Author: IGIHE

Bishagara, 67, passed on last week on Monday at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore-Maryland in the USA. She had fallen sick of liver complications since March 2019 until her last breath.

Her body was returned on Tuesday this week from the USA and welcomed by friends and relatives at Kigali International Airport.

Bidding farewell ceremonies to late Kagoyire started on Friday morning at her home in Kigali and later to the parliament at the Chamber of Senate where former colleagues and other former co-workers in various functions gathered to bid their last farewell.

The casket containing the body of the former politician was carried to parliament by police officers and draped in the national flag, in recognition of her service to the nation.

Later on, ceremonies continued with a Mass at Regina Pacis Catholic Church in Remera, Kigali city before proceeding with funerals in Rusororo graveyard.

Relatives and former colleagues described late Kagoyire as an honest person, dedicated to working, who always reported at work on time, lived right moral values.

The husband of late Bishagara described her wife as a patriotic person who always strived to leave a good legacy encouraging others to pray and being kind to all.

Former co-workers at KHI said late Bishagara doesn’t leave a tale but a legacy of living moral values.

Senator Bishagara was born on 25th December 1952.

She joined the Senate of Rwanda as a representative of the Western Province in October 2011 but, prior to this, she served the country in different capacities in the wake of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.

She had a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology Sciences.

She assumed various functions including Team Research in PNLS /CNLS HIV/AIDS Center (1995-1996); Director of Kigali Health Institute (1996-2004); Part-Time Lecturer in NUR (1999-2003); National Program Manager JHPIEGO /MCHIP International NGO an affiliate to Johns Hopkins University (USAID) (2008-2011); Resident Advisor Features group International /Measure Evaluation /USAID (2006-2007) ; Technical Advisor PSI -Features for VIH prevention (2005-2006) and Technical Advisor in SAVE THE CHILDREN -UK 2006.

Among others she served as the President of Profemmes Twese -Hamwe and COCAFEM /Great Lakes (2007-2011); Board of Rwanda Local Development Support Funds (2007-2011);Board Member of ASSETIF (Association d’Execution des travaux d’interet public) (2008-2011); Board Member of ULK (2007-2011); Founder Member and Board Member of FAWE Rwanda Chapter (1997 to date) and Board Member of White Ribbon Alliance for Saving lives of Women and Children(2008-2011).

From 2011 until her demise, Bishagara was a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

Rwanda’s Liberation Day was locally celebrated on 4th July 2019 but Rwandans abroad have been organizing separate events to mark the historic day.

The event will take place today 20th July 2019 in Hague city, Netherlands where Rwandans will be joined by their friends to celebrate 25 years since Rwanda was liberated from bad leadership that prepared and executed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Kitoko, currently living in the United States, will grace the event to entertain Rwandans along with DJ Princess Flor.

Kitoko has told IGIHE that he is pleased to perform in the Netherlands for the first time especially in a great ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Rwanda’s Liberation Day.

“I am delighted to be invited to the event to celebrate together the Liberation Day. I am ready for performance 100%,” he said.

After gracing the Liberation Day, Kitoko will perform in the United Kingdom in Birmingham city on 21st July in an event dubbed Summer Retreat and later on 30th July 2019 perform in Portland town- Maine State in the United States of America.

Gashumba made the statement yesterday at Maison de Jeunes in Kimisagara sector as she attended 15 year anniversary since President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was introduced in Rwanda.

The ceremony was also attended by the United States Ambassador, Peter Vrooman among other dignitaries.

The Minister said before attending the event, she was following up on the origin of circulated rumors that Ebola has spread to Rwanda.

“I came late because I have been dealing with rumors some of you might have heard from foreign media of which intentions are unknown. I wanted to bring it to you as stakeholders in the prevention of Ebola outbreak in our country,” she said.

“Some of you might have had time to read it. There is a woman from Congo who crossed into Uganda to sell fish and died after returning to Congo. We have seen a communiqué from a news medium from abroad mentioning that the woman crossed through Congo and Uganda but conclude with an ambiguous statement that she probably crossed into Rwanda,” added Gashumba.

The report explained that the woman might have crossed into Rwanda to attend a market in Gisenyi but didn’t give a precise location.

Gashumba requested people to disregard such news that Ebola has spread to Rwanda. “I would like to request you to strengthen prevention measures against Ebola, maintain hygiene, wash hands in villages and report any suspected case on time,” she said.

