IGIHE

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  • U.S. Embassy Kigali Announces Anti-GBV Poetry Contest in Honor of the “16 Days” Campaign

    U.S. Embassy Kigali Announces Anti-GBV Poetry Contest in Honor of the “16 Days” Campaign

    {The U.S. Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, announced Wednesday its inaugural poetry contest marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign. }

    The poetry contest is open to Rwandans aged 10 to 24 years old. Contestants must write a poem of no more than 10 lines on the theme “GBV – We Can Make it Stop!”

    Poems must be written in English, and the deadline to submit the poems is 5 p.m. Nov. 19, 2013. Poems may be sent to roodeBR@state.gov with the subject line “We’ll Make It Stop Poetry Contest.”

    “GBV is a very seriously issue. Hosting a poetry contest of this nature is one way for the Embassy to work with Rwandan youth to draw attention to a grave problem that tears at the fabric of our communities the world over,” said Charles Hawley, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. “One of the points of this contest,” stressed Hawley, “is that by working together, we can help stop GBV.” Additionally, conducting the program in English allows the participants to demonstrate their English as well as creative writing skills. “Poetry,” according to Deputy Public Affairs Officer, Ben Roode, “requires a certain master of a language because choosing each word is so important.”

    The benefit of the contest does not stop with the entrants, though. One winning poem will be selected and printed on large posters for distribution to schools and youth centers across Rwanda in order to raise awareness about GBV. Three other poets who enter the contest will win U.S. Embassy prizes for their participation. And all poets who enter will be invited to a poetry reading event to be scheduled in December where they can share their poems.

  • Burundi Applies to Join Commonwealth to Bolster Angolophone Ties

    Burundi Applies to Join Commonwealth to Bolster Angolophone Ties

    {Burundi has applied to join the Commonwealth group of mostly former British colonies to build closer trade relations with Angolophone economies, Cooperation Minister Laurent Kavakure said. }

    Belgian-governed until its independence in 1962, Burundi has switched the primary education system to English from French and is translating all its major laws as a condition of membership, Kavakure said in an interview today with Bloomberg. The country’s national language that’s most widely spoken is Kirundi, while French is mostly used for government services.

    “With the Commonwealth membership, the country will have trade relations with these neighboring countries but also with remote countries like India, Sri Lanka, the U.K. and others which are already members of the community,” he said from the capital, Bujumbura.

    Burundi, the smallest economy in the five-nation East African Community common market, derives most of its foreign currency from coffee exports and holds mineral deposits including nickel, gold, copper, cobalt, niobium and tantalum.

    The country is rebuilding its economy and after a decade-long civil war that erupted in 1993 killed 300,000 people. Growth is forecast by the International Monetary Fund at 4.5 percent this year and 4.7 percent in 2014.

    If admitted, Burundi would become the third country after Rwanda and Mozambique to join the Commonwealth without a historical tie to the British colonial system. Rwanda is also a member of the EAC, along with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which recognize English among their official languages.

    Burundi, which plans to remain a member of the 57-nation International Organisation of La Francophonie, is seeking observer status before becoming a full member of the Commonwealth, said Kavakure. The 53-country Commonwealth grouping is home to more than 2.2 billion citizens.

    Bloomberg

  • Morsi: my removal was treason against Egypt

    Morsi: my removal was treason against Egypt

    {Egypt’s deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, has said he was kidnapped by the military and those who removed him from power of committing “treason against the whole nation”.}

    A group of volunteer lawyers, not Morsi’s defence lawyers, read the message from Morsi at a news conference on Wednesday, a day after they met him in prison.

    Morsi said he intended to sue the army-installed authorities, and that there can be no stability in Egypt unless “the military coup is eliminated and those responsible for shedding Egyptians’ blood are held accountable”.

    In the letter, Morsi said he was “kidnapped” and held by the Republican Guard on July 2 – a day before he was formally removed by the military. He said he was held at a naval base for four months.

    Morsi was moved to a high security prison in Alexandria on November 4 after the first session of his trial on charges of incitement to murder protesters in December 2012.

    {{Legal battle}}

    Mohamed al-Damati, one of the lawyers Morsi met, said: “The president plans to take legal measures against the coup, and this will be up to the defence team in the near future.”

    Morsi has so far not agreed on which lawyers will represent him at the trial, which is set to resume on January 8.

    Rory Challands, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Cairo, said: “He is still saying essentially that the court is illegitimate and that it doesn’t have the authority to do what it’s doing.

