The statement released last night shows that 43 people caught the virus while 101 recovered.
Rwanda confirmed the first Coronavirus case on 14th March 2020. Since then, 27 162 people have been tested positive of whom 26 129 recovered, 674 are active cases while 359 have succumbed to the virus.
A total of 350, 400 people have been vaccinated since Rwanda began countrywide inoculation programme on 5th March 2021 of whom 223,392 have received the second vaccine shot.
The hospitality establishment is owned by one Grace Musengimana, who is among those arrested. All the people caught in the Sauna are non-residents, which is contrary to the government directives.
Under the government Covid-19 directives, all swimming pools and spas are closed except for people residing in that hospitality establishment and with negative Covid-19 test results. The violators were shown to the media on Friday, June 4.
Grace Musengimana argued that she was not aware that Spas services are still closed.
“I thought that spas are among the services that were allowed to resume under the recent government directives. For that, I apologize and urge others to adhere to the directives and wait until these services will be given a green light,” Musengimana said.
Shema Jonas, director of Good Governance for Gasabo District, said people should not try to feign ignorance on prohibited services.
“The Covid-19 pandemic still around, despite the reduction in cases. The government allows services and other remain closed for reasons based on risks involved, and directives must be adhered to,” said Shema.
RNP Deputy spokesperson, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Africa Apollo Sendahangarwa, said the violators were arrested due to a tip-off by concerned residents.
“Police got information from area residents at about 2pm, that there are people violating the directives in Golden Palms Spas. We responded to a tip-off and found eight people in the spa including the owner,’’ said CSP Africa.
He appealed the public to consider the risks involved, the current situation of the pandemic and the directives meant to prevent the spread and contain the virus.
While commending members of the public, who continue to report such violations, he observed that such actions can lead the country back into another wave of infections and lockdown.
The violators were taken to Amahoro stadium where they were educated on health measures, tested Covid-19 at their own costs and handed administrative fines.
The three-month pilot phase launched on Friday 4th June 2021 at Kigali International Airport, is a result of partnership with the Germany Embassy in Rwanda.
The launch of the project was presided over by the Deputy Inspector of Police (DIGP) in charge of Operations, Felix Namuhoranye and RBC Director General, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana.
Police officers under the Canine Brigade were trained as dog handlers.
Rwanda becomes the first African country to rollout the use of sniffer dogs in detecting COVID-19 positive cases.
Dr. Nsanzimana said five sniffer dogs will be used in the three-month pilot phase. He added that the use of sniffer dogs will save time that was being spent to produce laboratory test results.
“It is a pilot project but soon, we will be using these sniffer dogs in areas that receive many people. These sniffers will speed up the testing process and easy to identify COVID-19 positive cases. The current lab process takes at least two days for people can receive their results, but these sniffers will be able to detect positive cases instantly,” said Dr. Nsanzimana.
The dogs are trained to recognize a distinctive odour produced by people with the virus, but undetectable to the human nose.
According to Dr. Nsanzimana, there will be no contact between dogs and people.
“It will be just a cloth used on the person, put in a marked container for the dogs to sniff out Coronavirus,” Dr. Nsanzimana said.
According to experts, dogs can have up to 100,000 times the smelling ability of humans and have long been used to sniff out drugs and explosives.
Dr. Nsanzimana observed that there are people, who were complaining or not contented with the nasal and mouth swab Covid-19 test coupled with delays in getting results, which will be eased with the use of sniffer dogs.
Prof. Leo Mutesa, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Rwanda, said the dogs are trained for over 400 hours before they start sniffing out Covid-19.
The sniffer dogs’ COVID-19 detection capability, Prof. Mutesa said, is at 94%. One dog, he added, has the capacity to produce results for at least 200 people in a space of two minutes.
The five dogs will be used to screen and test at least 1000 people in the pilot phase.
New changes were announced on Friday 4th June 2021.
Among other appointments, Lieutenant General Jean Jacques Mupenzi has been appointed Airforce Chief of Staff while Major General Emmanuel Bayingana became a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.
Lt General Muganga has been the RDF Division Commander for Eastern Province and Kigali.
Muganga replaces Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi appointed Airforce Chief of Staff.
