Author: IGIHE

Founded by two Rwandans living in Canada, Josephine Murphy Bukuru and Joselyne Alexandre Butoyi in 2007, the charity aims to support disadvantaged people especially orphans.

Speaking to IGIHE, the Director of Shelter Them Batarure, Jules Higiro said they have expanded activities from supporting needy children to supporting their families.

Higiro was Friday sharing Christmas and New Year moments with 77 children supported by the organization.

The organization also provided them with school materials.

“We support 77 children from 22 families in Gasabo and Bugesera districts. We support them with school fees for both primary and secondary school, health insurance locally known as Mutuelle de Santé and provide them with daily meals,” said Higiro.

“We constructed houses for eight households living in extreme poverty in Bugesera, we donated them domestic animals and funds for Mutuelle de Santé.” He said the whole support is estimated at $102,000 (about Rwf86 million).

The funds were donated by philanthropists in Canada and the United States of America under the coordination of Bukuru and Butoyi.

Valentine Musabyimana, head of Agateko Village, Kabuye Cell, Nyarugenge Sector, in Bugesera District, hailed the organisation’s activities for contributing to the welfare of the population.

“This organisation has supported vulnerable households with shelters and took back to school former dropouts. We wish to see their support reaching more people,” she said.

President Paul Kagame gave a plot in Bugesera to the organization in 2013 which they plan to use for more benevolent activities.

According to the organization, they target to construct a youth center, vocational school and 10 houses to shelter the neediest orphans. All the activities are set to cost $700.

The statistics were revealed Friday in Kigali at the women training that was aimed at fighting all forms of violence facing women.

The training was organized by the City of Kigali in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (Migeprof).

Speaking at the training, the Deputy Commissioner for Public Relations, Media and Protocol at Rwanda National Police (RNP), CSP Lynder Nkuranga said that 90% of violence victims are women.

She said that RNP received 320 cases of people who faced ‘forced sexual intercourse’ from January to November and only one was a man. She said they received 687 assault cases. She added that they received 83 cases of murder, among the victims, 59 were women. She added that they received 112 cases of abortion.

Considering the statistics revealing a lot bigger number of cases reported by women, Nkuranga urged men to overcome shyness and report violence whenever they face it.

Chantal Umutesi, one of the women who shared testimonies during the training, said that men also face violence though they decide to keep quiet.

Citing example of an official in her community, she said that his wife mistreated him and neglected to do her duties at home.

“After giving birth, she refused to breastfeed her baby, something that shocked her husband. She also refused to do any home chores like cooking and that inflicted her husband,” she said.

Kicukiro District Vice-mayor in charge of finance and economic development, Emmanuel Bayingana urged participants in the training to report all forms of violence so that they can be uprooted from the society.

The casualties were all on the main southern island of Mindanao, they said.

“We’re are still trying to confirm reports of a farming village buried by a mudslide due to heavy rains brought by the typhoon,” said Ryan Cabus, an official in Tubod town.

Emergency workers and soldiers rushed to the remote village in the Lanao del Norte province.

“We have no contact with village officials because power and communications lines were down due to a tropical storm,” said Roy Secuya, a local official.

The area had been hit by Tropical storm Tembin.

“The river rose and most of the homes were swept away. The village is no longer there,” Tubod police officer Gerry Parami told AFP by telephone.

Police, soldiers and volunteers used shovels to dig through mud and debris in a bid to recover bodies in Dalama, a farming village of about 2,000 people near Tubod, Parami added.

Boulders brought down by flash floods also buried around 40 houses in the town of Piagapo, killing at least 10 people, civil defence officer Saripada Pacasum told AFP.

“We’ve sent rescuers but they’re making little progress due to the rocks,” he said.

The Philippines is pummelled by 20 major storms each year on average, many of them deadly. But Mindanao, home to 20 million people, is rarely hit by these cyclones.

Eight other people were killed by floods elsewhere on Lanao del Sur province, Pacasum said.

Police said three people each died from landslides in the provinces of Bukidnon and Zamboanga Sibugay, while one fatality was also reported in Iligan city.

Four people were listed as missing after being buried in landslides or being swept away by floodwaters, while more than 12,000 have fled their homes, they added.

After slicing across Mindanao on Friday, Tembin sped west over the Sulu Sea with gusts of 95 kilometres an hour.

It was forecast to smash into the tip of the western island of Palawan late Saturday, the state weather service said.

Tembin struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak devastated the central Philippines, leaving 54 dead and 24 missing.

