Often heralded as bringing peace, stability, and economic progress to Rwanda, President Paul Kagame’s regime is far from a universal force for good. Rwanda is rated Not Free in
Freedom in the World and
Freedom in the Net, and the government uses surveillance, intimidation, alleged assassination, and enforced disappearance to suppress dissent in the country. What’s more, the government’s extensive campaign
of
transnational repression means that Rwandans abroad also risk surveillance, harassment, and physical attacks for speaking out.
Join Freedom House for a conversation about these troubling dynamics with Eleneus Akanga, a Rwandan journalist now in exile, and Michela Wrong, whose new book, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, traces the development of Rwanda’s authoritarian regime and the associated campaign of extraterritorial violence.
Register now for this compelling discussion on May 13, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Speakers:
Michela Wrong has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, first as a
Reuters correspondent based in Cote d'Ivoire and former Zaire, and then as the
Financial Times Africa correspondent, based in Kenya. From journalism, she moved into book-writing. Previous books include
In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz, the story of Mobutu Sese Seko,
I Didn’t do it for You, focusing on Eritrea,
It’s Our Turn to Eat, an examination of Kenyan corruption, and
Borderlines, a novel set in the Horn of Africa. Her latest book,
Do Not Disturb, is a scathing assessment of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and President Paul Kagame. She is based in London.
Eleneus Akanga is a Rwandan human rights worker and former journalist who fled the country in 2007 after his newspaper was closed down by the authorities.
Moderator:
Isabel Linzer is a Research Analyst for Technology and Democracy at Freedom House. She is a co-author of Freedom House's special report on transnational repression,
Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach. Previously, Isabel coordinated research on sub-Saharan Africa for the organization’s flagship report on political rights and civil liberties,
Freedom in the World, and its annual study of internet freedom,
Freedom on the Net. Isabel currently leads
Election Watch for the Digital Age, which tracks the interplay of elections, internet platforms, and human rights around the world. Her writing has been published in
The Washington Post,
Slate,
African Arguments, and
Just Security, among others.
