According to the Ministry of Health, the cases were largely detected in controlled areas.
Kigali: 22 (includes high-risk isolated cluster), Nyabihu: 8 (cluster of police station detainees); six more cases were identified in Nyamasheke: district and five others, in Rusizi district which is still under total lockdown.
Of the total confirmed cases 664 are active cases, while 710 have recovered.
Rwanda recorded the 4th COVID-19 victim, on Sunday July 12; an old man aged 78 years old.
The government on Monday started inspection of churches to ascertain their readiness before reopening.
Kagame explained to the social media influencers that the history of Rwanda’s liberation struggle of 1990-1994 is one, which every Rwandan associates with; he said many individuals sacrificed their lives to liberate the country after many years of suffering.
“During our time many of us were refugees, not only those who were out of the country but even those who were in the country because they were deprived of their rights in many cases,” he noted.
Kagame was among the people who abandoned their studies and life to join the struggle to fight against the regime that presided over three decades of misrule which culminated in the Genocide against the Tutsi.
“These people (Rwandans) should probably have decided to do something else, but they chose to sacrifice and be part of the liberation struggle,” he said in a televised session.
The Head of State was asked about his personal experience throughout the 26-year journey after the liberation, and all the way to leading the country into a stable nation.
“I didn’t embark on the liberation journey with being a president in mind. I never really targeted to become a president,” he said.
“But certain actions may have led me to where I am. It’s not as if it’s a job interview where you apply,” he added.
President kagame said Rwanda has done all it can to fight the pandemic, indicating that more people in the country have recovered from the virus compared to the active cases; he emphasized that defeating the pandemic requires working together with neighbors.
“No country has all the answers to it but we have to listen to science and do everything to curb the spread of this virus,” he told 20 influencers who were meeting at the Campaign Against Genocide Museum at Parliament.
Kagame also commented on the possibility of improved ties between Rwanda and Burundi, saying the government was ready to work with the new leadership in Burundi led by President Évariste Ndayishimiye.
“There is history that led to the bad relations between our two sister countries but we are ready to work with President Ndayishimiye of Burundi to address those issues,” he noted.
Commenting on the status of regional trade and cross border movement of goods, the Head of State said that there were challenges in movement of goods into and out of the country occasioned by challenges of cooperation by regional countries.
“I have seen in the media false reports that truck drivers entering Rwanda have been harassed and mistreated. That isn’t true. What we do is test truck drivers entering for Covid-19 and that’s what we agreed in the EAC,” kagame said.
President said that Rwanda has been facing difficulties despite attempts to seek ways to work together with other countries often being put in scenarios that could raise the country’s vulnerability to the pandemic.
The President said that cooperation is the only sure way to ensure that trade and movement of goods can continue at the same time managing the pandemic.
“My problem is not who has more cases than the other, our problem is that we should work together to manage it, to control it, there are ways known to do that and through cooperation we can have a very good understanding… There is one way of doing it for everyone; it is cooperation, feeling for one another. And knowing that if we don’t some will suffer more than others,” he said.
He however noted that Rwanda will continue to engage neighboring countries with awareness that post-Covid-19, there will be multiple areas of continued cooperation.
When President Kagame was asked what he thinks about Black Lives Matter, his answer was ‘yes, they do matter’
“I don’t think there is more value with a person of a certain skin color than the other one of a different skin color. Black people have been discriminated against not in just one place but in many places,”
“In fact, some of them have been discriminated even on their own continent, this continent of Africa,” President Kagame said, adding that it shouldn’t have happened and Black Lives Matter is an opportunity to make things different.
President Kagame said that racism should have no room; it doesn’t matter when it happened in the past, or it is happening now, it is wrong because there is no life or race that matters than the other.
“I think some people can easily distort that if you are saying that black lives matter, it is as if you are saying other lives don’t matter. I don’t think that is the issue, that is not correct,”
President Kagame said Black Lives Matter movement is important because it highlights how people have suffered under injustice, under racism, under prejudice.
President Kagame emphasized that saying that Black Lives Matter does not mean that other lives don’t matter but rather a reminder that black lives need to be treated better and not be looked at as lesser humans.
In the daily update from the Ministry of Health number were read as follow: Nyabihu: 17 (cluster in a detention center/imfungwa), Kigali: 16 (including returnees & tests of high-risk group.
Rusizi district which is still under lockdown recorded 5 cases, while Nyamagabe district, Southern Province confirmed 4 cases.
The new cases brought the numbers to a total of 1,252 cases of which 614 are still active.
There are also 635 recoveries, including 12 released on Friday; so far the pandemic has caused 3 deaths since March 14 when the first case was confirmed in Rwanda.
Meanwhile, three out of seven zones of Kigali city that were placed in total lockdown since June 25 have seen the lockdown lifted.
Colonel Frank Mutembe was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and Lieutenant Colonel David Kamu Kanamugire was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
According to Lt Col Innocent Munyengango, Mutembe is the commander of 307 Brigade in the Rwanda Defence Force, while Kanamugire is the Director of Technology in the Ministry of Defence.
Brig. General Mutembe once served as the Rwandan Battalion Contingent Commander in the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Of the new cases, seven were from Rusizi, four from Kirehe, one from Ngoma and the other four from Kigali.
