One person was killed and dozens were injured in a crash at an election rally for Rwandan President Paul Kagame,according to officials.
The incident occurred on Sunday in Rubavu district, where 37 people sustained injuries, with four being hospitalized for serious conditions, as stated by the Ministry of Local Government.
This happened as campaigning for the July general election kicked off on Saturday, with President Kagame hosting two rallies in northern Rwanda over the weekend.
It apologised to the deceased’s family, adding that a medical team on site “did everything possible”.
President Paul Kagame is running for a fourth term. He has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since 1994, when his then-rebel group, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, took power following the genocide against his Tutsi ethnic group.
Kagame won the previous presidential election in 2017 with almost 99% of the vote.
At 66 years old, Kagame has faced criticism from human rights organizations for suppressing the opposition. However, he staunchly defends Rwanda’s human rights record, asserting that the country upholds political freedoms.
After Sunday’s stampede, the ministry of local government reminded “those participating in campaign activities… to follow the instructions given by those in charge to ensure the safety and tranquility of those participating in campaign activities”.
Paul Kagame and his RPF Inkotanyi party have not issued a comment regarding the fatal incident at the rally. However, the party did share a video on Facebook on Monday morning showing Kagame taking the stage at the event.
In the footage, supporters dressed in party colors can be seen dancing, cheering, and waving flags. The party reported that approximately 250,000 people attended the rally.
In the upcoming presidential race, Kagame will be competing against two other candidates: Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.
Diane Rwigara, a vocal critic of Kagame, has been barred from participating in the election.
The electoral commission stated that Rwigara failed to provide the necessary documentation proving she had no criminal record and did not demonstrate sufficient nationwide support to qualify.
Rwigara, who was also disqualified from the 2017 election, has dismissed these claims, asserting that she was unfairly denied the right to campaign.
Rwanda and Jordan have signed many agreements to make their relationship stronger.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Jordan’s King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein signed agreements during King Abdullah’s three-day visit to Kigali. The visit started on Sunday.
The agreements include working together on health, medicine, trade, and farming.
The two countries made a tax agreement to stop people from being taxed twice and to prevent them from avoiding paying taxes, said Jordan’s palace in a statement.
The two countries will also strengthen their connections in politics, defense, and fighting against terrorism.
The leaders talked about the war in Gaza too.
“The king said thank you to Rwanda for helping out in Gaza by sending a plane with aid”, reported Jordan’s palace.
The two countries have become closer to each other in recent years. They made some deals last February and agreed to let each other’s citizens visit without needing a visa last August.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), the country’s ruling party, elected its first female vice-chairperson on Sunday as President Paul Kagame kept the chairmanship position.
With 1,945 votes, or around 93% of the total votes cast, Consolee Uwimana won the election.
According to observers, elevating her is the party’s strategy for empowering women and maintaining racial parity in its top leadership.
Up until 2019, Ms. Uwimana, a seasoned banker and businesswoman, served as a senator.
In 2024, Rwanda will have its next round of general elections.
President Kagame has been president of the East African nation since 2000. A controversial referendum in 2015 removed a two-term constitutional limit for presidents.
On Sunday, Mr Kagame got 99.8% of the total votes to retain leadership of the ruling party.
Rwanda has one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament and government.
Paul Rusesabagina, who served as the basis for the Hollywood blockbuster “Hotel Rwanda,” was freed from prison in Rwanda on Friday after President Paul Kagame shortened his sentence.
Rusesabagina, a US lawful permanent resident, was relocated to the residence of the Qatari ambassador in Kigali, top US administration officials informed reporters on Friday.
According to one official, “he will be spending a limited amount of time hosted by the Qataris,” probably a few days, before continuing on to Doha and ultimately the United States.
Rusesabagina, an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame, is best known for saving hundreds of Rwandans during the country’s genocide by sheltering them in the hotel he managed.
He was arrested by Rwandan authorities while he was traveling internationally in 2020 in what his family has claimed was a kidnapping.
