Rwanda’s controversial president Paul Kagame attended Arsenal’s Champions League home game against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Kagame, 66, had a meeting with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier in the day. A statement from Downing Street said the leaders had discussed the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership — which includes the contentious migration law that would see the UK send asylum seekers from their shores to Rwanda, where they would be processed under their system — and regional security.
Kagame’s visit to the Emirates Stadium was due to the Visit Rwanda sponsorship deal that covers Arsenal’s men’s and women’s teams, alongside the tourist board’s agreement with Bayern.
Kagame was last re-elected as president of Rwanda in 2017, having first taken office in 2000. He was elected to serve his seventh term with 98.8 per cent of the vote, according to the Rwandan National Electoral Commission. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the election “took place in a context of very limited free speech or open political space”.
Kagame represents the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party and is its leader. HRW said in its 2023 World Report that the RPF “continued to wage a campaign against real and perceived opponents of the government”. It added that “over a dozen political opposition members are in prison” and many are “being prosecuted or have been convicted on spurious grounds”.
Arsenal’s deal with Visit Rwanda began in 2018 (Getty Images)
The United States State Department said in 2022 that “significant human rights issues (in Rwanda) included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; transnational repression against individuals located outside the country, including killings, kidnappings, and violence; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; and serious government restrictions on or harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations”.
In January, the UK government said that “while Rwanda is now a relatively peaceful country with respect for the rule of law, there are nevertheless issues with its human rights record around political opposition to the current regime, dissent and free speech”.
Kagame has been vocal of his support for Arsenal on social media, with his posts on X about the north London club dating back to 2011.
Bravo,Congrats ARSENAL for a well deserved and needed win -FA CUP. We,FANS and supporters kept Faith in you…going forward let’s aim at much bigger things. WE CAN… !!!
— Paul Kagame (@PaulKagame) August 1, 2020
Arsenal’s deal with Visit Rwanda began in May 2018, when they signed a three-year deal with the Rwanda Development Board. In 2021, Arsenal signed another £10million-per-year ($12.5m) sleeve sponsorship contract with Visit Rwanda lasting another four seasons.
In November, The Athletic reported that Arsenal had no plans to end their sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda, following the UK Supreme Court ruling that the government’s Rwanda immigration plan was “unlawful”.
The written ruling stated that “most human rights violations were said to be linked to criticisms of the Rwandan government” with “constraints on media freedom and political activities” and questioned the country’s compliance with international human rights agreements.
The UK government said on Tuesday that “both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in the spring” with regards to the asylum plan.
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(Ian Kington/IKImages/AFP via Getty Images)
