Author: admin

This was not an impulsive act but a necessary rejection of a toxic relationship.

Belgium’s reaction was predictably theatrical—shocked outrage, wounded innocence, the usual hand-wringing about Rwanda’s 'hostility.' But the truth is simple: Rwanda does not owe Belgium anything. Not gratitude, not obedience, not silence.

How can Rwanda continue engaging with a country that harbors genocide fugitives, platforms genocide denialists, and constantly undermines Rwanda’s sovereignty? No nation would tolerate that.

Let us imagine, for a moment, that Rwanda had done to Belgium what Belgium did to Rwanda. Imagine a Rwandan colonial administration arriving in Brussels in 1920 and deciding that Belgians needed to be divided into superior and inferior races.

Imagine too, Rwandan bureaucrats measuring Belgian skulls, deciding that Walloons were “closer to Africans” and thus fit for rule, while Flemings were “primitive laborers” who should be suppressed.

Imagine that, after decades of encouraging this racial hierarchy, Rwanda suddenly reversed its policy, incited Flemings to massacre Walloons, and then withdrew, leaving a bloodbath in its wake.

Now, imagine that, 70 years later, Rwanda had the audacity to lecture Belgium about democracy, human rights, and good governance—while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge its own crimes.

Would Belgium accept such hypocrisy? Would Filip Reyntjens find this an amusing intellectual exercise? Of course not. The Belgian mind recoils at such an idea. Because Belgium sticks to the myth of moral superiority, even when history proves otherwise.

Let us go back to real times. Imagine a hospital unlike any other—a place where the doctors and nurses are not there to heal the patient, but to ensure the disease flourishes, the wounds fester, and the body slowly decays while smiling visitors applaud their bedside manner.

In this particular ward, the patient is Rwanda—once a robust organism with ancient vitality and cohesion, now wheeled in bruised and barely breathing after enduring the prolonged torment of colonial surgery, ideological infection, and post-genocide malpractice.

Hovering over this patient, in white coats and armed with clipboards of righteousness, are none other than the heirs of King Leopold’s hospital administration: The Belgians.

It is important to remember that Rwanda before colonialism was not always in this ward. It was once a remarkably well-organized society with a complex and advanced governance system.

Long before the European filthy scalpel sliced it open, Rwanda had a centralized monarchy, a structured legal system, and a powerful sense of unity.

But when the Belgian colonial government arrived—having already perfected its doctrine of cruelty and control in the Congo—it did not come with the tools of healing.

It came with a prescription pad already filled out with racist anthropology, ecclesiastical arrogance, and a thirst for total domination. The disease to be diagnosed? Tutsi identity. The cure? Divide and rule.

Belgium inherited Rwanda from Germany after World War I, and it wasted no time in opening the body of the nation for some rather unethical surgery.

The Kingdom went to work with scalpels and syringes, eager to reshape Rwandan society in its own racist image. It injected into Rwanda the most lethal pathogen of all: the ideology of racial superiority.

Before Belgium’s meddling, Rwandan identity was fluid. Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa were social and economic classifications, not rigid racial categories.

But Belgium—armed with its European racial theories and its pathological need to control—declared that Rwandans needed “scientific” sorting.

It measured skulls, examined noses, and declared that Tutsis were “tall, aristocratic, and closer to the European ideal,” while Hutus were “short, stocky, and better suited for manual labor.” The Twa? An afterthought.

This absurd racial classification was not an observation but an injection— of an imported pathogen designed to inflame divisions where none had existed before.

To formalize this insanity, Belgium issued identity cards in 1935 that froze these social distinctions into rigid racial categories.

The consequences were immediate and disastrous. The Belgian colonial regime elevated Tutsis as the ruling elite while systematically oppressing Hutus, creating the perfect conditions for resentment, discord, and eventual catastrophe.

Then, like an unethical doctor growing bored of his own experiment, Belgium changed course in the 1950s and began stirring Hutu resentment against Tutsis, encouraging violence and orchestrating the first massacres of Tutsis in 1959.

Here is the surgeon, scalpel still in hand, now feigning horror at the bleeding patient.

King Leopold’s Congo was the training ground for this toxic medicine. There, the doctor’s oath was rewritten to serve profit over life.

Hands were cut off not to save lives but to remind the enslaved that even labor without limbs was expected. What the Congo experienced in chains, Rwanda would suffer in ideology.

The Belgian colonizers—together with their clerical assistants—approached Rwanda not as caretakers of human dignity but as taxonomists of tribal biology.