Rusesabagina was found guilty on terrorism-related charges in September 2021 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The commutation of his sentence comes after he asked Kagame for a pardon in an October 2022 letter.
“Commutation of sentence does not extinguish the underlying conviction,” said government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo on Friday.
Rusesabagina, who is a dual Rwandan and Belgian citizen, was slated to be released along with 19 other people that had been convicted alongside him, Makolo told CNN.
“Rwanda notes the constructive role of the US government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the State of Qatar,” she added.
In a statement Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Rusesabagina’s release.
“It is a relief to know that Paul is rejoining his family, and the US Government is grateful to the Rwandan Government for making this reunion possible. We also thank the Government of Qatar for their valuable assistance that will enable Paul’s return to the United States,” Blinken said.
A spokesperson for his family said they “are pleased to hear the news about Paul’s release.”
“The family is hopeful to reunite with him soon,” the spokesperson told CNN earlier Friday.
At his trial in 2021, Rusesabagina was found guilty of being part of a terror group called MRCD-FLN. Two 2018 attacks in which nine people died were a particular focus, according to a government statement.
However the Clooney Foundation for Justice described the verdict as a “show trial,” and claimed that Rusesabagina’s conviction lacked sufficient guarantees of fairness “required by international and African standards.”
He was designated as wrongfully detained by the US government.
One of the senior US officials said “there was no particular concession made by us as a government here” that led to Rusesabagina’s release.
Rather, there was “a sequence of steps that were worked out involving the Rwandan government, US government and of course Paul himself,” the official said.
“It took months to reach that sequence in a manner agreeable to all those involved,” they said.
Multiple US officials said that Blinken’s trip to Rwanda “played a key role” in eventually resolving Rusesabagina’s case.
In his engagements with Kagame he “discussed Paul’s case at length,” a US official said, and “they spoke a great deal about the road map to Paul’s eventual release.”
“The State Department through SPEHA (the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs), and other members of the interagency have been working to keep it on track since the Secretary’s visit,” that US official said.
The first senior official also said that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan “took a personal hand in trying to craft a way forward on this issue.”
“In particular, he began quiet diplomacy with a close advisor to the President,” both by phone and in person, the official said.
“Through these discussions, the parameters of a mutually acceptable arrangement emerged that the Rwandans would move towards Paul’s release and in parallel, the US government would indicate how much we welcome the developments, as we continue to do,” the official said.
Both the first senior official and a congressional aide familiar with the case said that Rusesabagina’s detention had become an “irritant” in the US-Rwandan relationship, and congressional interlocutors tried to make it clear to Rwandan officials both in Washington, DC and Kigali that such an “irritant” would not go away until it was resolved.
The Rwandan government wanted the US to acknowledge that there was a legal process that occurred and that process resulted in Rusesabagina being convicted, the aide said.
The resolution got closer once conversations shifted away from a discussion of guilt or innocence and more toward trying to solve the issue – a strategy illustrated by a letter written by Rusesabagina to Kagame in October 2022 to request a pardon, which the congressional aide said was “carefully discussed.”
In that letter – released by the Ministry of Justice Friday – Rusesabagina said he wished to express “regret for any connection (his) work with the MRCD may have had to violent actions taken by the FLN.”
“As a former head of MRCD, I regret not taking more care to ensure that the MRCD coalition fully adhered to the principles of non-violence in which I fully and deeply believe, and have always ascribed,” Rusesabagina wrote.
“If I am granted a pardon and released, I understand fully that I will spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection,” he continued. “I can assure you through this letter that I hold no personal or political ambitions otherwise. I will leave questions regarding Rwandan politics behind me.”
The publication of this letter expressing contrition, and the fact that Rwanda commuted his sentence, rather than pardoning him, allowed the Rwandan government to stand by their assertion of Rusesabagina’s guilt.
“They continue to make clear that he’s a convicted terrorist,” the aide said.
