IGIHE

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  • Former Defence Minister retired

    Former Defence Minister retired

    {Former defence minister Marcel Gatsinzi is among six military generals who have been retired from the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF). The others include Brig. Gen. Andrew Rwigamba, Brig. Gen. Frank Rusagara, Brig. Gen. Alex Ibambasi, Brig. Gen. Geofrey Byegyeka, and Brig. Gen. Steven Karyango.}

    Also retired are seven colonels and three lieutenant colonels.

    They include Col. Kamili Karege, Col. John Bosco Mulisa, Col. Wilson Kazungu, Col. Deogene Mudenge, Col. Mathias Murengerantwari, Col. Guido Rugumire and Col. John Zigira.

    Others are Lt. Col. Steven Rwabika, Lt. Col. Paul Semana and Lt. Col. David Rwiyamirira.

    The Defence ministry last evening hosted a farewell reception in honour of the senior officers at the Officers’ Mess in Kimihurura. Each of them received a certificate of retirement.

    The 16 officers are among the 79 commissioned and senior non commissioned officers of the RDF whose retirement was approved by Cabinet on Wednesday.

    Gatsinzi, who’s been one of the highest ranking RDF officers, spoke on behalf of the retirees at their send-off reception.

    He thanked the government for giving them the honour to serve their country at the top level, and promised that they will continue to contribute to the country’s security and development in several ways.

    Sunday Times

  • Rwanda still least corrupt-New Report says

    Rwanda still least corrupt-New Report says

    {The East African Bribery Index 2013, conducted in the five East African Community states, has ranked Rwanda the least corrupt country in the region.
    }

    However, the country’s corruption index slightly increased from 2.5 per cent in 2012 to 4.4 per cent in 2013.

    According to the report, by Transparency International, released on Thursday in Bujumbura, police, local leaders, banks, the Judiciary and the Rwanda Revenue Authority were cited as the most corrupt entities in Rwanda.

    Overall, Uganda was ranked the most corrupt country in the region with a total aggregate of 26.8 per cent, followed by Burundi at 18.6 per cent, Tanzania with 12.9 per cent and then Kenya, with 7.9 per cent.

    According to the report, local authorities and police in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Judiciary in Burundi take the largest share of bribes.

    In education institutions, Uganda scored the highest aggregate in bribery at 10.4 followed by Burundi at 12.9, Tanzania at 8.1, Kenya at 4.6 and Rwanda with aggregate 0.6. In medical services, Rwanda scored the least aggregate of 0.5, followed by Burundi at 3.1, Kenya at 7.7, Tanzania at 11.1, with Uganda scoring the highest aggregate of 13.8.

    Nine out of 10

    In police, Kenya had the least aggregate of 10.2 followed by Rwanda at 10.7, Burundi at 24.7, and Tanzania at 26, with Uganda topping the least with aggregate 28.

    Police spokesperson ACP Damas Gatare, said Police has put in place measures including installing toll free hotlines to report corruption and setting up a command and control unit to monitor graft cases.

    “We have also put up a disciplinary committee to apprehend those involved in graft…we are also working with Transparency International Rwanda to ensure that the institution is free of corruption,” he told Saturday Times.

    According Apollinaire Mupiganyi, executive director ,Transparency International Rwanda, the situation in Rwanda was significantly better as nine out of 10 respondents accessed services without encountering any bribery.

    “The political will is there and the country has made progress to the extent that it’s widely now considered as the least corrupt country in Africa.”

    According to the national share of bribes, local authorities took the largest share of national bribe at 38.2 per cent, followed by the police at 26.4 per cent.

    Institutions with the highest level of public interaction recorded the highest level of corruption, Mupiganyi said.

    He also noted that the only way to deal with corruption is to emphasise zero tolerance and to put in place strong institutions to stem the vice.

    “Corruption is equivalent to murder, because it kills service delivery to people, results into poverty and hinders economic development, those involved should charged with ‘murder’,” Mupiganyi told Saturday Times.

    Last July, the global corruption barometer, a research carried out annually by Transparency International ranked Rwanda the least corrupt country on the African continent.

