Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

Updates on the submission of the UPR report were announced by the Ministry of Justice in Kigali on Monday October 19, 2020 following its approval by a cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame last week.

The UPR report will be submitted this week for evaluation by the United Nation member states in Geneva, Switzerland following member states suggesting 50 recommendations to improve several human rights areas including freedom of expression, legal reforms, independence of the judiciary, and social, economic, and people’s welfare.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the UPR report will be submitted next week, after five years of the government working to implement recommendations suggested by UN members in February 2015.

The successful implementation depends on the nature of each recommendation; the recommendations regarding social, economic and welfare are hard to implement fully because of the budget, these were implemented at the rate of 95%.

“But other recommendations including amending the law or removing it, this has been done successfully at 100%,” said Providence Umurungi, Head of International Justice and Judicial Cooperation Department at MINIJUST.

“Recommendations like removing defamation in our penal code, putting in place national preventive mechanism, convention against torture, these have been successfully implemented and we are proud of it.”

Umurungi added that Rwanda showed the commitment to the UPR mechanism but working on all the recommendations by 95 percent.

“We worked on every recommendation that we received from UN member states, we are proud to announce that the total of 50 recommendations was implemented at an average rate of 95%,”

“We shall present these recommendations in January 2021, they will be evaluated and we could receive other recommendations and work on them too, because it benefits citizens,” she said.

As part of the implementations of the recommendations, the government launched the Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) to improve the rule of law on April 18, 2018. In the same month, The Rwanda National Police officially handed over functions of the defunct Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the newly created RIB.

Since inception, RIB is an autonomous specialized body established by law Nº12/2017 of 07/04/2017 and responsible for performing career investigative functions, gathers evidence, and assists local law enforcement agencies in ensuring law and order.

In December 2017, Rwanda revised the penal code, making a relief for journalists from general defamation which was a criminal offense attracting a jail term of up to one year and a fine of up to Rwf 5 million.

The revised law provided that general defamation could be reported to the Rwanda Media Commission – the journalists’ self-regulatory body, removing it in the penal code.

Other implementations included establishing a national preventive mechanism, the body against the torture of prisoners. The new prison was built and others rehabilitated to stop overcrowding of prisoners, among other implementations.

Rwanda designated National Commission for Human Rights as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to comply with the Optional Protocol on Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The purpose of the OPCAT was to assist states to implement their existing obligations under the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) to prohibit and prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

“A lot has been done in five years since we received the recommendations, new prisons were built for example Nyarugenge prison, and several others were rehabilitated to comply with human rights watch, the ankle bracelets were approved by the cabinet of ministers and we are at the final stage of using them. We are still working on the installation of this high tech that will have convicts monitored outside the prison,” Umurungi said.

She added that regarding gender equality implementation, Rwanda is among the champions in the region.

“This has been achieved successfully. In the new family law, women have equal rights as men. The implementations of recommendations benefit Rwandans, recommendations will be presented as other UN member states do, they help to discuss how human rights can be improved among member states,” she said.

Among other gains, 9440 prisoners have been released, and 110 people have been pardoned in recent years, while 1,010 of 1,300 people who were reported missing were found.

Based on a full year of Tripadvisor reviews, prior to any changes caused by the pandemic, award winners are known for consistently receiving great traveler/diner feedback, placing them in the top 10% of hospitality businesses around the globe.

“We are delighted to have received the 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our clients who continue to visit our coffee center to sit and drink our Rwandan women-grown specialty coffee with others, and buy our freshly roasted coffees to brew at home with family and friends, even during this most especially difficult time of COVID-19. Without them this wouldn’t be possible. Again, thank you,” said Micheline Habineza, Managing Director at Question Coffee Café and Training Center.

“Winners of the 2020 Travelers’ Choice Awards should be proud of this distinguished recognition,” said Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor. “Although it’s been a challenging year for travel and hospitality, we want to celebrate our partners’ achievements. Award winners are beloved for their exceptional service and quality. Not only are these winners well deserving, they are also a great source of inspiration for travelers/diners as the world begins to venture out again.”

To see traveler/diner reviews and popular coffee drinks, coffee tours, roasted coffee bags and merchandise at retail of Question Coffee Café & Training Center, visit https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293829-d10247293-Reviews-Question_Coffee_Bar-Kigali_Kigali_Province.html.

The Question Coffee Café is powered by Rwandan women enrolled in programs funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Women’s Economic Development portfolio, which aims to increase the economic independence of women and their families. Since 2007, more than 475,000 women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan have enrolled in one or more of 12 vocational training programs, and over 2.1 million members of their families have benefitted due to their increase in income and assets.

Lt. Col. Nyirishema said that the rise in public passenger fares on most routes in the city and upcountry are part of the routine increase after every two years.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the existing fares had been set in March 2018 and were expected to remain in force for two years and would be revised in March this year but was affected by the pandemic as the country went into lockdown.

“When public transport, especially after occupancy levels increased to 100 percent, the idea was to implement the routine revision of transport fares after two years which is what we did,” Nyirishema said, adding however that there was a reduction from what people were paying during COVID-19 restrictions.