They arrived with phrenological tape measures, skull calipers, and notebooks that declared the Tutsi as more “noble” and the Hutu as more “earthbound,” based on outlandish racial theories imported from Europe.

But this diagnosis was never about the truth. It was about engineering permanent fracture lines—freezing people into rigid tribal categories. Rwanda was condemned to a slow-bleeding pathology of division.

Belgium did not merely colonize Rwanda; it infected it. It played the role of a mad scientist, injecting its own perverse racial theories into the bloodstream of Rwandan society.

The pseudo-scientific classifications that Belgium imposed—distinguishing Hutu and Tutsi along fabricated racial lines—were not just administrative quirks. They were a death sentence; a time bomb with a delayed detonation.

As early as the 1930s, Belgian administrators, with the enthusiastic backing of Catholic missionaries, undertook a campaign of ethnic engineering.

They stripped Tutsi of their indigenous identity and recast them as a distant race—an alien aristocracy that had supposedly subjugated the “indigenous” Hutu.

The absurdity of this narrative was irrelevant; what mattered was its utility. It gave Belgium a lever to divide and rule, a mechanism to fracture Rwandan society into irreconcilable camps.

The infamous identity cards were not mere documents; they were contaminated surgical incisions, carving Rwandans into rigid racial categories.

With the stroke of a pen, Belgium institutionalized division, ensuring that Rwandans would no longer see themselves as one people.

These documents would later serve as execution lists during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, when killers would demand identification before deciding who lived and who died.

The Belgians—the same empire that had operated a human zoo in Brussels—had succeeded in injecting Rwanda with a foreign disease: racism as state policy.

And then, in an act of cynical detachment familiar to all bad doctors, Belgium simply walked away.

When they left Rwanda in the early 1960s, they did not discharge the patient with care instructions. They handed the scalpel to those already trained in dissection.

In place of a sovereign people, they left behind a fractured society, weakened by ideology and manipulated by fear.

They empowered extremist factions who had internalized the racial hierarchy, handed them instruments of repression, and then documented the resulting pogroms as if they were unrelated symptoms of “African tribalism.”

If colonialism had a hospital wing, Rwanda would have been its most tragic patient. The colonial doctor was never alone in his malpractice. He had nurses—faithful ones—wearing cassocks and crossing themselves as they whispered blessings over poison.

Belgium would be the lead doctor, clipboard in hand, with a nurse named the Catholic Church adjusting the intravenous kit of ideology and sedation. The Catholic Church was not a passive bystander in Rwanda’s colonial pathology. It was, in many cases, the operating hand.

Even after the genocide, many of these ecclesiastical “nurses” refused to confess. Some fled to Europe—particularly to Belgium and France—where they were protected or ignored, despite being accused of complicity in crimes against humanity. Others stayed, cloaked in sacraments, speaking of forgiveness while refusing accountability.

Together, they charted a course of treatment that had nothing to do with healing and everything to do with deforming the soul of a nation. They didn’t want Rwanda cured.

They wanted it dependent, subdued, and terminally broken. And now, as Rwanda begins—against all odds—to stitch its wounds, the very hands that once tightened the bandage on its lifeblood have returned, not with apology, but with disrespect for the surgeon pretending to save the patient.

The Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994 was not a sudden fever but the catastrophic failure of a long and deliberate poisoning.

Belgium, with the arrogance of a physician whose malpractice is protected by distance and skin tone, had weaponized ethnic classifications like scalpels, carving up a society it claimed to diagnose.

It manufactured Hutu and Tutsi as immutable categories and injected Rwanda with hatred, division, and spiritual distortion. When the body finally convulsed in genocidal agony, the doctor shrugged, packed up, and left the hospital.

This is the tragedy of Rwanda: its genocide did not begin in 1994. It was simply the climax of a long, untreated disease deliberately mismanaged by colonial and postcolonial actors.

And Belgium, the colonial physician who sowed the cancer, now sits in international forums lecturing on “human rights” and “democracy” as though it were an authority on healing.

Rwanda’s recovery

Rwanda—bruised but not broken—has begun its own recovery. Against all odds, it has managed to stitch itself together through truth-telling, reconciliation, economic reform, and regional diplomacy. It has established accountability mechanisms, rebuilt institutions, and refused to accept victimhood as identity.

Yet the former doctors and nurses are not pleased. They frown at the patient’s willpower. They scold Rwanda for asserting itself, for pursuing justice, for refusing to be gaslighted.

They whisper that Rwanda is 'authoritarian,' that it suppresses 'opposition,' as if the alternative is a return to the diseased pluralism that led to genocide.

