Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

With his decision, Francis gives women the right to act as readers and altar servers, assisting the priest during services or in administering Communion.

Although the move is far from the more significant step of admitting women to the priesthood, Francis said it was a way to recognize that they can make a “precious contribution” to the church.

The new law merely formalizes a role that women in many parts of the world, including Rwanda, have already been holding. But until now, they had been serving as acolytes and lectors as the positions are known at the discretion of local bishops or priests. In some cases, conservative bishops have made a point of enforcing male-only altar services, something they will no longer be able to do.

Speaking to IGIHE, the Archbishop of Kigali, Cardinal Antoine Kambanda welcomed the decision of Pope Francis highlighting that it will foster evangelization.

Referring to Coronavirus preventive measures that saw the Government imposing lockdown and ordering churches’ closure, Kambanda explained that laities have proven capability to contribute to church services where they took responsibility to teach children how to pray and led gospel celebration at home or elsewhere during and after lockdown.

“You understand that laities are getting more involved in leading liturgical services. At home, a child recognizes God, learns to pray, how to remain faithful and seek protection from God. These virtues are imparted by parents. In fact, family is the church’s foundation,” he said.

“Pope Francis wants laities to be involved in church’s activities to increasingly decentralize services to Christians. A priest might not be able to reach all patients who need sacraments but laities provide assistance,” added Cardinal Kambanda.

In a new edict, the pope formalized what in practice has been already allowed for years in many communities around the world.

“The pontiff, therefore, has established that women can accede to these ministries and they are attributed by a liturgical function that institutionalizes them,” the Vatican said.

It also stressed, that these roles were “essentially distinct from the ordained ministry,” explaining that this new step towards women’s equality within the church should not be seen as a precursor to women being ordained as priests – something feared by many conservative Catholics.

The new decree, called “Spiritus Domini,” modifies the Code of Canon Law to establish that women can have access to these ministries and that they are recognized through a liturgical act formally instituting them as such.

The pope said many bishops from around the world had said that the change was necessary to respond to the “needs of the times.”

In recent years the church has struggled in some regions to recruit new members of the all-male priesthood.

Francis specified that he wanted to welcome recommendations which have emerged from various synodal assemblies, writing that “a doctrinal development has been arrived at in these last years that has brought to light how certain ministries instituted by the Church have as their basis the common condition of being baptized and the royal priesthood received in the Sacrament of Baptism.”

The Motu proprio edict was accompanied by a letter addressed to the prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, in which Francis explained the theological motivations behind his decision.

The pontiff wrote that “within the spectrum of renewal traced out by the [the 1960s’] Second Vatican Council, the urgency is being ever more felt today to rediscover the co-responsibility of all of the baptized in the Church and the mission of the laity in a particular way.”

Pope Paul VI was the pioneer of reforms placing women in liturgical services since 1963. Later on, his successors gradually appointed women in Catholic Church’s decision making positions.

An under-18 adolescent is considered by the law as a minor and is limited to accessing sexual reproductive health services without parents’ or guardians’ consent.

Rwanda’s 2020 report on human rights shows that 11.6% teenagers were provided with contraceptives while 15,656 unexpected pregnancies among teenagers were recorded last year between January and August.

The Government of Rwanda has been assessing the issue of unexpected pregnancies among teenagers depriving them some of basic rights like education.

As he appeared to the parliamentary chamber of senate in November 2018, Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente said that the study was underway to seek how teenagers can be allowed to use contraceptives as one of solutions to reduce unexpected pregnancies.

Health Development Initiative (HDI), a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Kigali that empowers communities to lead healthier lives by providing access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services reveals that the requirement for adolescents to access contraceptives in presence of parents impedes the reduction of unexpected pregnancies.

Dr. Aflodis Kagaba, the Executive Director of HDI says that requiring parents to escort teenagers seeking contraceptives is still a challenge to the youth.

“The fact that under 18 teen is required to go with the parent at health facilities can be destructive because the society rests on differences that some parents might lose trust to children. If laws are revised, and extend awareness among the public that contraceptives doesn’t necessarily concern spouses would reduce such worries,” he said.

Dr Kagaba explains that people thinking contraceptives would trigger increased sexual relations and cause side effects to teens have inadequate information.

“People consider the negative aspects because they don’t have enough information. Health care professionals assist teenagers differently considering their age brackets,” he said.

Dr Kagaba says establishing centers with trained health care professionals assisting adolescents in reproductive health would be a great contribution.

Yvette Nyinawumuntu, the executive director of Save Generation Organization, a local non-government organisation dedicated to promoting and advocating for children and women’s rights has also told IGIHE that the current law poses difficulties to people seeking reproductive health services.

