Four years ago, Rwandan journalist Samuel Baker Byansi stood at the airport in the country’s capital, Kigali. He alone knew that it might be the last time he would see his homeland.
Byansi fled Rwanda at the risk of his life. The country’s intelligence service was after him because he had been digging into government secrets, such as Rwanda’s involvement in the violence in its neighboring country and how the country was using Israeli technology to spy on its citizens.
“When you do this kind of journalism in Rwanda, your fate is either to die, disappear, or go to prison,” Byansi says.
The journalist fled the country and lives as a refugee in Europe with his family. He still fears he will be found and killed.
Yle visited Rwanda last spring. We are telling Byans’ story because it highlights the bleak human rights situation in Rwanda, even though it is praised for positive developments.
African wonderland
Despite the fact that small Rwanda is still one of the poorest countries in the world, rapid development has earned it a reputation as the wonderland of Africa.
The world’s powerful, from Microsoft founder Bill Gates to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, praise Rwanda for its rapidly growing economy and advanced healthcare, among other things.
Walking through the center of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, it’s easy to believe the praise. The sidewalks have been freshly painted, and here and there new apartment buildings and shiny skyscrapers are rising.
The streets are clean, and no one begs for money or sleeps outside. It is a tradition in the country that on the last Saturday of the month, Rwandans gather together to clean up the environment and plant trees.
Walking through the center of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, it’s easy to believe the praise. The sidewalks have been freshly painted, and here and there new apartment buildings and shiny skyscrapers are rising.
The streets are clean, and no one begs for money or sleeps outside. It is a tradition in the country that on the last Saturday of the month, Rwandans gather together to clean up the environment and plant trees.
The development of Rwanda, located in Central Africa, is particularly admirable because the country started from scratch after the 1994 genocide. Members of the Hutu majority killed just under a million Tutsi and moderate Hutus in a massacre that lasted about three months.
At the time, Samuel Baker Byansi was just a baby. He grew up in a society that tried to bring people together. Soon, in Rwanda, it was no longer possible to talk about Hutu and Tutsi, but only about Rwandans.
Byansi wanted to become a journalist because he thought it would be a way to prevent violence from flaring up again.
– We had learned the terrible thing in Rwanda about what can happen when those in power are not monitored.
It soon became clear to him that the media was not allowed to work freely in modern Rwanda either.
– Before the genocide, the media spread anti-Tutsi propaganda. Then they became servants of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and President Paul Kagame, who came to power .
Systematic silencing
According to Byans, the Rwandan regime is trying to silence its opponents, from journalists to poets and activists.
Since Yle visited Rwanda in April, at least two YouTubers have been arrested in the country. Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire is also behind bars .
In 2020, activist Paul Rusesabagina, known from the film Hotel Rwanda, was kidnapped in Dubai and taken by plane to Rwanda, where he was imprisoned.
Byansi does not feel free to do his work even in Europe, because Rwanda persecutes and spies on dissidents even outside its borders.
Yle also interviewed activists living in Belgium, some of whom are members of the country’s new opposition. They also said they had experienced persecution and social media harassment, such as threats and troll attacks.
Some of the dissidents interviewed said that the Rwandan government has threatened their family members and even tried to bribe them to their side.
Even Western journalists are not spared from the spotlight. British journalist Michela Wrong has spoken out about her experiences of harassment after publishing a book investigating the assassination of a former Rwandan intelligence chief in South Africa.
While in Rwanda, Yle did not receive an interview from the government or permission to interview survivors of the genocide and those convicted of it.
Help from PR agencies, social media and strategists
Numerous Western PR agencies have supported Rwanda in its image-building efforts. Some of them have helped the country, for example, with tourism marketing, which includes advertisements on the shirts of European football teams.
Some consulting firms have been involved in Rwanda’s influence and silencing campaigns targeting dissidents.
Rwanda has also been advised on economic development by consultants from the Tony Blair Institute. One of them is the Finnish Jani Moliis , who worked for years in the Institute’s office in the Rwandan President’s Office. He currently serves as Rwanda’s honorary consul in Finland.
Interviewed by Yle, Moliis admits that the social debate in Rwanda is “silent.” He compares Rwanda’s development to China.
– The government focuses on improving the material opportunities for living. The price for this is that the people accept that it will be carried forward in a certain way.
According to Moliis, the Rwandan government’s actions are based on historical reasons - the desire to avoid the risk of violence flaring up again by any means necessary.
The Tony Blair Institute, founded by the former British prime minister, has been criticized for working for authoritarian states such as Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, and has also been involved in US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to rebuild Gaza.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin also works for Tony Blair .
In addition, Rwanda has paid influencers to publish social media content that denies Rwanda’s involvement in the armed conflict in Congo and has engineered influence campaigns in support of the president using artificial intelligence.
According to Byans, Rwanda is making efforts and spending money to polish its public image because it is important for it to brand itself as a good partner to the West.
Despite its small size, Rwanda is one of the world’s largest contributors of UN peacekeepers and is involved in securing France’s giant natural gas project in the conflict zone of Mozambique.
– If all the money that Rwanda invests in polishing its public image went to Rwandans, it could help enormously, for example, those who don’t have money for food or health insurance, says Byansi.
Recently, Rwanda’s reputation has begun to crack.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on the country because they consider it to be involved in the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Byansi continues to work in Europe, even though it is not safe. He was recently involved in a project investigating the death of his former journalist colleague John Williams Ntwal .
Ntwali died in a traffic accident just a few months after Byansi himself fled the country.
– It is important for me to show that the administration cannot silence me.
