London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

‘Frankly insulting’: Rwanda resents its portrayal in UK asylum row

‘Frankly insulting’: Rwanda resents its portrayal in UK asylum row

Kigali government seeks to shift narrative with managed tours of processing facilities and accommodation for deportees

Rwanda has been caught in the eye of a British political storm this week, and its officials are not happy with how the country has been portrayed.

It was preparing to welcome asylum seekers on Tuesday until a dramatic 11th-hour ruling by the European court of human rights.

Government officials in Rwanda are now accusing campaigners of prejudice, saying the country’s record of human rights breaches is a thing of the past.

“Those who are trying to stop us from addressing this crisis which is causing untold suffering, without offering their own bold solution, are effectively saying they’re happy with the status quo,” said Yolande Makolo, the spokesperson for Paul Kagame’s government.

“Much of the narrative about Rwanda that we are hearing in the media is frankly insulting,” she said. “We don’t believe living in Rwanda is a punishment. Rwanda is a country that has been transformed over the past 28 years. It is a safe country. Our economy is growing. We lead the world on gender empowerment, with more women in parliament than any other nation.

“Before people talk about Rwanda, they should really come and see it for themselves.”

Rwanda is much changed since the 100-day genocide in 1994. Its capital, Kigali, which is due to host Boris Johnson and Prince Charles at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting from Monday, is its economic heart.

Today its streets buzz with motorbike taxis and are dotted with glossy new hotels, coffee shops serving nut-milk lattes, and upmarket wine bars offering European vintages.

Away from the neatly curated flowerbeds and topiary, however, the story is less straightforward and much more carefully managed.

The Rwandan government has hired the political strategist Harry Burns, who ran the British Labour party’s election campaign in 2017 and is now the managing director of the PR firm Chelgate Consulting, to facilitate requests from international media.

A resident cycles past a new accommodation block at the Gashora refugee transit centre, south-east of Kigali.


This week, British reporters were granted access to Gashora transit centre, which is used for processing asylum seekers evacuated from Libya.

The visit was controlled by Rwandan government officials who closely monitored journalists as they toured the sprawling facilities in a remote, dusty village about 90 minutes’ drive south-east of Kigali.

Asylum seekers were hand-picked for interview in advance and, perhaps unsurprisingly, spoke glowingly of the conditions and questioned why anyone would not want to stay there.

“We are thankful to be here in Rwanda. The protection is good and we get whatever we need,” said Kamal Mohammed Harun, a Sudanese national whose wife, Muntadhira, is eight months pregnant. “Rwanda is my second favourite country, but my intention is to still go to Canada.”

Harun’s aim to leave Rwanda was echoed across the camp, and officials confirmed that none of the site’s 1,075 evacuees had chosen to be integrated locally.

Reporters were also invited to visit Kigali’s Hope hostel, where those deported from the UK would be taken. Again, they were shadowed by two government officials.

The hostel’s deputy manager, Phiona Uwera, said staff only learned at 11pm on Tuesday that the asylum seekers’ flight had been cancelled, and that she was still “100% ready” to welcome them.

The Hope hostel in Kigali.


However, she added that she was “personally offended” by suggestions their human rights would be breached.

“It is 100% upsetting to hear the criticism, because we have worked really hard to ensure this place is ready,” she said as she led reporters on a tour of the three-star accommodation.

She spoke with pride about the “high quality” linen, the complex’s two prayer rooms and the three buffet-style meals a day on offer that include the option of a full English breakfast in the canteen, which overlooks lush gardens and rolling green hills.

“It will be my pleasure hosting them,” Uwera said cheerfully. “We are 100% ready – the restaurant, the rooms, the registration and Covid checking area – everything is in place.”

“The people in Britain cannot say they will not have a nice stay because they have not witnessed the hotel. But you have. You can tell them what you have seen,” she said.

Sandrine Mushimiyimana, 23, who was working in the site’s gift shop – where cigarettes, T-shirts and underwear are available to buy – also did not accept the criticism levelled at the £120m partnership. “I think it’s a good idea what they’re doing here,” the former IT technician said. “I am very happy to be serving these people.”

Migrants in Rwanda have also extolled the merits of the country and its treatment of displaced people.

A Yemeni couple who run a coffee shop in Kigali were interviewed in a national newspaper last week as an example of a migrant success story.

If they looked familiar, though, it was because the same couple had been introduced to journalists during a visit in March by the British home secretary, Priti Patel, and appeared in various media outlets.

Makolo said the government had “invested a lot to get the partnership to this point”, so it remained “fully committed to making sure it is a success”.

Meanwhile, Uwera remained hopeful that asylum seekers from Britain would eventually make use of the Hope, which has the slogan: “Come as a guest. Leave as a friend.”

“It’s just a delay, but they will come. They will come. We are looking forward to hosting them,” she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×