Category Archives: Rwanda

Ebola: second death confirmed in Goma

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World Health Organization confirms a second person has died of the disease in a major transit hub in Democratic Republic of Congo

A second death linked to the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the densely populated city of Goma, located at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s porous border with Rwanda.

The first case of Ebola in Goma – an evangelical preacher – contributed to the World Health Organization decision to declare the Ebola crisis in DRC an international public health emergency.

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A brutal warlord has been convicted – so why doesn’t it feel like a triumph? | Vava Tampa

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Bosco Ntaganda killed, raped and enslaved Congolese people for years while living in plain sight. Does the world care so little?

In 2015, the international community – led by the US and the UK – finally decided to take Bosco Ntaganda to the international criminal court to face justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ntaganda, known as “The Terminator”, became one of the most feared, powerful and brutal warlords in DRC since Rwanda, backed by Uganda, reinvaded DRC in 1998.

Related: DRC warlord 'the Terminator' convicted of war crimes

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US fought for right to launch fresh case against two Rwandans accepted by Australia

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Exclusive: court documents show US attorney wanted to be able to prosecute pair again for ‘horrendous’ crime, before they came to Australia in refugee swap deal

Two Rwandans accepted into Australia were accused of crimes so “grave” and “horrendous” that the United States fought for the right to prosecute them a second time, court documents show.

The Australian government sparked controversy last month for accepting two Rwandan militants previously accused of murdering tourists in targeted 1999 attacks in the Bwindi Impenetrable national park in Uganda.

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‘Do they actually care?’ Rwanda survivors don’t understand why Australia took in rebels

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Rwandan community doesn’t want genocide victims’ families living in Australia to experience additional trauma

Celestin Ngoga knows what happens when Rwanda’s traumatic history comes hurtling into the present.

He’s been on European streets with genocide survivors when they encountered their attackers by chance. It can happen in English classes, he says, or on the train, or in shopping centres.

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US was ‘certain’ Rwandan pair in Australia were members of banned ‘terror group’

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Former prosecutor says US was confident when charges were brought that the two men were part of a Hutu rebel group

The attorney who brought charges against two Rwandan men recently resettled in Australia says the United States was “certain” they were members of a Hutu rebel group that was later designated a terror group by the US government.

The comments again raise questions about how the pair managed to pass Australia’s tough and vigorously applied character and security checks, under which others have been deported for minor offences or historical associations with criminal groups.

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Resettlement of Rwandan rebels labelled a ‘frustrating’ hypocrisy

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‘There never seems to be any consistent rule or fairness,’ specialist migration lawyer

A 28-year veteran of migration law whose Rwandan clients have all been denied Australia’s protection says the resettlement of two members of a violent Hutu rebel group shows a “frustrating” double standard.

Australia’s deal with the US to take in two former members of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, once designated a terrorist group by the US, has prompted consternation among some experts and lawyers. The pair were languishing in US detention after the collapse of a case against them for the slaughter of tourists in Uganda in 1999.

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Refugee swap Rwandans: how did they pass Australia’s ‘character test’?

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Two men accused of killing tourists were resettled despite being members of a group on a terrorist exclusion list, as judge in their case brands them ‘dangerous’

Two Rwandans who were let into Australia under a secret US aslyum deal could have been rejected under Australia’s strict and vigorously enforced character test, a migration law expert has said.

The assessment comes as an American judge who heard their US asylum case insisted they were “dangerous” and had posed a threat to the safety of the US.

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This is America choreographer Sherrie Silver aims to ‘make farming cool’ – video

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Meet 24-year-old Sherrie Silver, the mastermind behind Childish Gambino's provocative video, which has attracted more than 540m views on YouTube to date. Now the award-winning choreographer is driving a social media campaign to promote investment in rural Africa's young people. Silver, who moved to London from Rwanda at the age of five, talks about why she believes farming is so empowering

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How Australia ended up taking in Rwandans accused of killing tourists

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Australia’s government faces questions over secret deal with US in which the men were granted humanitarian visas

Just hours out from a federal election, the Australian government is facing questions over its decision to grant humanitarian visas to two Rwandan men accused of the brutal 1999 murder of tourists in Uganda.

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has said that the men were subject to – and cleared – security checks, and on Friday distanced himself further by suggesting the approvals occurred when his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister.

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Morrison knew in 2016 of Australia’s resettlement of Rwandans accused of killings

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Exclusive: US advice was that the men, who have refugee status and were accused of murdering tourists in Uganda in 1999, presented no security threat

The national security committee of cabinet was briefed about all aspects of the American refugee swap deal in late 2016, including the resettlement of two Rwandan men accused of murdering tourists in Uganda.

Guardian Australian understands the NSC was briefed, and the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, were aware of all the elements of the agreement signed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama in 2016.

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Suspects in murder of ex-Rwandan spy chief ‘directly linked to Kigali’ – inquest

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Lawyer for Patrick Karegeya’s family says South African police failures point to abuse of process


The family of the murdered former Rwandan intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya celebrated on Thursday after a South African magistrate said the identities of four suspects were known and police said they were “directly linked” to Rwanda’s government.

At the end of a 20-minute inquest in Johannesburg, the magistrate Mashiane Mathopa said there was a prima facie case to answer and he was sending the matter to South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Karegeya was found strangled in a Johannesburg hotel room in January 2014.

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Macron asks experts to investigate French role in Rwandan genocide

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Accusations of complicity in deaths of 800,000 in 1994 have clouded diplomatic relations

Emmanuel Macron has appointed a commission of historians and researchers to investigate France’s role in the Rwandan genocide 25 years ago, as accusations of complicity in the deaths of an estimated 800,000 people continue to cloud diplomatic relations between Kigali and Paris.

The French president said the panel of experts would look at state archives, including diplomatic and military documents, and produce a public report. The move was announced after Macron met representatives of a Rwandan genocide survivors’ association at the Élysée – the first time a French leader has held such a meeting.

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Paul Kagame orders release of women and girls jailed over abortion in Rwanda

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Women’s rights activists welcome presidential pardon of 367 female prisoners as evidence of progress

Rwanda’s president has pardoned hundreds of girls and women jailed for abortion.

The women are expected to be released immediately under the presidential prerogative.

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Death of ex-Rwandan spy boss was political killing, inquest told

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Lawyer claims prominent dissident Patrick Karegeya was assassinated in South Africa

A South African inquest into the killing of the prominent Rwandan dissident Patrick Karegeya has opened in the suburbs of Johannesburg with a lawyer telling the court the former intelligence chief’s death was a political assassination.

“We are dealing with an assassination of a Rwandan citizen in this country,” said Gerrie Nel, the lawyer for AfriForum, a South African NGO representing minority interests and a group of local Rwandan exiles in the case. “We will be arguing that this assassination is intrinsically linked to the political situation in Rwanda.”

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Meghan Markle has advocated for women since the age of 11

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Meghan Markle became an advocate for women when she was an 11-year-old elementary school student, and achieving gender equality remains a driving force for the fiance of Britain's Prince Harry and self-described "feminist." Since 2014, the American actress has helped put a global spotlight on the need for equality between women and men as an "Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership" for the women's agency of the United Nations .