    “In taking a defiant tone, not naming legal council, he’s leaving hismelf essentially defenceless in the courtroom.”

    Aljazeera

  • Tanzanian officials to take charge of Uganda-Rwanda friendly game

    Tanzanian officials to take charge of Uganda-Rwanda friendly game

    {The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has announced that the international friendly game between Uganda and Rwanda will be handled by Tanzanian match officials.}

    Charles Mujuni, Hamis Changwalu and Kinduli Mzagally are the three match officials from Tanzania while Ugandans Brian Nsubuga and Ali Waisswa will be the fourth official and match commissioner respectively.

    According to the FA’s official website, the three will arrive in the country on Friday aboard Precision Air PW 726.

    They were reports that the Fufa had contacted Kenyan officials to handle the game but the latest confirmation ends the speculation.

    Meanwhile, a delegation of the Rwanda national team is also expected in the country on Friday a day prior to the game which is set for Saturday 16 at Mandela National stadium, Namboole.

    The team is to be accommodated at Mt. Zion Hotel in the centre of the city.

    The two nations last met in an international friendly game in January this year at Amahoro stadium with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

    Kawowo Sport

  • Lt Joel Mutabazi and 14 Co-accused appear in Rwanda Military Tribunal

    Lt Joel Mutabazi and 14 Co-accused appear in Rwanda Military Tribunal

    {Lt Joel Mutabazi and his fourteen co-accused appeared in Military Tribunal, Nyamirambo on 13 November 2013. The suspects were presented before a Military Judge for pre-trial detention proceedings.}

    Lt Joel Mutabazi and his co-accused requested the military tribunal for more time to look for lawyers to represent them. After hearing all parties, the case was adjourned to 25 November 2013.

    Lt Joel Mutabazi and his co-accused are suspected to have committed crimes causing state insecurity, terrorism, creation of a criminal organization, illegal possession of arms, desertion, and forgery document.

    Lt Joel Mutabazi, a former Rwanda Defence Force Officer wanted under an International Arrest Warrant and an Interpol Red Notice for terrorism and other crimes in Kigali, was arrested and handed over by Ugandan authorities to Rwanda National Police on 31 October 2013.

    MOD

  • France: Rwandans face extradition over genocide

    France: Rwandans face extradition over genocide

    {{French court paves way for pair accused of 1994 massacre to be tried at home, though they could still challenge verdict.}}

    A French appeals court has approved the extradition of two Rwandans wanted at home for their alleged role in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis.

    The ruling on Claude Muhayimana, 52, a French citizen since 2010, and Innocent Musabyimana, 41, is not final and can still be challenged.

    Although countries such as Canada and Norway have extradited genocide suspects, France has so far refused to do so.

    But it has sent some to Tanzania to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

    The two men’s case will now go up to a higher court for a final ruling after their lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, signalled his intention to appeal.

    If the extradition is approved, France would still have to sign an extradition treaty with Rwanda for the pair to be sent back.

    The head of the appeals court, Jean Bertholin, told the men their “lives will not be in danger if you return to your country and you will be guaranteed a fair trial”.

  • Pakistan urged to vaccinate against polio

    Pakistan urged to vaccinate against polio

    {Pakistan is being urged to vaccinate all of its children against polio amid a dangerous outbreak that has reached Syria and neighbouring countries.}

    The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that 21 nations from the Middle East and surrounding area signed a joint declaration on eradicating the disease, pointing to Pakistan as a key part of the problem.

    The UN’s health organisation said said earlier this week that the polio virus had been confirmed in 13 of 22 children who became paralyzed in a northern Syrian province.

    The WHO said the Syria outbreak comes from a strain that originated in Pakistan, where, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, it is endemic – and has been spreading across the Middle East.

    It says the virus has been detected in Egypt, and closely related strains of Pakistani origin turned up in sewage samples in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but higher immunisation rates in those places have helped keep the virus in check.

    Pakistan approved the resolution, which the WHO says includes Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, and Yemen.

    Pakistan’s efforts to vaccinate children against the disease are often frustrated by attacks by fighters, including those from organistations such as the Pakistan Taliban, who claim the programme is a Western front to undermine them.

