Author: IGIHE

While emphasizing the role of the citizenry in protecting and promoting rights of children, Rwanda National Police (RNP) spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, said that it is common to find minors taking alcoholic beverages and in night clubs in the festive period, which is prohibited and punishable by law.

“As you are celebrating, do not sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors… respect and protect their rights. Children should also be allowed in bars when they are either in the company of their parents, relatives or responsible person but under no circumstance should a child be allowed in night clubs,” CP Kabera said.

Article 6 of law No. 71/2018 of 31/08/2018 relating to the protection of the child defines a child as any person under 18 years of age, while article 4 of the same law determines the right of the child to early adequate development. Every parent has the responsibility to care for the child to ensure appropriate development.

He further advised against “staying out with children for longer hours.”

CP Kabera appealed to the public to stand up for child protection especially in this festive period when children tend to drink alcohol, smoke and abuse drugs.

“We appeal to owners of bars to monitor these children in their premises; some of them use these places to abuse drugs and use other tricks to drink alcohol especially when in a company of people they are not related to, who attempt to manipulate and exploit them,” CP Kabera said.

“The development of any country greatly depends on its youth as a driving force, public efforts are needed to safeguard them. It is criminal to sell or serve alcohol to anyone below 18 years of age.”

Lambert Hategekimana, the officer in charge of protecting children’s rights and promoting their welfare at the National Commission for children (NCC), also urged parents and guardians to act responsibly and monitor their children in this festive period.

“This is a group that is in the age where they want to engage in varied earthly things like going to night clubs, drinking alcohol and abusing drugs out of peer influence, and this comes back to parents, guardians, owners of bars and entertainment spots and the community, in general, to protect children from these malpractices,” Hategekimana emphasized.

“The festive period is a good time for parents to sit down and discuss with their children, know their thoughts in order to improve where they failed and to start a new year with new productive plans,” he added.

“Enjoying the festive season is good, but engaging and serving alcohol to minors, spending sleepless nights in musical shows is inappropriate, irresponsible and violating their rights. Children should have enough time to rest.”

Article 27 of law that protects children states that any person who offers a child alcoholic beverages or tobacco commits an offense.

In case of recidivism, the penalty is imprisonment for a term of not less than one month but less than three months and a fine of between Rwf100, 000 and Rwf200, 000.

A person, who sells alcoholic beverages or tobacco to a child, causes or encourages a child to drink alcoholic beverages, to smoke or to go to bars commits an offence. Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than three months but less than six months and a fine of between Rwf100, 000 and Rwf200, 000.

In article 32, a parent, guardian or any other person legally responsible for the child who, without reasonable cause, neglects any of his/her obligations provided by law to the extent that the health, the security and the living conditions of the child are seriously jeopardized or the child indulges in vagrancy is also liable to community services for a period one month.

Students who study in Kamonyi, Muhanga, Nyanza, and Huye districts will go to school on January 3, 2020.

Students who study in Rusizi, Nyamasheke, Nyarugenge, Kicukiro, and Gasabo districts too will go to school on the same date.

Students who study in the Northern and Eastern provinces will go to school on Saturday January 4, 2020.

On Sunday January 5, 2020, those to go to school will be students whose schools are in Ruhango, Gisagara, Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe, Karongi, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Rubavu, and Nyabihu districts.

The Ministry of Education requested students to be in school uniforms and transportation companies to facilitate in the students’ movements.

In an extraordinary cabinet meeting that took place on November 28, 2019, the Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education Dr. Munyakazi Isaac announced that the schedule of the academic year 2020 is made up of 38 weeks that are divided into three academic terms.

The first academic term is made up of 13 weeks that will begin on January 6, 2020, and end on April 3, 2020.

The second term too is 13 weeks, beginning from April 20, 2020, to July 18, 2020.

Beginning from August 3, 2020, and ending on October 23, 2020, the third and last term will be 12 weeks.

On December 23, 2019, FARDC confirmed it had arrested the two leaders, namely the general secretary Uiyamu Mutabazi and a head political wing of CNRD François Muvuni.