The aide also said there was immense congressional pressure on both the Rwandan government and the Biden administration on the matter, which was a complex one. Rusesabagina is a legal permanent resident of the US but not a citizen, and he did not get designated as wrongfully detained until within the last year.
A second US senior administration official said that “there was some constructive participation by members and congressional staff to encourage both parties to use the existing clemency process as part of Rwandan law to help resolve the tensions between Paul and the government of Rwanda.”
American lawmakers who were invested in the case on Friday welcomed the news about Rusesabagina’s commuted sentence and expected release.
“Paul Rusesabagina is a hero, and his unjust detention was a stain on Rwanda’s progress toward a peaceful and stable future. Together with his family, friends, and supporters around the world, I am overjoyed to hear the news of his impending release and look forward to his safe return,” Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said in a statement.
“I commend US and Rwandan officials for working together on Mr. Rusesabagina’s release and addressing the issues surrounding his case, including those related to justice and political violence,” Republican Sen. Jim Risch said. “I look forward to seeing Mr. Rusesabagina return to his family, and encourage the U.S. and Rwandan governments to continue working to advance our bilateral relationship.”
This aide downplayed Qatar’s role in securing the commutation, saying that there may have been conversations between Rwandan and Qatari officials but alleged they had “no impact” on the case.
The government of Rwanda has changed its position on President Paul Kagame’s stance that the nation will no longer provide asylum to individuals escaping conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Refugees crossing the border into Rwanda, according to Mr. Kagame, are “not Rwanda’s problem.”
“I am refusing that Rwanda should carry this burden,” the president said.
But in a statement on Tuesday night, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Rwanda had no intention to expel or ban refugees.
She accused the media of misrepresenting President Kagame’s remarks.
“What the President addressed was the blatant hypocrisy in criticising Rwanda which simultaneously gets the blame for state failure in the DRC [DR Congo], and is then expected to accommodate those who seek refuge from the consequences of that failure,” she tweeted.
Rwanda has no intention to expel or ban refugees. We always welcome people fleeing insecurity, persecution and violence. We are asking for the international community to take responsibility for finding a durable solution for this forgotten group of refugees from the DRC. 4/4
The bloc made its remarks after a report by UNexperts revealed that Rwandan military had engaged in “direct engagement” within the DR Congo.
The M23 rebel group, which has taken over large portions of the North Kivu region in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, has received calls from the European Union urging it to cease helping Rwanda (DRC).
The DRC, the US, and a number of European nations have accused Rwanda, a smaller neighbor in Central Africa, of supporting the M23 on numerous occasions, though Kigali has always denied this.
Recently, the Tutsi rebel group has made strides that have brought Goma, the capital of North Kivu, within a few hundred kilometers.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday said the European bloc had urged Rwanda to “stop supporting the M23 and use all means to press the M23 to comply with the decisions taken by the EAC [East African Community]” at a November summit in Angola.
“It also firmly urges all states of the region to prevent the provision of any support to armed groups active in the DRC,” said Borrell.
He called on Kinshasa to “take all measures necessary to protect the civilian population in its territory”.
Under heavy international pressure to disarm, M23 joined a ceremony last week to deliver the strategic town of Kibumba to an East African military force as a “goodwill gesture” for peace.
The EAC also said the group had to withdraw to the border between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda. However, the Congolese army promptly dubbed the Kibumba handover a “sham”.
Borrell’s comments came after a United Nations experts’ report on DRC indicated it had collected proof of “direct intervention” by Rwandan defence forces inside DRC territory between November 2021 and October 2022.
The report says Rwandan troops launched operations to reinforce the M23 against the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – notably by supplying weapons, ammunition and uniforms.
Kigali sees the FDLR as a threat which justifies interventions inside the DRC.
Rwanda has also accused the DRC – where presidential elections are due next December – of using the conflict for political purposes as well as of “fabricating” a November massacre of at least 131 civilians.