    Aljazeera

  • Kenya Airways CEO to Go as Cost Cuts Yield Return to Profit

    Kenya Airways CEO to Go as Cost Cuts Yield Return to Profit

    {Kenya Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni is to leave after restoring sub-Saharan Africa’s No. 3 carrier to profit with cost cuts that outweighed the impact of the Westgate mall siege and a fire at its hub. }

    The Nairobi-based airline posted net income of 384 million shillings ($4.5 million) in the six months to Sept. 30, versus a year-earlier loss of 4.79 billion shillings, it said today in a statement. Sales rose 9 percent to 54.3 billion shillings.

    Gains stemmed from “stabilization of euro-zone economies, favorable prices for jet fuel, a robust business environment and management focus on pruning loss-making operations,” Kenya Airways said. The Aug. 7 Nairobi airport blaze hurt transit traffic and the Westgate attack 6 1/2 weeks later led to a further dip as governments advised against travel to Kenya.

    Naikuni, who has led the carrier for more than a decade, had his contract extended by a year but will leave at the end of 2014, with the search underway for a successor, Chairman Evanson Mwaniki said today in Nairobi. The CEO added routes to Abu Dhabi, Malawi and Zambia in the first half while terminating services to Cairo, Burkina Faso, Gabon and the Central Africa Republic in response to weak demand or political unrest.

    Kenya Airways closed 4.5 percent higher at 14.05 shillings as of 3 p.m. in Nairobi, the highest level in 15 months.

    {{KLM Deal Expanded }}

    The stock has gained 23 percent this year, valuing the company at 21 billion shillings, though the advance lags a 38 percent gain the FTSE-NSE 25 Share Index. Kenya Airways is worth 2 1/2 times what it was on the assumption of control by Naikuni — who turns 60 in 10 days — in 2003, when he expanded the company with the purchase of a 49 percent stake in Tanzania’s Precision Air.

    A code-sharing pact with shareholder Air France-KLM Group (AF) is to be expanded, the CEO said today, with the European carrier’s KLM unit adding its code to Kenya Airways flights from Nairobi to London, Entebbe in Uganda, Kigali in Rwanda and the Zambian and Zimbabwean capitals Lusaka and Harare from Jan. 1.

    The African airline, which is 29.8 percent state-owned, will in turn add its code on the Dutch unit’s services between Amsterdam and Kilimanjaro and Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania. Air France-KLM owns 26.73 percent of Kenya Airways and has had a joint route agreement since 1997 that currently covers Nairobi-Amsterdam and Nairobi-Paris flights.

    {{JamboJet Entry }}

    Combined revenue on the two existing code-share routes is about $200 million per week, and this will exceed $500 million with the addition of around 44 weekly flights, Naikuni said.

    Kenya Airways reduced its own European capacity by 5 percent in the first half after scrapping all daylight operations to London, while adding 7 percent more seats to the Middle East and East Asia, where it added daily flights to Guangzhou in southern China via Bangkok and upgraded its Mumbai route from Boeing Co. (BA) 767 jets to the larger 777.

    The carrier will introduce new low-cost unit JamboJet in the first quarter of 2014, with initial flights limited to the Kenyan cities of Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret, Naikuni said.

    “What we are eyeing are the people who are not flying now because they cannot afford it,” the CEO said. “We have to get into that market before someone else does.”

    Revenue prospects will be enhanced by the contribution of JamboJet and code-share agreements with Asian airlines, Linet Muriungi, an analyst at Nairobi-based Kestrel Capital (East Africa) Ltd., said in a note to clients.

    “The airline’s focus on profit-making operations and routes, as well as further cost-management ventures aimed at making the company’s human resource lean and efficient, will contribute to bottom-line protection,” Muriungi said.

    Bloomberg

  • Gihembe: Congolese Refugees refuse WFP food support

    Gihembe: Congolese Refugees refuse WFP food support

    {Congolese refugees who are on a temporally settlement at Gihembe camp in Kageyo sector located in Gicumbi district, refused food support from world food program this week.}

    These Congolese refugees stopped the car which was dropping down the sacks of maize and beans which were going to be supplied to them.

    Representatives of the World food program were shocked and couldn’t understand, what was the main cause of the refugees to dismiss the food.

    According to one of the representatives of the World food program in Rwanda, Jean Baptist Butera, the food was refused on the 12th November 2013.

    Speaking to IGIHE, Butera added that “up to now we haven’t understood the cause of the dismissal but I think refugees thought food was already expired which wasn’t true, because it had just come from our stores in Kigali”.