Rumors started circulating after of Ebola Virus Disease was confirmed on Sunday 14th July 2019 in Goma, North-Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo bordering with Rwanda.

At least 1,676 people have died from the virus since the current outbreak started in DR Congo in August 2018 translating to more than two-thirds of those who had contracted the virus.

Gashumba reminded residents not to travel to Ebola prone areas, seek medical treatment in case they have suspected Ebola symptoms.

Ebola virus disease (EVD), also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) or simply

Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by Ebola viruses.

Signs and symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches.

Vomiting, diarrhea, and rash usually follow, along with the decreased function of the liver and kidneys.

At this time, some people begin to bleed both internally and externally. The disease has a high risk of death, killing between 25 and 90 percent of those infected, with an average of about 50 percent. This is often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss and typically follows six to sixteen days after symptoms appear.

The virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids, such as blood from infected humans or other animals. Spread may also occur from contact with items recently contaminated with bodily fluids.

Rwanda has not yet recorded any Ebola cases.

Rwanda has in recent past stepped up efforts to prevent Ebola from spreading to the country, including scaling up screenings at all points of entry, surveillance, vaccinating frontline workers including health and immigration officers, public sensitization, among other measures.

The Kigeme Refugee Camp, the second largest nationally, is home to over 20,000 refugees, most of them Congolese who fled the political unrest in their country in 2012.

61% of the refugees above 18 years old are women, and many of them fled the war carrying their children, often without a companion.

As a result, researches show that working-age refugee women are less likely to be economically active in comparison with both local women and refugee men, a situation which may foster a higher vulnerability of women in the refugee camps, and particularly for female heads of households.

The newly-inaugurated Women Opportunity Center, funded by UN Women, aims to address this challenge, as explained by the UN Women Representative in Rwanda, Ms. Fatou Lo: “Today UN Women inaugurated a women’s opportunity center in Kigeme Refugee camp to follow up on the findings and recommendations of the 2017 gender needs assessment of refugee camps conducted together with the Government of Rwanda, the One UN family and all the humanitarian actors in Rwanda. The study found that women refugees needed further support for livelihoods, reduction of SGBV and participation in camp management”.

The Center is an integrated facility that provides women in the Kigeme Refugee Camp a safe space, training and working rooms, a showroom for their products and a nursing area in a bid to enhance their livelihoods at the Camp and beyond. As part of the One UN family, UN Women is also contributing to empower women refugees to rebuild their lives, through training them in basket weaving, and selling their products around the world in collaboration with Indego Africa, a US-based nonprofit social enterprise that supports women through economic empowerment and trainings, as well as linking them to markets.

“Seeing the Center was a joy for us, before we sometimes had to weave our baskets outside in the sun, which deteriorates them. The room we were renting before was quite far from our houses and it was a challenge for us to come back home and feed our children on time, but the Center is close to our homes which will make it much easier to take care of our homes while working. And the baby room is a great space to take care of our kids without interrupting our work.”

This is Nadine Umuhoza, 29 years old, she is the Secretary of the Igisubizo Cooperative and one of the 50 women refugees from the Cooperative who received vocational training since December 2018. After a few weeks fulfilling orders made by customers around the world, through Indego Africa, the Cooperative has already earned over 1,800,000 RWF in benefits and counting, as they are starting the last module of the training.

“When I started learning basket weaving, I didn’t even know how to hold the needle, but now I weave baskets that I am proud of, and since I am earning money and contributing to the expenses at home, my husband supports the work that I do here”.
Nadine Umuhoza isn’t the only one who attests of the gained skills, Yves Nshimiyimana, the trainer from Indego Africa explained that despite the many initial challenges, including the lack of interpersonal skills among the women refugees, these women have come a long way and are setting up for a brighter future.

“The key achievement of the Project is the financial independence it has given the women refugees. The training covered basket weaving, business, and cooperative management and how to approach financial institutions, as well as mindsets, change. When we were starting some women couldn’t read nor write, had little understanding skills and couldn’t speak in public. A few months down the line, these women have changed and acquired critical skills that they will use even after they leave the camp.”

Going further, the Women Opportunity Center will strengthen the economic empowerment activities that UN Women and partners are implementing in the camp, offer sustainable avenues for the cooperative to become economically secure, and offer its members resilience and enhanced livelihoods. The Women in Igisubizo Cooperative are also ready to train other women and girls in the Kigeme refugee camp, thus creating a multiplier effect within the women refugees in Kigeme.

