Politicizing Arsenal deal smells anti Rwanda Propaganda

It has become routine for a section of the British press to write anti-Rwanda headlines like the recent article in the Guardian titled “Does Arsenal’s Visit Rwanda shirtsleeve deal remains a ‘Compelling fit’? (Guardian, 5 Mar 2010), by Barney Ronay.

Ronay is the typical middle class white supremacist who has never set his foot on the African continent, let alone in Rwanda. Yet, he claims to know better what is best for Rwandans, what deal they can strike, and whom they can do business with. The era of the white man dictating what are good African countries is long gone.  Arsenal deal with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) was well thought and not an accident.

According to Belise Kaliza, head of RDB’s tourism department, Rwanda has reaped massive dividends from this partnership despite criticism. “Before the partnership was signed, 71% of the millions worldwide did not consider Rwanda a tourist destination, at the end of the first year of the partnership, half of them considered Rwanda a destination to visit, “Kaliza revealed.

Rwanda does not have abundant mineral resources. Its economy relies heavily on exports of tea and coffee, and Rwanda banks heavily on tourism revenues, deriving mainly high-end travel (thanks to the Volcanoes National Park) and hosting conferences. 

According to Africa report, quoting Jeune Afrique, before Covid-19 the above activities generated nearly 430 million Euros per year, amounting to nearly 5.47% of Rwanda’s GDP (7.6 billion Euros in 2017, according to IMF figures. The visit by David Luiz, Arsenal’s centre-back, could only increase the visibility of Rwanda as a tourist destination and increased tourism revenue.

But the self-styled connoisseur Ronay prefers to ignore these facts and rather veers into cheap shorts of human rights in Rwanda, quoting allegations made by the Foreign office against the Rwandan government which were challenged.  

In search of unfounded allegations, he thought it was wise to bring in the case of Paul Rusesabagina, who is currently on trial in Rwanda on terrorism charges. And he wrote: “Six months ago, Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier whose peaceable role in the 1994 genocide was portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, was bundled on to a plane in Dubai to face what his family has called a sham trial on terrorism charges.”

If Ronay wants to do   journalism in a professional manner, he should desist from drawing conclusions on an ongoing case in courts of law. The evidence against Rusesabagina cannot be replaced by family sentimental statements. Rusesabagina was tricked into coming to Rwanda by his friend Pastor Bishop Niyomwungeri because the latter was rather irked by the terrorist activities of his Front for National Liberation (FLN) which killed people in Southwestern Rwanda. He should rather go tell it to the dozens of orphans and widows who are now suing this man for compensation.

Anyone involved in acts of terrorism, whether in Rwanda or anywhere in the world, should face the long arm of the law. The West has hunted down, captured, or even killed thousands of terrorists. At least Rusesabagina is still alive, unlike the dozens of innocent people his militiamen killed inside Rwanda.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports cited on Rwanda have always been biased and politically motivated. It is also open secret that HRW has always shown hostility towards the government Rwanda since the defeat of the genocidal forces in July 1994, which intensified in 2010, after Rwanda expelled its employee Carina Tertsakian over visa application forgeries.

The HRW boss Kenneth Roth himself has no moral authority to judge others after he  “accepted a seizable donation from a Saudi billionaire shortly after its researchers documented labor abuses at one of the man’s companies, a potential violation of the rights group’s own fundraising guidance.” (The Intercept, March 2, 2020).

As the saying goes that birds of the same feathers flock together, Ronay  cites Michela Wrong, the Guardian’s correspondent in South Africa, whose friendship with the family of Patrick Karegeya, Rwanda’s former chief spy, is well documented as his source of credible information on Rwanda.  

Regarding Karegeya’s murder, no evidence has ever proven it was the Rwanda government that was behind it. Rumors by Rwandan dissidents and their supporters cannot be relied on by any right thinking journalist to be fed to his readers. Yet a simple search shows Michela Wrong’s toxic coverage on Rwanda and her anti-Rwanda bias. Titles like “Rwanda’s Kashoggi: who killed the exiled spy chief “(Guardian, 16 Jan 2019), “Suspects in Rwandan spy chief’s death linked to government” (Guardian, 21 Jan 2019). In her writings to, she relies on rumors rather than facts. Wrong acts as a mouth piece for the Rwandan National Congress (RNC), a terrorist outfit of which Karegeya was one of its top leaders. The Guardian can as well do better by not lowering its standards, publishing lies on Rwanda with a political agenda.

Wrong is neither an expert on Rwanda’s elections. Given her animosity against Rwanda and its leadership, she is not suited as a neutral commentator on anything regarding Rwanda as a country and its president. She should respect the will of the Rwandan people who voted their president in office.  Detractors such as Barney Ronay or Michella Wrong will never cease to exist. But Rwandans and their leaders will always forge ahead and will not be distracted by naysayers. 

As for the deal between Rwanda and Arsenal, the two parties know better the benefits and the noise made by journalists like Ronay can only be ignored.