Among the new cases are four from Kigali while Burera, Muhanga and Musanze district each had one case.
Since the first Coronavirus patient appeared in Rwanda, 548 938 sample tests have been made of which 5073 cases were confirmed. Of these, 4848 have already recovered while 191 are still active cases. 34 people have succumbed to the virus
Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.
Rwandans are required to continue to comply with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands and water and soap, wearing masks when leaving home or in public.
In a surprise announcement, Pope Francis elevated the 13 Archbishops from different parts of the world, including Archbishop Kambanda who is the first Rwandan Roman Catholic Church clergyman to attain such heights.
In his first interview upon being announced, the Archbishop of Kigali said on Rwanda Television that he was not aware of the development and it had not crossed his mind that he would be designated a Cardinal by Pope Francis.
“We thank God for his mercies, for it is He who decides everything. It is something I never thought of, but by the power of God, it has happened. I also thank His Holiness Pope Francis for showing trust in me and surprising me because I had no idea this was going to happen. People started telling me about it and I couldn’t believe it until I got the confirmation,” Archbishop Kambanda said.
“So, I’m thankful to God for this and I commit myself to continue serving him. This is something I love with all my heart and I have dedicated my life to serving him. This means a lot. The trust that has been put in me means that I will continue to serve the church wholeheartedly,” he said.
Archbishop Kambanda said that his elevation to Cardinal is a result of a number of factors, including the relationship between the church and country, the role of the church in Rwanda and his contribution in spreading the gospel and ensuring that the church promotes harmony and co-existence.
Archbishop Kambanda is the first Rwandan Cardinal in Rwanda and will only be the 2nd Cardinal in Service, together with the one of Kinshasa. Elsewhere, the Cardinals in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam have all retired after completing their mandate.
“It is a great honour not only for me but for the entire church in Rwanda and this creates hope for the Church in Rwanda. It comes with a number of privileges as one becomes an advisor of the Pope and is given a place in Diocese of Rome as one of the Pope’s Councilors,”
Archbishop Kambanda, who is turning 62 this November, was named Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali on 11 November 2018.
He will officially be assigned the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020.
Born on 10 November 1958 in Rwanda, Bishop Kambanda’s family fled from the ethnic violence that gripped Rwanda at the time where they moved briefly to Burundi and then to Uganda, where he attended elementary, and then to Kenya, where he attended high school.
He later returned to Rwanda, where he attended the junior Seminary in Rutongo, Kigali, from 1983 to 1984 and joined the Saint Charles Borromeo Major Seminary of Nyakibanda in Butare, in the current Huye District, from 1984 to 1990).
On September 8, 1990, he was ordained a priest in Kabgayi by Pope John Paul II. After that he was Prefect of Studies from 1990 to 1993 in the minor seminary of St. Vincent in Ndera, Kigali.
He then attended the Alphonsian Academy in Rome from 1993 to 1999, where he obtained a doctorate in moral theology. His parents and five of his six siblings, along with many other relatives and friends, were killed in 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Kambanda was appointed Director of the diocesan office of Caritas in Kigali in 1999. He then became director of the Development Committee of the Diocese of Kigali, head of the “Justice and Peace” Commission of the diocese, and professor of moral theology and visitor at the Nyakibanda Major Seminary.
In September 2005 Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe appointed him rector of the inter-diocesan major philosophy seminary in Kabgayi. On 10 February 2006 Kambanda was appointed rector of the Saint Charles Borromeo Major Seminary of Nyakibanda.
He replaced Monseigneur Smaragde Mbonyintege, who had been named a bishop.
On 7 May 2013, Pope Francis named Kambanda Bishop of Kibungo, succeeding Kizito Bahujimihigo, who resigned in January 2010. The Episcopal Conference of Rwanda elected him to attend the Synod of Bishops in 2015. On 19 November 2018, Pope Francis named him Archbishop of Kigali.