Meanwhile, the same Belgium that hosts genocide deniers also tolerates the sale of hate-promoting literature, gives a pass to fugitive priests, and platforms 'experts' who claim that the genocide was not really a genocide—just a civil war with unfortunate excesses.

Some of these 'experts' even go as far as to claim that the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which stopped the genocide, was simply 'seizing power.' It is like accusing the surgeon who stops a hemorrhage of trying to monopolize the operating room.

And so we must ask: what does the doctor want? What does the nurse pray for? It becomes disturbingly clear that healing is not the goal. A healthy Rwanda exposes their own complicity. A thriving, self-assured Rwanda contradicts the narrative that Africa must be managed, lectured, or saved by its former colonizers.

Rwanda’s refusal to kneel is perceived not as recovery but as defiance. And defiance, to those who believed they authored Africa’s history, is the ultimate betrayal.

In this drama, the DRC plays the role of a neighboring ward in the same hospital. But here, the disease has been allowed to metastasize. The Congolese state, under successive leaders, has permitted genocidal ideologies to flourish, particularly against Congolese Tutsis.

Militia groups like the FDLR, composed of remnants of Rwanda’s génocidaires, roam freely and are even integrated into the Congolese army. Hate speech is broadcast, Tutsi communities are attacked, and the international community turns its face to the wall.

And Belgium? It issues carefully balanced statements, urging “both sides” to show restraint, as if Rwanda is equally responsible for its own trauma being reawakened in a neighboring country.

The same Belgium that cannot bring itself to arrest known genocide suspects within its borders lectures Rwanda on military discipline and regional peace. This is not diplomacy. This is spiritual malpractice.

In a truly just hospital, the doctor would apologize, and the nurse would confess. They would support the patient’s healing without arrogance or sabotage. But in the hospital of international relations, Rwanda is often treated not as a survivor but as a problematic subject—one that insists on self-determination, accountability, and memory.

Yet Rwanda persists. It has become its own doctor. It has written new prescriptions—ones that emphasize unity over division, competence over dependency, and truth over narrative convenience. And it has warned the world: never again is not a slogan. It is a commitment.

Still, the old doctors won’t leave the room. They hover at the foot of the bed, whispering diagnoses that serve their reputations, not the patient. But Rwanda no longer listens. It is recovering. Not because of them, but in spite of them.

And that is the real scandal. But the tragedy, for them, is that the patient did not die.

Under the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the new caretakers refused to let the body rot. They did not follow the prescriptions of decay. Instead, they scrubbed the wounds, cauterized the sources of infection, and demanded accountability from those who had turned scalpels into machetes. For the unethical doctors, this was heresy.

You see, if the patient heals without them, if the body regains strength without their guidance, then their entire career—their entire mythos—collapses. They become the villain, not the savior. That’s what Belgium cannot stomach.

This explains the obsessive need to undermine Rwanda’s recovery. Western media, fueled by 'concern' and colonial nostalgia, diagnoses authoritarianism where there is discipline, repression where there is justice, and silence where there is dignified healing.

Belgium, in particular, has mastered the language of post-genocide paternalism. They no longer shout; they whisper concerns in conferences, draft resolutions, and nod approvingly at revisionists and deniers dressed up as opposition.

They amplify pestilential voices like Victoire Ingabire, a convicted promoter of genocidal ideology, not because they believe in freedom of speech, but because her every word reopens a scar.

They uplift groups like Jambo Asbl—not despite their links to genocidaires but because of them. Jambo Asbl— is a group that whitewashes mass murder with academic flair and youthful charm.

This is not negligence. It is a continuation of malpractice. The nurse now pretends to be a whistleblower, accusing the RPF of mistreating the patient, while quietly passing poison under the table.

And where does this poison circulate? In the international discourse, Rwanda is scolded for 'involvement' in the DRC while the FDLR—descendants of genocidaires—operate freely under a global blindfold.

When Rwanda fortifies its borders, it is accused of militarism. When it speaks of justice, it is told to reconcile. When it refuses to die, it is accused of arrogance.

Belgium’s displeasure with the RPF is not political—it is psychological. They cannot bear to see their former patient walking. Worse still, they despise that the patient refuses to thank them.

A healed Rwanda, one that stands straight and speaks without trembling, is unbearable to a system that built its ego on African collapse.

Let us not forget King Leopold’s Congo, the nightmarish theatre where the same doctrine of extraction and mutilation was perfected. The same medical delusion guided that regime—the belief that Africans are raw material, not people.

In Leopold’s Congo, limbs were severed for failing quotas; in colonial Rwanda, minds were severed from truth. Today, when Belgium parades its human rights credentials, it does so over the graves it dug and abandoned.

