination, but you cannot control the questions. You can choose your words in a difficult conversation, but not how another person responds. You can decide how you begin your morning, but not everything that will happen before the day is over.
For Uwanziga, this way of thinking also has a familiar African dimension.
She points to the historical relationship between Greek philosophy and Egypt and argues that some values associated with Stoicism have parallels in African traditions that were passed down orally.
“When you put Emperor Marcus Aurelius and a Rwandan or African elder in a room, they would practise or say things about Stoicism, maybe with a different name,” she adds.
“We’ve been practising Stoicism without calling it Stoicism.”
She is careful not to present this as a claim that Africans invented Stoicism. Rather, she sees it as a recognition that different cultures can arrive at similar principles, including integrity, discipline, responsibility and resilience.
Uwanziga is currently completing a PhD in migration studies at University College Cork. Rising with Dignity is her third book.
What happens after failure?
For Uwanziga, one of the most important tests of character is what happens when things do not go according to plan.
She uses the example of a student preparing for an examination. The student can control the effort put into studying, but not the questions that appear on the paper or how it is marked.
What remains within her control is how she responds.
“Do we rise with dignity?” Uwanziga asks. “Because we fail every day.”
That idea gives the book its title and connects philosophy with one of Rwanda’s most recognisable qualities, resilience.
Uwanziga sees Rwanda’s recovery after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as a powerful example. She recalls how people were forced to take on responsibilities beyond their previous professions because the country needed to be rebuilt and there were not enough people with the necessary skills.
Seeing people start again and contribute to rebuilding Rwanda deeply influenced her.
But Uwanziga is careful not to romanticise suffering.
Resilience, she argues, should not mean pretending that pain is easy or expecting everyone to cope in exactly the same way. People process difficult experiences differently, and sometimes they need psychological or other forms of support.
“What’s wrong with asking for help when you need it?” Uwanziga asks.
For her, rising with dignity does not mean denying pain. It means finding a way forward while accepting that support may be part of that journey.
The more than 250-page book took five years to complete, but its beginnings were much more modest, she told IGIHE in a recent exclusive interview.
Calm does not mean silence
Asked whether Stoicism means staying quiet in the face of injustice, Uwanziga pushed back on that idea.
“If you have to talk, talk with wisdom,” she stresses. “But if being silent will help more until you calm down and think of a wiser response, then be silent.”
Asked how that applies beyond individual situations, she pointed to leadership in everyday life, parenting, teaching, leading a student group, even managing a WhatsApp group, saying the question in each case is whether a response will improve things or make them worse.
On anger, she gave a similar answer.
“You are allowed to be angry, but don’t take a decision when you’re angry,” she said. “Think about it.”
Dignity, agaciro and strength
On whether a person can lose everything and still retain their dignity, Uwanziga connected the idea to the Rwandan concept of agaciro, self-worth expressed through conduct, and inyangamugayo, referring to a person of integrity. For her, dignity is not dependent on wealth, status or circumstances.
“Losing what you have, or the most valuable thing, and still living with dignity, we (Rwandans) are a good example,” she affirms.
She also challenged expectations around masculinity.
Uwanziga said boys are often taught to “man up” when they are hurt, creating an idea of strength that can make men reluctant to acknowledge pain or seek help.
Her message carries a deeper truth that emotional honesty does not cancel out strength.
“Men are allowed to have feelings too,” she argues. “You are human the same way everyone is.”
That is consistent with her broader understanding of Stoicism. The goal is not to stop feeling, but to recognise feelings without allowing them to dictate every decision.
Uwanziga’s interest in Stoicism began with Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, the Roman emperor’s private reflections that have remained influential centuries later.
Practising what she writes
Uwanziga does not claim to have mastered the philosophy she writes about.
She describes herself as “a very emotional person” who cries easily, including at weddings, and says regulating her own emotions remains one of the most difficult parts of Stoicism for her.
That honesty is part of what makes her interpretation of the philosophy feel less like a set of rules and more like a practice.
Her morning routine is one example.
Rather than immediately reaching for her phone and allowing social media and the news to influence her mood, she tries to do something for herself first. Stretching, drinking water and making her bed create a small buffer between waking up and confronting the outside world.
She also tries to appreciate ordinary moments, a cup of tea, a hug from a loved one, rather than waiting for major achievements to provide happiness.
From personal notes to a reminder
The book eventually became a 12-chapter work, but Uwanziga still describes its message as less about discovering something new and more about remembering values that are already familiar.
She believes integrity, discipline, responsibility and resilience remain particularly important for young people navigating pressure, ambition and the temptation to look for shortcuts.
“We just want to live an easy life; we don’t want to go the hard way,” she remarks. “But then what are the results of the shortcuts?”
For Uwanziga, Rising with Dignity is ultimately an invitation to slow down before reacting, focus on what can be controlled and consider the kind of person one wants to be when circumstances are difficult.
Asked for the single most important lesson she hopes readers take from the book, Uwanziga offered a direct answer. “To be a man or a woman of integrity.”
Watch the full video below to learn more about the book and what Uwanziga stands for.