Other Archbishops elevated to the rank of Cardinal include Washington D.C.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who will become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red hat; an Italian who is the long-time papal preacher at the Vatican, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan friar; the Capiz, Philippines, Archbishop Jose Feurte Advincula, the Santiago, Chile, Archbishop Celestino Aos and Franciscan Friar Mauro Gambetti, in charge of the Sacred Convent in Assisi.
The program aims to grow the technical skills of the graduates, train them in the Ericsson technology, solutions and their delivery and understanding our processes, methods and tools.
In addition, getting exposed to working in a large global matrix driven organization in terms of the ways of working, understanding vision, mission, strategies, corporate culture and values of the company. All this to get geared up to meet the business challenges of the future.
We believe this graduate program helps build local talent for our African markets and helps build into our long-term commitment to develop and grow our business in Africa. This way we access the best talent and provide them careers in a global environment, over a period of time.
Caroline Berns, Head of Talent Acquisition at Ericsson Middle East and Africa says: “The Fresh Graduate Program in Africa is designed to give graduates’ career an added momentum at just the right time – maximizing the skills they have gained in the course of their degree, adding more to their repertoire and equipping them to make a positive impact on the continent. Aiming to attract and guide the most talented, innovative and creative technology minds, the programs offers graduates an opportunity to engage with the most exciting technology on the planet and the challenges it brings.”
The Graduate Program helps Ericsson to move the needle on gender equality within the field of technology; half of the graduates hired are women. This is in alignment with Ericsson Educate and local Connect to Learn projects which empower women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields and leverage connectivity to increase access to education for children, especially girls.
Our young graduates with curious and innovative minds, work alongside the brightest minds in the industry and work on projects that are changing the world of communication and thus become the future of the telecoms industry in Africa.
Due to the sudden and unprecedented disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Graduate Program will run virtually for the time being, and will focus on graduates in Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Angola. Applications are now closed for this phase but the program is expected to roll out in more countries in the continent during a second phase. Interested candidates can sign up for the job alert on
Ericsson.com/careers to be informed immediately when new programs are being opened.
Kigali from October 14th to October 21, 2020. Attended by 13 civil servants and representatives of the private sector, the eight-day online training has been administered in collaboration with the Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC) with the objective of equipping participants with knowledge and skills for agricultural development, sustainable water management, and appropriate response to climate change.
It prepared a diverse range of lectures and workshops to deliver practical knowledge on agricultural development to the participants.
RMI was chosen to be the host institution of the training because it was the primary beneficiary of KOICA’s project of “Human Resources Development for Civil Service Capacity Building (2014-2018)”. Under this project, KOICA financed the upgrading of its training facility with a cutting edge teleconference system, including sound and video systems and equipment and capacity building of RMI staff.
“In response to this unprecedented crisis posed by COVID-19, KOICA had to find an innovative alternative to keep our capacity building programs going”, Mr Chon Gyung Shik, Country Director of KOICA Rwanda office said in his closing remarks.
“Though this is the first online training, I believe this will clearly demonstrate how ICT can be incorporated into our grant programs and help strengthen our digital transformation strategy”. “As we navigate this challenge, we will keep trying to apply new ways of doing things to improve our performance while saving costs”, he added.
‘’This training has been important to me to get enough knowledge on the management of agriculture infrastructures as well as rural community, “said Alain Nzeyimana, Mechanization Workshop Specialist at RAB, one of participants of the training. “I now understand how to manage the infrastructure and how to involve community in the management of agriculture infrastructure“.
Every year, KOICA offers various training opportunities in the form of invitational training in Korea to its partner countries across the globe. In 2019, KOICA Rwanda office sent about 60 people to Korea for two-week short-term training programs, including “Capacity Building for Policy Development and Coordination” and “Capacity Building Program for Research on Natural Resources and Energy”.