The most damning proof of this hypocrisy lies in their treatment of justice. Belgium hosts, shields, and sometimes platforms known genocide deniers and sympathizers. The Belgian government give space to men like Gaspar Musabyimana, the brain behind RTLM’s broadcasts, who repackage the pain of a million dead into conspiracy-laden bile.

The doctor who oversaw the mutilation now questions the methods of the one stitching the wounds.

No, Rwanda is not perfect. No surgeon operates without risk. But it is obscene to pretend that the ones who the country bleed for decades now have the moral authority to critique its recovery.

The RPF has refused to treat Rwanda as a corpse. It has challenged the world’s sick obsession with African fragility. It has said: we will not die quietly to make your textbooks tidy.

Rwanda is healing—slowly, painfully, deliberately. And the ones most upset by this are not the victims but the former doctors who thought they had written the final diagnosis.

We must name things as they are. Belgium’s resentment toward the RPF is not about democracy, justice, or human rights. It is about control, about a refusal to accept that Africans can author their own resurrection. The colonial scalpel may have changed hands, but its appetite remains.

Rwanda is not required to die to make Belgium feel less guilty. It is not required to appease European egos with silence or deform its justice system to accommodate killers who wear suits now.

Rwanda’s story is one of miraculous resistance. It is the story of a patient who, denied anesthesia, woke up during surgery, took the instruments from the doctors, and began to heal herself. That story is too powerful, too dangerous for those who built their reputations on her death.

Today, Belgium postures as a well-meaning nurse. It frowns solemnly at Rwanda’s challenges, shaking its head with concern. But behind the white gloves is a hand that funds, hosts, and protects genocide deniers, fugitive génocidaires, and organizations like Jambo Asbl—a group that whitewashes mass murder with academic flair and youthful charm.

What stings Belgium and its sympathizers most is that Rwanda didn’t stay dead. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), rising from the refugee camps of Uganda and the ashes of a genocide the world watched in silence, refused the prognosis.

The RPF stopped the genocide—not the UN, not France, and certainly not Belgium.

It built a healthcare system, lifted millions from poverty, introduced universal education, and created one of the safest societies on the continent. It taught the patient to walk again, speak again, and take pride in her scars.

The doctor’s guilt and the nurse’s envy

If Rwanda were still bleeding, they would hold summits. If Rwanda were a failed state, they’d dispatch think tanks. If Rwanda remained in chaos, Belgium would still be the senior physician, offering occasional charity while ensuring the patient never threatens the system that made her sick.

But Rwanda today is a mirror—and in it, Belgium sees its own face, twisted by guilt, envy, and moral cowardice.

The patient is not only surviving, but thriving in ways that challenge the doctor’s outdated methods. This frightens them. Because if Rwanda can rise, so too can the questions: Why did Belgium lie? Why did the world abandon Rwanda? Why does it still harbor those who murdered her people?

Belgium’s anger at Rwanda is not about human rights—it is about the right of the colonized to heal on their own terms.

The reality is, there is a patient, who now writes her own prescription. Today, Rwanda is both patient and physician. She is cautious, aware of the lurking shadows. She builds hospitals, not armies of NGO experts. She speaks softly, but carries the scars of a million voices.

What Rwanda demands is not sainthood, but fairness. Not silence, but truth. It wants the world to understand that healing does not mean forgetting, that resilience does not mean consent to abuse, and that justice does not mean allowing denialism in the name of 'debate.'

Belgium and its allies can choose to become real partners in healing. But that would require them to admit what they did—and worse, what they still enable.

Until then, Rwanda has every right to guard its recovery, shield its narrative, and reject the medicine of moral hypocrisy.

This patient lives. And she will never be anybody’s experiment again.

Rwanda has consistently condemned Belgium for what it calls a 'historically harmful role' in the Great Lakes region since the colonial period.

Tom Ndahiro

The ceremony took place at the UN Headquarters in New York, where Amb. Ngoga conveyed warm greetings on behalf of President Paul Kagame, the Government of Rwanda, and the Rwandan people.

'I bring you warm greetings from the President, the Government, and the people of RwandaI take the role with commitment to work with you, and everyone in the United Nations family to engage constructively to advance shared ideas,' he said.

Amb. Ngoga succeeds Ernest Rwamucyo, who served as Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the UN since October 2023. He was posted to Kenya where he oversees Rwanda’s interests.

Amb. Ngoga is a seasoned Rwandan diplomat and public servant with extensive experience in law, governance, and regional integration. Born on March 2, 1968, in Kagera, United Republic of Tanzania, he is married and fluent in English, Kiswahili, and Kinyarwanda.

