by MLouise Uwizeyimana
Rwanda is celebrated for being one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and a model for good governance reform. Yet behind the impressive statistics are people navigating the precarious edges of its labor and migration systems.
One migrant woman, from a neighboring country, speaks about the hardships she experienced after marrying a Rwandan man. Because she did not possess Rwandan nationality, she was not granted Mutuelle de Santé, the national health insurance scheme. Due to complications during her pregnancy, she couldn’t deliver normally and had to undergo a caesarean section procedure. The extensive hospital fees were beyond the family’s budget and her husband was unable to secure coverage for his wife along with the child. Getting back to work almost became impossible since her maternity leave was ignored, though it was protected by Rwanda’s Gender Policy and labour law. Many foreign workers face similar exclusion.
Foreign workers, fragile rights
Opportunities described by small-scale migrant entrepreneurs and foreign workers in Rwanda are tinged with vulnerability. An Eritrean businessman spoke of theft in his Gashora boutique and the lack of recourse. “My father had been in this country before, which prompted me to pick interest in setting up a small business. I opened a boutique near the refugee transit camp, since many of my clients were refugees; however the problem of theft became serious, and upon reporting to the police, they arrested the thieves but did not refund me items that were stolen from the business. I didn’t have any further way to pursue justice.”
Dr.Haron Mwangi, a Kenyan national, accomplished Communication and Media expert, Scholar and Corporate leader, having worked as the CEO of the Media Council of Kenya ( MCK) and risen to the top management of Post Bank and Agricultural Finance Corporation, currently in Rwanda shared equally troubling frustrations; “I tried to register my company in Rwanda but the process was complicated and not clear. The country needs more open labour laws regarding migrant workers especially if there are standardized labour laws for East Africans.”
He further commented that; “Most of the migrant workers do not understand the systems, such as filing tax returns, which is normally due to poor communication, brought about by language barriers.
Dr. Mwangi noted that it was necessary to standardize labor laws in East Africa, as leaders look ahead to a full integration of the East African community. Legislators have to look at the issue seriously and let the market be opened to integrate and align all labor laws and practically allow ease of movement of migrants in East Africa. Many foreign workers face language barriers, a limited understanding of tax systems, and informal or unvoiced discrimination.
Advocate Mats Bille, a Cameroonian who immigrated to Rwanda and now is a member of Rwanda Bar Association, said that unequal recruitment for jobs seems unfair for African labor migrants for the continent that needs to be unified. For this lawyer, this practice to give favor to the nationals is a kind of protectionism. For him, many countries set privileges for their nationals and foreigners come after.
A Burundian woman recounted applying for a job in Rwanda and being rejected after having passed interviews and ready to start the job because of her nationality. “I was disappointed when a recruiting company later told me that I couldn’t be admitted to work just because I didn’t have a Rwandan nationality or refugee status”. She says that after hearing that she felt like going to other countries by all means possible.
Another issue as revealed by an expert in labour rights and syndicalist from CESTRAR trade union, Mr Jean de Dieu Bagirihirwe told Intego that there is an issue of migrants returning home after contracts completion who cannot access pension benefits or indemnities due to inconsistent regional legislation.
That notwithstanding, Rwanda’s international migrants, according to Integral Human development have increased steadily from 160,000 in 1990 to over 514,000 by 2015, plateauing thereafter at roughly 4% of the population. Female and male migrants are reportedly evenly distributed though current official statistics are limited.
Low wages as pushing factor for skilled workers migration
Statistics further indicate a large proportion of Rwandan medical students, 42.7%, desire to study and work abroad, while 18.70% are likely to study and work abroad, whereas only 11.55% are interested in the public local health sector. The 2021 human flight and brain drain across Africa indicates that Rwanda is slightly above the world average, currently standing at 6.5% compared to 5.25 world average index points.
While Rwandans also leave the country in search of better opportunities, around 4.7% of the population, about 588,544 people, live abroad, with 5.8% in Europe. In a study of Rwandans in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, it was observed that 68% were skilled workers aged 20–40 years, with near-equal gender distribution. Medical students cite poor working conditions and low wages back home as drivers for emigration, despite Rwanda’s shortage of doctors with statistics indicating one medical practitioner per 16,046 people, with nearly half the number intending to study or work abroad.