However, due to the global health risks posed by COVID-19 which accompanied health measures and travel restrictions in many countries, KOICA has had to shift the inivational training to online training in which trainers and trainees are connected through an online platform.
Launched in Rwanda in April 2020, ayoba is an easy to use instant messaging platform that includes informative channels as well as gaming available to all networks in Rwanda. The unique proposition for MTN customers is to be able to communicate at no data cost with all their contacts.
Commenting on the launch of the promo, MTN’s Marketing Operations Senior Manager, Desire Ruhinguka said, “Our mission is to lead digital for a brighter Rwanda. As part of our Digital Celebration named Twizamukire, we are rewarding MTN customers for joining us on this digital journey by simply using ayoba for communication and entertainment.”
On a weekly basis, 30 lucky ayoba users will win cash prizes of up to Rwf50,000 and another 30 winners will receive airtime valued at Rwf5,000. New users simply have to download ayoba via Google Play Store or www.ayoba.me. Upon successfully downloading the app, the customer is required to register and use the ayoba existing features such as messaging and subscribing to channels.
Olivier Prentout, ayoba’s Head of Consumer Marketing said: “We are delighted once again to partner with MTN in Rwanda and we believe this promotion will provide new users on a great chance to join the ayoba family and enjoy the benefit of not using your data to play, share, listen and chat”
Ayoba is more than just a messaging app as it offers free games and music as well as lots of channels of information on sports, fashion, current news to name a few. MTN customers can stay connected to one another regardless of their network, access updated local content from channels like Igihe, listen to music and play games all at no data cost.
At about 11 am on Thursday, October 22, Police officers raided the house where skin whitening lotions, soaps and oils that filled three pick-up vehicles, were recovered.
Three people including the owner of the store identified as Eric Mizero, one of his suppliers Lousie Sinumvayabo and another dealer called Jesca Kamaliza, were arrested in the process.
Mizero was also arrested red-handed handing over Frw850,000, which is part of Frw1 million bribe he had promised Police officers so as to prevent his arrest and seizure of his illegal goods.
The seized banned products were in various brands including Diana, White Max, Peau Jaune, Diproson and Naomi.
Others include Carolight, Faiza Beauty cream, Epiderm cream, Extra Claire and Coco pulp.
Mizero explained that his suppliers bring the products clandestinely in small quantities to prevent being detected.
One of the suspects, Sinumvayabo had at the time brought new consignments of skin whitening products.
Mizero and Kamaliza also have shops in Biryogo, Nyamirambo which deal in skin bleaching products.
RNP spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera said that these are acts of fraud, trafficking of banned and dangerous products, illegal cross-border during the process of smuggling or trafficking, and bribery, all which are punishable by law.
“This is what we normally say; besides evading taxes, smuggling also brings into market outlawed and harmful products like these lotions, which were identified as dangerous to human skin and health in general, and ultimately banned in Rwanda,” CP Kabera said.
The seized whitening products are among the 1,342 listed cream and oil brands with hydroquinone and mercury, which are prohibited in Rwanda.
The skin bleaching products are labeled illegal under the ministerial order determining the list of cosmetics, whose use is prohibited in Rwanda; the law on organization, functioning, and competence of the Council of Pharmacists; and the law relating to the regulation and inspection of food and pharmaceutical products.
Mercury and hydroquinone cause liver damage, reduce resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, and increase anxiety, according to the World Health Organization.
If it enters the bloodstream, it also results into fatal liver and kidney damage, although medics say the most immediate visible side effect is skin scarring.
Health experts confirm that prolonged use of corticosteroid creams and lotions can also decrease levels of collagen in the skin.
Collagen strengthens and supports the skin, and a reduced amount can increase the risk of striae commonly known as stretch marks.
“We have been carrying out awareness against sell and use of banned creams and oils with mercury and hydroquinone, but also against bribery and corruption in general. Those, who have kept deaf ears like these three people, will face the law.
