A high court in Rwanda has sentenced a YouTuber, Rashid Hakuzimana, who known for his critical commentary on the government, to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of breaching laws on genocide denial, inciting ethnic division, and spreading false information.

The judge who sentenced Hakuzimana— who also describes himself as a politician— said his remarks on YouTube, such as those suggesting that genocide orphans were not as well cared for as the children of senior government officials, amounted to fuelling division.

Hakuzimana was arrested in 2021, with his trial bringing significant media attention, while reflecting ongoing tensions surrounding governance in Rwanda.

His commentary often touched on sensitive subjects, including the treatment of genocide orphans compared to the children of senior government officials.

He was accused, among other things, of denying the Rwandan genocide, during which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists.

The case not only highlighted the Rwandan government’s stringent stance on dissent but also raised broader questions about freedom of speech, accountability, and the historical memory of the 1994 genocide.

Rwandan law criminalizes any attempts to deny, downplay, or justify the tragic historical event, while the charges against Hakuzimana also included claims of inciting ethnic division and spreading false information, notably for asserting that anyone who challenges President Paul Kagame in elections is subsequently jailed.

During the trial, Hakuzimana who represented himself, denied the allegations, asserting that his arrest stemmed from his critical views of the government expressed through his popular YouTube channel, Rashid TV.

Satellite television services provider, MultiChoice, says it is now targeting illegal streamers in its renewed crackdown against piracy.

Frikkie Jonker, the Anti-Piracy Director for Broadcast and Cybersecurity at MultiChoice-owned Irdeto, in a statement on Tuesday, says the company now uses tools to analyse illegal streams and identify the individuals responsible for streaming pirated DStv content.

Jonker stated that authorities knew who the end-users of these pirate streaming services were and warned that MultiChoice would consider legal action against them once criminal proceedings against such operators had been finalised.

“We are going after the whole ecosystem,” Jonker said in response to a question asking who MultiChoice is targeting.

“The company has carried out several raids in recent months, resulting in the arrest of several suspects allegedly involved in pirate streaming operations.

“Suspects include individuals allegedly distributing pirate streaming devices and login credentials for illegal streaming services like Waka TV.

“We have identification tools that we can use to analyse a stream of a pirate operation. By analysing it, we can say that the stream is using account number ‘123’, and then we take that account down,” Jonker said.

Jonker emphasised the importance of the crackdown, stating that the impact of pirate streaming services on platforms such as DStv Stream and Netflix is difficult to quantify due to their size.