Rwanda names baby gorillas for 20th time

Rwanda will on Friday, September 5, hold the 20th edition of the gorilla naming ceremony Kwita Izina in a star-studded event in the foothills of Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi, Musanze District.

This year, 40 baby mountain gorillas will be named in the ceremony that has become a global symbol of conservation of the once critically endangered primates.

Friday's ceremony will bring the total number of named baby gorillas to 435 since the inception of Kwita Izina in 2005. In 2024, 22 baby gorillas were announced to be named in October, but the ceremony was later postponed.

Kwita Izina, rooted in the centuries-old Rwandan tradition of naming newborns, was officially introduced as a platform to promote conservation, engage surrounding communities and raise international awareness of Rwanda’s efforts to protect mountain gorillas.

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) explains that the ceremony is an opportunity to thank the communities neighbouring Volcanoes National Park, as well as research partners, veterinary experts, rangers and trackers who dedicate themselves to protecting gorillas throughout the year, regardless of the challenges they face.

The impacts of conservation are evident. The mountain gorilla population in Virunga Massif, which is shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo, has grown from 880 in 2012 to more than 1,063 today.

Thanks to tourism revenues from the Volcanoes National Park, some Rwf18 billion has been invested in development projects for the surrounding communities, according to RDB.

The growth of tourism in Musanze has also been increasing, including the number of high-end hotels. Before 2005, Musanze fewer than 60 hotel rooms, which increased to 91,000 rooms.

Volcanoes National Park expansion

Rwanda is undertaking a $255 million project to extend Virunga National Park by 37.4 square kilometres, or 23 per cent of its current size. According to RDB, the expansion will enhance habitat functioning and is expected to boost mountain gorilla viewing opportunities by 20 per cent, increasing tourism revenues, as well as reducing human-wildlife conflict.

The project with plans to enter its second phase in the 2022/2023 fiscal year and will run for five years.

Who are the namers for this year?

Once a local celebration, Kwita Izina has evolved into a global attraction that draws influential personalities from different fields.

This year’s ceremony will again feature prominent figures from conservation, business, entertainment, sports and philanthropy, alongside rangers, researchers and community representatives in person and virtually.

The namers for this year’s Kwita Izina are Princess Ingeborg Zu Schleswig-Holstein, the German artist, philanthropist, and Chairperson of the Louisenlund Foundation, Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, Prince of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and President of WWF Malaysia, and Professor Senait Fisseha MD, JD, the Vice President of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and Chief Advisor of the World Health Organization.

They are joined by Sang-Hyup Kim, Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute, David S. Marriott, Chairman of Marriott International, and Dr Yin Ye, CEO of BGI Group and science popularisation vlogger. Charlie Mayhew and Caroline Mayhew, Co-founder and CEO of Tusk Trust, Claver Ntoyinkima, Senior Ranger Guide and Trainer at Nyungwe National Park, and Michael Bay, the award-winning American film director and producer, are also among them.

Other namers include Michelle Yeoh Todt, the internationally acclaimed actress and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, Jean Todt, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety and former President of FIA, and Matthew Harris, Founding Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners and Senior Managing Director at BlackRock.

Acclaimed Burundian singer and humanitarian Jeanine 'Khadja Nin' Rema will also participate.

Mathieu Flamini, Arsenal legend and CEO of GFBiochemicals, Laura Kabasomi Kakoma, known as Somi, the Rwandan-American vocalist, composer, actor and playwright, and Yemi Alade, the Grammy-nominated Nigerian Afropop singer and songwriter, are also set to name gorillas.

They will be joined by Reed Oppenheimer, Chairman and CEO of the Reed Jules Oppenheimer Foundation, Athanasie Mukabizimungu, Founder and Chairperson of Imbereheza Gahunga, and Dr Edward Hult, CEO of Education First North America.

Suzanne Sinegal, Co-Founder and President of Rwanda Girls Initiative and Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology, Gagan Gupta, entrepreneur and conservationist, and Camille Rebelo, Founder and CEO of EcoPlanet Bamboo, are also among the namers.

So too are Luis Garcia, Atlético de Madrid legend and football analyst at ESPN, Bacary Sagna, Arsenal legend, and Javier Pastore, PSG legend.

The list further includes Xi Zhinong, the renowned Chinese wildlife photographer and founder of “Wild China” film, Lee Ehmke, conservation leader and former President and CEO of Houston Zoo, and Susan Chin, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Advancement at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Ruth Fisher, corporate attorney and President of Pereg Holdings, Vivien Ressler, creative and philanthropist, and Jean de Dieu Niyonzima, a student at the Educational Institute for Blind Children in Nyaruguru District, are also part of the group.

Those naming gorillas virtually are Khaby Lame, a content creator and social media personality, Alliance Umwizerwa, a Gorilla Research Assistant with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Dr. Gaspard Nzayisenga, a field veterinarian with Gorilla Doctors, Dieudonne Gato, a ranger in the Volcanoes National Park, Theogene Bimenyimana, head tracker at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Brenda Umutoni, a ranger at Volcanoes National Park; Leonard Nsengiyumva, a data technician with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Jean Marie Vianney Zirimwabagabo, a ranger at Volcanoes National Park, and Naume Mukabarisa, also a ranger at Volcanoes National Park.