A United Nations inquiry blamed the deaths on M23 rebels.
Prior to the massacre, Angola had been mediating peace talks designed to pave the way for a truce agreement.
In a statement on Saturday, Kinshasa welcomed the findings of the UN experts, which it said “put an end to the lies and manipulations” of Rwanda.
Given the gravity of the allegations, it called for the UN Security Council to examine the experts’ report with a view to possible sanctions against Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame blamed Kinshasa for the chaos in its volatile eastern regions in his New Year address.
“After spending tens of billions of dollars on peacekeeping over the past two decades, the security situation in Eastern Congo is worse than ever,” Kagame said in a statement on Saturday.
“To explain this failure, some in the international community blame Rwanda, even though they know very well that the true responsibility lies primarily with the government of the DRC. It is high time that the unwarranted vilification of Rwanda stopped.”
In response to the US requestto free government critic Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan President Paul Kagame stated that nobody would “bully us” regarding domestic matters in his country.
When discussing African issues outside of the US-Africa Summit in Washington, Mr. Kagame was asked if the US’s support of Mr. Rusesabagina through Antony Blinken was “helping or hurting” his case.
Mr. Kagame claimed that because “this person is a celebrity,” “somebody in America” wanted the case to be “nullified.”
On terrorism-related charges, Mr. Rusesabagina and 20 other defendants were found guilty last year.
“If we let him free, how about these other 20 who pointed him as even being their leader?” President Kagame asked.
“We have made it clear, there isn’t anybody going to come from anywhere to bully us into something to do with our lives – you can maybe make an invasion and overrun the country,” he added sarcastically.
Mr Rusesabagina, 68, was depicted as a hero in a Hollywood movie on the Rwandan genocide.
He was sentenced to 25 years in jail after being tricked into boarding a private jet from Dubai to Rwanda’s capital Kigali, thinking he was heading to Bujumbura in Burundi.
Mr Rusesabagina’s family has called the trial a sham, saying he was taken to Rwanda, from exile, by force.
The US has stated that Mr Rusesabagina is being “wrongfully detained” in Rwanda
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has lamented the effects of the Ukraine conflict on Africa, declaring that the continent desires world peace.
On Tuesday, Kagame spoke at the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, as chairperson of the African Union Development Agency’s (Nepad) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee.
The setting was ideal for Kagame to say: “I commend the attention given to the priorities that matter to small and developing countries, including coping with the effects of the war in Ukraine and other crises.” The conference was held under the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger.”
Parts of Africa, particularly central and southern Africa, are currently experiencing or preparing for cropping seasons.
But the war in Ukraine has resulted in a shortage of fertiliser, which is mostly procured in Ukraine and Russia. This has led to a spike in the price.
One of the single most notable compromises to help alleviate this crisis this week was the release of a Russian fertiliser cargo which had been detained for months in the port of Rotterdam because of sanctions.
It’s now on its way to Malawi, one of southern Africa’s most food-insecure countries.
The 20 000 tons of fertiliser belong to a Russian who’s been on the United States sanctions list since the start of the war in Ukraine. However, he will not benefit from the cargo that’s now under the radar of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Since the start of the war, a number of African countries have been sitting on the fence, choosing not to vote against Russia or outright support the invasion.
It’s a diplomatic approach that seeks to please both sides of the divided world. But Kagame said Africa should not be blamed for allegedly taking sides.
He said:
What Africa wants to see is peace. We are confident that we cannot be accused of taking sides, simply by asking for peace. Africa is here for Africa and our productive relationship with the rest of the world.
Kagame also highlighted that Africa had specific challenges, made worse by external factors such as the war in Ukraine, and that “too often our people are left to pay the price”.
Climate change, the war in Ukraine, and conflicts in Africa are the major drivers of the widening gap between developing and developed countries. This has led to even more debt for the continent.
Kagame pleaded with the G20to reintroduce debt write-offs, and for more support from the International Monetary Fund through its Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
