Bobigny, France | AFP |Â A French court on Saturday upheld a 25 year prison sentence handed to a former Rwandan intelligence agent jailed in France’s first trial over the African country’s 1994 genocide. Pascal Simbikangwa was found guilty of genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity in a landmark …
Read More »Rwandans pray where Virgin Mary ‘appeared’ to schoolgirls
Kibeho, Rwanda | AFP | Christian pilgrims gather each year in their thousands in the southern Rwandan hill town of Kibeho, some hopeful of miracles where three schoolgirls said the Virgin Mary came to them. A service held Monday in the small, isolated town marked the 35th anniversary of the …
Read More »Eleven-nation Central African talks back Kabila’s DRC deal
Libreville, Gabon | AFP |Â Eleven countries, meeting Wednesday on security in central Africa, urged the Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition to back a deal that could keep its president in office far beyond his official mandate. Leaders or their representatives from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) …
Read More »Rwanda opens probe into French officials’ genocide role
KIGALI, Rwanda | AFP | Rwanda on Tuesday opened a formal probe into 20 French officials suspected of playing a role in the 1994 genocide, in a move likely to further sour diplomatic ties with France. Kigali has long accused France of complicity in the genocide of some 800,000 mostly …
Read More »RWANDA: Catholic church apology
Bishopsâ statement on genocide seen as positive In 1994, violence erupted in Rwanda after a plane carrying then president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down. Thousands of ethnic Tutsis, a minority group who became a target after Habyarimanaâs death, sought refuge in the countryâs Catholic and Protestant churches. Hutu militia surrounded …
Read More »Rusagara eyes the future
Rwanda abstract painter showcases social themes The first cut, as it is said, is the deepest. And Benjamin Rusagara, a youthful visual resident artist at Ivuka Arts Center recalls his first contact with art-which later defined his career path, writes Joseph Ondiek, âThe bell for lunch break rung and there …
Read More »RDB steps up campaign to promote domestic tourism
Rwandaâs latest domestic tourism campaign dubbed âTembera U Rwanda-Jump on the Busâ is geared towards marketing attraction sites to domestic tourists. And it is registering success, according to Rwanda Development Board (RDB), writes Joseph Ondiek Just recently, this writer was part of a team of journalists from a cross section …
Read More »Memorials of Genocide
Rwanda hosts experts meeting in bid for UNESCO Heritage status Rwanda needs to closely involve local communities in the management and interpretation of `Sites of Memorial of Genocideâ in the country. This recommendation is one of many made during the recent international experts meeting on the World Heritage Convention and …
Read More »Rwanda reborn, brought to you by women
Ask Aline Kabanda the key to Rwanda’s future success, and she will tell you: educating and empowering women, writes Jennifer Mattson. “I like to quote Nelson Mandela, who said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,'” says Kabanda, the country director for the …
Read More »Binamungu pays tribute to short art form
Old, as they say, is gold. And Epa Binamungu is the quintessential image of this age-old adage, writes Joseph Ondiek. For four days, from 28 October to 31 October, 2016, Binamungu showcased his latest collection of artwork in an exhibition dubbed `Paying Tribute to Small Formsâ and held at the …
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