A Rwandan dissident who used his YouTube channel Criticto criticize Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a court in Kigali. Niyonsenga — better known by his YouTube persona Cyuma, which means “Iron” — was known for discussing human rights abuses on his channel, which has 15 million views.

In April 2020, he broadcast a series of videos accusing soldiers of serious abuses against slum dwellers while enforcing a strict coronavirus lockdown.

The crackdown on YouTube creators has had a chilling effect in Rwanda, where independent media has been quashed, and the government strictly monitors other forms of free expression.■

[Courtesy: DW]