Author: Elina Jonas Ruzindaza

This is not the case, because in the Catholic Church and other religions there have been one mass or one service, contrary to expectations.

In Kigali City, only 18 churches were allowed to resume operations. The Mayor of Kigali City, Rubingisa Pudence, explained that the decision to reduce the number of services was based on compliance with the guidelines for the prevention of the pandemic.

“We have made it clear to the church and mosque leaders that the intention is for people to go to church but to avoid the Coronavirus pandemic. So between first mass and second, or between two services, that cleanliness must be done in-depth,” he said.

“There is also disinfecting the church, chairs and even opening up to fresh air. It is a time-consuming process, and we have found that having one mass followed by another in an hour is not possible.”

Rubingisa said the clergy heard it and complied with it. He stressed that the purpose is for people to pray or do other work but avoid Coronavirus.

Among the directives issued by the Ministry of Local Government is that the temples will be put into operation only if they are first inspected by a monitoring team to establish that they meet the requirements for Coronavirus prevention, approved by the district administration and notified in writing.

Before entering the church, people were first tested for temperature levels and washing hands with clean water or hand sanitizer, and then everyone went through their place of registration so that when needed can be easily found.

When this phase is over, one enters the temple and sits in a designated position. Congregants keep the social distance and wear masks; from the leading singers to the priest who leads the Mass or the pastor.

The crash happened around 3 a.m. Sunday.

The Executive Secretary of Ruvune Sector in Gicumbi District, Ngezahumuremuremyi Theonetse, told IGIHE that the accident was because the road was slippery.

None was either injured or lost a life. Residents in the immediate neighborhood rushed to the scene, rescued the victims and the bus continued with the journey.

The project known as the ‘Twiyubake’ [USAID / Twiyubake Program] was launched in February 2015, aimed at lifting people out of poverty and contributing to the development of over 50,000 households in five years. Its schedule is expected to end in September 2020.

At the end of the project, the Global Communities project, which is being implemented in collaboration with non-governmental organizations that has started providing materials to beneficiaries, will continue to help them even after its completion in September.

The equipment will be housed in a girl’s room in 258 schools, will be provided with up to 1,500 nursing homes, and handwashing tanks will be distributed across the 12 districts where the project operates.

It was officially launched in Kanyinya Sector in Nyarugenge District on Thursday where the project is being implemented by Global Communities in collaboration with the African Evangelist Enterprise (AEE) and Duhamic Adri.

Muramira Absalom, Deputy Director-General of Global Communities, said that this is one of the project completion ideas they thought of to provide what will help the beneficiaries even after the project.

In Nyarugenge District, the activity has been launched towards the end of the project, reaching 3,717 households out of about 50,000 across the country.

Deputy District Executive Administrator, Nshutiraguma Espérance, said it helped them reach some of the councils the district has.

Some of its beneficiaries said that they have taken away the knowledge that has changed their lives in their work and that they have the knowledge to share it with others.

Director of the Department of Education, Child Safety and Preparation for primary education at the NECDP, Zaninka Freya De Clercq, praised the move, saying the project has left a lasting interest.

“From what we heard today, different people told us that they were going to share it with others which shows us that this project has given lasting results. That’s the decent thing to do.”

The materials donated in Nyarugenge District are valued at Rwf113.9 million, including 13.7 tonnes of maize flour, books, hand washing tanks, and kitchen utensils will be used in 49 nurseries, school supplies for students and equipment for girl’s room in 12 institutions in the area.

Overall in 12 districts the where the project works in; 8,000 students are being assisted in education by ‘Twiyubake’ and will be provided with facilities that will help them in the start of school in September 2020, in sanitation, hygiene and fight against COVID-19 will be provided with 1700 handwashing tanks, a girl’s room in 258 schools with hygiene facilities.

Since the beginning of March this year, about 300 people have been killed in Ituri as a result of ongoing violence. More than 4,000 people have been tortured since 2017.

CODECO, known as the religious-political party operating in Ituri, founded by the Balendu tribe, is the main culprit accused in the ongoing Ituri massacre.

It all comes due to the conflict between Balendu who are farmers and the Bahema who are breeders and traders who have been in this area rich in gold and petrol for a long time.

