Anaïse Kanimba

Anaïse Kanimba is a global development strategist, human rights advocate, and freedom technology leader. A survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, she is the daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, who saved more than 1,200 people during the genocide and whose story inspired Hotel Rwanda.

Alongside her family, Kanimba co-led the international campaign that secured her father’s release after he was forcibly rendered to Rwanda and illegally detained there from August 2020 to March 2023. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, the UK Parliament, and the European Parliament, and writes and speaks widely on wrongful detention, transnational repression, and authoritarianism. Her writing and advocacy have appeared in CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other major publications.

A founding member of the World Liberty Congress, Kanimba now serves as its Program Director for Freedom Technology, where she works to advance technologies that strengthen human rights defenders and civil society confronting authoritarian repression. She is also the founder of the Africa Bitcoin Institute, which advances African-led research and dialogue on Bitcoin, financial freedom, and digital sovereignty across the continent.

Kanimba is a 2025 McCain Global Leader and a recipient of the 2023 Magnitsky Human Rights Award for Outstanding Young Human Rights Activist.