Before his appointment as Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Ngoga served as High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat.

From 2017 to 2022, he was Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), following his earlier role as a Member of Parliament within the same institution from 2015 to 2017.

Amb. Ngoga played a key role in Rwanda’s justice system, having served as the country’s Prosecutor General from 2006 to 2013, and Deputy Prosecutor General from 2003 to 2006.

Between 1999 and 2003, he was Rwanda’s Special Representative to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.

His earlier roles include Deputy Head of Public Prosecutions in Butare Province and Head of the Legal Department in Rwanda’s Ministry of Labour and Public Services.

Amb. Ngoga holds a Master’s degree in Genocide Studies and Prevention from the University of Rwanda, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam, completed in 1996.

With a career spanning diplomacy, regional leadership, and transitional justice, Amb. Ngoga brings a wealth of experience to his current role in representing Rwanda on the global stage.

Rwanda is recognized as a key partner of the United Nations, particularly in peacekeeping. It is currently the fourth-largest contributor of troops to UN peace operations globally.

In addition to its peacekeeping role, Rwanda has played a significant humanitarian role by hosting refugees evacuated from Libya since 2019, under an agreement with the United Nations and the African Union.

These refugees are temporarily housed at the Gashora Emergency Transit Centre as they await resettlement in third countries.

Last week, the United Nations announced a new $1.04 billion cooperation framework with Rwanda, covering the period 2025 to 2029.

The funding aims to advance Rwanda’s national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The new Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda, Ambassador Martin Ngoga presented his credentials to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres on May 22, 2025.

Théophile Niyitegeka

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision.

“Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country,” Noem said in a statement.

“Enrolling international students is a privilege — not a right — and that privilege has been revoked due to Harvard’s repeated failure to comply with federal law.”

DHS said that in addition to barring enrollment of future international students, “existing foreign students must transfer to lose their legal status.”

In response, Harvard issued a statement calling the administration’s action unlawful and harmful.

“We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University — and this nation — immeasurably,” the statement said.

“We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”

The administration in April froze 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in federal grants to Harvard after the university rejected demands that it eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and evaluate international students for ideological concerns.

As of the fall 2023 semester, international students made up over 27 percent of Harvard’s student body, according to university data.

The U.S. Donald Trump administration on Thursday revoked Harvard University’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), effectively barring the institution from enrolling new international students.

Xinhua

The project is set to provide 1,638 modern housing units to families living in vulnerable conditions.

Targeting four villages — Nyabisindu, Amarembo I, Amarembo II, and Ibuhooro in Remera Sector — the project covers 38.54 hectares and builds on the recent success of the Mpazi Rehousing Project, which delivered 688 units in Nyarugenge District.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the new housing units will be spread across 58 housing blocks.

In addition to residential space, the area will feature key infrastructure such as market spaces, schools, green zones, and access roads, all aimed at fostering inclusive and dignified urban living.

'This project reflects our commitment to sustainable urban transformation,' said Minister of Infrastructure Jimmy Gasore.

'We are not just building homes; we are restoring dignity, enhancing public infrastructure, and reducing existing informal settlements. Every Rwandan deserves a decent place to live.'

City of Kigali Mayor Samuel Dusengiyumva echoed the sentiment, noting that the Nyabisindu development marks a significant milestone in the city’s broader urban upgrade strategy.

'Nyabisindu marks a significant step in scaling up the Mpazi model across Kigali. In close collaboration with citizens, we are creating resilient communities where no one is left behind,' he said.

Local residents have welcomed the initiative with optimism. Kanzayire Josiane, who lives in Amarembo II, described the project as life-changing.

'We have lived in old houses for years. Now, we see a future for our children. This is more than housing — it’s a new life for our community,' she said.

Josiane also praised the government’s efforts after visiting completed units in Mpazi, Gitega Sector, and commended President Paul Kagame for championing such impactful initiatives.

The Nyabisindu housing project is expected to be completed within one year.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the new development will consist of 1,639 dwelling units spread across 58 housing blocks.

In addition to residential space, the area will feature key infrastructure such as market spaces, schools, green zones, and access roads, all aimed at fostering inclusive and dignified urban living.

Wycliffe Nyamasege

He made these remarks during the company’s celebration of International Labour Day, held to honor and appreciate staff contributions over the past year.

'The most important person in any company is the one who works there,' Bahizi said. 'Every achievement and potential the organization has are rooted in its employees. That’s why we continually remind them of their value to the company’s growth and performance.'