ICG has indicated that the Balendu fighters have continued to gain power and the Balendu have continued their campaign activities among their youth as the attacks continue.

The ICG also said that members of militant groups such as the M23, mostly are in Uganda, also wanted to mourn the ethnic conflict in Ituri and North Kivu, to join the fighting.

He called on President Tshisekedi to put the Ituri conflict on the agenda of a meeting between Angola, Uganda, the DRC, and Rwanda.

“Uganda and Rwanda can use this forum to discuss allegations of support for militant groups in eastern Congo, including Ituri, and to put to an end that support,” the ICG said.

The President of Angola, João Lourenço, Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC are the coordinators to the summit that discuss the problem between Rwanda-Uganda. The ICG wants the issue of Ituri to be discussed at the meeting.

It is a matter of Rwanda’s allegation that Uganda is abusing Rwandans, illegally imprisoned and subjected to torture; that Uganda supports armed groups aimed at disrupting Rwanda’s security and threatening its trade.

Since the election of President Tshisekedi, Rwanda and Uganda, as well as other countries in the region, have pledged to work for lasting peace in the DRC, especially in the eastern part of the country, where FDLR factions operate.

The Ituri issue continues to escalate and rise to the occasion. Deputies in the DRC Parliament have expressed concern over a large number of weapons in the hands of civilians living in Ituri Province.

The issue of insecurity and weapons in the Ituri community was recently raised by MPs representing the province when they met with Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga on July 13.

Ituri province is prone to insecurity mainly due to militant groups including CODECO and the ADF who have recently killed 27 others and taken more than 45 hostages.

The Governor of the Ituri Province in the Northern Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean Bamanisa Saidi, has compared the years-long killings in the region to the Genocide.

Between 1999 and 2003, thousands of people lost their lives in the conflict and most of them were Bahima, according to the United Nations.

Exports were worth $ 207.95 million, imports worth $ 916.68 million while re-exports were worth $ 82.25 million.

In the first quarter of 2020 [January-March], exports from Rwanda increased by 45.97 percent compared to the same quarter of 2019, from $ 142.47 million to $ 207.95 million. However, it fell 13.84% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

NISR figures show that Rwanda’s exports in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 23.78 percent compared to the same quarter of 2019, from $ 739.97 million to $ 916.68 million.

Rwanda’s imports and exports fell 2.85 percent from $ 84.66 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $82.25 million.

The top six countries to which Rwanda exports are the United Arab Emirates, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pakistan, Hong Kong and Uganda. All six countries account for 77.62 percent of Rwanda’s exports.

Among the top countries that imported goods in the first quarter of 2020 are: China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Tanzania. In all of these countries, Rwanda imported goods worth $ 518.38 million, meaning it’s 56.55% of all imports.

Exports include food, livestock, and more while imports include machinery and transportation, industrial and petroleum products.

Rwanda has been a member of the East African Community (EAC) for 13 years, which has boosted trade with other member states.

In the first quarter of 2020, Rwanda’s exports to the EAC were worth $ 14.21 million, 7% of its exports.

In all, 38.52% was exported to Uganda, worth $ 5.47 million.

Rwanda’s EAC exports increased by 176 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019 but decreased by 48 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019.

In the EAC, Rwanda exports most of its products in Uganda, followed by South Sudan.

Imports from EAC is worth $ 138.66 million, meaning 15.13% of total import. Rwanda imported 56.72% from Kenya and 42.90% from Tanzania.

Overall, Rwanda’s imports to the EAC in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 16.63 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Rwanda’s trade with COMESA in the first quarter of 2020 was $ 217.72 million from $ 217.72 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Trade with the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of 2020 was $ 87.26 million from $ 106.70 million in the same quarter of 2019.

The list includes 495 people in the City of Kigali and three in the Northern Province.

A statement from the police reads: “The National Police is informing drivers who violated COVID-19 prevention guidelines, to comply with the instructions issued by the police to report to the police authority not later than Friday, July 24, 2020 with their vehicles”.

Residents of the City of Kigali are being asked to go to the headquarters of the Muhima Road Safety Police while upcountry violators should report to district police headquarters.

