Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

Chaired by President Paul Kagame at Urugwiro Village on Thursday, the cabinet maintained several decisions that were taken on August 26, 2020; yet the easing of the curfew is sending relief among the public who had difficultly started adjusting to the 7 PM hour.

Among other decisions that pleased the public is the resumption of movements to and from Rusizi, the only district (from Western Rwanda) which remained in lockdown for nearly six months.

“Mouvements to/from Rusizi in private transport is allowed, but they should respect the health guidelines,” reads the statement.

However, the public transport between Kigali and the rest of the districts of the country will remain closed.

Concerning meetings and events, the cabinet said that “all the authorized gatherings including meetings and weddings will continue, with respect of health institutions’ measures including testing for COVID-19 where participants themselves will bear the cost. The number of participants should not exceed 30% of the capacity of the venue,”

The authorization is given by Local government institutions and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) after examining whether the applicants fulfill all the requirements.

Also testing for COVID-19 and bearing the cost, will be all those that seek to do a trip at Rwanda’s national parks.

“All people are reminded that they should respect the COVID-19 preventive measures including one-meter social distance, wearing the face mask and washing hands. Failure to respect this will attract sanctions,”

Like other sports, no cycling race has been organized since March this year when the first Coronavirus case was found in Rwanda.

Two-and-a-half months ago, the game was among few of which the players were allowed to train but it is not yet known when the tournament could be resumed.

In an interview with IGIHE, Niyonshuti said that although his players have not played in races for a long time, they continue to monitor them even during the lockdown.

Regarding the preparations for the tournament, Niyonshuti said they were waiting for the decision to be taken by the relevant authorities as they planned to take part in various competitions in Belgium, which were often held in the summer.

“I think the Ministry of Sports will have discussions with the federation and coordinate to see what is needed and we can go back to the tournaments. If not, what I would say to the players is to prepare for next year because I think if we are lucky next year we will have the Tour du Rwanda tournament,” he said.

“If it goes well and we get the visas, and the invitations to the games we had planned to go to Belgium, maybe we will go there for the games in October or November because I think the year of the games will be long even though it is difficult taking the kids to Europe during the cold season,” he added.

For the past two years, the management of SKOL’s soft and non-alcoholic beverages factory has been sending athletes to Belgium for competitions during the summer between July and August.

“Taking them there in October and November when it’s cold, it would be nice for them to get used to the cold weather if they want to be professional players, but if it doesn’t happen, we can focus on the Tour du Rwanda. This year has been like a waste in everything but their life is what matters more.”

The SACA coach said the first challenge right now, for many people, is to get the necessary documents to travel to different countries in these times of Coronavirus.

“Many children here in Africa, going to Italy, France and elsewhere are having a hard time. Getting a visa that was available for two weeks can also take up to three months. Much as everything is planned now, obtaining visas has become a problem.”

Since last month, various tournaments have been organized in Europe and this Saturday, August 29, is the start of the Tour de France with the participation of the world’s top teams.

It is yet to be known where the world championship tournament, in which Rwanda will participate, will be held. So far, Sweden which is likely to host the competition in Aigle-Martigny between September 20 and 27, has extended the deadline for non-assembly of more than 1,000 people until October 1 as part of a strategy for Coronavirus Prevention.

Among the new cases identified were 17 from Kigali testing in high risk groups, 3 in Kirehe and Rusizi one new case.

The figures released on Wednesday put the number of confirmed cases in Rwanda at 4,460, of which 2,325 including 18 new recoveries recorded on the same day, which means the active cases are now 2114 cases.

As of September 9, 451,408 sample tests had been taken.

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 complying with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands and water and soap, wearing masks when leaving home or in public.

According to a study by the Goma Volcano Observatory, the eruption will affect more than two million people living on the outskirts of the volcano, especially in city of Goma and Rubavu in Rwanda.

According to the agency, the population growth in Goma has led to some of the people settled on the paths of which these volcanoes may erupt, putting their lives in danger.

The recent volcano eruption was in 2002, caused extensive damage to both the DRC and Rwanda, with Rwanda receiving about 400,000 Congolese refugees; at the time, some houses were demolished on the Congolese side and in parts of Rwanda near Goma.

The premier made the remarks on Tuesday when more than 10,000 people attended a virtual conference on agricultural development in Africa, hosted by Rwanda.

Besides the virtual participants, about a hundred people gathered at the Kigali Convention Center to exchange views on the future of the continent.