  • Rwanda warns DRC of retaliation

    Rwanda warns DRC of retaliation

    {{Ambassador to UN says Rwanda will strike DR Congo if cross-border firing continues, after peace talks break down.}}

    DR Congo troops have fired three shells over the border into neighbouring Rwanda, injuring at least one person, during resurgent clashes with M23 rebel fighters, Rwandan officials have claimed.

    Rwanda’s UN ambassador Eugene Richard Gasana told the AFP news agency on Friday that his country would not hesitate to retaliate if the firing continued.

    “If they are not ready to stop this, we will immediately act and it will hurt,” he said, adding: “We will do it with laser precision, we know where it is coming from.”

    Rwanda is a current temporary member of the Security Council and Gasana said he had given his government’s tough message to the other 14 members.

    The council has asked for an investigation into the origin of Friday’s shelling, diplomats said.
    Fighting between the DR Congo army and M23 rebels resumed on Friday, both sides and the United Nations said just days after the latest effort at peace talks collapsed.

    The violence continued throughout Friday, according to a statement from the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), which went into action alongside Kinshasa’s troops.

    MONUSCO said it was “extremely concerned” about the resumption of hostilities, calling on the M23 rebels to return to the negotiating table.

    “I am serious in our efforts to protect civilians and neutralise all armed groups to bring back peace and stability”, said MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler.

    Al Jazeera’s Peter Greste, reporting from Nairobi, said while the fighting had calmed on Saturday morning, the situation remained tense in the region with thousands of people uprooted from their homes due to the renewed clashes.

    Rwanda’s ministry of refugee affairs said between 2,500 and 3,000 people had fled into the country via two border posts.

    Aljazeera

  • FARDC fired three bombs in Rwanda

    FARDC fired three bombs in Rwanda

    {The Rwandan army confirmed this Friday that FARDC has since morning fired three bombs and small arms fire at Rusura village in Rubavu District. This follows confrontations between the Congolese army and Congolese rebels of M23.}

    A T-55 Bomb landed at 07h30 and two other bombs landed at 11h55 and 12h05 at Rusura village, Busasamana Sector in Rubavu.

    RDF, on its twitter account, said FARDC targeted innocent civilians in Rwanda, and fleeing Congolese Refugees. 58 year old Catheline Gahombo from DRC was injured with FARDC small arms fire.

    She has been evacuated with a bullet in her body, to Bugeshi Health Centre for treatment.

    Residents of Rusura Cell in Busasamana in Rwanda said they are afraid of war between the FARDC and M23.

    In late August, Rwanda accused Congolese troops of shelling its territory and the tensions between the two neighbors raised fears of a regional conflict. FARDC fired on Rwanda’s territory and killed a woman in Rubavu District which borders the city of Goma in eastern Congo. Rwanda warned DRC army over such a provocative act.

    Since then Rwanda has sent troops and artillery to protect its territory and defend it in case Congo fires again on its territory.

  • Police arrests teacher for defiling a student

    Police arrests teacher for defiling a student

    {Police in Ngoma district has arrested a Primary School teacher, identified as Olivier Mugiraneza, for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old pupil. }

    Mugiraneza is a teacher at Mutenderi Primary School, Mutenderi sector. He is currently detained at Mutenderi Police Post for further investigation, but denies the allegation.

    The girl is at Kibungo Hospital where she is currently being attended to by doctors.

    If found guilty, the suspect is likely to face a life imprisonment with special provisions under article 192 of the penal code which stipulates that, if child defilement is committed by his/her parent or guardian, a representative of the administrative authority, a representative of the religious authority, a security officer, a medical professional, a teacher, a trainee or any person who have abused his/her position or authority over a child, the offender shall be liable to life imprisonment with special provisions and a fine of Rwf 100,000 to Rwf 500,000.

    RNP

  • Jay Ghartey releases new single ‘African Money’

    Jay Ghartey releases new single ‘African Money’

    {Cruising along in good shape, Jay Ghartey continues to receive massive support not only in his music career but also on his GH Brothers Youth Foundation from Africa and across the world.}

    Numerous artistes from Ghana and other parts of the world have recognized and supported the Ghanaian-American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer and philanthropist’s effort in creating a comfortable school for school dropouts and underprivileged youth in Ghana.

