Anaïse Kanimba is a

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n activist who advocated for the release of her father,

Paul Rusesabagina Paul Rusesabagina (;
(13 November 2013), by Patt Morrison, ''Los Ang ...

, a dissident who was detained by the Rwandan government. Anaïse Kanimba, and her sister Carine Kanimba, are the adopted daughters of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager who inspired the film ''

Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 biographical historical drama film co-written and directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and h ...

''. Their father adopted the girls after their biological parents were murdered during the 1994 Genocide. The family has remained Belgian citizens and permanent US residents since the atrocity. However, in August 2020, Paul Rusesabagina was kidnapped by the Rwandan government and has been detained for over two years. He has been subjected to torture and forced to make false confessions. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and many other human rights groups have vehemently condemned his imprisonment. The sisters filed a lawsuit in December 2020 against the Greek aviation company that provided the plane for Rwandan authorities to transport Rusesabagina back to

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

. The sisters have continued lobbying for their father's release, petitioning international human rights groups. Kanimba has experienced harassment in retribution for her work to free Rusesabagina and clear his name. In October 2023, Yvonne Uwera, a Rwandan human rights activist published the book
RESCUING THE HERO: A Daughter’s Quest to Free The Hotel Rwanda Legend
, about the Carine Kanimba's relentless fight to free her adoptive father,

Paul Rusesabagina Paul Rusesabagina (;
(13 November 2013), by Patt Morrison, ''Los Ang ...

References

{{reflist Rwandan activists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people