Rwanda - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe join African recall of J&J cough syrup

DRUG regulators in Tanzania, Rwanda and Zimbabwe have recalled a batch of Johnson & Johnson children's cough syrup as a precautionary measure after their Nigerian counterpart said laboratory tests found high levels of toxicity. The countries join Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa in recalling the same batch of the syrup, which is used to treat coughs, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children. South Africa has also recalled an additional batch. Laboratory tests on the syrup by Nigeria's health regulator showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Tanzania, Rwanda join African recall of J&J children’s cough syrup

NEWS

DRUG regulators in Tanzania and Rwanda have recalled a batch of Johnson & Johnson children's cough syrup as a precautionary measure after their Nigerian counterpart said laboratory tests found high levels of toxicity. The East African neighbours join Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa in recalling the same batch of the syrup, which is used to treat coughs, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children. South Africa has also recalled an additional batch. Laboratory tests on the syrup by Nigeria's health regulator showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia,…

Apr

2024

By ANDREW MACASKILL and MICHAEL HOLDEN

British PM Sunak’s Rwanda scheme set to pass parliament but challenges await

NEWS

THE British parliament is set to finally approve a divisive law this week to pave the way for asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda, but further legal hurdles could yet hold up or derail one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's key policies. Sunak has invested huge political capital in the Rwanda scheme whose success or failure might be crucial to his Conservative party's fortunes in an upcoming election, given his promise it will stop tens of thousands of people arriving without permission in small boats across the Channel. The new legislation is poised to get lawmakers' approval, unamended, by…

Apr

2024

By WALTER DORN

“Rwanda’s genocide could have been prevented”

NEWS

AS the world marks the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda, it is important to understand what the international community could have done to prevent it. In one hundred days an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Rwandans were killed. The Tutsi were targeted primarily due to long-standing ethnic tensions between the Tutsi minority and the majority Hutu population. Tutsi sympathisers and moderate Hutus were also targeted. As the mass killings were happening, the international community stood by in a stupor, even though the nations of the world had a legal and moral obligation to…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

What happened in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide?

NEWS

FOLLOWING are some details about the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 that killed more than 1 million people. Rwanda marked its 30th anniversary. WAR: * In 1990, rebels of the Tutsi-dominated Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded northern Rwanda from neighbouring Uganda. The RPF's success prompted President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, to speed up political reforms. * In August 1993, Rwanda and the RPF signed a deal to end years of civil war, allowing for power-sharing and the return of refugees. Habyarimana was slow in implementing the agreement, and a transitional government failed to take off. THE SPARK: * On April 6,…

Mar

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Kigali is Africa’s fastest rising international financial centre

BUSINESS

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…

Mar

2024

By KAREN MCINTYRE and MEGHAN SOBEL COHEN

Press freedom in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda: what journalists have to say about doing their jobs

MEDIA FREEDOM

A majority of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in recent years, according to a UN report. In East Africa, the results are mixed and debatable. In Rwanda, both international press freedom rankings and journalists on the ground say press freedom has increased over the past 10 years. In neighbouring Uganda, both international rankings and local journalists say media freedom has declined. In Kenya, rankings reflect declining freedom over the past decade, but reporters acknowledge they have more freedom than their counterparts in Uganda and Rwanda. In our roles as associate professors in journalism and mass…

Mar

2024

By MAARTJE WEERDESTEIJN

Rwanda: Paul Kagame is a dictator who clings to power but it’s not just for his own gain

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RWANDA’S president Paul Kagame recently said he was looking forward to his retirement after 23 years in power. Speaking to the press in April 2023, he claimed he “may join journalism in my old age” – a somewhat surprising choice, given the poor state of the freedom of the press in Rwanda. But the chances that Kagame will actually step down seem rather small. After a controversial referendum in 2015, Rwandans voted to extend presidential term limits, allowing Kagame to rule potentially until 2034. More recently, Kagame was re-elected to head the ruling party – the Rwandan Patriotic Front –…

Mar

2024

By ANDREW MACASKILL

UK plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda suffers first parliamentary defeats

NEWS

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered his first defeat over his legislation to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the upper house of parliament demanded greater protections to be introduced before deportation flights can take off. Under the Rwanda plan, which has yet to be carried out, asylum seekers who arrive on England's southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to live in Rwanda, but so far no one has been deported because of ongoing legal challenges. In an effort to overcome resistance from the courts, Sunak's government is passing legislation through parliament that would block further legal challenges…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

US condemns worsening violence in east of DR Congo, accuses Rwanda

NEWS

THE United States condemned worsening violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), blaming it on M23, an armed group it said is backed by Rwanda. A statement from the U.S. State Department called on M23 to cease hostilities immediately and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma. "The United States condemns Rwanda's support for the M23 armed group," the statement said. It called on Rwanda to immediately withdraw all of its military personnel from the DRC and remove surface-to-air missile systems, saying these threatened the lives of civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and…