Dr Ngirente, while officially opening the 10th Summit called on the youth to be given a special place in the development of Africa through agriculture.

“The African continent has a population of 1.2 billion and over 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25. This large number of African youth is the foundation for changing the agricultural sector on this continent, only these young Africans do not see the agricultural sector as an opportunity for profitability and development; so it is important that we continue to highlight the challenges that remain in this regard, attracting young people, especially through the use of technology in agricultural development,” appealed Dr. Ngirente.

Ngirente said Rwanda has set long term development frameworks, rural-urban linkages through integrated development plans which is reflected in a new 30-year development strategy for the period up to 2050 (Vision 2050).

“For this, we are increasing investments in research and innovations. These will generate and disseminate new technologies to boost the overall agricultural production,” Ngirente said.

Ngirente said that specifically 47.2% of the country’s land surface has been allocated for agriculture and livestock in the new revised land use master plan which was launched in September to boost agriculture activities.

He said that there will be increased agricultural production to build a well-functioning rural sector which will support the value chain.

The African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Board Chairman also former Ethiopian Prime Minister , Hailemariam Desalegn has hailed Rwanda for taking lead in transforming agricultural growth on the continent.

Desalegn said that Africa’s drive to fuel agriculture at the heart of economic transformation is needed but only a few countries on the continent have managed to invest their resources in this direction.

“Few countries have demonstrated this as well as Rwanda which seems to be recognized by the African Union once again, as a county most on-track with the desired progress in the agriculture sector,” he said.

AGRF says that a $250billion market per year leveraging Urban Food Markets to Achieve Sustainable Food Systems in Africa, is a call to action to rethink our food systems to deliver resilient, better nourished, and more prosperous outcomes for all.

“We need food systems that are equitable, sustainable, resilient, and capable of meeting the global challenges of malnutrition, poverty and climate change as well as be responsive to emerging and unforeseen challenges – such as those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We must not relent in our effort to transform food systems for the benefit of everyone,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and Special Envoy to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

The summit is to be held from 8 – 11 September 2020 with over 10,000 participants logging online due to the Coronavirus crisis, and experts expected to discuss this year’s theme “Feeding The Cities Grow the Continent”, in various platforms which will tackle use of agro technology, trade and food chains.

According to Elise Villechalane, the Spokesperson of the UNHCR in Rwanda, technical teams from both countries have been meeting to assess the repatriation process, which has to be agreed upon between Rwanda and Burundi, with the support of UNHCR.

“So far we have 3,637 people who have registered to return home. Over 500 will be transported back home this week. We expect to see more convoys at least every week as more people continue to express the interest to voluntarily return home,” Villechalane said.

Villechalane added that screening activities are ongoing to ascertain those who are ready to voluntarily return home; this includes assessing their health status to see if they need special support, details of where they will go in their home country and the specific needs of each of the refugees.

UNHCR said that pre-departure assessment estimates that over 500 people will be repatriated this Thursday but the final figure will be determined before the D-day as the number of people is expected to increase.

The first group departed last month after sides from Rwanda and Burundi met to agree on the repatriation process. Officials from the Ministries responsible for refugees and military intelligence chief from both sides met to discuss the refugee situation.

Though the repatriation of Burundian refugees to their home country has raised hope of the refugee crisis in the East African region relenting, the UNHCR says it is facing major challenges in regard to the budgetary resources needed support the process.

Calling on the international community and donors to support the process, Villechalane said: “There are more Burundian refugees returning home from different countries, not just the ones in Rwanda Rwanda. There was no budget for this, which means that UNHCR has to find resources by all means so that the refugees can be helped to return home.”

Villechalane also explained that repatriating refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a strenuous process, since all people who want to return home voluntarily must be tested for the New Coronavirus, as part of the protocol, before they are allowed entry into Burundi.

“We are thankful to the Ministry of Health of Rwanda and Rwanda Biomedical Centre for facilitating this process by conducting tests on refugees who want to voluntarily return home but generally COVID-19 has made it made more difficult for us to carry out this exercise,” she said.

Rwanda is home to some 70, 000 Burundian refugees, 60, 000 of whom are in Mahama Camp located in Kirehe district, Eastern Province. Majority fled the country in 2015 as the country descended into a political conflict triggered by late President Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.

Some Burundian refugees in Rwanda remain reluctant to return home, fearing reprisal attacks, with many accusing President Ndayishimiye of not making assurances on safety.