The day was marked by a range of engaging activities designed to promote wellness, camaraderie, and team spirit. Staff and management participated in team-building exercises, football, volleyball, and other interactive games.

Bahizi emphasized that these activities serve more than just entertainment—they are vital to both personal well-being and professional performance.

'These games allow employees to unwind and maintain strong physical health, which in turn sharpens the mind. Second, they’re deeply educational.' he noted.

He added that the games reflect real workplace dynamics, highlighting how teamwork, communication, and mutual support are essential in overcoming challenges and achieving collective goals.

Touching on the growing discussion around automation and artificial intelligence (AI), Bahizi dismissed the idea that technology could fully replace the human workforce.

'Yes, we have machines and technologies like AI, and some believe these will replace people. But they haven’t—and won’t. Technology is created and run by humans. Once we adapt to one tool, we go on to create the next,' he explained.

The celebration concluded with an awards ceremony, recognizing employees who have shown outstanding behavior, dedication, and service both over the past year and throughout their careers with the company.

Kayitesi Sylvie, a BK Insurance employee, shared that seeing her colleagues recognized inspired her to work even harder with the hope of being celebrated in the future.

In his closing remarks, Bahizi expressed gratitude to all staff and reaffirmed that the company’s continued growth rests on their daily commitment and teamwork.

He urged employees to remain passionate, collaborative, and resilient—encouraging them to uphold strong work ethics and uplift each other as one team.

To learn more, interested individuals can follow BKGI on Facebook, Instagram, or X.

BK Insurance has celebrated Labour Day and recognized employees as the pillars of growth.

The celebration concluded with an awards ceremony, recognizing employees who have shown outstanding behavior, dedication, and service both over the past year and throughout their careers with the company.

Participation from both women and men in the teams underscored BK Insurance’s values of inclusivity and equality.

Staff members from BK Insurance participated in different games.

Female staff at BK Insurance actively took the stage to demonstrate their talents.

Women also played football

The day was marked by a range of engaging activities designed to promote wellness, camaraderie, and team spirit.

The day was marked by a range of engaging activities designed to promote wellness, camaraderie, and team spirit.

IGIHE

This initiative is part of a wider effort to promote education and empower young people in the region.

Colonel Simon Rocky Nyagasaza, Commander of the Rwanda Level 2+ Hospital, stated that the initiative aims to support the ambitions of young minds and to help cultivate their potential to become future leaders of the nation.

He urged the students to remain dedicated to their studies in pursuit of their goals.

The leader of Yandumo II Village, René Maradounguo thanked Rwandan contingents for their continued support.

He called for further assistance in the areas of health, education, and sanitation, and reaffirmed the community’s commitment to continued cooperation with the Rwandan peacekeepers in maintaining peace and security.

Rwandan peacekeepers in CAR have donated educational materials to students.

Ecole DOUNIA is located in Yandumo II Village, Bria, Eastern Region of the Central African Republic.

The donation is part of a wider effort to promote education and empower young people in the region.

The leader of Yandumo II Village, René Maradounguo thanked Rwandan contingents for their continued support.

IGIHE

The meeting was confirmed by the Office of the President, which reported that discussions focused on expanding ServiceNow’s AI-powered digital workflow solutions in Rwanda.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) at BK Arena, where both Kagame and Camara attended the matchup between APR BBC and MBB South Africa, part of the ongoing Nile Conference in Kigali.

ServiceNow, a global leader in digital workflow solutions, has been steadily growing its presence across Africa, with active operations in Kenya, South Africa, and other emerging markets.

The company supports a variety of initiatives, including renewable energy projects and the promotion of green investment in the private sector.

Additionally, ServiceNow hosts high-level events such as the ServiceNow Africa Summit, which brings together investors, policymakers, and tech innovators to explore technology-driven approaches to solving regional challenges.

ServiceNow is particularly focused on helping both government and private sector institutions find technology-based solutions, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence, a focus area that aligns with the country’s national priorities in technology and innovation.

IGIHE

In a candid conversation on the Long Form podcast hosted by Sanny, Dr. Mutuyimana revealed how excessive screen time is fueling depression, addiction, and a loss of focus among young Rwandans, compounding the nation’s ongoing struggle with historical trauma.

'When you feel no support, when you feel rejected, at least you can look for another platform that can help you, and this is social media,' Dr. Mutuyimana explained, describing how youth turn to apps to escape feelings of isolation or inadequacy. However, this escape comes at a cost.

He shared the story of a client, a young professional, who became so addicted to her phone that she lost concentration at work, even checking TikTok during critical tasks.

