Politics

Real life ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero, Paul Rusesabagina’s 25-year jail sentence stands despite appeals

Published

3 years ago

April 6, 2022

Renowned Rwandan government critic and real-life hero of ‘Hotel Rwanda,’ the 2005 award winning movie on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Paul Rusesabagina, has had his 25-year jail sentence on terror charges upheld by an appeals court.

Rusesabagina, 67, was a worldwide acclaimed hero in the movie where he was portrayed sheltering hundreds of people during the genocide that killed more than one million people, mostly of the Tutsi ethnic group.

However, the Rwandan government accused him of promoting the genocide and in September 2021, Rusesabagina was convicted on eight terrorism charges “related to the activities of an organisation opposed to President Paul Kagame’s rule,” and has been in a Rwandan prison.

Though Rusesabagina has continued to deny all the charges and refused to take part in the trial which he and his supporters have denounced as a politically motivated sham, his 25-year sentence was confirmed by a court in Kigali on Tuesday by Judge Emmanuel Kamere.

“The 25-year sentence is equal to the severity of the crime he committed,” Kamere said, while delivering judgement.

On different occasions, Rusesabagina has acknowledged having a leadership role in the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), which has been accused of the 1994 genocide, but denied responsibility for attacks carried out by its armed wing, the National Liberation Front (FLN).

Who is Paul Rusesabagina?

For those who do not know him, Paul Rusesabagina is a celebrated Rwandan hotelier, politician and staunch critic of President Kagame.

He shot into the limelight with his portrayal in the Hollywood movie, Hotel Rwanda, and has been hailed for his role in providing shelter to 1,200 people in his hotel, Hotel des Mille Collines in Kigali, during the 1994 Hutu extremists attack.

Rusesabagina is also an inspiration behind the Oscar-nominated Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda where his part was played by Don Cheadle and was awarded a US Presidential medal and is a green cardholder for his role during the genocide.

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Politics

Ivory Coast: Ex-minister challenges ex-Credit Suisse boss Thiam for presidency

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Jean-Louis Billon, the former commerce minister of Ivory Coast, announced on Friday that he would challenge party head and former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, for the opposition PDCI party’s candidacy in the country’s 2025 presidential election.

The PDCI party, which dominated Ivory Coast from independence until the late 1990s but has had difficulty regaining power because of internal strife, may become even more divided due to Billon’s choice to run.

Thiam just won the PDCI leadership contest and returned to the country that produces the most cocoa worldwide.

His triumph stoked rumours that he may challenge or succeed President Alassane Ouattara. Neither man has made an official announcement about his plans.

Historically, the PDCI’s presidential candidate has been the organization’s leader.

The 59-year-old Billon was Ouattara’s trade minister and the former head of SIFCA, Ivory Coast’s leading agro-industrial organisation. In order to fairly choose the party’s presidential candidate, he demanded that a PDCI convention be held.

“I hope that this convention will be democratic, honest, and transparent, with no tricks or favouritism, no violence, and free from any tribal bias,” Billon said in a statement

Politics

Sources suggest Sahel jihadis finding safety in Ghana

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to seven sources cited by Reuters, Islamist militants in Burkina Faso are covertly utilising Ghana’s north as a medical and logistical rear camp to maintain their insurgency. This could allow them to increase their presence in West Africa.

According to the sources, which include regional diplomats and Ghanaian security officials, Ghanaian authorities seem to be largely ignoring the insurgents who are crossing over from neighbouring Burkina Faso to obtain food, fuel, and even explosives, as well as to receive medical attention for wounded fighters.

However, they said that strategy runs the risk of enabling terrorists to establish themselves in Ghana and recruit in some marginalised local areas, even though it has so far spared the country from the kind of devastating Islamist attacks that have afflicted its neighbours.

Ghana and Burkina Faso, which is at the centre of an insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and, according to some experts, made the Sahel region the epicentre of global terrorism as groups loyal to al Qaeda and Islamic State increase their presence, share a 600-kilometre (372-mile) border.

With the rise of JNIM, a pro-al Qaeda organisation, Burkina Faso has lost control of more than half of its territory. This week, a JNIM senior told French station RFI that the organization’s goal was to expand into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has not experienced a significant attack.

Ghana’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Boniface Gambila Adagbila, told Reuters that the militants were exploiting Ghana’s open borders and viewed the country as a “haven.”

However, he refuted claims that the government had inadvertently reached a non-aggression pact with the jihadists.

According to him, Ghana and Burkina Faso were collaborating to “flush them out”.

Since the beginning of October, attacks on companies have resulted in at least three fatalities and four injuries, according to an official.