    After the refugees had dismissed the donations, a meeting between members of the world food program and the refugees was summoned at the Camp.

    Currently, there is no clear information on why the refugees dismissed the food.

  • Nduhungirehe: “DRC and MONUSCO have no more excuses for not neutralize the FDLR”

    Nduhungirehe: “DRC and MONUSCO have no more excuses for not neutralize the FDLR”

    {After the final defeat of M23 in the Eastern part of the democratic republic of Congo, Rwanda calls upon the Kinshasa government and the MONUSCO Troops to immediately disarm elements of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) based in Eastern DRC }

    In an interview with {{Jeune Afrique}}, Olivier Nduhungirehe the assistant representative to the ambassador of Rwanda to the UN Security Council, said “This group is not like other rebel groups because it’s a burden to the peace in the neighboring Rwanda and the region “.

    {{Interview of Olivier Nduhungirehe with Jeune afrique}}

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {How does Rwanda perceive the security changes that are occurring in the Eastern part of Congo Kinshasa?}

    {{Olivier Nduhungirehe}}: First of all Rwanda reacted positively, about the end of misunderstandings and war between M23 group and the Congo Kinshasa government. In Kigali there is peace around, but currently this is the right time for MONUSCO to start immediately the run and elimination of FDLR which is causing a lot of insecurity in the region.

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {What’s your reaction on the rumors that M23 was founded by Rwanda to protect itself from FDLR?}

    {{Nduhungirehe:}} After 18 month of M23 existence, we proved the allegations were wrong. So many times, they went on suspecting Rwanda about that issue but there have been no evidences from the Congo government, to prove Rwanda had a hand in connection with the M23 foundation.

    Lucky enough, all the issues have been settled, now it’s time for MONUSCO to follow up FDLR, because it remains the only main problem in the eastern region as a whole.

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {After the final defeat of M23, the Congolese government announced there was a group of armed forces that is backed by the UN Special Forces, ready to attack and eliminate FDLR.What was your reaction on the announcement?}

    {{Nduhungirehe}}: Rwanda always chooses to be neutral when it comes to finding the truth between the government of Congo Kinshasa and MONUSCO in following up FDLR. It’s been three years now, since the UN signed a treaty to protect civilians in the Eastern region, but nothing has been achieved. Apart from that, FDLR has continuously gone on killing innocent civilians from both Rwanda and Congo. FDLR is an armed group, which did genocide in Rwanda and still in possession of Genocide ideologies located in the forests of eastern Congo.

    FDLR has also led to the foundation of very many armed groups in eastern Congo, but firstly MONUSCO should first destroy and eliminate FDLR.

    {{Jeune Afrique:}} {The deployment of 3 000 men of UN intervention brigade does not reassures either Kigali on the willingness of the UN to neutralize the FDLR?}

    {{Nduhungirehe}}: Rwanda supported the 2008 decision of the UN Security Council which declared the army group that is meant to destroy and eliminate all armed groups in the Eastern Congo. During that time, we also discussed about, the follow up of FDLR for the first instance by these UN special forces. However, in these last 8 month all efforts have been put on M23 while FDLR continues the killings.

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {What did the Kigali government say; when Congo Kinshasa government said they were refused to eliminate FDLR because of the M23 existence?}

    {{Nduhungirehe}}: For us we don’t trust in that, because Congo as a government, it had enough time to fight and eliminate FDLR but never did that, fortunately that reason is no longer in existence, therefore, Rwanda as a member of the UN security council, will put more efforts so that the efforts used to eliminate M23 should be used to eliminate FDLR.

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {In 2009, Rwanda and Congo had joined together to fight FDLR, what happened?}

    {{Nduhungirehe}}: This partnership has been there, even during the existence of M23 group, it was stopped after the false allegations which were charged to Rwanda. As a result, Rwandan forces returned back to the country on 1stseptember 2012 from congo.Currently, the program of eliminating FDLR between Rwanda and Congo still exists.

    {{Jeune Afrique}}: {Recently, the government of Congo Kinshasa said it decreased the powers of destroying FDLR to 80%, is it true?
    }

    {{Nduhungirehe}}: Its not been a while, since we were in the eastern part of Congo(Goma)with the ambassadors of the UN security council in the region.MONUSCO managed to show us the locations of FDLR on the map.Currently,FDLR controls almost 5 areas in Congo neighboring Rwanda, therefore we can’t only trust words from Congo as they reduce their efforts in eliminating FDLR.