The spokesperson of FARDC, Major Léon Richard Kasonga said that the two were arrested in Kalehe, South Kivu through two FARDC attacks on armed militias that operate in RDC.

He said, “We have arrested the general secretary of CNRD named Uiyamu Mutabazi. He is not alone. We also arrested one of the highest politicians of CNRD named François Muvuni. All of them are in our hands and want to return to their country [Rwanda] since peace is all we want.”

Since November 2019, FARDC launched attacks to Kivu South to eradicate all armed rebel militia.

Last week, FARDC announced that it arrested 2000 militia fighters.

By Friday, December 20, 2019, a total of 1600 people, including about 300 of the fighters with their relatives had returned to Rwanda.

After that resolution, the ministry of local government and Rwanda cooperative agency (RCA) were charged to overlook the implementation of it and helping the recovery of non-performing loans.

Debtors included local government officials and other public servants. In December 2018, it was announced that local government officials owed SACCOs debts amounting to Rwf 428.03 million in different sectors across Rwanda.

After the announcement, government officials were mandated to pay back their debts at the risk of being sacked.

The Minister of Local Government, Shyaka Anastase wrote letters to districts administrators on December 18th, 2018 and set a repayment deadline for December 31st, 2018.

It is a problem that had been lingering that it was not a surprise when the National Dialogue considered it.

In June 2018, RCA had announced non-performing loans were 16% of the total loans issued.

Sacco regulations state that non-performing loans should never exceed 5%. At the time, 1.7 billion Rwandan Francs were not reimbursed.

In February this year, RCA announced it had already recovered Rwf 300 million.

In November 2019, the Central Bank of Rwanda reiterated that the state of SACCOs non-performing loans was deplorable.

However, it has been better in the last 9 months since non-performing loans have shifted downwards from 6.8% to 6.2% in September,2019.

During his address at the 16th National Dialogue ‘Umushyikirano 2018, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente reported that at least 81% of SACCOs non-performing loans had been recovered.

About recovering loans, Minister Ngirente stated that Rwf 1.15 billion had already been recovered.

He mentioned that from the beginning, Rwf 2.2 billion had been repaid upfront, another Rwf 1.9 million was being repaid in installments and indebted public servants had paid back their debts.

Of Rwf 796 million government officials owed, Rwf 607 million have been repaid.

The Central Bank of Rwanda monetary policy committee held a meeting on May 3rd, 2019 and announced that the rate of non-performing loans in microfinance institutions had reduced from 8.8% to 7.2% recorded in the first quarter of 2018.

The dialogue started with a state of the nation address where President Kagame reiterated that “Rwanda is doing well”. He also thanked Rwandans and friends of the country for their contribution in developing Rwanda.

He urged Rwandans not to fold their arms but to build on what has already been achieved and get better results.

He added that security is always an urgent matter because without it the country would never prosper.

During the dialogue, panel discussions were held which discussed the state of the economy and the wellbeing of Rwandans at large as well as obstacles hindering the development of Rwanda and solutions to counter them under the themes “Driving double-digit growth” and “Engaging families for community resilience”.

The following resolutions were taken during the two-day dialogue:

-# Relocating residents from wetlands and high-risk zones to safer places and explaining to them that the policies being implemented are made to avoid putting their lives at stake.

-# Collaborating with the Private Sector Federation (PSF) to improve industries’ capacity utilization especially in promoting Made in Rwanda products and services.

-# Establishing facilities for SMEs to store their products especially for agricultural products and solving issues business owners face including access to packaging, no cold storage rooms, lack of knowledge in seed preparation and less to no dairy production.

-# Improving health posts across the country by equipping them with adequate facilities to help serve patients.

-# Lifting disadvantaged families from poverty and sensitizing them more about self-sufficiency.

-# Establishing measures with the support of non-governmental and religious organizations aiming at building resilience within Rwandan families and teaching parents to respect their parenting duties.

-# Promoting Early Child Development(ECD) activities and training teachers in the one-year readiness program about children’s physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, cognitive and language development, self-help skills and general knowledge.

-# Facilitating the Rwandan diaspora in contributing to the development of the country especially in the health sector and sensitizing them to share the knowledge they have acquired to the benefit of the country.

