IGIHE

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  • Primary court judge nabbed obtaining bribe

    A judge was recently caught red-handed in an act of corruption through a clever scheme masterminded by the Police. Liliane Maombi, a Judge at a primary court in Kanombe, Kicukiro District of Kigali, was allegedly caught accepting a bribery of Rfw 100,000 from one Francoise Nyirabihogo.

    The latter was alleged to have committed a criminal offense in a case, which through the progression of the trial did not seem to be turning in her favour .

    This may have perhaps precipitated Maombi to ask for a bribe to alleviate the punishment that Nyirabohogo would potentially receive or better yet to turn the case around and exonerate her . This act of treachery prompted the defendant to take matters into her own hands and consult the police on the issue.

    This led to the formulation of a plot orchestrated by the police that would require Nyirabihogo to go along with this conspiracy.

    The scheme was initiated Wednesday 27 April at around 1.15p.m. after the court’s hearing. Nyirabihogi went on to hand out the money to the accused. On receiving the amount, police officers immediately intercepted the money thereby catching her red-handed. Upon suspicion, the judge reacted by throwing away the bag containing the money, in a pretentious act of rejection.

    Witnesses within the vicinity confirmed the real intents of the accused, some of whom were insiders in the intrigue.

    Maombi is presently apprehended at the Kicukiro Police station awaiting a trail. We shall continue tp update you on this story as details emerge. 

  • Five year ICT plan in services sector underway

    Plans to improve the services sector through the National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) programmes are in progress. This was announced during a one-day conference that brought together officials from the Ministry of ICT along with stakeholders in the information technology sector at Umubano Hotel today.

    The plan follows the first and second NICI’s programmes, which dealt with environment and infrastructure, respectively. The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of ICT, David Kanamugire, highlighted that the plan would give a principle guide towards the country’s ICT programmes in the next five years, adding that the plan would also improve service delivery.

    “We want to make learning easier in schools, for instance, through the use of latest technologies like online studies. In banks too, we want to improve the network connection where one would conduct their transactions at ease, Mutuelle de santé should be automated where a patient can access their medical history in any health centre,” he remarked.

    He encouraged the private sector to work closely with the government in implementing some programmes since they also benefit their business. Kanamugire, however, noted that capacity building matters a lot saying that the private sector’s role was needed.

    “An investor in Kirehe District, for instance, can manage an IT centre and then the government would assist in maintaining the computers,” he alluded.

    Among the main clusters to be considered during the third NICI includes development of skills in ICT, and equipping the private sector with knowhow that enables competitiveness through new technologies. Community development would also be essential especially in transforming societies through improved access to information and services. This also goes hand in hand with e-government, which improves operational efficiency and service delivery.

  • Rwanda becomes first African country to provide free cervical cancer vaccination

    Rwandan girls aged 12 to 15 years have become the first in Africa to receive free vaccination against cervical cancer, while older women aged 35 to 45 will be screened and treated for the same.

    The initial three year comprehensive integrated cervical cancer prevention programme will be facilitated by MERCK, a research institute, which came up with the vaccine. the institute will work closely with QIAGEN staff who will conduct screening services in order to offer treatment among those affected.

    Speaking shortly after launching the campaign at Kanyinya Primary School in Nyarugenge District, the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, noted that Rwanda was proud to be the first African country to roll out free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination for girls and screening for women. This is unlike other African countries where the vaccine is unaffordable to the majority due to high costs.

    She further advised that in order for children to maintan a high immune system, it was necessary for them to be immunised three times within a period of six months. Parents and teachers were also encouraged to report any cases of side effects the children might develop. The effects include mild headache, nausea and skin rash. 

    Reacting on the issue, Agnes Binagwaho the permanent secretary in the ministry of health commended the initiative adding that it was helpful since out of the 2.72 million women aged 15 years and older are at a risk of developing cervical cancer

    Mark Feinberg, the Chief Public Health and Science Officer at Merck Vaccines highlighted that his institution would donate more than 2 million doses of GARDASIL (vaccine) while QIAGEN would provide 250,000 Human Papillomavirus Vaccination (HPV) screening tests at no cost.

    Over 80 percent of cervical cancer cases occur in the world’s poorest countries, having a severe impact on the women affected, their families and communities. The program is expected to provide access to a comprehensive cervical cancer prevention to help reduce the burden of disease and improve public health outcomes and capacity in the country.

    If treated earlier, the cervical cancer can be completely cured, hence the need for earlier prevention.. The vaccine is appropriate for girls who are still virgins since the virus is passed through sexual intercourse.

     Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. Scientists have identified several types of the HPV virus though not all can cause cervical cancer.

    Some of them cause genital warts, but other types may not cause any symptoms. However the most common signs include bleeding when something comes in contact with the cervix. This leads to pain during sex which is a common feeling that later develops to vaginal discharge tinged with blood.

    An infected person can have HPV for years and not know it. It stays in your body and can lead to cervical cancer years after you were infected. This is why it is important for Rwandans to have regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in cervical cells before they turn into cancer. If you treat these cell changes, you may prevent cervical cancer. 

  • Joy as Rwandan refugees from Congo Brazzaville meet their families

    Representatives of Rwandan refugees living in Congo Brazzaville last week met their families in Rwanda, 17 years, after the Tutsi Genocide that dragged them into exile. The visit is part of a wider government program to sensitise all the refugees to return home and take part in the development of their country.

    Mrs. Afisa Murebwayire, who is part of the group of four refugees, visited her family in Ruhango Sector, Muhanga District in southern Rwanda.