    As the first and only Ghanaian artiste with a school foundation, the GH Brothers co-founder vows to do more to provide an excellent quality education for the children. After a splendid performance on his blockbuster hit singles, ‘Papa’, ‘Love You Better’ and ‘Somebody’, he has never relaxed.

    He’s out with another exquisite well talented single titled ‘African Money’ featuring two of Ghana’s finest artistes, EL and AJ Omo Alajah. This track completely produced by Jay Ghartey is an up-tempo African anthem.

    EL decided to donate all proceeds from his first ever feature with Jay Ghartey to GH Brothers Youth Foundation. Jay Ghartey has fully immersed himself into the Azonto rhythm with his latest hits ‘Buga’, ‘Somebody’ and now ‘African Money.’

    He joined the hard core trend after observing that his fans in Ghana, Africa and elsewhere are immensely enjoying the current genre Azonto.

    BBC’s DJ Edu, Ghana’s DJ Black, Efya and a host of other DJs and international musicians who have had the opportunity to listen to his latest single have voted a massive thumbs up and have marked it to hit the streets and every corner of Ghana and beyond.

    With his attempt to unite Africa, he surprisingly combined 4 strong African dialects on African money namely, Yoruba, Twi, Ga, Hausa plus Pidgin and Slangs. This makes him the first artiste in Ghana to use 6 languages on a single track.

    Jay Ghartey is looking forward to shoot a video for African money in the future and almost done with ‘Love You Better’ video which features Ugandan songstress, Juliana Kanyomozi.

    ghanaweb.com

  • Nigeria: Pirates kidnap two Americans in ship attack

    Nigeria: Pirates kidnap two Americans in ship attack

    {Pirates have attacked a U.S.-flagged oil platform supply vessel off the coast of Nigeria and kidnapped two Americans, a senior U.S. official tells Fox News.}

    The attack on the C-Retriever ship, which is owned by Louisiana-based Edison Chouest Offshore, happened early Wednesday, UK-based security firm AKE and two security sources told Reuters. The ship is around 200 feet long and was sailing near Brass, Nigeria, in the Gulf of Guinea.

    “Things are definitely getting more intense here,” a source told the maritime industry news website gCaptain.

    The captain and the chief engineer of the C-Retriever reportedly were the ones onboard who were kidnapped.

    The State Department is “closely monitoring” reports of the incident, Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson, said on Thursday.

    “Obviously our concern is their safe return,” she said. “At this point we do not have information that would indicate this was an act of terrorism.”

    A law enforcement official also told Fox News that the FBI is involved in the investigation and they believe it could be ransom case.

    “The biggest fear is that the kidnappers make it to shore with the two Americans,” the official said. “And it looks like they may have. That is certainly not ideal.”

    The pirates attacked the ship after a separate, unrelated attack on a Nigerian security boat that killed members of the Nigerian military’s Joint Task Force, gCaptain reports.

    “This is the second attack on a security boat in the past three days,” the site’s source said.

    Edison Chouest did not immediately return a request for comment from gCaptain Wednesday.

    Pirate attacks off Nigeria’s coast have caused ship insurance costs to rise.

    “The piracy threat is spreading even further through the waters of West Africa, and the attacks have been mounting, even as global rates of reported piracy are at their lowest since 2006,” Michael Frodl of the U.S.-based consultant C-Level Maritime Risks told Reuters.

    West African leaders met in Cameroon in June and called for the creation of an international naval force to help patrol the waters in the region.

    “I urge the international community to show the same firmness in the Gulf of Guinea as displayed in [Somalia’s] Gulf of Aden, where the presence of international naval forces has helped to drastically reduce acts of piracy,” Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said at the time, according to the BBC.

    The Gulf of Guinea, where the C-Retriever was attacked, is reportedly more dangerous to sailors than the waters of Somalia on the eastern side of Africa.

    The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a non-profit group that fights maritime crime, said 960 sailors were attacked in waters off West Africa in 2012 compared to 851 in Somalia, the BBC reports.