The deadliest typhoon to hit the country was Haiyan, which left 7,350 people dead and destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013.

He was famously photographed in 1984 flying with a spacewalker’s jetpack, alone in the cosmic blackness above the Earth. He travelled more than 90m (300ft) away from the space shuttle Challenger during the spacewalk.

“The iconic photo of Bruce soaring effortlessly in space has inspired generations of Americans to believe that there is no limit to the human potential,” senator John McCain said in a statement. The Arizona Republican and McCandless were classmates at the US naval academy.

Nasa’s Johnson space center said on Friday that McCandless died on Thursday in California. No cause of death was given.

In an interview in 2006, McCandless said he had not been nervous about the historic spacewalk.

“I was grossly over-trained. I was just anxious to get out there and fly. I felt very comfortable … It got so cold my teeth were chattering and I was shivering, but that was a very minor thing,” he told the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado.

During that flight, McCandless and fellow astronaut Robert Stewart pioneered the use of Nasa’s backpack device that allowed astronauts walking in space to propel themselves from the shuttle. Stewart became the second person to fly untethered two hours after McCandless.

“I’d been told of the quiet vacuum you experience in space, but with three radio links saying, ‘How’s your oxygen holding out?’, ‘Stay away from the engines!’ and ‘When’s my turn?’, it wasn’t that peaceful,” McCandless wrote in the Guardian in 2015.

But he also wrote: “It was a wonderful feeling, a mix of personal elation and professional pride: it had taken many years to get to that point.”

McCandless was later part of the 1990 shuttle crew that delivered the Hubble space telescope to orbit. He also served as the mission control capsule communicator in Houston as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon in 1969.

During his spacewalk, McCandless wrote: “My wife was at mission control, and there was quite a bit of apprehension. I wanted to say something similar to Neil when he landed on the moon, so I said, ‘It may have been a small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me’. That loosened the tension a bit.”

Born in Boston, McCandless graduated from high school in Long Beach, California. He graduated from the naval academy and earned master’s degrees in electrical engineering and business administration.

As a naval pilot, he took part in the Cuban blockade in the 1962 missile crisis. McCandless was selected for astronaut training during the Gemini program, and he was a backup pilot for the first manned Skylab mission in 1973. After leaving Nasa, McCandless worked for Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Colorado.

“Bruce served his country with humility and dignity, and encouraged all of us to reach new heights,” McCain said.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen Shields McCandless, two children and two grandchildren.

According Inspector of Police (IP) Eulade Gakwaya, the Western Province Police spokesperson said the suspect was arrested on Thursday in Mukamira trading centre in Rugeshi Cell of Mukamira Sector with Rwf34000, all fake.

“He was reported by a mobile banking agent, whom he tried to defraud to deposit the fake notes in his account,” he said.

“The mobile banking agent first required to verify the notes, and called police officers after realizing that all the notes were counterfeit, who arrested the suspect at the scene of crime,” IP Gakwaya said.

“Mobile banking agents, money changers including forex bureaus and owners of small businesses are the majority targeted by these fraudsters circulating fake monies. We urge people to always be vigilant, check the notes thoroughly to avoid losses but also be quick to call the police to ensure that such criminals are arrested,” he noted.

Suspect is currently detained at Mukamira Police station.

The spokesperson also urged mobile banking and forex bureaus to always take record of their clients to facilitate traceability and arrest of those suspected to be involved in circulating fake monies.

At least 29 officers completed the three-month Police Tactical Commanders Course while the same number completed the Junior Command and Staff Course, which lasted for four months.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana, who presided over the pass-out, challenged the officers to be defined by professional conduct.

“We have a vision and a mission to attain in an exemplary and professional way,” IGP Gasana said.

He urged them to love and value their duties, respect the law and core values of Rwanda National Police.

“People in Rwanda and Rwandans in particular expect the best services, professional response to issues of safety and security affecting them but also working with them in policing and human security activities,” the Police Chief said.

The graduands covered Police operation staff work, conduct of Command Post exercises and Field Training Exercises, among other policing fields.

The Police Tactical Commanders and Police Junior Command and Staff courses are part of many academic and professional training programmes conducted by the National Police College.

Other courses include criminology and law, professional police studies, information security and forensic sciences.

In addition, the college conducts various career development courses, such as the Police Senior Command and Staff Course, which is designed to impart senior officers and commissioners with quality skills in relation to executive leadership, strategic management, command and strategic policing skills.

