Thursday, 23rd March 2023
<To guardian.ng
Search

Explaining the West’s love affair with Rwanda

Enforced disappearances, no political opposition and a longtime president who brooks no dissent. So why are Western democracies so bent on doing business with Rwanda?

Related

30 Nov
After studying in abroad in the US, Allen Kendunga decided to return home to Rwanda to help tackle the issue of unemployment. She founded a company called Talent Match, which works toward closing the country's skills gap by offering career guidance for students.
29 Nov
For several months, tensions have been rising in the West Bank. Following a wave of anti-Israeli attacks that killed 19 people in the spring, the Israeli government launched a vast military operation in the area. More than 2,000 people have been arrested and 130 Palestinians killed in raids and clashes, the heaviest toll since the Second Intifada.
1 Dec
4 million people were starved to death in Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. Stalin denied the famine ever happened. Why did the West turn a blind eye to it?
8 Dec
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is planning a peacekeeping force to intervene against jihadism in its member states and in the event of coups.
25 Dec
A team of researchers from 15 different countries has completed a major new study on the gender pay gap. It upends previous research that suggested the gap was caused by the types of jobs men and women ended up in.
24 Dec
A leaked report from UN experts accuses Rwanda's army of running military operations against DR Congo. Rwanda has long denied Kinshasa's accusations that it supports the M23 rebels.
31 Dec
France and Germany are now also accusing Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A UN report said there was solid evidence of Rwanda supporting the M23 group, which is accused of waging a campaign of murder, rape, kidnapping and looting.
13 Jan
The refugees accuse Rwanda's government and the UNHCR of starving them to force them to return home. The UN has rejected the accusation, saying it is doing its best to provide aid during difficult economic times.
14 Jan
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has threatened to forcefully repatriate Congolese refugees, but can he do that? Can Congolese refugees still expect to find refuge in Rwanda after fleeing the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
29 Jan
Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are grappling with an increasing number of young people becoming addicted to a substance known as kush or K2. Abuse of the drug has already killed several people in the region.
21 Jan
Kidnapping by militants in Western Africa is nothing new. However, security experts say many criminals are now abducting women and children to use them as bargaining chips for political attention and fundraising.
25 Jan
Amid already high tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa, Rwandan forces fired at a fighter jet from Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday which they accused of violating Rwanda's airspace.