Among the new cases identified were 18 from Kigali testing in high risk groups, Rusizi recorded 4 cases, Kamonyi and Rubavu recorded 2 cases each, while Gisagara, Musanze, Kirehe,and Karongi recorded 1 new case each.

The figures released on Tuesday put the number of confirmed cases in Rwanda at 4,439, while the number of recoveries got to 2307 including 36 new recoveries recorded on the same day, which means the active cases are now 2112 cases.

As of September 8, 447,603 sample tests have been taken so far.

The Ministry of Health continues to encourage people to take more precautionary measures, while there is hope that a COVID-19 vaccine may be available in the near future although in terms of treatment, research may still be lagging behind.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Ngamije Daniel, told reporters on Monday that the disease is present in the country and is becoming more prevalent in various parts of the country, more often than not new case are found from people working in closed up areas.

“So it is something we need to keep on doing because in the coming days, in the next three months the vaccine will be available, people should, therefore, be patient during the waiting time so as not to overly charge our healthcare facilities and allowing them to continue to take good care of them,” said the Minister.

Currently, people who are more affected by the pandemic in Rwanda are those that have been diagnosed with other health conditions such as chronic diseases, as diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity.

They were arrested in separate Police operations conducted in the cells of Murambi and Kanoga in Nyakarenzo Sector.

There has been growing complaints from the local residents over rings of fraudsters, according to Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Twizere Karekezi, the Police spokesperson of the Western region.

“This is a big group, some of their members were arrested in the previous operations and currently either serving their sentences or still in the prosecution process,” CIP Karekezi said.

“Most of the information is got from the public. They say some people call them claiming to have mistakenly sent them money on their mobile accounts and tell them to urgently wire the money back. Others impersonate telecommunication companies’ workers and demand that their targeted victims change their Mobile Money PIN to the new PIN they tell them,” CP Karekezi explained.

Apparently, the fraudsters formulate Mobile money messages, which they send to the targeted individuals. If you are not vigilant enough, you might indeed think that someone has sent money on your mobile account.

Equally, when these fraudsters get to know your SIM-Card PIN, it becomes easy for them to access you mobile account.

“This new group of 15 people, were arrested based on information provided by their colleagues arrested in the previous operations as well as residents, but there are others that were are still tracking,” CIP Karekezi said.

Previously, the conmen would defraud people with a shiny object saying it’s gold.
“They would call or send messages to people that they found a gold stone weighing 2,000kgs and ask for help to translate the words on it, which they claimed are written in a foreign language.

They would say the gold bar has 1914 written on it and that it was left behind by colonialists. They would try many tricks to entice you until they take your money but the people got to know this method and the fraudsters have continued to change the tricks.”

CIP Karekezi called upon the public to be vigilant and not trust anyone who tells they to “resend” money and to never share their PIN, and other suspicious favours people would ask.

He added that in case anyone reaches out to them with such unclear offers, they should report it to security organs or their local leaders immediately.

All the arrested suspects admitted to the alleged crimes. They were taken to the COVID-19 isolation centre in Kamembe, where they will be handed to Rwanda Investigation Bureau once they test Negative for Coronavirus.

While appearing on Waramutse Rwanda, a morning talk-show on Rwanda Television on Monday, September 7, RNP spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera, observed that violations mainly include not respecting the time when everyone should be home as well as not wearing facemask.

“Like it was directed in the recent Cabinet Meeting of August 26, there were changes in movement hours; movements are now prohibited between 7 pm and 5 am.

It has been observed that some people have not adjusted according to this directive, but all relevant entities are working together to enforce and ensure that it’s respected,” CP Kabera said.

He observed that there are four groups of people in relation to compliance.

Those, who fully understand and comply with the directives as issued; those who understand and take responsive steps to facilitate the implementation and enforcement through awareness and information sharing on violators; those who comply because they are forced or penalized; and habitual violators who are penalized but fail to change their behavior.

“The better part is that those who comply and are responsive constitute the vast majority. We urge everyone to fall under this group instead of being forced,” CP Kabera said.

Use of force

While responding to concerns of the Police extreme use of force, which has been making rounds on social media platforms, CP Kabera said that “this is uncalled-for.”

“Police officers are held accountable, right from the one who, insult or verbally abuse members of community; refuses to give a service or respond to an emergency call; up to the one, who used excessive force in the course of their dity,” CP Kabera emphasized.

He added: “When extreme force is used, those implicated or responsible are held accountable after thorough investigations conducted jointly by RIB and the Police. Police officers are Rwandans like others and are not above the law.