This exodus highlights the broader challenge of Rwanda’s human capital being mobile, while protection and support mechanisms for migrants are still weak, whether incoming or outgoing. (Sources)
From job seekers to Human Trafficking victims
A crackling WhatsApp voice message pops up on the phone that belongs to one of my confidant. On the other end, she says to me she is a young woman, Claudine (not her official name) begging for 500,000 Rwandan francs, a part of the four million she needs to complete payment for the promised passage to France via Mayotte Island. She promises to pay back “with full respect and gratitude” once she arrives.
This arouses my curiosity. It really sounded troublesome and risky for anyone, later alone a young lady who was willing to bet all she can gather for a new destination.
Claudine is a survivor of human trafficking, who a few years back returned to Rwanda without reintegration support. She is now planning to risk it all again to return to other new destinations in search of a better life. Her friend, who makes all the effort to discourage her alerts the local authorities, but they dismiss the concern saying: “She’s an adult who can make her own decisions.”
Her story surprisingly is not in isolation. Beneath Rwanda’s polished narrative of progress and good governance lies a quieter reality-one where economic desperation, porous borders, and weak enforcement of the law allow a cycle of exploitation of the likes of Claudine to persist.
While many immigrate through legitimate channels, explore other countries for better opportunities, some who fail to raise required documentations and fee end up choosing rather risky means to reach new destinations. Most of these are vulnerable young women and men who sometimes carry children along. Vulnerability often starts with a promise. Around East Africa, recruiters tout high-paying jobs abroad. Once the journey begins, the reality shifts. Private employment agencies charged with recruitment across borders sometimes operate in gray areas, raising further risks of exploitation and human trafficking. Fraudulent recruitment, fees, confiscated documents, and informal migration networks are the conditions that traffickers exploit.
Legal cases confirm the prevalence of cross-border trafficking linked to labour. Indeed, Intego was able to get evidence where Rwandan courts convicted two men due to human trafficking cases.
In 2016, the Rwandan courts also convicted Twagirumukiza Claver, a Rwandan living in Uganda, for enticing young women from Rwanda to Uganda on false grounds of employment and later coercing them into sexual exploitation; he was given eight years of imprisonment and a two-million-franc fine. CASE RP 0073/2016/HC/KIG
In 2019, Muryango Hamisi, a Burundian national, was arrested at the Rusizi II border on charges of recruiting and transporting girls from Burundi, Rwanda, and the DRC for exploitation. He was sentenced to six years in prison plus a ten-million-franc fine. Case RP 00034/2019/HC/HCCIC. Such rulings reveal that despite laws against trafficking, Rwanda still encounters recurrent cases of cross-border exploitation by migrants and traffickers alike. This confirms that human trafficking linked to labour and migration remains a serious problem.
Traffickers target vulnerable groups of unemployed youth, orphaned children, people with disabilities, and women, who make up over 77% of victims. Children from ages 13 through 18 are trafficked in domestic work, agriculture, and commercial sex.
The most common destinations have been reported to be Saudi Arabia at 38.55%, Uganda with 37.35%, and Kenya with 7.23%. New routes via Kenya and Ethiopia are emerging, showing the adaptability of traffickers.
Because of the increasing rate of unemployment among youth in Rwanda, which is as high as 20.6%, many of them become victims of human trafficking based on false promises of better job opportunities in neighboring countries. Traffickers also target other vulnerable groups such as orphaned children, children with disabilities, unemployed adults, and internally displaced persons.
Such situations, coupled with the risks that come with exploiting unsuspecting young ladies, firstly by fleecing their hard earned money but at times also enduring sexual abuses is what many say is the price they have to pay to try to survive the harsh realities of economic hardships.
Many migrants report being exploited through clandestine routes. A group of young Congolese promised work in Europe were instead forced to go for training in Russia before being helped to reach refugee camps. On the other hand, others remain trapped in informal jobs in different Capitals including Kigali fearing exposure.