We thank people, who continue to share information on such unlawful acts and call for enhanced spirit of community policing against these illegal practices,” CP Kabera said.
Seized outlawed products are normally disposed of.
However, under the East African Community Management Act, which is applicable in Rwanda, seized smuggled goods under article 199, are auctioned.
According to article 4 of the Law on Fighting Against Corruption, any person who offers, solicits, accepts or receives, by any means, an illegal benefit for himself/herself or another person in order to render or omit a service under his or her mandate, commits an offense.
Upon conviction, the offender is liable to imprisonment for a term of between five years and seven years, with a fine of three to five times the value of the illegal benefit solicited or received.
Hakizimana was arrested red-handed in Gatore Sector, Cyunuzi Cell, where he was found digging up the electric rods.
He was also found with other metals and tubes, which he allegedly stole from pylons, according to Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the police spokesperson for the Eastern region.
“Residents in Gatore have been reporting these acts of vandalising electric infrastructure, and suspected Hakizimana to be behind them” CIP Twizeyimana said.
He added: “In the morning of October 19, a resident called the Police after seeing Hakizimana vandalising pylons. Police officers found him unearthing lightning rods but had already cut other metals and tubes from other pylons.”
Hakizimana was also recently reported by Rwanda Energy Group (REG) officials in Kirehe, who had found him unearthing lightning rods from pylons.
At the time, Hakizimana escaped from the REG officials, who tried to apprehend and hand him over to law enforcement organs.
The spokesperson lauded the support of Kirehe community policing partners, who disclosed the destruction and facilitated the arrest of the prime suspect.
Hakizimana was handed over to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) for further legal process.
According to article 182 of the law relating to offences and penalties in general in Rwanda, “any person, who maliciously demolishes or damages in any way, in whole or in part of construction, building, bridge, dams, water pipes and their routes, railway rails or any other means of communication or electric power infrastructure, wells or any other constructions, which do not belong to him/her, commits an offence.
Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than three (3) years and not more than five (5) years with a fine of not less than Frw3 million and not more than Frw5 million.
He made the remarks on Thursday while officiating at the swearing-in ceremony of six new Senators who have joined the upper house.
Addressing participants at the swearing-in ceremony of the senators, President Kagame said that while the country is coming out of the crisis caused by Coronavirus, it is unlikely that everything will return to normal.
“I have been seeing people cry out about the problems of transport, that it is expensive. It’s a problem because when following closely on the matter of this pandemic we are now facing, as we are moving out of it, not all things can automatically go back to the way they used to be, that is why it is important to inform the public the importance of the decisions you are taking.” he said.
President Kagame said the demands of the people were being considered but stressed that even the resumption of movements, and more activities resuming is also a good step.
“Try to explain to the public that we are doing everything we can, that there is nothing we would not do to try and reduce the impact of these problems but that they should also look elsewhere and that solutions to problems are not always easy to find, it requires patience and good work from all of us,” he advised.
The six new Senators include two who were nominated by political parties, namely Mugisha Alex and Mukakarangwa Clotilde and four who were nominated by the President; Prof. Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, Epiphanie Kanziza, André Twahirwa, and former Minister of State in charge of Constitutional Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana.
Speaking at the first physical swearing-in ceremony at Parliamentary Building since the covid-19 outbreak in March, President Kagame said that the new Senators come in office when the challenge the country has to deal with doubled due to the pandemic which has a major impact on the economy.
“The kind of task at hand for us, in our context as a country, requires us to have the right mindset and sacrifice. It requires us to deliver to the highest expectations possible. Our past left us with challenges which we must address. These include the welfare of Rwandans which we must improve, economic challenges, justice and many more, which we need to work on for us to develop. We have come from far but we know we still have a long way to go. The expectations therefore are very clear,” President Kagame said.
The President advised the senators that they should expect challenges along the way and they should be ready to confront them, citing the impact of the pandemic on Rwanda and the world as one the challenges they will start with, to ensure that the country comes out of it as soon as possible.