'If you are always on your phone, you will never be you,' he cautioned, noting that constant consumption of others’ content stifles personal reflection and creativity.

Rwanda’s youth are particularly vulnerable. According to Dr. Mutuyimana’s social media’s addictive algorithms exacerbate feelings of helplessness and worthlessness.

'They are watching TikTok until the phone falls down,' he said, describing a cycle where youth sleep, eat, and work with their devices, leaving little time for real-world connections.

This obsession is not just a habit but a symptom of deeper issues, including family conflict and the intergenerational trauma stemming from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

According to Dr. Mutuyimana, studies show that 30% of Rwandans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), far above the global average of 1-8%.

For young people born after the genocide, the pain of their parents’ unresolved grief manifests in modern vices like social media overuse, alongside alcohol and drug abuse.

'They want to fill a gap inside,' he said, linking these behaviours to a search for fleeting happiness in a society still healing from collective wounds.

The psychotherapist also highlighted the physical toll of excessive screen time, echoing host Ntayombya’s personal experience.

'I had to go to the eye doctor because I was light-sensitive,' Ntayombya admitted, estimating he spent 18 hours a day on screens.

Dr. Mutuyimana warned that prolonged exposure to small screens at close distances can harm vision and disrupt sleep, further aggravating mental health issues.

So, what’s the solution?

Dr. Mutuyimana advocates for balance and systemic change. He urges youth to set phone-free hours to 'enjoy food, family time, and celebration' and calls for schools and parents to teach digital literacy to curb addiction.

At Baho Smile Institute, Dr. Mutuyimana’s team offers group therapy and community programs that encourage youth to build meaningful in-person connections, countering the isolation driven by excessive social media use.

He emphasises the need for systemic solutions, like teaching digital literacy, to address the addictive nature of platforms that consume young people’s time and attention.

'We need to learn from social media, but we also need time to innovate,' he said, emphasising the importance of fostering creativity over passive consumption.

'Our young people, so few will innovate,' he warned, 'because they are only following discoveries.'

Beyond social media, Dr. Mutuyimana revealed that over 20% of youth born post-genocide suffer from their parents’ unresolved pain, transmitted through abusive parenting or silence.

'When you are a traumatised parent, you are more likely to transmit,' he said, citing a client whose mother shared heavy trauma, burdening her as a child.

The interview also tackled what the doctor described as Rwanda’s 'culture of silence,' where admitting mental health struggles is “unusual”, especially for men.

Dr. Mutuyimana noted that men are more likely to die by suicide due to societal pressure to suppress pain, while women, more open to expressing emotions, face higher rates of depression and PTSD. He called for a shift to normalise therapy.

Watch the full interview below:

Wycliffe Nyamasege

AFR, a non-profit company established in 2010 with the mission to promote financial inclusion and develop the financial sector in Rwanda, made a pledge to advance gender parity through signing the WIFR Gender Charter at its headquarters in Kacyiru.

The scholarships are part of a partnership between WIFR and the UK-based Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), which provides certification in emerging fields such as sustainable finance and the future of finance.

The four young female employees of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) all smiles after being awarded CISI professional development scholarships.

The scholarship programme supports women across the financial sector by reducing the cost barrier to accessing globally recognised qualifications. While enrolment is valid for 12 months, learners can complete the CISI certification in as little as 12 weeks, depending on their schedule and commitment.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, AFR’s CEO, Jean Bosco Iyacu, reflected on the institution’s journey towards internal gender parity. He revealed that AFR has achieved equal representation of women on its board and executive committee and said the focus now shifts to increasing female representation across all staffing levels.

Dr. Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali and a WIFR Council and Institutional Member, and Jean Bosco Iyacu, CEO of AFR, signed the Gender Charter on behalf of the two institutions.

'This charter is not symbolic—it’s a reaffirmation that we’re still on the journey. We haven’t yet arrived,' Iyacu said.

“This charter becomes part of how we advocate for sector-wide change,” he added.

Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) now joins a growing network that includes key financial institutions such as the Bank of Kigali, BRD, NCBA Rwanda, EcoBank, and Kigali International Financial Centre, which have signed the Gender Charter.

The charter signing and scholarship awards also highlighted AFR’s deepening collaboration with Women in Finance Rwanda, as the company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the foundation in conducting its first-ever survey to inform its activities.

“While individual institutions may know their internal figures, there’s a real gap in sector-wide data. We don’t fully understand the challenges women face that limit their progress—or worse, push them out of the sector altogether,” the AFR CEO added.

