Editing Kigali (section)

==Governance and politics==
[[File:Suburban Sprawl in Kigali.jpg|thumb|Kigali City Hall ''(right)''|alt=Panorama photograph showing buildings, car parks and a street with cars]]
Kigali is a province-level city, one of the five provinces of Rwanda. The area under the city's jurisdiction has been expanded several times since Rwandan independence,{{sfn|REMA|2013|p=1}} the current boundaries being established through a 2005 law as part of local-government restructuring. The law gave the city government responsibility for strategic planning and urban development, as well as liaising with the three constituent districts and monitoring the districts' development plans.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Ministry of Local Government (Rwanda) |date=August 2007 |title=Rwanda Decentralization Strategic Framework |url=http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/webfm_send/2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329024025/http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/webfm_send/2014 |archive-date=29 March 2013 |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> Like other provinces, Kigali is divided into districts—Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge—which are in turn divided into 35 sectors.{{sfn|REMA|2013|p=11}}

From January 2020, a new administrative system for Kigali was introduced, after a law was passed by the national parliament the previous year.<ref name="OperatingNewStructure">{{cite news |first=Lavie |last=Mutanganshuro |date=20 January 2020 |title=Kigali City starts operating under new structure |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/kigali-city-starts-operating-under-new-structure |work=[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]] |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> Under the previous system, in effect since 2002, power was significantly devolved to the districts which were led by their own mayors, managing infrastructure and levying taxes, around 30 per cent of which were passed to the city-wide authority.<ref name="KigaliCityStructure">{{cite news |url=https://www.chronicles.rw/2019/04/18/new-kigali-city-structure-districts-lose-budgeting-planning-role/ |work=The Chronicles |first=Celestin |last=Ndereyehe |date=18 April 2019 |access-date=1 May 2020 |title=New Kigali City Structure: Districts Lose Budgeting, Planning Role}}</ref> The changes, implemented with the goal of reducing bureaucracy and inefficiency,<ref name="OperatingNewStructure"/> gave the city council much greater power including control of the budget.<ref name="GetsActingMayor"/> The districts ceased to be separate legal entities, their mayors being replaced by district executive administrators appointed by the national government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ktpress.rw/2020/02/kigali-city-district-mayors-dropped/ |publisher=KT Press |title=Kigali City District Mayors Dropped |first=Jean de la Croix |last=Tabaro |date=7 February 2020 |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref>

The city council is composed of eleven individuals, down from 33 in the old system.<ref name="GetsActingMayor">{{cite news |url=https://www.chronicles.rw/2019/08/05/kigali-city-gets-acting-mayor-as-government-begins-implementing-new-law/ |access-date=1 May 2020 |date=5 August 2019 |work=The Chronicles |title=Kigali City Gets Acting Mayor As Government Begins Implementing New Law}}</ref> Six of the council members are directly elected by the public, each district electing one man and one woman. The remaining five members are appointed by the president of Rwanda, subject to the approval of the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]]. Each council member serves for a renewable five-year term.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=59 |publisher=City of Kigali |title=Responsibilities of the Council of the City of Kigali |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501195509/https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=59 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |access-date=1 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The executive branch of the city government is headed by the mayor, who is elected via a complex [[electoral college]] system, with the electorate voting for delegates at the sub-sector village level, who go on to elect other delegates through each level of the administrative hierarchy.<ref name="KigaliCityStructure"/> The mayor and two deputy mayors form the executive committee, which reports to the council and implements its decisions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=24 |publisher=City of Kigali |title=City Leadership: Executive Committee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501203103/https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=24 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |access-date=1 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2023 the incumbent mayor is [[Samuel Dusengiyumva]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/news-detail/dusengiyumva-samuel-sworn-in-as-the-new-city-of-kigali-mayor |title=Dusengiyumva Samuel sworn in as the new City of Kigali Mayor |first= |last= |access-date=25 December 2023}}</ref> Notable [[List of mayors of Kigali|past mayors]] include [[Francois Karera]], who held the post from 1975 to 1990 under the presidency of Juvénal Habyarimana, and [[Rose Kabuye]], who had fought with the RPF during the Rwandan Civil War and was the first post-genocide mayor from 1994 to 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=50&L=0 |publisher=City of Kigali |title=City of Kigali Mayors since 1994 |access-date=1 May 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802215433/https://kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=50&L=0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Day-to-day budget and staff management are the responsibility of a city manager,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=26 |publisher=City of Kigali |title=Responsibilities of the City Manager |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501203535/https://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/index.php?id=26 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |access-date=1 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> appointed by [[Prime Minister of Rwanda|the prime minister]].<ref name="GetsActingMayor"/>

