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Goodbye Uncle General
There are a few people who can truly impact one’s life: their character, humour, knowledge and so much more lead to one being gravitated towards them. While there are so many people whom I have the highest opinion of, none are like Lt General Innocent Kabandana. While others will be able to write a more…
Joseph Kabila is on trial for treason in the DRC. What the case against the former president is all about
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London The Congolese military court has accused former president Joseph Kabila of treason, corruption, war crimes and supporting the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group. During court proceedings that began in July 2025, arguments were made for utilising the death penalty against Kabila, who was in power from 2001 to 2019.…
When did the Genocide against the Tutsi end?
Every July 4th, Rwanda commemorates the end of the Campaign against Genocide War in Kigali. It was on this date in 1994 that the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) gained control over Rwanda’s capital after the retreating Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) fled. But the final weeks of the war in Kigali witnessed the FAR and genocidaires,…
DRC and Rwanda sign a US-brokered peace deal: what are the chances of its success?
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London The foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a new peace agreement on 27 June 2025 under the auspices of the US. The agreement aims to foster long-term peace, and increased economic trade and security. The DRC is one of Africa’s largest nations, with…
Early Thoughts on the Rwanda-DRC Agreement
This was written prior to the release of the Peace Agreement Between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda framework. On June 27, 2025, Congolese and Rwandan officials signed an agreement that some hope will lead to stability and peace between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The…
Rwanda and Belgium are at odds over the DRC: what’s led to the latest low point
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London Rwanda’s foreign affairs ministry suspended all diplomatic relations with Belgium in March 2025. Soon afterwards, Belgium expelled Rwandan diplomats. This came weeks after Belgium had suspended foreign aid to Rwanda. At the root of this diplomatic fallout is the resurgence of the rebel group, March 23 Movement (M23), which has…
Review: Modern Rwanda: A Political History
Filip Reyntjens. Modern Rwanda: A Political History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024. $30.99. Paper. ISBN: 9781009284486. Rwanda is perhaps best known for its experiences during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, more commonly known as the Rwandan Genocide. Since the end of the genocide, researchers flocked to the small African nation to better understand what…
Rwanda Suspends Belgium Aid
On 18 February 2025, the Rwandan government announced the termination of its development cooperation deal with Belgium. The five-year €95 million deal is roughly a year old and was negotiated to aid in Rwanda’s economic and social development. But now, the deal is off, with relations between the two nations soured. Context Behind the Suspension:…
Rwanda: Paul Kagame’s fourth term as president – what his agenda will need to cover
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London Paul Kagame started his fourth term as Rwanda’s president in August 2024. He first became president in April 2000. However, as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, he has been the country’s de facto head since his rebel forces ended the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The Rwanda that…
Rwanda’s President Kagame Sworn in for Another Term: Challenges and Promises
On 11 August, Paul Kagame was sworn in for another term as President after winning the recent July 2024 Presidential election. He won over 99% of the vote, promising a continuation of Rwanda’s current tract towards development. Unlike the smaller parties, President Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) promised broad development ideas, security and…
Analysis of Rwanda’s 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Election
This is a modified version of a report submitted on Rwanda’s recent election. Abstract: This report reviews Rwanda’s 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Election by Dr Jonathan R Beloff. The paper examines and analyses how Rwanda carried out its election. It provides insights about the final day of the campaign trail, the casting of ballots and…
UK-Rwanda Migrant Deal: What Happens Now?