The scholarships are part of a partnership between WIFR and the UK-based Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

A general overview of the current landscape shows that while women make up 48.2% of Rwanda’s labour force compared to 65.6% for men, their presence in high-impact roles remains limited. In the private sector, only 32% of decision-making positions are held by women. Moreover, they are significantly underrepresented in higher-paying technical fields, limiting both their economic empowerment and influence on financial policy and innovation.

Dr. Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali and a WIFR Council and Institutional Member, represented the foundation at the event, where she emphasised to AFR staff that the movement is driven by action, not mere aspiration.

'Gender equity won’t happen if we just sit back and hope. It takes leadership. It takes intention. That’s why this partnership with AFR matters,' she said.

Dr. Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali and a WIFR Council and Institutional Member, emphasised to AFR staff that WIFR is driven by action, not mere aspiration.

Dr. Karusisi noted that the CISI certification programme has already had a measurable impact. One of the four scholarship recipients from the Bank of Kigali’s previous cohort has since been promoted to a managerial role.

“That’s a clear example of the tangible impact this programme is having on women’s careers,” the CEO quipped.

Members of staff of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) attended the charter signing ceremony.

Speaking on behalf of the new AFR scholarship beneficiaries, Honnête Isimbi, AFR’s Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist, stressed that the opportunity was not just about training, but about transformation.

“You’ve done more than just fund education—you’ve created access. You’ve opened doors to learning, to networks, and to platforms that have historically been difficult for women to reach. And we know that access is the first step toward transformation.”

Honnête Isimbi, one of the beneficiaries of the scholarship programme, stressed that the opportunity was not just about training, but about transformation.

Highlighting the broader impact of the partnership and the collective commitment within AFR, Agnes Uwanyirigira, AFR’s Chief Program Officer, emphasised the importance of institutional involvement in advancing gender equality.

'Today is a memorable day for the women at AFR who have grown, for the men, and for everyone who supports this agenda. I am proud to join Women in Finance Rwanda not just as an individual, but as an institution,' she remarked.

Agnes Uwanyirigira, AFR’s Chief Program Officer, emphasised the importance of institutional involvement in advancing gender equality.

Beyond the scholarship programme, WIFR has also launched a mentorship initiative involving over 100 young professionals and 30 seasoned mentors. The programme aims to promote peer-to-peer learning and professional growth through structured group sessions over a nine-month period.

Dr. Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali and a WIFR Council and Institutional Member, and Jean Bosco Iyacu, CEO of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), pose for a photo with the four beneficiaries of the scholarship programme at AFR offices in Kacyiru on Wednesday, May 22, 2025.

CISI provides certification in emerging fields such as sustainable finance and the future of finance.

AFR’s CEO, Jean Bosco Iyacu, revealed that AFR has achieved equal representation of women on its board and executive committee and said the focus now shifts to increasing female representation across all staffing levels.

Wycliffe Nyamasege

According to university officials, the programme is in advanced stages of development and has already been validated internally. It is now under review by the Higher Education Council (HEC) for final accreditation.

Once approved, it will be Rwanda’s first degree programme dedicated to nuclear science.

Prof. Ignace Gatare, Principal of the College of Science and Technology, said the programme aims to build a skilled workforce to support national goals in nuclear energy and related fields.

'We are looking forward to receiving feedback from HEC in regards to the national framework for accreditation of the new program,' Gatare told the New Times.

The four-year curriculum will start with core courses in physics, mathematics, electronics, and measurement technologies. Advanced years will introduce specialised topics in nuclear technology, aligning with Rwanda’s broader plans to develop peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

This initiative complements Rwanda’s strategy to build a nuclear research centre in partnership with Russia. The centre will focus on producing radioactive materials for cancer diagnosis and treatment, enhancing agriculture through radiation technologies, and advancing industrial testing methods.

Rwanda’s ambitions go further. The country plans to host Africa’s first demonstration of a Dual Fluid nuclear reactor and is pursuing small modular reactor (SMR) technology to meet growing electricity demands sustainably. SMRs are compact, safer alternatives to traditional reactors and are seen as key to Rwanda’s Vision 2050 goals.

Fidèle Ndahayo, CEO of the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board, previously emphasised the urgency of diversifying energy sources. With national energy capacity currently estimated at 650—700 MW, Rwanda needs to boost output to as much as 4.5 GW by 2050 to fuel economic growth.

The new academic programme is expected to play a critical role in supporting this transition by producing professionals who can contribute to sectors such as energy, healthcare, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and mining.

The University of Rwanda’s School of Science and Technology is preparing to roll out a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Science and Technology, marking a major stride in Rwanda’s efforts to harness nuclear energy for socio-economic transformation.

IGIHE