Source:Police News

Presiding over the swearing-in of newly appointed prosecutors at the primary level in Kigali on Friday, Ngirente told them to consider their oath adding that it is the foundation that binds them to the pact they have made with Rwandans.

Sworn-in are Marie Louise Igena, Angélique Uwimana and Ildephonse Twagirayezu who were appointed by the cabinet meeting of 5th December, 2017.

“The Government of Rwanda expects you to effectively execute your responsibilities. You should work tirelessly and collaborate with others in the profession,” he said.

“Upholding honesty, fairness, flexibility, respect and listen to clients, time management and use of ICT in service delivery should be on top of your targets,” he urged.

Citing examples of recurrent crimes that continue to frustrate the society, Ngirente urged the prosecution body to work on them ruthlessly.

“I call on the prosecution body to take into account cases of corruption, embezzlement of public resources, drug and human trafficking, gender based violence and cyber-crimes,” he urged.

The Premier said the Government of Rwanda recognizes the work of prosecution in litigating cases of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi fugitives who still are inciting genocide ideology around the world.

Akamanzi was speaking to the Diasporas during a discussion with the Senatorial Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

The discussion held at the Parliament Buildings on Thursday aimed at engaging the Diaspora community in the country’s development.

Akamanzi said that for Rwanda to become a middle-income country, they need concerted efforts from everyone including the Diaspora.

“For us to become a middle-income state, statistics show that every sector’s income needs to double. Investment stands at $1.5 billion, so, we need at least $3 billion. Tourism is estimated at around $4 million and we target at least $8 million, this is not such an easy job,” she said.

“We ask you to sell the image of the country as a place where people can safely invest their money. Whoever wants to invest their money needs to be ensured of their security and profitability.”

Akamanzi urged them to refer to available reports, like Doing Business Reports that rank Rwanda among best countries globally in easing business, to attract many investors.

Akamanzi said there are many opportunities in different sectors in which foreign investors can invest.

The World Bank Doing Business 2018 report released in October shows that Rwanda is the second country in easing business in Sub-Saharan countries and 41st globally.

The coordinator of Rwanda Diaspora Global Network (RDGN), Daniel Murenzi, said that RDB should partner with different embassies and reach out to Rwandans in Diaspora give them insights into opportunities available in the country.

“As we continue to strive for the country’s development, we need some new approaches. In addition to embassies we have out there, you should introduce progrommes aimed at visiting Rwandans in their host countries and show them how they can contribute in the desired development,” he said.

Rwandan Diaspora had also participated in the National Dialogue Council locally known as Umushyikirrano early this week.

Oxfam Rwanda will offer financial assistance to rape victims to help rehabilitate and improve their lives. The project running until 2022 was launched in Kigali, Thursday.

Oxfam Association and Rwanda’s Ministry of Family and Gender Promotion (Migeprof) were aghast at the proportions of rape against underage girls often sitting school bench and the very negative effects of the phenomenon on their future. The effects include school dropouts, deterioration of living conditions, uncertain future and death as some attempt self-induced abortion.

Funded by the Government of Scotland, Oxfam’s rape aid project worth £ 1.3 million (about Rwf1.3 billion) will operate in Violation Alert Centers (One Stop Centers) located in Remera-Rukoma in Kamonyi District, Kabgayi in Muhanga, Gitwe in Ruhango, Kabutare in Huye, Shyira in Nyabihu and Gisenyi in Rubavu District. The centers locally known as ‘Isange’ operate within the districts’ hospitals.

Part of this fund will be offered as capital to rape victims for starting income-generating projects to help them prosper.

“We want to support them financially so that they can be self-sufficed.” There are 1,000 teenage girls raped in four districts of the Southern Province and two of the Western Province who will benefit from this fund. They will receive training and start-up funds for their business, “said Patrick Wajero, Country Director of Oxfam.

“For our part, we shall continue to raise awareness of the consequences of rape, a crime that can be eradicated with the assistance of all Rwandans,” said Minister at Migeprof, Esperance Nyirasafari.

She insisted on the repressive effects of this crime which is wrapped in taboos and ignorant mentalities whereby some victims believe that rape is a taboo that must be kept secret.

Statistics of the National Public Prosecution Authority indicate that 1,951 trials of rape and other domestic violence cases were recorded in the financial year 2016-17, leaving 1889 men and 62 women convicted.

Migeprof also recorded alarming statistics showing that 17,500 underage girls acquired early pregnancies that forced them to drop out of school in 2016.