Central Africa News

[New Times] A list compiled by the Association of Rwandan Musicians (LIRAM) in 2013, shows that at least 14 prominent musicians were killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

[New Times] April 25, 1994 was the 19th day of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Killings of Tutsi had spread across the country. In the former Gitarama, Butare and Kibuye prefectures, Interahamwe, government soldiers and local leaders led the killing campaign.

[RFI] A British law to send unwanted migrants to Rwanda, which passed this week after months of wrangling, has generated fierce criticism at home and abroad. In Rwanda, opponents of the longtime president say the country is unfit to host asylum seekers - while accusing the UK of outsourcing its responsibilities.

[New Times] The Supreme Court on Friday, April 26 dismissed a petition brought by a feminist organisation challenging the country's public indecency laws.

[New Times] No Genocide happens without a plan, preparation, and without state involvement, the High Commissioner of Rwanda to the UK, Johnston Busingye, noted on April 25 during an event marking the 30th Commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London.

[Premium Times] According to him, Rwanda has implemented a visa-free policy and has been able to boost its economy through this.

[State Department] Department Press BriefingVedant Patel, Principal Deputy SpokespersonWashington, D.C.April 25, 2024

[New Times] Kenya's national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has protested the arrest and detention of two members of staff in DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, over alleged missing customs documents of a cargo that was to be transported by the airline.

[New Times] The scarcity of available land in Rwanda due to population growth and urban expansion has prompted calls for the implementation of a 'vertical burial system'.

[allAfrica] Geneva -- The heads of two UN agencies have again rung the alarm on the harmful impact the passage of the "Safety of Rwanda" Bill by the UK Parliament will have on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.

[New Times] A transformative multimillion-dollar investment plan has been envisioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which could significantly reduce poverty, malnutrition, and stunting.

[VOA] Goma, DR Congo -- In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, women entrepreneurs in Goma continue to catch the eye of the business world, thanks to their creativity and resilience. Thirty-year-old Deborah Nzarubara is one of Central Africa's pioneers of beekeeping, repeatedly recognized worldwide for the quality of her honey and its contribution to environmental preservation.

[New Times] Renowned US actor and film maker Morgan Freeman recently released season one of his series 'The Story Of Us', that tackles some of the fundamental forces that drive humanity including love, freedom, peace, factionalism, power and rebellion. Part of the series dubbed 'mega episode' shares the darkest period, Rwanda has ever experienced - The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi which claimed over 1 million lives in just three months.

[New Times] Malaria remains a public health issue in Rwanda, despite collaborative efforts. However, with interventions such as mass and routine distribution of Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in high endemic districts, malaria cases in Rwanda have dropped by 88 per cent in 2023, according to Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC).

[OCHA] By Najwa Mekki

[Global Fund] We have new tools, but it is the health workers on the frontline who make the difference against malaria.

[RFI] The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is accusing Apple of using "illegally exploited" minerals extracted from the country's embattled east in its products, lawyers representing the African country said on Thursday.

[Crisis Group] Disputes over water in the northern tip of Cameroon turned deadly in 2021, taking on a troubling ethnic dimension. The authorities have striven to contain the fighting, but to be sure of preventing a recurrence, they need to address the conflict at its roots.

[New Times] Latest data from Rwanda Biomedical Centre, as reported by The New Times in its April 24 edition, indicates that malaria cases in the country dropped by a staggering 88% in 2023.

[New Times] Rwanda's tourism revenue rose by 36 percent from $445 million in 2022 to reach $620 million in 2023 (approx: Rwf798 billion), as stated in the 2023 Rwanda Development Board (RDB) annual report.

[New Times] A delegation of Gabonese business leaders on Wednesday, April 24, concluded a two-day visit to Rwanda, during which the two parties explored trade and investment opportunities, as both countries mull deepening economic and bilateral ties.

[OCHA] Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region by Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator

[VOA] Yaounde, Cameroon -- Gabon's month-long national dialogue intended to lay the groundwork for restoring civilian rule in the Central African nation concludes at the end of April, with delegates proposing a range of options for new governance.

[New Times] Republic of the Congo has declared an epidemic of mpox (monkeypox), a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, after 19 cases were confirmed across five regions, including the capital Brazzaville, according to reports.

[The Conversation Africa] Rwanda, a small and landlocked central African country, has made remarkable socio-economic progress since the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 500,000 people died. But the country, as well as the rest of the world, remains divided over the achievements made and the direction taken over the past 30 years.

[New Times] Auditor General Alexis Kamuhire is set to present his report of State finances and assets for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023, to Parliament, on Wednesday afternoon, April 24.

[New Times] On April 21, more than 250,000 people were killed in the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. This is almost 25 percent of all the victims. As Rwanda remembered the fateful day this year, however, some well-known scholars who have made it their mission to distort history made it about themselves and their narratives.

[New Times] There is a chance that if you have traveled in the past for a vacation or even work, at some point you have rented, considered renting an Airbnb, or someone has recommended it.

[UN News] Following the United Kingdom Parliament's passage of the "Safety of Rwanda" bill, two top UN officials sounded an alarm on Tuesday about its harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights and refugee protection.

[HRW] In an interview on the BBC's Today Program this week, Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell sang the praises of Rwanda's "remarkable regime." But as the debate over the government's Safety of Rwanda bill came to a close, he left out some important facts about Rwanda's human rights record.