“Those who do not comply will be arrested,” the National Police said.

Since taking measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, police have repeatedly identified people in the non-compliance bracket mostly in violation of curfew and illegal activities such as driving lessons, meetings and opening bars.

Police spokesman CP John Bosco Kabera says that people who violate government regulations will be punished by the law.

IGIHE spoke to some residents of the Eastern Province in Gatsibo and Kirehe districts, where they point out how coffee farming has lifted them out of poverty.

Kagirinka Cecile, a 64-year-old resident of Kigarama Village in Rwarenga Cell in Remera Sector, says she started growing coffee in 1985 and cultivated less coffee, a crop that helped her raise her children, pay for their education until all of them graduated and got married.

Kagirinka says in addition to paying for her children’s school fees, she has now renovated her home and bought land in various places and thanks to Project of Rural Income through Exports (PRICE) training through the National Agricultural Exports Development (NAEB).

Ngerageze Straton, a 51-year-old resident of Gahara Sector in Kirehe, says he started growing coffee in 2006 with the help of Price who later joined him in the coffee farmers’ cooperative. He started harvesting coffee for the first time in 2010.

“I started harvesting coffee with 125 kilograms and then I continued to grow as many as 1,000 trees, and PRICE planted for me other 4,300 trees in different places,” he added.

Ngerageza says that they dug holes for them, gave them manure and seedlings to plant.

“What shows that I have made progress in this project, I have got Rwf 500,000 and am planning to reap more money next year.”

Nyiramahoro Theopiste, director of the Rwanda Coffee Farmers' Cooperative, said PRICE project helped farmers realize the value of coffee where they were helped to plant trees worth over Rwf 150 million on an area of 1,500 hectares across the country.

He said there are currently 86 cooperatives in the country, including 18,700 coffee farmers. PRICE is a rural development project implemented through the National Agricultural Exports Development (NAEB).

It is part of a long-running program where health authorities have decided to examine at least 5,000 people who are entering or exiting the City of Kigali, to see if the Coronavirus pandemic is circulating in the community.

Out of 1181 tests taken in three districts of Kigali, none of was detected with Coronavirus.

Some of the places where they tested people entering Kigali include Giti cy’inyoni, Rugende, and Gahanga.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced that 38 people had been diagnosed with Coronavirus out of 5705 tests taken in the past 24 hours while 27 recovered and discharged, making the total number of those infected 1,426, and recoveries 737.

Minister Bayisenge made the remarks on Tuesday in response to family questions raised by MPs from the Political, and Gender Equality Commission in the country’s development.

Among the demands of the MPs was to outline the existing measures to combat child sexual abuse that are still taking rampant.

Statistics on the number of child sexual abuse allegations show that in 2016/17, Rwanda Investigation Bureau, RIB, received 2091 complaints, in 2017/18 it was 3060, and in 2018/19 it received 3512 complaints.

Of the people prosecuted for these crimes, in 2018/2019 it was 3417, in 2017/18 they were 3001 and in 2016/2017 it was 2092 people.

Minister Bayisenge informed the MPs that various measures have been taken including the enactment of penal code for the perpetrators of the crime, a campaign that requires everyone to report and denounce these crimes.

She said the fact that child sex offenses are being tried in private is a serious obstacle, arguing that if the trial was held at the scene it would send a warning that others would be afraid to do the same.

Minister Bayisenge also said that a special team had been set up by various agencies to study what could be done to address the issue of child sexual abuse, especially to prosecute the perpetrators.

The ambulance was handed over on Monday, July 13, 2020, by the Ngoma District Administration to help hospitals provide better services to their patients.

Late last year, the former Director-General of Kibungo Hospital, Dr. Namanya Williams, told IGIHE that they had ambulances to help patients reach 12 hospitals and health centers but due to wear-and-tear, only three were left and have now acquired the fourth, with one that is not fully functional.

Dr. Namanya said the ambulances they have do serve over 400,000 people.
Ngoma District Mayor, Nambaje Aphrodis, said the procurement of the new ambulance is a commitment by the district to facilitate easy access to health facilities within the district.

He added that in the 2020/2021 performance contract the district will procure another ambulance as they continue to put the available ones to proper use.