Author: Alain Jules Hirwa

Competing were nine countries, namely; Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Burundi, South Sudan, Uganda, Somalia, and Rwanda.

Nshimiyimana Saidi came first in the category of those who know the entire Qur’an by their hearts. He was awarded $7000. Zigabe Muhamad who competed in the category of memorizing 20 juz’ and won the category was awarded $5000.

The two have told IGIHE that they are happy for their win and that they will use the money in supporting their everyday lives.

Nshimiyimana Saidi said, “It was my delight receiving the award, and the money will be used to support my education and other personal development projects.”

Zigabe Muhamad said, “This money is going to help in my education because when money doesn’t help your education you cannot say it helped you in any way.”

Zigabe added that nothing was delightful more than winning against people from Islamic countries.

The Mufti of Rwanda, Hitimana Salim congratulated the two boys and added that their win is all Rwandans since they represented the country.

“It is a crucial event be it to Muslims or Rwandans in general because they represented the country even though they read Qur’an. It is pride in the whole country, and I think that it deserves anybody’s appreciation.”

Mufti Hitimana added that such awards help in the development of Muslim families. He said that in 2019, more than Rwf 100 million entered the country through such competitions attended by the youth abroad.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Eduardo Ngirente also added a stinging comment thus; ”Something needs to be done otherwise in 15 years to come you may fail to find someone to appoint a mayor.”

Today, Rwanda has two public and 29 private universities. The president reflected on this in a panel discussion he shared with the Minister of Local Government Prof Shyaka Anastase, the Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire, the Minister of Trade and Industry Soraya Hakuziyaremye, and Dr. Donald Kaberuka.

During the panel discussion, Dr. Kaberuka spoke of the vitality of education. He added that in developed countries, a small number of students attend university, citing Germany.

President Kagame based on that and spoke of the big number of universities present in Rwanda.

“I don’t know the number of universities we have in Rwanda. [Prof Nshuti] Manasseh owns one.”

“For a program to be approved as a university, there are criteria it must fulfill. Basing on our direction, these cannot be considered as real universities. Why do we let this happen yet we know well that the programs do not deserve being classified for universities?”

President Kagame said that he has talked to the current and former prime ministers, asking them about the big number of universities, up to a point when he asked them for a list of the universities during a cabinet meeting.

“They brought this list of universities, but they did not fulfill 10% of the criteria for being classified as a university. They showed that they are pressured by a lot of students, that this University of Kibungo is owned by priests. They based on that, instead of basing on education.”

He said that he always asks the prime minister to deliver a list of universities that need to be closed since they do not fulfill the requirements to be run as universities. He added that some of these universities play a part in slowing down the development of the country.

Donald Kaberuka said that education is so necessary that they need to verify the quality of what people learn from various institutions using scientific means.

Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente said that it is such a big issue since in 15 years to come you might try to find someone to be a mayor and fail to find one.

He said that they need to put enough effort into promoting technical schools, in reducing the number of simple universities and remain with only those that are very competitive.

In 2017, the ministry of education suspended 10 universities and university programs that were found lacking in delivering quality. Some were reopened after meeting the requirements.

The minister also showed that they are worried that most of the released people put pressure on the courts of justice.

The issues came up in a meeting between the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Attorney General which took place on February 13, 2020, aimed at bridging gaps that still exist in those offices with regard to corruption.

The Director-General for Crime Investigation at Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Jean Marie Twagirayezu showed that there still exist challenges in following up on crimes related to corruption.

Among the challenges shown is lack of and sometimes tampering with evidence pinning the suspects, favoritism, and suspects that jump bail.

He said that data from the office of the attorney general shows that 80% of people who are temporarily released from jail never reappear in courts.

“So, if that’s what the data shows, doesn’t it have something to tell the one offering the temporary release? Isn’t there a way that a person can quicken the justice procedures instead of offering a temporary release? Isn’t there something we can do?”

Busingye brought up an idea for the Ministry of Justice to propose to the parliament to allow courts to operate on weekends or extra hours so that court cases can be given enough time instead of looking for solutions in the temporary release of prisoners.

Chief Justice Dr. Nteziryayo Faustin said that among the causes of corruption is the provision of poor services, something that makes people want to give bribes.

