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An old rumor has resurfaced on social media that Rwandan President Paul Kagame “ordered the immediate deportation of 18 Chinese nationals” for “mistreatment” of his Rwandan employees. Warning, this is wrong: Rwandan and Chinese authorities have once again denied this information two years after their first statement about this infox.
“Latest News: African Giants leader, Rwandan President General Paul Kagame orders 18 Chinese citizens to be deported immediatelyThere are several posts circulating on Facebook in West Africa.
These investors will haveConvicted of mistreating Rwandan workers and usurping the land on which they run their business“, internet users continue.
Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on June 24, 2022These posts have been shared over a hundred (1, 2, 3…) since June 13. This claim also spread on Twitter. Shared in English on various platforms (here, here and here).
Many local media have picked up on this rumor, including Petites Annonces en Afrique and IOL (in English).
It resurfaced on social media in both English and French on the day a documentary by the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) titled “Racisme à vente” (Racism for Sale) aired. say racial slurs in Chinese in front of their cameras before selling the footage.
“fake news”
Be careful though: This rumor is false, according to officials in Rwanda and China.
“Fake news, nothing like this“Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said on Twitter on June 14, in response to a netizen who asked her about it.
“It’s just a repeat of the same rumor for three years.“Hudson Wang, economic and commercial chancellor of the Chinese embassy in Rwanda, commented on Twitter.
1/3 There has been a wave of rumors recently that 18 Chinese investors have been deported for mistreating local residents. A complete repetition of the same rumor for three years. And it was rejected by the Rwandan Government. spokesperson right away. https://t.co/UTYwJU3oAl
— Hudson Wang (@HudsonWang1) 15 June 2022
AFP has confirmed this rumor several times when it reappeared in 2020 (in English and French) and then on Facebook (in English) in 2021.
The Chinese embassy in Rwanda told AFP in 2021 that the two countries “He promised to deepen bilateral cooperation and to benefit the peoples of China and Rwanda.“.
This “fake news“purposes”hinder the good conduct of this economic cooperation and this friendship between our peoples.“He was put on trial at Hudson Wang on Twitter on June 15.
Sino-African tension
Tensions between the local population and the Chinese diaspora in various sub-Saharan African countries have resurfaced in recent years in the context of the economic establishment of many Chinese actors, particularly in the mining sector.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (on screen) delivers a speech during the China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Dakar, Senegal, 29 November 2021. (AFP / SEYLLOU)Images, videos and allegations of Chinese mistreatment of African workers – whether verified or not – are now commonplace on social media in West Africa.
In April 2022, a Chinese national was sentenced to 20 years in prison for torturing local minors after a video of him whipping a man tied to a pole in Rwanda went viral on social media.
A few months ago, in September 2021, a video circulating on social networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo angered Internet users who believed they had seen a Congolese beating by a Chinese foreman.
These images originally came from Rwanda; Two people were arrested in connection with the incident.
The Chinese were also – incorrectly – accused of child abduction and cannibalism still in the DRC in August 2021.