Musanze District is buzzing with a star-studded conservation celebration as celebrities from across the globe jet in for the 20th edition of Kwita Izina, Rwanda’s iconic gorilla naming ceremony scheduled for Friday September 5. The annual event, which shines a spotlight on conservation and Rwanda’s commitment to protecting its endangered mountain gorillas, will see international personalities join local figures in giving names to newborn gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. ALSO READ: Beyond Kwita Izina: What else awaits visitors in Kinigi? A total 40 baby mountain gorillas, including 18 born in 2024, will be named during the ceremony traditionally held in Kinigi, in the foothills of Volcanoes National Park. Khaby Lame Khaby is a Senegalese-Italian TikTok star and global content creator. He is known worldwide for his humorous videos simplifying “life hacks” without saying a word. He has been recognized by Fortune and Forbes as one of the most influential young people in the world and continues to be a leading figure in digital content creation. Khaby is ranked the most popular person on Tik Tok with 161.5 million followers. Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh is a Malaysian actress of Chinese descent, known for her dynamic performances in both Hong Kong action cinema and Hollywood blockbusters. She rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s with her stunt-filled roles and later gained international recognition in films like Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In 2023, Yeoh made history by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), becoming the first Asian woman to receive this prestigious honor. The actress who is already in Kigali has visited different the Volcanoes National Park and the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Mathieu Flamini Mathieu is a French entrepreneur and former professional footballer. During his career as a midfielder, he played for French side Marseille, English clubs Arsenal and Crystal Palace, Italian side Milan and Spanish side Getafe. At international level, he was capped by the France national team on three occasions. Flamini is a co-founder of GF Biochemicals, the first company in the world able to mass-produce levulinic acid. Javier Pastore Javier Matias Pastore is an Argentine professional footballer who began his club career with Tallares and the Guracan in his native Argentina before moving to Serie A team Palermo in 2009. In 2011, French side Paris Saint Germain bought him where he won numerous domestic honors with the club, including five Ligue 1 titles, before joining Roma in 2018. The 36-year-old player made 186 appearances with Paris Saint-Germain and scored 29 goals in eight years. ALSO READ: Kwita Izina: 40 gorilla babies to be named this year Bacary Sagna Born February, 14, 1983, Sagna is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. In addition to him regularly featuring as a wing-back, he played as a centre-back for Arsenal on several occasions. Sagna began his career at Auxerre, before being transferred to Arsenal in 2007. In 2014, shortly after winning the FA Cup, his first trophy at the club, he made a move to Manchester City. A French international from 2007 to 2016, Sagna played at the 2010 and 2014 editions of the FIFA World Cup, in addition to UEFA Euro 2016 at home. Yemi Alade Yemi Eberechi Alade, known professionally as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her music is a mixture of Afropop, highlife, dancehall, pop and R&B, and has been of influence in several countries across Africa. She won the MTV African Music Awards for Best female in 2015 and 2016 consecutively and was nominated for Artiste of the Year in 2015, making her the first female to win the MAMAs for Best female consecutively twice and nominated for Artiste of the Year. In 2015, Alade was the first African female to be nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) and she was nominated for the BET awards for Best International Act: Africa in 2015 and 2016. Her song Tomorrow earned her first Grammy nomination. Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer born in Los Angeles. He is known for directing different big films including Bad Boys (1995) and its sequel Bad Boys II (2003), The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), the first five films in the Transformers film series, among others. He is co-founder of the production house the Institute. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house which has remade horror films. Kadja Nin Khadja Nin is a Burundian singer and musician born in Burundi as the youngest of a family of eight. Her father was a senior diplomat and Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Burundi. She studied music at an early age like most of her brothers and sisters. With her exceptional singing voice, at the age of seven she became one of the lead vocalists in the Bujumbura choir and performed in the local cathedral. Khadja Nin successfully used a blend between African rhythms and modern pop to create her own unique brand of music. One of her most popular songs is Sina Mali, Sina Deni, a translated cover version of Stevie Wonder’s song Free.