-# Building more classrooms to solve the problem of overcrowded classrooms that impeded the learning of children.

-# Making reforms in the education sector to allow students with high grades to receive government scholarships regardless of their social status.

-# Solving the problem of network connectivity and other malfunctioning infrastructures that impede the development of the country.

-# Accelerating poverty eradication through Vision 2020 Umurenge Program (VUP) Integrated Local Development Program and solving the problem of delayed payments for citizens who have completed tasks for government institutions.

Rwanda National Police (RNP) has, therefore appealed to owners of bars, churches and those intending to hold music shows, overnight prayers and other leisure events in this festive season to regulate their sound to “avoid noise nuisance.”

“The loudspeakers, prayers and public assemblies are all part of celebrations in this festive period, but these festivities must not be at the cost of other people’s beliefs and rights… those who want to enjoy in quiet places like homes,” Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, RNP spokesperson said.

He further urged those intending to hold entertainment shows to operate in designated places and within specified time, and to act in ways that will not affect the well-being of neighboring communities.

According to National Noise Pollution Guidelines, noise pollution is defined as the level of disturbance or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life.

A low sound is pleasant whereas a loud one is unpleasant and is commonly referred to as ‘noise’. Noise can be also defined as unpleasant and unwanted sound.

Noise pollution, according to National Noise Pollution Guidelines, is determined when sound goes beyond 80 decibel (db). Decibel is the unit through which noise is measured and sound becomes “physically painful” when it goes beyond 80db.

Often neglected, noise pollution adversely affects the human being leading to irritation, loss of concentration, loss of hearing, sleeping disorder among other ill effects.

“People have different ways of enjoying and celebrating but it should be done in consideration of others’ beliefs and rights, no one should affect the peace of mind and invade the privacy of other people who want to sleep, enjoy in a quiet environment or engage in other productive activities without being affected by noise or noise nuisance,” CP Kabera said.

The law No. 48/2018 of 13/08/2018 on environment in its article 53, states that; “Without prejudice to the provisions of the law determining offences and penalties in general, any person who causes noise pollution is liable to an administrative fine of Rwf500, 000.”

He was arrested last Thursday at Gatuna border post as he was going back to Uganda, a day after he mailed two text books through FedEx Express in Kigali, in which the hardcore narcotics were concealed.

The illegal parcel marked as “extremely urgent” containing the two text books (Young Learner’s Picture Dictionary and Young Learner’s Bible Dictionary) was intercepted by Airport security at Kigali International Airport earlier that day.

The pellets of heroin weighing 1kg were found concealed in the hard covers of either side of the text-books.

Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, RNP spokesperson said that Mugenyi was tracked and intercepted at Gatuna as he fled back to Uganda after mailing the books which they had used to traffic the hard drugs to China through Rwanda.

Mugenyi told journalists on Tuesday that he travelled to Kigali with the two books in the night of December 18, through Gatuna border post. He feigned ignorance that heroin was concealed in the text books. He argued that he got them from one Michelle, whom he called a “friend” residing in Kajjansi, a suburb in Uganda’s town of Entebbe.

“Earlier on December 18, Michelle called and asked me to travel to Kigali to mail the two text books to China. She claimed that it’s cheap to mail the books to China through FedEx in Kigali and paid me 60,000 Ugandan shillings in addition to other 70,000 Ugandan shilling as mail charges,” Mugenyi told journalists.

He added: “I remember Michelle telling me that ‘when anything happens I shouldn’t panic, I didn’t mind because these were just books in my eyes. The plan was to bring same text books three times a week and mail them to China from Kigali, if I succeeded mailing these first two books.”

CP Kabera warned that “Rwanda can never be used as either a destination or transit route for drug dealers.”

“We are aware that narcotics is a serious international issue and as Rwanda National Police, we have not taken that lightly; we created an Anti-Narcotics Unit and strengthened training in detecting and fighting the vice as well as strong community policing, a bond with the people, which helps us to get information on dealers,” said the spokesperson.

Although hardcore drugs are rare in Rwanda, CP Kabera said that most of those seized are trafficked from Uganda and in most cases trying to use Rwanda as a transit.