Lt Gen Muganga is among soldiers that liberated the country and stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In 2012, he was elevated from the rank of Brigadier General to Major General. He was the commander of RDF Fourth Division before leaving for studies overseas.
Upon return, he was appointed Commander of First Division.
Lt Gen Muganga is also the current Chairman of APR Football Club (APR FC), a position held since January 2021.
{{Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi}}
Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi was born in 1968 and previously served as the RDF Army Chief of Staff (ACOS). For the last 30 years of his military career the Gen has commanded Battalion, Brigade and Division both during peace time and war time.
He has been the Commandant of the Rwanda Defence Force Senior Command and Staff College and the Commander Mechanized Division.
The Gen has attended military courses both within Rwanda, Region and Abroad. He is a fellow of National Defence College (Karen-Kenya), Joint Passed Staff College (UK), Passed Staff College (Nigeria) and Army High Command Course (China).
Lt Gen Jean Mupenzi is a holder of Masters Degrees in Defence Studies and International Studies from Kings College London (UK) and Nairobi Universities respectively. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration.
He has served as the Rwandan Battalion Contingent Commander in Darfur in the AMIS and the Sector Commander in the UNMISS. The Gen has attended and participated in several Regional Field and Command Post Exercises intended to operationalize the African Stand-By Force (ASF) as well as Eastern African Stand-By Force. He has attended high level conferences/ seminars/ Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (USA) and Regional Senior Mission Leaders Course at International Peace Support Training Centre (Kenya).
The Gen is happily married and his hobbies include Jogging and reading military history books.
{{Who is Major Emmanuel Bayingana? }}
Major General Emmanuel Bayingana appointed PS in MINADEF has been serving as Airforce Chief Of Staff since September 2019.
Prior to that, he had been serving as Chief Executive Officer of Zigama CSS. Major General Bayingana joined the military twenty-nine years ago and was part of the force that engaged in the war for liberation of Rwanda on 1st October 1990.
After the military victory of 4th July 1994, he served in several appointments including: Member of the Military High Court, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Chief Instructor Rwanda Military Academy Nyakinama, Director for Plans at RDF HQs and Chief of Staff of the Ceasefire Commission under UNAMID.
Major General Emmanuel Bayingana is a graduate of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Accra Ghana and the United States Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, USA.
The ceremony took place on Thursday 3rd June 2021 where Amb. Nduhungirehe conveyed greetings from President Paul Kagame to his counterpart of Estonia.
Amb. Nduhungirehe also held bilateral talks with Kaljulaid and discussed ways to promote cooperation in different areas of technology, trade and investment among others.
President Kaljulaid commended existing cordial relations and reiterated commitment to take it further.
Amb. Nduhungirehe also represents Rwanda in the Netherlands.
Estonia and Rwanda relations has deepened roots highlighted by discussions held between both countries heads of state.
On 18th February 2018, Kagame and Kaljulaid last met in Munich , Germany where they attended ‘Munich Security Conference’.
Among others, Kaljulaid visited Rwanda on 16th November 2017 after Ethiopia. It was her maiden visit to Africa after elected to lead the country located in Northern Europe October 2016.
During her visit, she held bilateral talks with President Paul Kagame where they discussed various areas of cooperation including strengthening bilateral relations and working with Estonian enterprises in the digital field.
Madam Vuniwaqa made the remarks on Thursday, June 3, while visiting FPU-3 camp, in Juba, where she met and briefed officers of the contingent.
“This is an important FPU for the UNPOL component; we had challenges of the COVID-19 including the recent surge at the beginning of the year. Thank you very much for the contributions… the work that you have been conducting as a contingent amid these challenges,” Madam Vuniwaqa said.
She added: “I know this is not an easy time to be deployed in any peacekeeping mission, largely due to the challenges of COVID-19 that we are going through, apart from other usual challenges of peacekeeping. You left your loved ones and families back home to come and assist the youngest nation here in South Sudan.
I know at this time, we also worry about our families and loved ones back at home because of the challenges of Covid-19, but I know you are professional peacekeepers, that despite the challenges we are facing, we are here to give 100% in terms of our contribution to United Nations mission here in South Sudan.”
At the camp, the Police Commissioner was received by the FPU-3 contingent commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jeannette Masozera, who briefed her on the various peacekeeping operations the contingent conducts as well as other human security activities conducted with the local Police and communities.