One survivor asserted that “Amaherezo ya byose ni ugupfa… de toute façon on va tous mourir.” This just means the end result is normally death. This he said when the reason he accepted a false promise to become a Russian soldier instead of trying to stay in Africa working. And his reply; ‘life in Rwanda was precarious for him-as a migrant.’
Another 17-year-old trafficked to Oman, described being recruited through social media. She was transported across borders with her passport temporarily confiscated and later was subjected to forced labour. Same as another woman who was trafficked to Oman who narrated her ordeal describing how she was raped repeatedly, then abandoned by the recruiters and sent to jail until the embassy intervened.
“It started on Facebook. A man using the nickname ‘Black’ told me he could get me a job in Oman. He asked for my passport, he later said my visa was ready. Everything happened so fast. We were taken from Nyabugogo to Rwamagana, then to the border with Uganda. From there to Kenya. They took our passports and later returned them with visas. From Kenya, we flew on Turkish Airlines. In Oman, I was treated like an animal.”
Such cases turn Rwanda into a transit point and a hub for human trafficking, while informal networks, corrupt border facilitation, and lack of legal oversight all contribute to the problem.
Institutional and legal frameworks gaps
Rwanda has ratified international conventions, known as the Palermo Protocol, ILO migration conventions, EAC frameworks and enacted anti-trafficking laws with severe penalties. However, implementation remains inconsistent.
The study by IOM/Never Again Rwanda in 2019 found systemic weaknesses in victim identification and support. Shelters, especially for non-nationals are limited and refugees or irregular migrants often fall outside official protections.
Civil-society actors-like Kabera Telesphore of one of anti-trafficking in persons NGOs- sounds warnings, asserting that traffickers move faster than the system to make use of online recruitment, informal networks, and border vulnerabilities.
“Traffickers adapt faster than the system does. They use social media, posting fake job ads and using informal agents. It requires vigorous legal reforms and a dedicated fund for supporting victims”, says Kabera.
One of the main weaknesses that he points to is the limited coordination among institutions and a lack of specialized training for both border and labor officials.
Local government and other international organizations are at the forefront in the fight against human trafficking in Rwanda.
Traffickers often operate transnationally. While small actors face local prosecution, their organisers evade accountability. Experts call for harmonized regional frameworks, shared databases, and cross-border investigations among East African Countries.
Attracting investors with unrealistic incentives
The Government documents show that investors can enjoy tax incentives, visa facilitation, and investment protection under the Investment Code of 2015 and Company Law of 2017. These, outline an open and transparent environment “one of Africa’s most liberal FDI regimes,” in the government’s own words.
More to the immigration troubles is the belief and an attractive narrative that bring in all kinds of people, some with little and others with significant investments in the hope of making a fortune. And truly, Rwanda has registered impressive economic reforms that have largely worked to position it as one of the rapidly developing countries globally.
Anchoring such economic transformation is the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), set up in 2008 as a “one-stop center” for investors. Its brief is to ease the process of investment, attract foreign capital, and create a global business hub. Tax incentives, visa facilitation, and regulatory support are all on offer but according to some testimonies, it’s all just on paper.
One anonymous foreign investor who came to Rwanda in 2014 recounted how tax exemptions that had been promised were denied.
“The tax exemptions stated in my investment certificate were not honored. RDB didn’t give the promised support. Instead, new conditions appeared: I was told to hire a large number of staff and relocate to an industrial zone. Even the investor visa, which was supposed to last a year, was reduced to three months.”
The same investor also added that; “The tax refunds were denied on grounds that the state lacked financial resources while at the same time, new taxes and fees were continuously imposed.”
The investor says “On paper, it is one of the most attractive places to invest. But once you start operations, the system changes. The environment becomes unpredictable and legally risky.”
“RDB, seen as a specialized agency operating as a One-Stop Centre for investment to enable private sector growth toward transforming Rwanda into a hub for global business, investment, and innovation turns out to be among the frustrations mentioned by this investor.