“Escorting teenagers for contraception services is a hindrance. Sometimes, adolescents have secrets that they fear to reveal to parents. The culture of educating children on reproductive health within families is also getting decimated. Primitive mindset is still a barrier for teenagers to access improved reproductive services. The situation will get boost, if a parents understand that helping daughters access such services is among consider primary responsibilities,” she says.

Nyinawumuntu explains that every parent should interact with children and develop the habit of educating them on reproductive health, thus creating the bond of friendship that children will be free to tell the truth.

She underscores that revising the law on human reproductive health and training stakeholders would be a step further to improved reproductive health services.

“We want the law to be revised and organize trainings to all stakeholders. We are advocating because parents need to interact and take care of children so that they grow with full knowledge on reproductive health. Parents will also understand that escorting children for such services is a responsibility,” says Nyinawumuntu.

Some adolescents told IGIHE that contraception is a good service for them but expressed concerns that girls fear to involve parents into private life.

“Providing teenagers with contraception services is a good program. It was implemented to help us but it is very difficult to engage the family for such support. Allowing adolescents to access such services without parents’ permission would be commendable,” says Ishimwe Clémentine aged 16.

In December 2020, the Ministry of Health revealed that discussions were underway to seek together how adolescents between the age of 15 and 18 can be allowed to access contraceptives without consulting parents or guardians.

Thirdly, the foundation seeks to conduct research on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in collaboration with relevant organizations through organizing conferences and seminars on the Genocide against Tutsi, archiving the history of the genocide and promoting the culture of reading and writing about the Genocide against Tutsi.

Speaking on the objective of this foundation, Yolande Mukagasana President and founding member said: “The ideology and the denial of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi is still topical, especially in journalistic and academic sectors influenced by the perpetrators of the genocide and their friends. With the evolution of the media that gave birth to social media which give an easy audience to the most weird statements in the name of freedom of expression. As keepers of memory, we cannot accept the distortion of the history of Rwanda and of the genocide in particular”.

The Foundation was founded by different people; Rwandans and foreigners of all categories in age, education, skills and experiences with different backgrounds, majority being young people who want to rebuild Rwanda, and build on differences. The Foundation will also denounce genocide denial and revisionism.

“We must know that our differences do not make us enemies, but the riches on which we must all rebuild. The genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi is the history of Rwandans, it is the history of humanity. To fight against the ideology and denial of genocide is to fight against hate. Hence, it’s everyone’s duty to get involved in this fight “added Yolande Mukagasana.

Yolande Mukagasana Foundation is open to anyone, to any institution, both national and international, sharing the same vision.

{{About Yolande Mukagasana}}

The genocide against the Tutsi has left Yolande Mukagasana widowed and childless. Since 1995, she has been confronted with the Denial and Revisionism of this genocide in the West. Her struggle began in 1995 in Europe where she spent 16 years talking and testifying about the Genocide against Tutsi, justice, peace and living together despite her wounds.

She has travelled around the world to bear witness to what happened in Rwanda in 1994. She has received various awards including the Honorable Mention of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education, recognition by the American Jewish Community and many others.

Yolande Mukagasana is also the author of seven books translated into different languages and such are the reasons why Yolande Mukagasana’s commitment to promote the culture of reading and writing about the genocide against the Tutsi, hence keeping the memory alive.

Yolande Mukagasana believes that “There will be no humanity without forgiveness, there will be no forgiveness without justice, and there will be no justice without humanity.”

The decision to repossess the land went into effect on 1st January 2021.

The decision raised mixed reactions despite Government’s repeated reminders to the public on registration deadline.

The Director of Land Administration Unit at RLMUA, Jean Baptiste Mukarage has told IGIHE that the land will be registered to the Government temporarily as they wait for owners to get them registered.

“The Government has taken over a total of 1,499,845 plots of land. These include 31, 997 in Kigali City; 503 274 in Southern Province, 399, 305 in Western Province; 303,383 in Northern Province and 261 886 in Eastern Province,” he said.

Mukarage explained that such lands remain unregistered for various reasons whereby some owners don’t value the activity, try to evade tax while others don’t have identities or lack basic documents to have lands registration.

Other reasons include people exploiting Government’s lands for free fearing to get them registered and others unwilling to expose their wealth.

Mukarage revealed that owners will continue to utilize their unregistered land before the Government communicates further decision.

“People will continue to register their lands presenting ownership documents obtained from cell’s land committees in collaboration with sectors’ officials,” he said.

Mukarage has underscored that deeper analysis will be conducted to understand why each plot of land is not registered before taking further decisions.

He said that the Government might take full ownership of unregistered lands if concerned people continue to keep quiet without claims to complete the registration process.

The Government of Rwanda launched land registration in 2009 completed 2013 but some people have not yet registered their properties.

In January 2020, RLMUA released a statement informing the general public that everyone should have registered his/her land within six months.

The deadline set on 30th June 2020 was extended to 30th December 2020 due to COVID-19. The institution revealed that unregistered land would be considered abandoned properties after the deadline.