The newly elected Labour government under the leadership of Sir Kier Starmer has ended the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership. As PM Starmer so bluntly commented, “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried…” The controversial plan began while Boris Johnson was Prime Minister back in 2022. It was to send asylum seekers who entered…
How the International Community Continues to Fail in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Combatting African conflicts and human rights violations tends to fall within international responsibility with little to no beneficial actions or policies. Global commitments to foster peace and reconciliation, often in the form of peacekeeping missions, often fail or keep a fragile sense of stability as the contributions come from distant nations. Attention needs to be…
Kwibuka 30: Commemorating Thirty Years since the Genocide against the Tutsi
Kwibuka 30 Tree, which symbolises protection, aspirations, memory It has been nearly a month since I attended Kwibuka in Kigali. The experience was truly unique as the main event, hosted at the BK Arena (as seen in the picture above), with speeches, dances and artwork that symbolised not only Rwanda’s horrific past but its desired…
30 years after genocide: Rwanda’s older generations fear a return of ethnic tensions, but youth feel more united
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London It’s 30 years since a genocide ripped through Rwandan society, leaving up to a million Tutsi and non-extremist Hutu dead. Every year in early April, the country enters a 100-day period of commemoration during which Rwandans are asked to remember and reflect on historical divisions between the country’s main ethnic…
Remembering the Campaign against Genocide War
On March 14th and 15th, I led a workshop at the Kigali Genocide Memorial examining how the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) ended the Campaign against Genocide War. It was during April to July 1994 that the RPA fought military and genocide forces to put an end to the Genocide against the Tutsi. While the Genocide…
Faustin Twagiramungu: A Dinosaur of Rwandan Politics Long Gone
On 2nd December 2023, the news broke on social media that Rwanda’s former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu died in Belgium. While most Global North-based activists mourn his loss and make somewhat questionable claims of him being a ‘symbol of democracy’ for Rwanda, his loss in Rwanda will go relatively unnoticed. This brings up an interesting…
DRC elections: the Kabila family legacy looms large over the country’s polls
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London The Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to hold elections on 20 December 2023. The country’s electoral commission has announced President Felix Tshisekedi will be seeking reelection alongside 23 other candidates. They include Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege and the runner-up in the 2018 presidential election, Martin Fayulu. The…
Commercial Diplomacy in Action: Rwanda’s Partnership with FC Bayern Munich
On 27th August 2023, the Rwandan Development Board and FC Bayern Munich announced a five-year sponsorship deal. For Rwanda, this is not the first time they partnered with an internationally known football club to promote Rwandan tourism. In 2018, Rwanda signed a three-year, £10 million per year sleeve sponsorship deal with Arsenal football club. The…
Rwanda genocide accused Félicien Kabuga is ruled unfit to stand trial: this will further erode trust in international justice
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals recently concluded a two-year court hearing on Félicien Kabuga. Kabuga is accused of crimes against humanity during the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. The court ruled that he was not mentally fit for trial. The court proposed that the tribunal…
Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina’s release and apology – a master stroke engineered by Kagame
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London Rwanda’s ministry of justice recently announced the pardon and release of Paul Rusesabagina from jail. Rusesabagina was involved in events portrayed in the 2004 Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda. In September 2021, Rusesabagina was sentenced to 25 years in jail over his ties to groups opposed to Rwandan president Paul Kagame.…
Hotel Rwanda: a film that proved to be a double-edged sword for Kigali
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London 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…
Rwanda and DRC’s turbulent past continues to fuel their torrid relationship
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) make for very unhappy neighbours. Both sides claim the other is set on bringing down their government, and violating past agreements and international norms. Rwanda accuses the DRC of working with the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (Democratic Forces for the…
The US and Rwanda: how the relationship has evolved since the 1994 genocide
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London One of the primary points of discussion between Antony Blinken and Rwandan president Paul Kagame in the US secretary of state’s upcoming visit to Kigali will be the renewed tensions between Rwanda and its neighbours, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to a US state department statement, Blinken’s…
The Foreign Policy Benefits of Refugees and Migrants: the United Kingdom, Rwanda and Refugees
On April 14, 2022, the Home Secretary for the United Kingdom, Priti Patel, alongside Rwandan foreign Minister, Vincent Biruta, announced an agreement between the two nations unlike anything before. The agreement contains a controversial arrangement that will see UK-bound refugees and migrants being transferred to Rwanda while their claims for refugee status are reviewed. Rwanda…
Rwanda seeks political gains from peacekeeping
A review for Oxford Analytica of Rwanda’s 2021 peacekeeping contribution in Mozambique. Link: https://dailybrief.oxan.com/Analysis/DB262950/Rwanda-seeks-political-gains-from-peacekeeping PDF:
The Rhyming of History: Rwanda and Afghanistan
For roughly a year between 2013-2014, I resided in the neighbourhood of Kanombe in eastern Kigali. After nearly every day of work, I would walked home. The twelve kilometer journey allowed me to clear my mind. It allowed me to think of the work I was doing at the time, but also of grander questions…
Rwanda genocide: Macron forgiveness plea resets historic ties
Jonathan Beloff, King’s College London French president Emmanuel Macron has just paid his first state visit to Rwanda. While many world leaders have visited the central African nation of 13 million, including past French presidents, such as President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010, this trip was going to be different. Sure enough president Macron would come…
Existing Narratives with their Pitfalls: Do Not Disturb
Wrong, Michela, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. New York: PublicAffairs, 2021. For the last few months, I have debated whether I wanted to read Wrong’s new book, Do Not Disturb. In one aspect, the book advertises how it examines the dark underbelly of Rwanda’s political institutions and exposes the…
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Jonathan R Beloff 