Kitaoka is visiting Rwanda from 17th to 21st July 2019.

After learning from the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi yesterday, he has visited K-Lab and Fab-Lab projects supported by JICA in Rwanda.

Kitaoka and accompanying delegation also held discussions with Rwandans who completed a Master’s degree in Japan through African Business Education (ABE).

K-Lab and Fab-Lab are firms helping the youth to develop digital solutions, carry out research, creating projects and developing software promising to boost their welfare and country’s socio-economic transformation in general.

Ildephonse Musafiri, the founder of HINGANEZA Ltd which has software with agriculture solutions has told IGIHE that knowledge he acquired training at K-Lab for four years was of great relevance to his project.

“It is a comfortable space where you meet talented youth from different walks assisting each other to solve particular challenges. K-Lab helps the youth with promising projects and link them to institutions in need of their expertise,” he said.

The President of JICA, Kitaoka appreciated the way technology projects supported by Japan help youth through different programs.

“Talking about K-Lab, it is a great project giving opportunities to the youth to train in basic digital skills enabling them to grow experts and magnates of the future,” he said.
Kitaoka said that Japan and Rwanda are both small countries but with the privileges of having visionary leadership.

He came to Rwanda following the visit of President Paul Kagame to Japan in January 2019 and held discussions on different areas supporting Rwanda’s development programs.

He is also expected to visit various projects support by JICA in Rwanda including Rusumo International Bridge and One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) as well as holding talks with President Kagame.

One of the drug dealers identified as John Munyaneza was arrested in Kabarore Sector in Gatsibo transporting 2400 bottles of a locally distilled illicit brew called Gubwaneza.

Munyaneza was at the time transporting the illicit drinks in-vehicle UBB 857N, which was also impounded to Kabarore RIB station where the suspect is also detained, Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson for the Eastern region, said.

“The drinks did not have the required standard specifications and legal documents as recommended by Rwanda Standards Board,” said CIP Twizeyimana.

Standard requirements include labeling (name of the products, physical and postal address of manufacturer); net contents in milliliters or liters; ethyl alcohol content; date of manufacture and expiry date; storage instruction; statutory warnings; and list of ingredients in descending order.

In Rusizi, Emmanuel Hakizimana and Deny Urwinkunda were arrested in the Kamembe sector, Kamashangi Cell, Rushakamba Village in possession of 290 pellets of cannabis.

Article 263 of the new law determining offenses and penalties in general, states that any person who, unlawfully produces, transforms, transports, stores, gives to another or who sells narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances commits an offense and faces a sentence of between 20 years and life in prison.

The arrest of the trio comes at a time when the Rwanda National Police (RNP) and partners are actively engaged in countrywide awareness campaigns against narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the first week of the Police Month.

The incident took place yesterday around 2 pm at a garage belonging to Magambo in Kigugu village, Kirunga cell of Gikondo sector in Kicukiro district.

Police spokesperson in Kigali city, CIP Goretti Umutesi has told IGIHE that the tank burst as the welder mended it leaving severe injuries to the truck driver Jean Claude Gakwandi, 47, and Emmanuel Nahayo who were taken to the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) where Gakwandi died upon arrival.

She explained that the welder identified as Kamudra Mitanyurwa, 59, who had both Rwandan and Congolese nationality died on spot after burning inside the tank and his body was taken to Kacyiru Hospital.

Kamudra was welding the tank from inside while the driver was standing on top of the tank showing damaged parts to the welder.

The third injured person was a garage worker who helped mend the tank.

Eyewitnesses said the welder made a mistake of mending the tank without cleaning it with water.

The suspects; Innocent Ntihabose, 32, Bernard Iradukunda, 17, Maniragaba Rukara, 30, and Twagirimana Rutaba, 28, were caught red-handed mining in Kabacuzi Sector.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Karekezi, the Police Spokesperson for the Southern Region said that the quartet was mining cassiterite and coltan in a concession owned by the Cooperative Minerière et Artisanale de Rutobwe (COMAR), located in Butare Cell, Kabacuzi Sector.

“The suspects are not employees of the company but sneaked into the mine when employees ended their usual shift, which normally ends at 11 am. They were found in the concession at about 4:30 pm,” CIP Karekezi said.

He warned against illegal mining activities, which at times result in disasters and loss of lives. Illegal miners normally sneak into concessions at night, and in some cases, they tilt weak cliffs leading to landslides.

