First Lady Jeannette Kagame and Prime Minister Edouard joined thousands of conservation champions, celebrities and residents of Musanze District for the 18th Kwita Izina ceremony in Kinigi, Friday, September 2, during which 20 baby gorillas and a new mountain gorilla family were named. It was the first in-person gorilla naming event in two years, the previous two editions having taken place virtually as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Namers included industry captains, philanthropists, sports and music icons as well as leading conservationists drawn from around the world. Kwita Izina, a time-honoured Rwandan custom in which families come together to celebrate the arrival of a newborn baby and to name them, has been credited with recent gains in the country’s gorilla conservation efforts. We captured the colourful event through the lens.