“There is not a single service that we can say has no crimes related to corruption. So, it is necessary that every sector makes it its own task to block all gaps through which corruption emerges.”

The Chief Ombudsman, Murekezi Anastase, said that corruption in some instances reaches the justice system yet it is supposed to take the last action against it.

“Justice is a strong institution in fighting corruption and injustice. When justice is done well, it positively impacts the development of the country and the protection of human rights, leading to peace inside the country and harmony to all the people.”

As per the weather report released, the highest precipitation was 126.1 mm in Byimana, followed by Kigali-Aero with 85.5 mm. Rubavu had the lowest at 6.7 mm. In general, the Southern Province and Kigali City experienced the highest amount of rainfall.
Meteo Rwanda shows that the first ten days of February got between 45 to 10.5 mm. In comparison to the rain from past years, this first period of February 2020 experienced a slightly higher amount of rain.
The soil moisture in the first ten days of February 2020 decreased a lot in the Southern Province, Kigali City, the south of the Eastern Province due to the highly sunny times and high amount of heat that characterized these ten days.

Meteo Rwanda says that in the second ten days of February, those are February 11 to February 20 of 2020, “The soil moisture is expected to reduce due to the decrease in rainfall.”

“In comparison to the first ten days of February, the rainfall is expected to decrease a lot in the following ten days of February. The rainfall will be between 20 mm to 40 mm. The north and south of Western Province are expected to have the highest amount of rainfall.”

“Basing on the data that shows a decrease in amount of rainfall, farmers are advised to keep preparing their fields for the next season as well as consulting agronomists for advice.”

The weather monitoring agency shows that during the first ten days of February the temperature was between 22.2°C and 28°C in most parts of the country. The highest temperature was in Bugarama at 30.8°C.

The minister was on February 8, 2020, addressing Rwandans and friends of Rwanda that attended the Annual Rwanda Prayer Banquet in Sheraton Hotel, Maryland, USA.

It was the 18th time that the event was happening, a time when the Rwandan diaspora meets and pray for Rwanda, thanking Him for what the country has accomplished as well as praying for the new year 2020. Present were Rwandans from such states as Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

This event still carries a goal of praying for Rwanda, its leaders, and citizens, as well as promoting unity and love.

Shyaka, the keynote speaker, explained to the people in attendance various values that guide a good leader, taking the opportunity to ask Rwandan diaspora to protect their unity and always remember their motherland.

The president of Rwanda Prayer Banquet, Antoinette Kanyabutembo, thanked the people who attended the event and asked them to pray for the remaining few months of Rwanda’s former Vision 2020 at the same timetabling before God Rwanda’s new Vision 2050.

Entrepreneur Dale Dawson who is also an advisor to President Paul Kagame showed how his first visit to Rwanda was inspired by Bishop John Rucyahana and how upon arriving in Rwanda he felt called for working with Rwandans.

He launched Bridge2Rwanda, a project that helps Rwandan high performers in national examinations to get scholarships into good international universities as well as connecting investors to Rwanda.

The vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Dr. Charles Muligande shared with those in attendance about his return to Rwanda in 1994, coming from Washington DC.

He talked about the hardships faced by the country and how it came to build up itself.

He added that faith has always supported him in all the appointments he has held.

The ambassador of Rwanda in the USA, Mathilde Mukantabana prayed for leaders of the diaspora and those who organized the event so that they stay focused on fulfilling their duties.

The theme of the event was the Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Audio and video produced by MadeBeats and R Day respectively, the song themes about a girl who fell in love with a celebrity despite her brother’s disapproval. Her brother thinks falling in love with a celebrity is not promising and will break his sister’s heart.

Auddy Kelly has told IGIHE that, while he had put his music aside for a long time, he is returning with a bang.

“You see, when you work and realize it is not going right, you pause and work on what is wrong and once fixed, you come back.”

About the cause of his absence on the music scene, Auddy Kelly has said that it is a lot.

“There are loads of things that make one step aside, gather your pieces, and once you realize you have gotten all you need, you return with a lot of energy. I promise my fans that I have returned and won’t disappear again,” he promised.

He said that during the time he was absent in the music industry he still went to the studio and recorded songs which he will be releasing.