“It is suicidal to go into a mining concession at night or without safety gears. Mining is done by authorized professionals with professional tools,” CIP Karekezi said.

“People should consider safety in whatever they do. We have had many cases of landslides caused by illegal mining, and in some cases, lives are lost,” the spokesperson said.

CIP Karekezi urged the public to always provide timely information on such illegal and dangerous acts.

The figures have been announced today during a breakfast meeting that brought together employers and employees in private and public institutions together with other stakeholders in education loans recovery efforts to discuss measures forward to addressing the issue.

The CEO of BRD, Eric Rutabana has said that the bank took over the management after entering agreements with the Government of Rwanda in 2016 through the Ministry of Education.

He said that Rwf 70 billion had to be recovered at the time but highlighted that the journey is still long because only Rwf 10 billion has been recovered.

Rutabana however said that beneficiaries paying back are increasing overtime.

He revealed that since 2016 beneficiaries paid Rwf 1.4 billion, Rwf 2.4 billion in 2017 and Rwf 3.4 billion in 2018.

“It is improving gradually. Such event is meant to sensitize students’ loan beneficiaries and employers to help us along the journey to increase the number of beneficiaries paying back the loan,” he said.

He highlighted that only 12,000 beneficiaries out of 70,000 are actively paying back the loan.

Tracking beneficiaries who received non-electronic identities before 2008 is among challenges impeding fully implementation of loan recovery.

Rutabana said that the institution is working closely with National ID Agency (NIDA), Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) among others to track records of past beneficiaries.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Eugene Mutimura thanked institutions contributing to loan recovery to support education of future generations and called on others to support the cause.

“Your efforts can not be taken for granted. It means you understand the importance of provision of loans to students so that they study and at the same time understand the importance of loan recovery and therefore the sustainability of this effort,” he said.

Best compliant institutions and individuals were also awarded during the event.

African Union of Broadcasters (AUB) leaders who have convened in Cairo, Egypt thanked President Paul Kagame as announced by the Director-General of Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), Arthur Asiimwe who also attended the meeting.
CAF has offered rights to show games for free (terrestrial free-to-air) to Sub-Sahara African countries.

“African Public Broadcasters meeting this morning to discuss CAF rights..greatly appreciate support from @PaulKagame who challenged CAF 2 years ago to ensure AfCON rights are run by Africans. As result, AUB took the challenge & now viewership for #AFCON2019 increased by over 60%,” said Asiimwe in a tweet.

“Thanks…for many years broadcasting rights for African football were run by non-africans charging exorbitant prices, hence few countries could afford. With #AFCON2019 run by AUB, countries showing tournament increased from 13 to 30…good progress but more work to be done!” he added.

Asiimwe has told IGIHE that rights to show these games were expensive where African Broadcasters paid €450,000 (over Rwf 450 million as per current exchange rates) to show AfCON held in Ghana in 2017 while they have for this time paid only € 200,000 (over Rwf 200 million) enabling many institutions to show the cup.

In March last year, President Kagame who was assuming the Chairmanship of African Union (AU) became the first Head of State to attend AUB meeting held at Kigali Convention Centre and held talks giving insights in different areas on African continent.

The union told Kagame that broadcasters continue to lose trust over constantly providing explanations to the audience seeking clarifications why they can’t be shown their heroes over of financial issues.

The Chairman of AUB, Gregoire Ndjaka requested Kagame to raise their voice so that Africans can get rights to broadcast African games.

“During previous AfCON in 2017, only 13 institutions showed the cup. 40 others including RBA from Rwanda didn’t show the tournament. It is sad failing to show African tournament. CAF is not behaving like an African confederation. Your excellency, kindly accept to conduct advocacy to Heads of States for this issue,” he said.

Kagame said that it is frustrating that rights to show Africans playing in Africa are run by outsiders out of the continent. He advised how countries can concert efforts to compete for the rights to be offered at an affordable cost.

“We cannot be happy for it. How long should we work under such a situation? There are many countries paying to get rights to broadcast. Money is not an issue. Why can’t we use that capability to own the rights and reduce prices?,” he wondered.

Kagame promised them support saying that Africans cannot be passive on their suffering because they know what to do to change the situation.

AUB won rights to broadcast CAF games until 2023.

AfCON is taking place in Egypt from 21st June to 19th July 2019. The final match will take place on Friday with Senegal facing off Algeria. Nigeria has won the third place after beating Tunisia. A total of 24 teams participated in AfCON2019.