The investor’s predicament mirrors another scenario as reported by one journalist by the name of Vincent Owino, a Business and Technology Reporter for Nation Media Group, through the East African newspaper, who wrote a story titled: US investors flee Rwanda, raise portfolio in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania. Though the story didn’t go down well with the Rwandan official Jean-Guy Afrika, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Development Board who had to react by writing to this media platform explaining that “US investment in Rwanda is rather rising, insisting that data misinterpretation should not distort the whole story.”
Yet testimonies collected for this inquiry reveal a difference between the model on paper and the actual practice.
With all those and other complaints raised, at some point, RDB had to face criticism from President Paul Kagame in 2023 during Umushyikirano, pointing a finger at Claire Akamanzi, the former CEO of RDB.
At the time, President Paul Kagame expressed dissatisfaction, highlighting that investors were still having to move from one institution to another, defeating RDB’s set purpose, stating it was “meaningless” if investors could not access all necessary services in one place as intended.
It is following this criticism that RDB moved to revamp the center’s services and expand them so it would be a truly one-stop center and operate efficiently for investors.
One of Rwanda’s renowned economist tipped to Intego that although Rwanda remains attractive to investors, weak vetting inadvertently enables financial abuse of the systemic gaps affecting labour migrants.
However, negligence is another issue, as Intego Managed to get a glimpse of a court decision on Prince Mulyata case (RP 01220/2023/TGI/NYGE) that exposes a worrying weakness in Rwanda’s otherwise efficient one-stop investment system meant to maintain and keep incoming investors. “When registration processes focus mostly on speed and openness, some foreign investors take advantage of such incentives for criminal ends,” as observed by an expert.
A case in which many migrant entrepreneurs created shell companies that moved millions of dollars through Rwandan banks devoid of any legitimate activity goes to show that negligence in the vetting of investors transforms into an economic gateway of a financial crime channel.
The economist noted that while attracting skilled migrants and investors remains crucial for growth, the Rwanda Development Board’s One Stop Centre has to enhance background checks and inter-agency coordination so that openness does not come at the expense of financial integrity. He however credited Rwanda officials for being more vigilant than other neighboring countries.
The cost of silence
From reports on the Walk Free Index, the IOM/NAR baseline, to the U.S. State Department TIP Report, the same conclusion was made. Laws alone are not enough. Migrant workers of all nationalities need equal protection under the law, but many continue to fall through loopholes in enforcement.
Sectors of informal labour need increased vigilance against exploitation, and coordination within ministries and cross border operations need to be tightened so policies translate into real protections. Until these “invisible borders” of neglect are noticed and brought down, thousands of women, men and children will continue to pursue opportunity across East Africa and often fall into traffickers’ hands.
Rwanda’s story of progress and governance need to look closely at another reality of economic vulnerability, migration gaps, and human trafficking. Insufficiently regulated and poorly monitored labour migration becomes a pipeline of exploitation. Survivors’ stories, legal cases, and systemic analysis reveal the human cost of these gaps.
For thousands of migrants, the dream to work abroad for a better life remains perilous. Until legal protections are enforced, reintegration systems are strengthened, and regional coordination is enhanced, Rwanda’s invisible borders will continue to trap it’s most vulnerable: those whose courage to seek opportunity exposes them to unimaginable risk.
Cross-border justice and regional dynamics
Labour migration flows within East Africa are shaped by porous borders and weak coordination. Confiscated passports, withheld wages, and forced labour across multiple countries make migrants vulnerable to systemic vulnerabilities across the region.
While Rwanda has initiated several prosecutions, most traffickers fall outside its jurisdiction.
One study notes that difficulties exist in tracing recruiters operating transnationally and securing mutual legal assistance from neighboring countries. The effect is that “small actors are punished while key organisers (big fish) remain untouchable”.
It is a call from experts for a harmonized regional framework, offering shared databases and coordinated investigations, with cross-border prosecutions, notably between Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi.
It provides a model, through the African Union’s Horn of Africa Initiative on Human Trafficking, although its implementation is limited within the Great Lakes region.
During the collection of the information of this story, we made several attempts to obtain comments from institutions including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST), the Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA), and the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration. Despite repeated phone calls and emails submitted in line with Rwanda’s Access to Information Law none of these institutions agreed to provide official comments.