Heroin is classified as “severe narcotic drugs” under article 263 of the law determining offences and penalties in general in Rwanda.

The article provides a life sentence and a fine of more than Rwf20 million and not more than Rwf30 million, to anyone convicted of trafficking and selling severe narcotic drugs.

The call was made on Sunday, by the District Political and Civic Education Officer (DPCEO) in Nyamagabe District, Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP) Olivier Placide Kagiraneza, after finding six children aged between 10 and 11 in a tea plantation located in Gifurwe Cell, Buruhukiro Sector.

In his address to the residents, AIP Kagiraneza outlined effects of child labor saying that, “Any child who is subjected to forced labor risks dropping out of school, suffering from exhaustion and malnutrition, long-term health problems, pesticide poisoning, physical injuries and psychological damages among many other negative consequences.”

He added: “There are clear laws against child labor and several campaigns have been conducted in order to sensitize the public against such child rights violations, and everyone should understand that whoever exploits or deprives a child of their rights will be brought to justice.”

“Parents should know, they have the primary responsibility of ensuring children are not exploited or prematurely forced into labor,” he emphasized.

AIP Kagiraneza further appealed to the public to stand up against child abuse and report all forms of abuse to ensure that abusers are dealt with by the law.

“The economic development of any country greatly depends on its youth as a driving force. As such, every effort should be mobilized to safeguard children since they are the future of the country, and this is among the government’s priorities,” he said.

Article 6 of law No. 71/2018 of 31/08/2018 relating to the protection of the child defines a child as “any person under 18 years of age.”

“Parents and guardians should remember their responsibility of looking after their children and avoiding any form of abuse that makes children escape from their homes,” the officer added.

Article 6 of the law regulating labor in Rwanda, prohibits subjecting a child below the age of 18 to any form of works, which are physically harmful to the child; work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined space; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools or which involves manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in an environment, which exposes the child to temperatures, noise levels or vibrations damaging his/her health; work for longer hours or during the night or performed in confined spaces.

KFC will start its operations in Rwanda after signing partnership agreements with VIVO Energy, a company that distributes and markets Shell and Engen branded fuels and lubricants to retail and commercial customers in Africa.

The agreements state that KFC will own 50% of the franchise where it will be operating under the name “Kuku Foods” which is the copyrighted franchise name of KFC in East Africa.

After signing the agreements, KFC announced on its Instagram page that it would shortly begin operating in Rwanda.

The announcement stated, “It might not have been the best year but don’t worry, here’s something to look forward to in 2020.”

Even though no opening date has been announced, social media platforms are flooded with pictures showing KFC building currently under construction. The building is located in Remera besides SP gas station on the main road from Kicukiro, commonly known as Prince House junction.

KFC has over 23,000 KFC outlets in more than 140 countries and territories around the world with 17,000 outlets located in the United States. The Chicken restaurant chain serves at least 185 million customers every week with half of them from the US.

The chain counts 12 million customers across the world from 115 countries and operates in 22 countries in Africa including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Sankara has been indicted of crimes including plotting against Rwanda and organizing terrorist attacks in the National Park of Nyungwe. His hearing was scheduled to start on December 24th at the High Court Chamber for International Crimes located in Nyanza District, Southern Province.

The hearing has been postponed to January 17th, 2020. In a previous trial, Sankara admitted having committed all the crimes he was accused of saying that “Even birds in the trees could testify”

Among the 16 charges, he was indicted for are creating a terrorist group, complicity in terrorist acts, incitement to terrorism, spreading hate propaganda, murder, holding hostages, genocide denial, murder, conspiracy, falsification of legal documents and looting among others.

During his previous trial, as he was negotiating for release on a temporary license, Nsabimana admitted having committed all the crimes he was indicted for and asked for apologies to the Rwandan community and President Paul Kagame.

Nsabimana was the spokesperson of MRCD Ubumwe-FLN, a terrorist group operating in eastern DR Congo. The group has vented about the attacks in the Southern region of Rwanda especially in Nyaruguru and Kitabi last year when a group of assaillants attacked citizens, killing and looting them.