Kigali - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Kigali is Africa’s fastest rising international financial centre

RWANDA’S deliberate move to carve a niche in sustainable finance is helping to grow Kigali as Africa’s next significant International Financial Centre. The capital city has climbed up 18 spots, the highest in Africa and third highest globally, in the 35th edition of the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) rankings, placing it third in Africa and 67th globally. “The greatest improvements were seen by Sao Paulo — up 21 places, Wellington up 15, and Reykjavik and Kigali up 14 places,” the publishers of the index reported. Kigali has also been identified as one of two African centres, alongside Casablanca, likely…

May

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The stage is set for Africa’s biggest basketball event of the year: BAL playoffs in Kigali

BASKETBALL

THE Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference which took place between April 26 and May 6 at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo ended with Petro de Luanda defeating Al Ahly in a game that went to the wire; Gerson Goncalves scored a buzzer-beating tip-in to win the Nile Conference for his team, 91-90. The win will see the Angola team enter the playoffs in Kigali as the league favourites, after finishing third and then second in the previous two editions of the competition. Angolan Carlos Morais was a standout player during the tournament and continued to set an exemplary…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Freed ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Rusesabagina leaves Kigali, reaches Qatar

NEWS

IMAD CREIDI and PHILBERT GIRINEMA PAUL Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the film "Hotel Rwanda" about the 1994 genocide, has arrived in Qatar after being released from prison in Rwanda last week, Rwanda's government spokesperson said. Rusesabagina, a U.S. permanent resident, was sentenced in September 2021 to 25 years over his ties to a group opposed to Rwandan President Paul Kagame that has an armed wing. He was released on Friday after his sentence was commuted following months of negotiations between Washington and Kigali. Washington's historically close ties with Rwanda have been strained by Rusesabagina's detention and by U.S.…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Infantino re-elected FIFA president, telling critics ‘I love you all’

SPORT

PHILBERT GIRINEMA GIANNI Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president during the 73rd Congress in Kigali, promising record revenues in the next four-year cycle of $11 billion as he called for more football to be played around the world. Infantino stood unopposed, making his re-election as head of football's governing body a formality, even if he is not universally popular among member associations amid controversies including the treatment of migrant workers in the run-up to last year's World Cup in Qatar and a failed plan to play the tournament every two years. "It is an incredible honour and privilege, and a…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Infantino to lay out plans for new term at FIFA Congress in Kigali

SPORT

THE major discussion points have already been settled before delegates gather for the 73rd FIFA Congress in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, including the format for the 2026 Soccer World Cup and Gianni Infantino’s next term as president. Incumbent Infantino will stand unopposed making his re-election a formality, even if he is not universally popular among member associations for a range of reasons, including pushing for a failed plan to play the World Cup every two years. Instead, there will be an expanded final that will feature 48 teams at the 2026 event co-hosted by the United States, Canada and…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Hotel Rwanda: a film that proved to be a double-edged sword for Kigali

LIFESTYLE

PAUL Rusesabagina is perhaps one of the world’s best known Rwandans. His actions during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi were made famous in the 2004 Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda. The film was inspired by what happened inside Hotel des Mille Collines in the capital, Kigali. Here, 1,268 Rwandans, both Tutsis and Hutus, were saved from genocidal forces waiting beyond its walls. Author JONATHAN BELOFF, Postdoctoral Research Associate, King's College London The film depicts Rusesabagina – who left Rwanda in 1996 – as a hero who saved these lives. Following the film’s release, Rusesabagina received several humanitarian awards, including the…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Anti-Rwanda protests break out in east DRC

NEWS

THOUSANDS joined anti-Rwanda protests in the east Congolese city of Goma on Monday, denouncing Rwanda's alleged support of M23 rebels as Kinshasa recalled its interim acting ambassador from Kigali in a further souring of relations. Rwanda denies Congo's long-standing accusations that it backs the M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group that has attacked Congolese forces near the Rwandan border since 2012. Tensions escalated this month after the group launched a new offensive in North Kivu province and captured the strategic town of Kiwanja on Saturday, prompting Congolese authorities to expel the Rwandan ambassador. Congo's foreign ministry went further on Monday, recalling the…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Brave and hopeful’ LGBT+ Rwandans prepare for their first Pride

LGBT+

KIM HARRISBERG WITH football and fashion, Rwanda's LGBT+ activists are planning their first Pride celebration after years of struggling to secure funding or a venue willing to host them in a country where they say coming out can lead to violence and rejection. Navigating COVID-19 restrictions, LGBT+ activists are expecting 200 people to attend the event in the capital Kigali in late July, including government officials and media, and hear testimonies of the stigma LGBT+ people face on a daily basis. "The significance of this event is that we are saying we are here, we need to be treated equally…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Macron seeks forgiveness over Rwanda genocide

NEWS

CLEMENT UWIRIGIYIMANA FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron said he recognised his country's role in the Rwandan genocide and hoped for forgiveness at a memorial in Kigali today, seeking to reset relations after years of Rwandan accusations that France was complicit in the 1994 atrocities. "Only those who went through that night can perhaps forgive, and in doing so give the gift of forgiveness," Macron said at the Gisozi genocide memorial, where more than 250,000 victims are buried. Rows of skulls lie there in a mass tomb and the names of the victims are inscribed on a black wall. "I hereby humbly…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Hosts Rwanda off to good start at Basketball Africa League

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO RWANDA’S very own Patriots started proceedings in the maiden Basketball Africa League (BAL) game with a dominant 83-60 win over Nigeria’s outfit Rivers Hoopers. The Nigerian side was tapped, in part due to the strength of their roster, to dominate the opening fixture against home side BBC Patriots at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. The Patriots were led by power forward Brandon Costner, finishing with a game-high 20 points, and center Prince Ibeh who registered 11 points and 11 rebounds. https://twitter.com/theBAL/status/1394000949602136075 Forward Taren Sullivan and Nigerian international Ben Uzoh led the way for the Rivers Hoopers -…