Commenting on the deadline that was set towards the end of December 2020, the Director General of RLMUA, Esperance Mukamana explained that Rwanda has no gain in taking over people’s land and encouraged land owners to rush for registration.

“The Government has nothing to gain from taking over anyone’s property. We want people to do the necessary to register their land. If you fail to do so, the Government will temporarily takeover the land and return it when you have had it registered,” she said.

Mukamana explained that people registering the land temporarily owned by the Government will not be subject to fines and pointed out advantages of land registration.

“Land registration has played a critical role in solving land related disputes. For instance, land dispute cases taken to court have reduced. Moreover, land owners can use their land documents to acquire bank loans,” noted Mukamana.

The article 20 of the Law No 43/2013 of 16/06/2013 determining land use in Rwanda shows that land registration is obligatory.

Figures from RLMUA show that 9,965,648 plots of land have been registered since 2009 when the land registration exercise began that remaining ones without registration equal to 1,561,201 across the country.

The new development has been revealed by NEC Executive Secretary, Charles Munyaneza during a talk show aired on Rwanda Television.

The budget that was prepared before Coronavirus pandemic might however be increased because there were no considerations for some expenses like hand sanitizers at every polling station, water to wash hands, and others related to the prevention of Covid-19.

“Citizens’ participation during elections increases as years pass by. The higher number of voters should correspond to increased budget but it should not be a burden to the country which has other areas of focus to promote citizens’ progress,” he said.

“The budget was prepared in 2019. We didn’t know that Coronavirus would emerge. Thus, the budget might increase due to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 given that polling rooms will be increased from 16,000 of 2016 to almost 17,000,” added Munyaneza.

At least 1.3 million contenders are expected to participate in upcoming elections while 600 are set to vote for the first time.

As Munyaneza explained, the budget is estimated at Rwf 3.5 billion down from Rwf 5 billion of parliamentarians’ elections in 2018.

NEC is set to start receive candidatures for aspirants to join districts’ advisory committee.

NEC Chairman, Prof Kalisa Mbanda revealed that applications will be submitted online to contain the spread of COVID-19.

He highlighted that Coronavirus preventive measures will also be observed during local leaders elections scheduled on 20th to 22nd February 2021.

“Our team has recently visited different sites countrywide to assess if polling stations have enough spaces or need more rooms. Usually, people would interact being closer to each other but we have taken measures enabling voters to respect social distancing to contain the spread of Covid-19,” said Mbanda.

NEC timetable shows that villages’ advisory committees will be elected on 20th February 2021 while cell and sectors’ advisory committees will be elected between 20th and 22nd February 2021.

On 5th March 2021, there will be elections for districts’ advisory committees and executive committees (mayor and vice mayors).

Only Rwandans aged 18 years without particular restrictions are eligible to vote.

Those eligible to vote should not have been served more than 6 month-sentence, should not be pinned to murder cases, not involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Among others, an individual sacked from public service is not allowed not vote.

NEC figures show that a total of 6, 469, 037 voters participated in 2016 local leaders elections while 2018 parliamentary elections attracted 7, 172,612 voters.

So far, 7,856,406 voters are registered on the provisional list of elections scheduled from 20th to 22nd February 2021.

Capt Rusine who was once enrolled in Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and Col Irombe were arrested on 7th January 2021 through Congolese Special Forces known as ‘Hibou Special Forces’.

Rusine joined FLN in 2018 after dismissal from RDF over conviction for robbery crimes. He was sacked at the rank of Lieutenant.

Col Irombe was heading FLN military court. He was born in 1967 in former Commune Tare currently in Gakenke district. He studied secondary school at Rwesero Junior Seminary.

As RPF soldiers stooped genocide, Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) fled to DRC where Irombe pursued Laws at Lubumbashi University.

He once served as Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) Judiciary Commissioner and personal secretary of Col Bigaruka. The arrest of the two men follows the death of Lt Col Butera Didier, former FLN advisor killed during FARC operations.

The week-long fight between FARDC and CNRD/MRCD rebel groups in Muzimu and Kigoma of Uvila in Southern Kivu saw 36 FLN fighters killed. The rebel group’s headquarters has also been captured by FARDC.

FLN has been on the brink of defeat since top leaders have been arrested. These include the spokesperson, Nsabimana Callixte Sankara and his successor, Herman Nsengimana as well as the Chairman Paul Rusesabagina who are detained in Rwanda.

Recently arrested leaders are additional to other members of the terror groups extradited to Rwanda including Major Habibu Mudathiru along with rebels who had joined the coalition of armed groups allied to RNC that intended to destabilize Rwanda’s security and FDLR tope leaders like Ignace Nkaka, alias LaForge Fils Bazeye, Lt Col Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo FDLR arrested and facing justice in Rwanda.