“I have been briefed on the various activities that you have been conducting ever since you came to this mission and the individual implored Umuganda.
Thank you for bringing to South Sudan the concept of cleanliness from your country. I have visited Kigali in a beautiful country… thank you for sharing these good practices with the people of South Sudan,” the Police Commissioner said.
She urged them to “continue with the good work until the very last moment” when they return back home.
“I wish you all the best, enjoy your deployment, and I know that with all the support you will get from the leadership here in UNMISS, you will be able to deliver successfully until the very end of your mission.”
SSP Masozera thanked the Police Commissioner and the entire UNMISS leadership for the support, which she said helps them to deliver.
She said that the contingent remains dedicated to its UNMISS mandate and always ready to take up any assigned tasks to restore peace and security for the people of South Sudan.
In a joint communique released by the two Police institutions on Thursday, June 3, in Kigali, which climaxed the five-day bilateral visit of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Malawi, Dr. George Hadrien Kainja; RNP and MPS agreed to develop joint strategies to fight Islamist terrorist groups.
They also agreed to establish a permanent forum at operational level, to frequently meet and discuss the evolving threats and security challenges affecting the two countries and the region; exchange information on crime and criminals including genocide perpetrators and fugitives; and to strengthen partnership in capacity building, training, and development.
During his five-day bilateral visit to Rwanda, Dr. Kainja and his delegation visited various Rwanda National Police facilities including the Police schools.
While speaking during the bilateral meeting on Monday, the host, IGP Dan Munyuza observed that cooperation is a cornerstone in addressing contemporary security challenges such as terrorism, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and financial crimes among others.
“These crimes continue to threaten safety and security of our peoples. With such an interaction, we can together lay strategies and establish operational frameworks to deal with these threats with much emphasis on Islamic State-linked terrorism in our respective regions,” IGP Munyuza during the bilateral meeting.
He added that terrorist networks have spread in the region and terror cells have been established in some parts of Africa, which calls for fast response and working more closely together to confront terrorism cells in countries and regions.
On his part, IGP Kainja said that when countries are confronted by unique challenges, it calls for specific partners.
“There is no doubt that some Rwanda citizens living in Malawi may be persons of interest to the Rwandan National Police and as such the two Police institutions need to cooperate on information and intelligence sharing. This will help to avoid making Malawi a haven for criminal elements affecting Rwanda,” IGP Kainja said.
Meanwhile, the two Police Chiefs, during the signing of the communique, reaffirmed to implement the cooperation pact that binds the two parties and to move from “words to actions.”
The Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2019 formalized cross-border partnership in various disciplines of policing including training, joint operations, tracking and exchange of criminals, combating terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crimes, and information sharing on security related matters.
IGP Kainja thanked IGP Munyuza and Rwandans for the warm hospitality and added that Malawi will be sending its Police officers to attend various policing training programmes in Rwanda.
He invited his Rwandan counterpart to visit Malawi as the two institutions continue to strategize cross-border cooperation measures to fight against transnational organized crimes.
Rwanda confirmed the first Coronavirus case on 14th March 2020. Since then, 27 119 people have been tested positive of whom 26 028 recovered, 733 are active cases, five are critically ill while 358 have succumbed to the virus.
A total of 340,500 have been vaccinated of whom 215,152 have received the second vaccine shot.
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 urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.
Kagame delivered the message on Wednesday as he attended COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Summit.
COVAX, a global initiative aimed at working with vaccine producers to provide countries worldwide with equitable access to safe and effective vaccine.
During the summit, Global leaders and private sector companies pledged US$ 2.4 billion to the COVAX Facility to accelerate access to 1.8 billion COVID-19 doses for lower-income economies. The pledges exceed the original US$ 2 billion target and bring the total raised to US$ 9.6 billion.
Japan demonstrated its commitment to ending the acute phase of the pandemic by pledging US$ 800 million at the Summit, making their total contribution to the COVAX AMC US$ 1 billion. Their leadership made way for other donors to help COVAX fulfill its financial ask.
Kagame thanked donors who continue to support the initiative and urged them to redouble efforts to defeat COVID-19.
