Teams from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania have been invited to participate in the 2025 Genocide Memorial Tournament (GMT), held in remembrance of members of the basketball community who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Scheduled to take place from April 23 to 27, this year’s edition marks the first time in six years that the tournament will feature teams from the East African region.
The GMT 2025 will bring together eight Rwandan teams—four in each gender category. In the men’s category, local clubs APR BBC, REG BBC, Patriots, and Tigers will compete, while Kepler, REG WBBC, APR WBBC, and IPRC Huye will represent the women’s side.
APR’s men’s and women’s teams will defend the titles they won in 2024 at BK Arena. REG BBC, meanwhile, remains the last team to win the international edition of the tournament.
Originally initiated in 1996 by Espoir BBC as the “Gisembe Memorial Tournament”—in honor of their player and coach Emmanuel Ntarugera “Gisembe,” who was killed during the Genocide—the event was renamed in 2013 to the Basketball Genocide Memorial Tournament.
In 2015, in a collaboration with the Rwanda Basketball Federation and Espoir BBC, the tournament adopted a dual structure, combining both local and international competitions. By 2019, it had fully transitioned into an international event.
That year, REG BBC defeated Patriots in the men’s final, while The Hoops Rwanda claimed the women’s title after overcoming RP-IPRC Huye.
The tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned in 2024, featuring only local teams. APR emerged victorious in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Now, after a six-year hiatus from international participation, the 2025 edition will once again welcome regional teams. The top four clubs from the Rwanda Basketball League’s first round will face off against invited teams from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The Genocide Memorial Tournaments are organized annually by Rwanda’s Olympic Committee and national federations to honor the memory of athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans who were killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
To mark the 31st commemoration, the Rwanda Basketball Federation is once again extending a hand to the regional community to stand in solidarity and remembrance through sport.