The new cases came from 3,463 tests which were conducted, bringing the total number of cases to 1,210, of which the active are 584 and 623 recoveries. So far the Ministry has confirmed three deaths.
The Minister on Wednesday, issued the warning to everyone involved in the mismanagement of public resources while addressing the media at the Ministry headquarters in Kigali.
After a meeting in Rusororo, during which President Kagame asked senior officials to stand and answer questions, different high-ranking officials were summoned by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) to give response to questions regarding misuse of public resources.
The Attorney General said that it should be normal for senior officials to be investigated or questioned in line with safeguarding public resources.
“Leadership is also a mission that people are entrusted with to go and deliver and one of the things that need to be observed seriously is that when you are in power, the trappings of power, the temptation to abuse, might come,” said Busingye.
“We should get used to the fact that leaders are summoned by investigators and questioned or even imprisoned…this is because of the high regard in which this government holds accountability,” Busingye said.
Basing on calls for accountability made by President Paul Kagame to the Expanded National Executive Committee of the ruling party, RPF-Inkotanyi, Busingye said that accountability is a foundational value on which the party is built and must be embraced by all leaders.
“Leadership is a mission people are entrusted with to go and deliver; a leader must fight all temptations that come with trappings of power or else the accountability mechanisms in place will get them,” the Minister added.
Busingye further disclosed that the government is putting more priority on fighting financial crimes because of the impact they have on the economy and the wellbeing of the Rwandan people; he cited corruption, embezzlement of public funds, tax evasion, money laundering, among other financial malpractices, as crimes that slow the country’s development if unchecked.
Last week, Pierre-Damien Habumuremyi, the Chairperson of the Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders, and Decorations of Honour (CHENO) a former Prime Minister, was arrested for financial crimes that include issuing bounced cheques and breach of trust on his part while transacting on behalf of the Christian University of Rwanda which he owns.
The university, which has two campuses, has since been closed by the Ministry of Education.
Several other senior officials are being investigated for different crimes.
The donation was launched in Eastern Province on July 7, 2020, where the authorities distributed learning gadgets to students with disabilities, with a donation of 76 solar radios in Nyagatare district.
“Students with disabilities from vulnerable families have been left behind academically, there are families that do not have radios, so we came in to donate these learning gadgets to make sure that they also learn during this lockdown,” Safari William, project manager at NUDOR said.
“Parents should find time to do what a teacher would to help students to follow lessons on radios, but also learn previously taught lessons.”
REB said that 300 radio receivers and 300 flash disks will be distributed in Rulindo, Ngororero, Ruhango, Nyarugenge, and Nyagatare meaning one district per province.
Rwanda has made a significant commitment to embrace the right to education among children with disabilities, despite COVID-19 challenges.
The efforts include ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008 and the establishment of the National Council for People with Disabilities (NCPD); these acts as an advocacy body which also coordinates activities and monitors progress towards this commitment.
Kigali Transit Centre is the home of the many positive cases where, the Ministry of Health explained, truck drivers who are transiting through Rwanda to neighboring countries especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are first tested and managed.
Others are residents of the villages in Kicukiro district which are still under lockdown to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
5 cases were detected in Rusizi district, 3 in Nyamasheke, 1 in Kirehe district and 1 in Nyagatare district.
The Ministry also announced 20 new recoveries, bringing total recoveries to 595.
The new cases bring the total number in Rwanda to 1,172.
Coronavirus cases worldwide have reached 11,848,509 while deaths are now 543,609 and recoveries stand at 6,813,741. Experts have warned that the situation could get worse before it gets any better.
The two were suspended on matters related to accountability on May 25.
Alice Kayitesi was appointed to the position previously occupied by Gasana. She was the Mayor of Kamonyi district.
“Pursuant to the Law n14/2013 or 25/03/2013 determining the organization and functioning of the Province especially in its article 9;
“His Excellency the President has reinstated Mr. Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, Governor of Northern Province; and appointed Ms. Alice Kayitesi as Governor of Southern Province,” a statement signed by the Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente on behalf of the head of state reads.
The official send-off event was held at RDF Headquarters Senior Officers Mess in Kimihurura, and was presided over by the Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Albert Murasira.
Those discharged include senior officers who had reached retirement age with also those whose service contracts had come to an end.
They include 41 senior officers, 369 career officers, and other ranks, and 1018 military personnel concluded their service contracts with RDF, also 21 who have been discharged on medical grounds.
Col. Rutaremara, speaking on behalf of the retirees, said that they are retiring as happy people because their contribution to liberate Rwanda was not in vain.
“As we retire, we seize this opportunity to assure the Commander in Chief and the entire RDF leadership that even though we are retiring, we shall remain committed to the cause of total liberation of our country and that we shall never betray our comrades in the liberation struggle that we were and are still part of,” he said.
Rutaremara has also worked as the Director of Rwanda Peace Academy located in Musanze District.
Maj Gen Murasira praised these officers for their personal sacrifices, service rendered and contribution to the country.
“You have all made personal sacrifices and contributed to making Rwanda a country we are proud to call a peaceful home,” he said.
As recognition for the service rendered to RDF, the retirees were awarded certificates.
Other high ranking military officers attended the event, including the Chief of Defence Staff Gen Jean Bosco Kazura and Service Chiefs.