He added that the pandemic put the country and the citizens in a difficult position where the decisions made to contain the virus, such as lockdowns, curfew and others disrupted the lives of Rwandans economically but they were unavoidable.
“It disrupted us, it disrupted our lives, our economy, our development goals and ambitions, adding to the already existing challenges we were working to address.
This means that our challenges doubled. It also means that we need to double our efforts to deal with these challenges. Whatever we were doing, we must multiply and increase the momentum. As leaders we are expected to do even more to overcome these challenges,” President Kagame considered.
The Head of State made the observation on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Great Reset Dialogue under the theme “Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, alongside the President of Colombia, Ivan Duque and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Kagame pointed out some of the different initiatives by the government and the private sector to integrate technology in different spheres of the economy and how they have paid off, saying that technology is an enabler when it comes to service delivery and equipping young people with the right skills.
“Over the past 20 years, Rwanda has continued to prioritize investment in technology, broadband, and digital skills,” President Kagame said, pointing out some of the partnerships Rwanda has built with global tech companies.
“We have enjoyed partnership with the technology companies; you mentioned the use of drones. We have had the opportunity to partner with the company Zipline that has invested with us in Rwanda in drone technology,” President Kagame said, adding that the country is able to use the drones in the health sector, to deliver blood in rural parts of the country.
President Kagame pointed out the importance of such partnerships between the private sector and government which deliver for the people and help address challenges in different sectors such as health and education.
“We have also forged a partnership with the World Economic Forum, which we are very happy with. We have benefited from that partnership where we have created the centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution here in Rwanda,” he said adding that the centre will not only benefit the country but the entire continent.
“The partnership has extended to even other countries. We have patterned with WEF, countries like Israel, Singapore and these are advanced in many cases in this area and we have benefited from this partnership, which we hope to broaden and continue with other countries,” President Kagame said.
The Head of State said that in building such partnerships, the private sector has continually been pivotal in making sure that they bring in the necessary resources for the Investment, but also the know-how through technology.
“We really have this vision where not only do we develop these capacities within our own country, but also across the continent and each country in our continent has made their own investments,” he said, calling for more linkages of such continental structures especially for young people to leverage them.
“We have made our investments and we have seen progress for our people, for our Industries, but also across the continent of Africa and we have seen young people take up this opportunity to be involved with the development and in the innovations and the interpretation of the partnership that comes around,” he said.
The president spoke of the role of the private sector in building public private partnerships where government leaders like himself also participate with the aim of ensuring that this technological development is harmonized to deliver results.
He said that the participation of leaders in the process is to ensure that there is the needed regulatory environment across Africa that makes it easy to know “what to expect with each other and among ourselves”.
He said that African countries are aware that technology innovation is moving very fast and this puts pressure on regulators to find the right balance so that countries are able to work together, especially in the context of the new Continental Free Trade Area, which he said will create the largest market across the world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, considered one of the world’s most technologically innovative countries, similarly argued that investment in technological skills are important to create a digital world.
“Technological education that starts below (with those who don’t have skills) is important, but there has to be high skilled individuals,” he said.
He added that Israel has adopted a deliberate strategy to increase the number of skilled individuals in technology, highlighting that the number with first time degree students in Information and Communications has in the recent increased by 70 per cent.
However, Netanyahu indicated that many countries risk creating digital divide, saying it was critical to invest in infrastructure such as computers, fibre internet and provide access to other technology tools to those who cannot afford them.
President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia, on the other hand, emphasized the need for creating an enabling environment for players to work, especially those that want to invest in emerging technology.
He mentioned Colombia’s case which has created a framework for development of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, and financial technology (FinTech), among other things.
“A regulatory sandbox was put in place to accelerate access to smartphones to boost FinTech. We have seen the largest FinTech penetration, and we have started accelerating these services,” he noted.
