Rwanda Casino Up and Running

Rwanda's push to shrug off its traumatic past has been aided by opening of its first casino, which began operating on a trial basis on November 12.

The Kigali Casino, located at Top Tower Hotel in Kacyiru, a suburb of the capital Kigali, will employ 150 people in total. It was originally meant to open on October 21st but that was postponed due to the late arrival of some key equipment.

The casino is operated by Lotto Rwanda and is certified by a reputable international accounting and consultation firm. It features seven gaming tables, including roulette, blackjack and poker, in addition to 30 slot machines. It will also offer a prize of 3 million Rwanda francs (US$5,460) in a weekly competition to all people who buy a 300 Rwandan franc (55c) ticket.

Known for the wrong reasons
A small landlocked country of 10 million people in east-central Africa, Rwanda has received considerable international attention because of its 1994 genocide, which claimed the lives of between 800,000 to one million ethnic minority Tutsis at the hands of Hutu militias. This was preceded by a three-year civil war at the beginning of the 1990s.

Rwanda has been quickly rebuilding since the cessation of hostilities in the Congo Wars, which followed the genocide. The government has made moves in the last few years to transform the country from an agricultural-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, including plans to provide nationwide high-speed broadband.

Break from troubled past
The casino is yet another example of this rapid development that hopefully ensures Rwanda never returns to the horrors of its past.