“We must redouble our efforts, and also diversify the sources of vaccine available to COVAX, even as we work to build Africa’s vaccine production capacity for the future. The COVAX Advance Market Commitment, led by Gavi, is the financing mechanism that ensures vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries. Now is the time to ensure COVAX has the funds to keep saving lives and help bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end,” he said.
The President stressed that COVAX initiative saved many people’s lives including Rwandans through distribution of vaccines.
“The COVAX initiative has already saved many lives, including in Rwanda. Our country has received more than 500,000 doses via COVAX, allowing us to vaccinate nearly 3 percent of our population,” he noted.
The President, however, said that billions of people are still exposed to the dangers of Covid-19 where ‘the shortfall in Africa is particularly acute’ and emphasized that it is time ‘to ensure COVAX has the funds to keep saving lives and help bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end’.
The funds raised will enable Gavi to secure 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for lower-income countries participating in the COVAX Facility.
The vaccines, to be delivered in 2021 and early 2022, will enable COVAX to protect almost 30% of the population in 91 AMC economies.
In addition, five countries made new commitments to donate more than 54 million vaccine doses to lower-income countries, including through COVAX, to bridge short-term supply challenges. This brings the total number of doses shared to more than 132 million
Building an inclusive digital economy has long been a core economic development objective of the Government of Rwanda. The Government charts an ambitious course for achieving rapid digital transformation and has embraced the digital economy as a lever for accelerating growth, improving services delivery, and enabling more work opportunities for Rwandans, especially young Rwandans.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the need for digitization and this partnership demonstrates Rwanda’s goal to not only keep up with the global trends, but also to become an example of digital leapfrogging in Africa.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Paula Ingabire, the Minister of ICT and Innovation, and the Government Lead for the program said that data-driven policymaking is fundamental to Rwanda’s digital transformation journey.
“During the Covid19 pandemic, we’ve seen digital payments grow more than tenfold and it’s these gains that we want to build on and unlock further growth and adoption of digital payments. To do so, we require data insights that will drive cashless policy decisions, unlock barriers to adoption of digital payment channels as well as track the response and impact of these interventions in driving the cashless agenda,” she noted.
Rica Rwigamba, Country Head at the Mastercard Foundation highlighted that unlocking significant, long-lasting efficiencies in financial inclusion and productivity for young men and women will help to increase their access to employment opportunities and entrepreneurship.
“It is important that we support the sustainability of that transition as well as other innovative interventions in the digital space,” she said.
The program, which will be implemented by Cenfri in partnership with Cape Town-based data science firm 71point4, is composed of a team of people who have worked with Rwandan agencies for the past few years to open up data for the Government to draw insights for policy.
“We are excited to be embarking on this journey to leverage data to build towards a flourishing and inclusive digital economy. Over the last five years, our work in Rwanda as part of the insight2impact (i2i) program, highlighted the power of data to advance financial-sector development and improve economic and financial inclusion. This partnership presents an opportunity to build on our learnings and achieve real impact together over the coming years,” said Doubell Chamberlain, the Managing Director and Founder of Cenfri.
The program ultimately aims to support the Government to realize its vision through a three-pronged approach: making data and trend analysis easily accessible; supporting the application of data to policy actions; and accompanying public sector staff to utilize data-driven approaches. An exciting byproduct of the program will be to make data available to local entrepreneurs and start-ups to develop ideas and strategies for new businesses. Modern innovation feeds on data and while these data resources exist, very little has been accessible in the public domain for Rwandan entrepreneurs to work on. This program will hopefully change that.
The program will initially focus on the Agriculture and Retail trade sectors, with other sectors to follow. It will work closely with the National Bank of Rwanda, the Rwandan Utilities Regulatory Authority, and other regulatory agencies with important data resources. The program will also engage with private sector entities to explore access to data that can assist in achieving a cashless national economy.
{{About Cenfri
}}
Cenfri is an independent African economic impact agency. We work to boost economic growth and increase sustainable development in emerging markets. e collaborate with partners to deliver impact through research, capacity building, convening and innovation support in four focus areas: financial
sector innovation; integrity; resilience; and inclusive digital transformation.
For more information on Cenfri, please visit: www.cenfri.org
{{About the Mastercard Foundation}}
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.
For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org