    An IMB report released last Thursday says through the first three quarters of 2013, the Gulf of Guinea region has recorded more than 40 pirate attacks and has accounted for all 34 crew kidnappings worldwide. Seven ships have been hijacked in the region and 132 crew members have been taken hostage, the report added.

    FOXNEWS

  • Samsung Apologizes To Chinese Consumers

    Samsung Apologizes To Chinese Consumers

    {Samsung apologized to Chinese consumers after a state news broadcast reported earlier this week that faulty memory chips caused the electronic firm’s handsets to malfunction as many as 30 times a day.}

    The Korean-based company, which leads the Chinese smartphone market, said in a statement Tuesday that it will provide free maintenance and extend the warranty for most handsets, including Galaxy S and Note series, Bloomberg reports.

    Samsung, which sees about 14 percent of its sales in China, joins a litany of international firms to fall under the microscope of China Central Television. Danone, Volkswagen AG and Starbucks have all been accused of mistreating consumers, and Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology in April after a similar state media report.

    Bloomberg

  • Libya: Gadhafi’s son, others indicted

    Libya: Gadhafi’s son, others indicted

    {A Libyan prosecutor says a court has referred Moammar Gadhafi’s son and more than 30 others, including his prime minister and intelligence chief, to trial before a higher tribunal on charges that range from murder and treason to looting during the nation’s 2011 uprising.}

    Speaking to reporters Thursday after the court’s decision, prosecutor Al-Seddik al-Sur said the court also decided to appoint defense attorneys for Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, and the late dictator’s intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi. He did not announce a date for the trial before the Criminal Court.

    Al-Senouusi and al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, Gadhafi’s last prime minister, attended the hearing, but not Seif al-Islam, held by a militia group that captured him as he attempted to flee to neighboring Niger in 2011.

    Gadhafi’s 42-year rule ended in 2011.

    AP

  • Algerian troops find huge arms cache on Libya border

    Algerian troops find huge arms cache on Libya border

    {Algerian troops discovered a huge arms cache near the border with Libya, including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, rockets and landmines, an Algerian security source said on Thursday.}

    “It is an arsenal of war,” the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters, adding that it likely belonged to militants.

    Algeria is worried about violence spilling over from neighboring Libya, where a fragile central government is struggling to contain militias and Islamist militants operating in its lawless southern desert.

    The source said the cache was found in Illizi in southern Algeria, about 200 km (125 miles) from the Amenas gas plant, which Libyan-based Islamist militants attacked in January, killing nearly 40 foreign contractors.

    The weapons included 100 anti-aircraft missiles, more than 500 MANPAD shoulder-launched rockets often used against low flying aircraft like helicopters, and hundreds of rocket launchers, rifles, landmines and rocket-propelled grenades, the source added.

    He did not give further details on how or when the arms were recovered.

    Two years after its civil war toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is still awash with weapons from the former leader’s regime and the militias who fought him.

    Tunisia’s Prime Minister Ali Larayedh told Reuters last week Islamist militants were taking advantage of Libya’s chaos to get training and weapons across its porous border with Tunisia.

    The attack on the Amenas gas installation and Libya’s chaos have left energy companies wary over security in North Africa. BP and Norway’s Statoil are still assessing whether to send foreign workers back to Amenas.

    “Algeria is a target for al Qaeda cells who may have been planning a major attack, maybe disrupting air traffic or striking military aircraft or helicopters, which are the best tools to track terrorists in the desert,” said security analyst and Ennahar TV editor Anis Rahmani.

    As well as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, other militant groups in North Africa include Ansar al-Sharia both in Tunisia and Libya, and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa or MUJWA, scattered this year by the French offensive in Mali.

    MUJWA recently announced it was joining forces with another group led by veteran Algerian fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who masterminded the attack on the Amenas plant in January.

    Seven Tunisian police were killed on Wednesday in gun battles with militants in Tunisia, where the government two months ago began a crackdown on Islamist hardline, Ansar al-Sharia, blamed for killing two opposition leaders.

    Reuters