In addition to the city government, most Rwandan government offices are located in Kigali, particularly in the suburbs of Kacyiru and Kimihurura.<ref name="SeeksOwnOffices">{{cite news |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Rwanda-government-seeks-to-own-its-offices/2560-4978348-wlev6j/index.html |work=[[The EastAfrican]] |date=12 February 2019 |title=Rwanda government seeks to own its offices |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> This includes Village Urugwiro in Kacyiru, which is the office of the president,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/kagame-receive-credentials-10-new,envoys |work=[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]] |date=30 January 2020 |title=Kagame receives credentials for 10 new envoys |first=Ange |last=Iliza |access-date=10 May 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the [[Chamber of Deputies (Rwanda)|Chamber of Deputies]] and [[Senate (Rwanda)|Senate]] in Kimihurura.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=21 May 2020 |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/journey-rwandan-parliament |work=[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]] |title=The journey of the Rwandan parliament |first=James |last=Karuhanga |date=4 July 2019}}</ref>

===Crime and policing===
[[File:Police car in Rwanda.jpg|thumb|Rwanda National Police car on a Kigali street|alt=View of a police car following another car on a street.]]
In common with the rest of the country, policing in Kigali is provided by the [[Rwanda National Police]] (RNP).<ref name="Our Mission and Vision">{{cite web |url=https://police.gov.rw/about-rnp/our-mission-and-vision/ |publisher=[[Rwanda National Police]] |title=Our Mission and Vision |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> The city falls within RNP's central division, which is headed as of 2020 by Assistant Commissioner of Police Felly Rutagerura Bahizi.<ref name="Our Mission and Vision"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/230094 |work=[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]] |title=Road safety campaign taken to commercial motorcyclists |date=14 February 2018 |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref> The United States government's [[Overseas Security Advisory Council]] (OSAC) praises the RNP's professionalism, but notes that it lacks specialist skills in dealing with policing tasks such as investigation, counter-terrorism, bomb disposal, and forensics. OSAC also notes that the RNP has limited resources on the ground, stating that police are often "unable to respond to an emergency call in a timely manner", and that police patrols are more focused on terrorism than crime.<ref name="OSAC">{{cite web |title=Rwanda 2019 Crime & Safety Report |access-date=31 December 2020 |publisher=[[Overseas Security Advisory Council]] |url=https://www.osac.gov/Country/Rwanda/Content/Detail/Report/807911aa-6005-4d1b-b795-15f4aeb96095}}</ref>

Despite this, Kigali has a reputation for being a relatively safe city. The ''[[Lonely Planet]]'' guidebook describes it as "a genuine contender for the safest capital in Africa", while Bert Archer of [[BBC Travel]] described it as "clean and safe".<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[BBC Travel]] |title=The most inviting city in Africa? |first=Bert |last=Archer |date=6 January 2020 |access-date=31 December 2020 |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200105-the-most-inviting-city-in-africa }}</ref> In a 2015 interview with ''[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]]'', then-commander of the central division Rogers Rutikanga cited "efficient operations and daily surveillance" as the means by which the city was policed. Rutikanga noted that there were crimes related to burglary, drugs, assault and robbery, as well as petty crime and pickpocketing, but that numbers were kept low through [[community policing]] and engagement with schools, businesses, municipal government and social service providers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/186466 |work=[[The New Times (Rwanda)|The New Times]] |title=Creating a crime-free Kigali |date=1 March 2015 |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref> In its advice to overseas visitors, OSAC states that there is a "moderate risk from crime in Kigali", but notes that such crime is rarely violent. It cites pickpocketing and petty theft as the biggest concerns for foreigners within the city.<ref name="OSAC"/> Rwanda as a whole has lower crime rates than other countries in East Africa. In 2014–15, the [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|number of intentional homicides per 100,000 people]] was 2.52 in the country, compared with 11.52 for Uganda, 6.95 for Tanzania, 4.79 for Kenya, and 4.52 for Burundi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dataunodc.un.org/crime/intentional-homicide-victims |title=Intentional Homicide Victims |publisher=[[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

Although the constitution allows [[freedom of assembly]], with protests and demonstrations allowed with a permit, such gatherings in Rwanda are rare. The US political freedom research institute [[Freedom House]] states that fear of arrest serves as a deterrent for most such protests, and that the police often disperse protests even when they have official permission.<ref name="OSAC"/><ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |title=Freedom in the World 2020: Rwanda |access-date=31 December 2020 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-world/2020}}</ref> Those gatherings which do take place are mostly peaceful and crime-free. OSAC's report assesses the city's terrorism risk as "minimal".<ref name="OSAC"/>