Various television networks, newspapers, and radio stations operate within Rwanda. These forms of media serve the Rwandan community by disseminating necessary information among the general public. [1] They are regulated by the self-regulatory body. [2]
The New Times is the largest English-language and the oldest in Rwanda. [3] It also owns a newspaper joint in the local language Kinyarwanda, called Izuba Rirashe. The newspaper has been criticized for being "too servile" to the ruling party of Rwanda, [4] and being "excessively optimistic". [5] As such, competitors in the English-language newspaper industry have sprang up in recent years, with the formation of another large-scale English newspaper News of Rwanda in 2011. [6] Other minor newspapers have also been created to counter the pro-establishment role of the newspaper, such as The Rwandan, [7] Rwanda Eye [8] and Business Daily. [9]
Several newspaper publishers also provide Kinyarwanda-language newspapers, including both News of Rwanda and The Rwandan. [10] In June 2018, News of Rwanda closed.
The Rwandan television industry is made 12 TV stations. 84% of TV stations owned by private(10 out of 12) While 8% and 8% are owned by public and Religious organisations respectively. The state-owned Rwandan Broadcasting Agency runs the TV station Rwanda Television (RTV). [11] RTV provides daily news and entertainment for the Rwandan public in three languages: English, French and Kinyarwanda.
Likewise, radio in Rwanda is mainly conducted through a subsidiary of the RBA, Radio Rwanda. [12] The radio station offers Kinyarwanda, French, Kiswahili and English language services [13] in FM 100.7. As such, it is used to complement other media which mainly provided services in English and Kinyarwanda, the two popular languages in Rwanda. Due to the recent economic development in Rwanda, radio has taken less precedence among other forms of communication, and the government has also focused on improving the television industry in Rwanda.
A major share of the market is controlled by nine indigenous publishers, among which four have opened bookshops in the country. [14] Before the Rwandan genocide, there were no publishing houses in Rwanda. The situation improved after the incident, with the first indigenous publisher established in the country, Bakame Editions. [15] Since the turn of the century, major publishers from all across the world such as Oxford University Press and Macmillan Publishers have begun making inroads into the local publishing industry. [16] However, the establishment of publishing houses locally and from abroad has not instituted a healthy reading culture in Rwanda, and local publishers have decried the fact that the younger generation does not often participate in this pastime. Despite the boom in the local publishing industry, a similar spell of growth has yet to be seen in the commercial trading of books. Bookstores remain a rare sight in Rwanda, and the first library in the country was established in 2012 in Kigali. [14]
A statutory authority has been established according to the Constitution of Rwanda, called The Media High Council. The official mission of the council is to guide the industry in reflecting trends of globalization, to equip the industry with the skills required, and to conduct necessary research to improve the sector. [17] The legal responsibilities of the council is further elaborated in section Nº03/2013 of the law. [18] Freedom of the press in Rwanda is enshrined within Article 34 of the Constitution of Rwanda: [19]
"Freedom of the press and freedom of information are recognized and guaranteed by the State.
Freedom of speech and freedom of information shall not prejudice public order and good morals, the right of every citizen to honour, good reputation and the privacy of personal and family life. It is also guaranteed so long as it does not prejudice the protection of the youth and minors.
The conditions for exercising such freedoms are determined by law.
There is hereby established an independent institution known as the "High Council of the Press ».
The law shall determine its functions, organization and operation."
As such, it is imperative for the government and the people to recognize the freedom of the press in Rwanda, as stated in the Constitution of Rwanda. The media should be free from all government intervention, and is only governed by the autonomous Media High Council.
According to Freedom House, Rwanda's Press Freedom score was 79 in 2015 (0 represents the best score, 100 represents the worst score), and was considered "not free" by its standards. [20] Throughout the years, journalists have faced continuous harassment from the government, including arbitrary arrests and threats. Journalists also practice self-censorship for fear of government retaliation, dealing a severe blow to Rwanda's freedom of the press. [21] The government also actively participated in potentially unconstitutional acts of interfering with the media, by banning BBC's Kinyarwanda service in Rwanda due to the airing of a controversial documentary. [22] [23]
Rwanda, formerly Ruanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge. One of the smallest countries on the African mainland, its capital city is Kigali. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is highly elevated with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. Rwanda has a population of over 12.6 million living on 26,338 km2 of land, and is the most densely populated mainland African country.
Telecommunications in Rwanda include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. The city has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it became the capital following independence from Belgium in 1962.
Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) was a Rwandan radio station which broadcast from July 8, 1993 to July 31, 1994. It played a significant role in inciting the April–July 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
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The Parliament of Rwanda consists of two chambers:
Radio Rwanda is a radio station of the Rwandan Broadcasting Agency (RBA), a public broadcaster that also owns Rwandan Television (RTV), Magic FM and other public radio stations.
Kigali International Airport, formerly known as Grégoire Kayibanda International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. It is the main air gateway for all destinations in the country, and in addition serves as a transit airport for Goma and Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The New Times is a national English language newspaper in Rwanda. It was established in 1995 shortly after the end of the 1994 genocide. The paper states that it is privately owned, with two shareholders. They also have a Kinyarwanda-language weekly called Izuba Rirashe.
In Slovakia, political information is disseminated through the mass media: television, radio, the press, and the internet. The public is becoming increasingly reliant on the internet for news, with television and the press becoming less important as news sources.
The Republic of Rwanda is a small landlocked sovereign country located in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Home to approximately 10.1 million people, Rwanda supports the densest population in continental Africa, with most of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture. A verdant country of fertile and hilly terrain, the small republic bears the title "Land of a Thousand Hills". The country attracted international concern for the infamous Rwandan genocide of 1994.
The Media in Angola is primarily controlled by Angola's dominant political party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by José Eduardo dos Santos, the country's president.
Bank of Kigali (BK) is a commercial bank in Rwanda. It is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda.
Louise Mushikiwabo is the fourth and current Secretary General of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. She also served as Government Spokesperson. She had previously been Minister of Information.
Kwizera Arnold is a Rwandan journalist, radio and television personality. Arnold is an anchor for CNBC Africa, a pan African bysiness news channel. He is the co-host of Kigali In The Morning, a popular radio breakfast show on Royal Fm. Arnold is a former sports anchor of Rise and shine Rwanda, a morning news show on the national broadcaster Rwanda Television.
Ernesto Ugeziwe is a Rwandan radio and television personality, known for his music and entertainment shows mainly on Rwanda Television. (RTV)
The African Union Passport is a common passport document that is set to replace existing nationally issued African Union member state passports and exempt bearers from having to obtain any visas for all 55 states in Africa. It was launched on July 17, 2016, at the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union that was held in Kigali in Rwanda by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Chadian President Idriss Déby. As of June 2018, the passport was planned to be rolled out and ready for use at borders worldwide by 2020.
Marie Thérèse Mukamulisa is a Rwandan jurist who was appointed to a six-year term on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in 2016.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Kigali, Rwanda.