Explaining the increment on certain routes such as Kimironko and Nyacyonga, Col. Nyirishema said that out of 57 routes in the City of Kigali, there was an increase on 5 routes after RURA figured out that there was a miscalculation of distance on those particular routes.

“The 5 routes on which the fare was increased are the ones which have been talked about a lot. Upcountry I don’t recall any route where the rate increased.”

“On the routes where the fare increased, we had counted less kilometres than the actual distance in the 2018 rates. We measured again and rectified that. For instance, on the Nyacyonga-Downtown route, we initially calculated 10km but we found out that the actual distance is 14.1km,” Nyirishema said.

He also said that they found out that the Kimironko-Nyabugogo route was initially thought to be 12km but they found it was 13.5km. Other routes that were revised include the Batsinda route as well as Kibaya-Kanombe-Remera. He said that the issue had been raised by transport operators but RURA requested them to wait until the next revision of fares which happens every two years.

Nyirishema clarified that RURA does not only look at the side of the operators and investors but also the interests of the consumers, pointing out that when public transport resumed, when buses were carrying only 50 percent of the capacity, they did not double the transport fares.

“We did this because we had the interests of the people at heart but in whatever decision we take, we make sure that consumers are protected but also operators have a reason to stay in business, otherwise they would also drop out if they were to operate in losses,” Nyirishema said.

“The idea is to make sure that investors in the transport sector remain in business while at the same time the rights of the users are ensured,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, RURA said it would talk to stakeholders in the public transport sector to find a ‘reasonable solution’, following a public outcry over recently announced revised transport fares, which saw a hike in the cost of transport.

The regulatory body reacted on Sunday following public complaints on social media, which saw the hashtag #RURA4TransportFairness trending, with many accusing RURA of revising transport fares upwards without considering the economic situation in the country which was worsened by the New Coronavirus outbreak.

RURA announced new transport fares in the City of Kigali and on upcountry routes last week; these saw a reduction on the rates introduced at the beginning of June, following a suspension of public transport in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, compared to pre-COVID-19 rates, the new fares reflected an increase, a development which angered many who accused RURA of not considering the citizens and the economic hardships they are facing due to the pandemic but rather the interests of the investors in the transport sectors.

To this,RURA said that the new rates had been revised based on a number of factors, including the cost of operation for each route as well as other factors that directly impact the sector, which was also hard hit by the New Coronavirus outbreak.

Nyirishema said that RURA was well aware of the challenges and economic hardships people are facing due to the COVID-19 outbreak but again whatever decision was made was carefully thought and factored in many issues.

Joseph Sibomana, 25, was arrested on Sunday, October 18, in Isangano village of Rukoko cell in Rubavu sector.

He hails from the nearby Kanama Sector in Musabike cell, Nyakibande village.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Twizere Karekezi, the Police spokesperson of the Western region, said that Sibomana was at the time found in the plantations where he had allegedly set a trap to ambush people.

“There was information of a man with a gun, who ambushes people and steals their valuables. On Sunday, at about 11 am, following information from herdsmen that the same person was hiding in a field near the border with DR Congo, where he had set a trap; security personnel were immediately dispatched apprehend the suspect, and they successfully arrested Sibomana,” CIP Karekezi said.

At the time, he added, Sibomana was wearing a military attire and holding a fake gun.

“So far, five people have come forward claiming to have been robbed by Sibomana at gun point, which gun turned out to be a fake one made out of wood. Residents thought that they were being robbed by security organs.”

“His main targets were smugglers. He would take money from them and at times take their goods in instances where smugglers ran away thinking they were fleeing from security personnel. However, all the five victims so identified are local residents, who were running their errands when Sibomana ambushed them in wee hours,” the spokesperson explained.

There is information that Sibomana works with other people and security are still searching for them.

Article 170 in the new penal code states that “any person, who carries out theft with a weapon, commits armed robbery.”

If convicted for armed robbery committed by more than one person or a group, the penalty is an imprisonment for a term of not less than fifteen (15) years and not more than twenty (20) years and a fine of not less than Frw 5 million and not more than Frw 7 million.

Among the new cases are two from Kigali and one from Nyagatare

Since the first Coronavirus patient appeared in Rwanda, 534 409 sample tests have been made of which 4965 cases were confirmed. Of these, 4974 have already recovered while 157 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.

The ministry said the victim was a 39 years old man.

Among the new cases are three from Kigali and nine were registered in Karongi from new cases in a refugee camp.

Since the first Coronavirus patient appeared in Rwanda, 530,304 sample tests have been made of which 4965 cases were confirmed. Of these, 4,664 have already recovered while 267 were still active cases.

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.

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.”

Ayoba users will win cash prizes of up to Rwf50,000 weekly and airtime. 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.

Other senators appointed are Kanziza Epiphanie and Twahirwa Andre.

These senators replaced Prof. Karangwa Chrysologue, Kalimba Zephyrin, Uwimana Consolée and Nyagahura Marguerite who had been appointed by the President of the Republic and ended their term.