Author: John Mbaraga

Rugege was speaking on Friday in Kigali at the commemoration of former justice sector personnel that were massacred during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi attended by, among others, justice sector employees and families of slain victims.

He said that the value that should be bestowed upon genocide victims is justice which does not consider ethnicity.

“Among what we should give particular attention is cases related with the genocide against the Tutsi. They should be fairly tried because when they are not properly handled, they can destabilize the attained unity and reconciliation among Rwandans,” he explained.

“I call upon prosecutors and Judges’ attention when handling cases of genocide ideology, deniers and trivializers or when re-trying cases that had been tried by Gacaca courts,” he said.

Speaking at the event, the head National Commission for the Fight Against the Genocide, Dr. Jean Damascène Bizimana said that prior to the 1994 liberation, justice system turned a blind eye in pursuing people who initiated hatred and cultivated the genocide ideology among Rwandans.

“Judiciary is among sectors that paved ways for the genocide. Investigators and prosecutors were characterized by persecuting and judges were characterized by injustice, neglecting laws and violating human rights based on ethnicity; Tutsi were particularly desecrated,” he explained.

“Judiciary did not pursue politicians who initiated activities spreading hate and genocide ideology,” he noted.

He said that political parties like APROSOMA and Parmehutu started to spread documents cultivating hate and trivializing Tutsi in 1957 and 1959 through their papers.

The now Rwanda Arts Museum had been the residence of two Rwandan Presidents, Juvenal Habyarimana who lived there until 1994 and Pastor Bizimungu who lived there from 1994 to 2000.

Since 2003, the building had been Presidential Palace Museum and was under management of the Institute of National Museum of Rwanda (INMR).

According to INMR, changing the palace into arts museum came from visitors’ request and artists who want to develop the sector.

Speaking at the launch of the museum yesterday, INMR Managing Director, Amb. Robert Masozera said that they are carrying reforms in different museums and today, three museums have been changed.

He said that they started from former environmental museum in Karongi, museum showcasing Rwanda’s colonial history in Kigali and the next was Presidential Palace.

“This is based on visitors’ and partners’ wishes; they suggested different changes in exhibition and the name of the museum. There were no historical things to see in the museum,” he explained.

“We used to tell history of two presidents who lived here and people go uncontended, that is where we started to think about something that we can add here, and that’s where we brought the art museum,” he added.

The same museum has been in Nyanza District since 2006 to 2018 in King Mutara III Rudahigwa Palace.

Currently, the museum has a total of 127 artifacts, among them 117 were in Nyanza based museum.

He encouraged artists to bring their artifacts to the place whose current monthly visits stand at 35,000.

Presidential Palace has been the fourth most visited museum, after the Capaign Against Genocide Museum, ethnographic museum at Huye, and Nyanza King’s Palace.

Currently Rwanda has eight museums with 200,000 visitors and earn the country about Rwf200 million per month.

The launch of the museum coincided with the International Museum Day which was celebrated under the theme “Hyper-connected museums: New approaches, new publics.”

Holtzman was speaking on Friday during an annual shareholders’ general meeting of Bank of Kigali.

“We intend to cross-list BK Group plc on the Nairobi Securities Exchange official list, the first Rwandan Company to go on the international Market” Holtzman said.

He said that based on bank’s functioning and intensified use of ICT in their operations; they should work towards changes in customer treatment and shareholders.

“For us to continue to lead, we decided to raise our initial investment to between $60 and $70 million in the second term of the financial year both on local and international market,” he said.

After listing to the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Bank of Kigali will be the first Rwandan company to go on the international market.

Holtzman said that the move is in the interest of shareholders as the Kenyan market is very rich, but do not invest in Rwandan market.

He said that once listed, they will help the development of local market.

BK Group Plc, Chief Executive Officer, Diane Karusisi pledged continued development.

“We are proud to be the leading financial institution in Rwanda, be in depositing, providing loans for big projects, tax payment and profitability. Last year, BK earned Rwf23.3 billion of profit,” she explained.

In the meeting, shareholders adopted the annual report and audited financial reports of the year ended 31st December 2017

The three year grant was signed on Thursday between the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana and the Ambassador of German to Rwanda Dr. Peter Woeste.

Ambassador Woeste hailed Rwanda’s economic development in past years and added that he wishes for continued development through implementation of national transformation agenda under the partnership of private sector and non-government organizations.

“I am very happy for open discussions with the government of Rwanda, though sometimes we can understand things differently on some matters, this is a sign of true friendship,” he said.

Minister Ndagijimana said that the grant will be allocated in sectors that will enable the country achieve long-term targets.

“Development partnership exists, and through this signed agreement, we cement the optimism and good relations between our countries,” he explained.

Every three years, both countries hold discussions and agree on development cooperation in different programmes. This year’s discussions started yesterday to end today Friday 18th focusing on 2017-2019 development cooperation projects.

The government of Rwanda and German have cooperation relations since 1963.

Speaking at the event on Thursday, Ngirente said that the Government of Rwanda decided to eradicate stunting because of its negative impacts on sustainable development. He said that studies show that stunted children tend to be at greater risk of illness and death.

“The launch of this multi-sectorial programme on combating stunting includes three projects that will target districts with highest stunting rates in Rwanda and accelerate reduction of stunting,” he said.

The programme will play role in increasing coverage of high-impact health and nutrition intervention in 13 districts with high stunting rates.
Nyabihu district has the highest stunting rates with 59% of children have stunted growth.

Ngirente said that ending stunting requires cross-cut partnership and called on parents to embrace early childhood development programmes, family planning and awareness about first 1000 days of childhood.

He pledged government support to families with children who are highly affected by stunting.

“We shall not cease unless this problem is completely terminated. Rwandans achieved many things that were quite complicated. Terminating stunting will not conquer us,” he noted.

World Bank Group Country Director, Yasser El Gammal said that through good partnership with the government of Rwanda, they will continue to collaborate in fighting malnutrition which causes stunting.

“We believe that Rwanda will make it, as Rwandans have demonstrated that what is impossible elsewhere is possible here,” he said.

In April, Rwanda and World Bank signed additional funding of $23 million (about Rwf19 billion) for the project to fight malnutrition among children.

This was announced by the RCS Commissioner General, George Rwigamba yesterday when the Ministry of Justice and affiliated institutions were discussing the 2018-2019 Budget Framework Paper with the Parliamentary National Budget and Patrimony Committee.

He said that there is need to beef-up RCS force for greater efficiency. Based on international standards, Rwigamba said that one prison guard protects 20 inmates, or below that number, but, in Rwanda there are no exact numbers because prisons receive many inmates.

“We do not have standardized number because inmates increase against constant numbers of officers. Today, there’s order in correctional facilities because of the way we structured security and services inside prisons with reference to local administration structure,” he explained.

Rwigamba said that though in prisons they have administrative entities like sectors, Cells and villages which help providing quick response to problem that may arise, the small number of guards still affects them.

“This administrative process doesn’t solve the problem of guards shortage, they are very few, they don’t have time to rest based on different services like escorting inmates to court, hospital and in prison’s daily activities. Guards from day shift also return during the night, and that is their daily routine,” he explained.

He said that they are preparing to receive 287 new prison guards in July, but, the number is too low to solve the existing problem.

In December 2017, RCS revealed that Rwandan Prisons had a total of 64,757 inmates with 1694 prison guards.