He said, “2020 is my year. Watch me.”

In his new song, he said the main message is to tell people that life of fame does not go far from real life.

“[In the story] I fall in love with a girl, but her brother tells her that musicians are unstable people, promising her to find for her another lover. However, the girl insists I am the one.”

Auddy Kelly who mainly sings on love had previously released gospel songs “Imvura” from the Bible in which he featured alongside Jody Phibi, “Umuvandimwe” from the Bible which was proposed by his mother, “Igitangaza”, “Reka Nkubyinire”, and “Arakomeye”.

He came to prominence with such songs as “Ndakwitegereza”, “Sinzagutererana” alongside Jody Phibi who it was said he dated, “Ubyumve”, “Sinkakubure” and others.

The house caught fire at around 4:30 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2020, destroying property worth millions of francs.

One of the residents at the house told authorities that as she entered one of the bedrooms next to the living room, she saw smoke after which took her child and left calling for help.

The Secretary-General of Nyarugunga Sector, Uwamahoro Geneviève, told IGIHE that they suspect the fire to have been caused by an electric short circuit.

“We suspect an electric short circuit to have caused the inferno. This is because the person who was in the house says that the fire started from a room.”

She added that an investigation has started, but that it is not yet known how much worth was the damaged property.

Rwanda police fire department extinguished the fire.

However, Meteo Rwanda shows that January usually gets between 51.6-1.7 mm.

The Southern, Western provinces and the City of Kigali had the highest amount of rainfall.

Meteo Rwanda stated, “In comparison to the rain from past years, the third part of January experienced the biggest amount of rain.”

Due to the rain, soil moisture in the last ten days of January 2020 increased, especially in Southern Province, south of Western Province as well as Kigali City.

“Comparing it to the third season of January, the first season of February will see a decrease in rainfall. The rain will be between 30 and 125 millimeters. The Southern Province and the south of Western Province will have the highest amount of rainfall than elsewhere,” Meteo Rwanda added.

The weather monitoring agency called upon farmers to prepare their fields for the season. It also advises farmers to follow meteorology news so as to take informed decisions.

The tournament is organized by the Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) in partnership with The Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honor (CHENO) to mark National Heroes’ Day that is commemorated on February 2nd.

Among men’s teams, REG BBC met APR BBC in the finals for which the former was playing finals for the third time consecutively and the latter was a first-timer.

As the match got into motion, REG BBC right from the start performed well, outperforming APR BBC in the first quarter with 21 points against 15. In the second quarter, it scored 25 points against 17 points of APR BBC and went to the half-time having a difference of 14 points (46-32).

Even though APR BBC reduced the difference in points in the third quarter, making it only nine (57-48), REG BBC took the game with 71-62 points, winning the tournament for the third time consecutively.

Among women’s teams, RP-IPRC Huye WBBC which had previously won the tournament in 2018, took it again after beating The Hoops Rwanda 70-47 points.

The first quarter left The Hoops Rwanda beat, with RP-IPRC Huye WBBC’s 18 points over 9 points of The Hoops Rwanda. However, in the second quarter of the match, the game took another turn as The Hoops Rwanda scored 18 points over 13 of RP-IPRC Huye WBBC, making a total of 31-27.

RP-IPRC Huye WBBC surged its points in the third quarter, with 23 points against 12 points of The Hoops Rwanda. In the last quarter, RP-IPRC Huye WBBC won the final game with 70 points against 47 of The Hoops Rwanda.

Both the winning teams, REG BBC and IPRC Huye WBBC were given cups and checks of Rwf 500,000 each. APR BBC and The Hoops Rwanda, coming second in the tournament, received Rwf 300,000.

Buravan has to his belt the Prix Découvertes RFI 2018, a prize that helped him perform in different Francophone African countries. Same year, 2018, he launched his first album titled The Love Lab.

As a child, he grew up singing in a church choir. In 2009, he participated in Rwandatel’s singing competition and came third among 70 chosen finalists.

He has come to prominence with such songs as “Majunda”, “Injyana” ft Umutare Gaby, “Urwo Ngukunda” ft Uncle Austin, “Bindimo”, “Garagaza”, “Malaika”, “Oya”, and “Just a Dance”.