    She was excited and said she has been receiving false information about Rwanda but after the visit, she has a clear picture of the changes the country has undergone.

    She said she would encourage other Rwandan refugees in Brazzaville to return home. Her father was equally emotional and shed tears of joy when he saw his daughter. “I’m happy,” he told IGIHE.com in an emotional tone.

    Murebwayire’s young sister Marie Shantal Kagoyire stays in Kibungo, East of Rwanda but she had returned home to see her elder sister. They were both elated. Kayogiye asked her sister to sensitise other Rwandan refugees to return home.

    More Rwandan refugees continue to visit their families to witness how safe the country is.

    This could lead to better understanding of why they should return, according to government officials.

    Families of some refugees have also requested them to return saying that the country is safe and is developing so fast.

    Jean Claude Rwahama, an official from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees commented, “Rwandans in Diaspora get false information about the country but those who visit will always tell the truth since they get first hand information”.

  • Government to put up cultural centre

    The government has announced plans to build a national cultural centre in Gahanga sector, Kicukiro district with construction works scheduled to start next year.

    The national cultural centre will be equipped with a library, stage performing theatre, movie theatre and exhibition stalls to display cultural products among others.

    “This will not only be a national theatre but a one stop cultural centre since it will be equipped with different cultural materials,” Jean Pierre Karabaranga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Sports revealed.

    “At a moment, we cannot tell how long this process will take because the study is not yet done,” the Permanent Secretary explained, adding that once the construction process starts, it would not take long to be accomplished since it has been one of the major projects earmarked on the ministry’s seven year plan.

    The ministry observed that it was imperative to have such cultural centrers hence the plan to have at least one well equipped centre. He added that this was the first time the proposal featured in the ministry’s action plan.

    “We were not taking it as a big issue because we thought people would use other centres but we have now found it is necessary,” Karabaranga said.

    For many stage performers, it has been challenging since they had no special place to execute their activities which forced them to hire halls in private institution’s halls, which at times would either be too small, booked for other functions or too expensive to rent.

    “Most of the time, our performances are commissioned by other institutions and this is not because, we cannot have self-sponsored performances and deliver good and interesting messages to the people, but it’s because we have no facility specifically for such performances and this hinders our popularity and development,” Hope Azeda, Mashirika’s founder and Artistic Director told IGIHE.com in an interview.

    With the acting and the theatre scene still embryonic, few professional groups have managed to survive and this has led to slow progress of performing arts in the country.

    The Managing Director, Urunana Development Community, George Gahenda reiterated that lack of a cultural centre was a big hindrance towards their development, though they had tried to rectify the problem by moving to the local communities to deliver their message besides conducting radio shows. 

  • Job market in need of vocational skills

    A rush for white-collar jobs has led many to be unemployed simply because they believe its fancy and well paying yet vocational skills are in high demand perhaps due to the robust economic growth in the country.

    Even though there are few vocational institutions presently, there is still low interest in the sector among the majority. It seems people have not grasped the advantages. Similar skills are associated with illiterate people, which is rather a misnomer.

    It is due to this wrong mindset that the youth who are the most affected by lack of employment ; need to be encouraged on vocational skills while still in college. In neighbouring countries like Kenya and Uganda, this concept has attracted people to vocational training institutions as a lucrative option after high school, rather than institutions of high school failures.

    This also goes hand in hand with career guidance which should be provided at early stages of a students learning with general emphasis on the market demand for vocational skills and knowledge thus enabling students to determine and make better career choices. 

    Applied skills including carpentry and joinery, building, brick making, computer repair, auto mechanics, biogas construction, electrical installation, plumbing, creative art and crafts, etc are on high demand in the Rwandan market currently experiencing a construction boom including complementary services.

     However, the country’s youth have not realised the unequalled demand for vocational skills since most of them and their parents prefer direct entry into university after high school to pursue degrees despite their usefulness in the market thereafter.

    It also due to the wrong mindset that guardians continue to privately sponsor their children to study for expensive but spurious university degrees leaving their children unemployable in the competitive job market.

    Although the government has recently been encouraging the youth to join vocational institutions, the idea is not attractive to them. Acquiring a university degree is more appealing to both the youth and their parents.

    However, with a few vocational institutions like Kavumu Technical College and Eto Muhima, there is still a challenge on learning equipment hence the need for more modern facilities and harmonisation of training standards with those in the region while encouraging accreditation and exchange programs with international institutions.

    Cultural attitudes on the other hand are a huge impediment towards encouraging female youths to take up training in specific traditionally male biased vocation schools including carpentry, construction, electrical installation, para-veterinary, auto mechanics among others.

     Certainly, more female students should be encouraged to join vocational institutions to help improve their employability thus increase their self-reliance and standards of living. This would also discourage demeaning female dominated vocations including prostitution.

    Meanwhile, the privatisation era has overhauled operations in the entire market systems and required basic knowledge and skills. This calls for addition of new modules and subjects in the college and university syllabus to ensure production of graduates with skills compliant with the market demands. 

    Specific subjects including mathematics, environmental management, entrepreneurship and research and principle vocational subjects such as carpentry, plumbing, technical drawing, cookery, agribusiness, among others should be included into mainstream college syllabus.

    High school graduates with the above knowledge and skills will be more productive especially in applying such highly needed skills and knowledge in the undeveloped countryside market. Their ability to create jobs is so high thus could help in quick social economic transformation of the society unlike university graduates that are mostly job seekers.

    The country’s industrialisation program should be quickly implemented to encourage attractiveness of skills training at vocational institutions .building a rice factory for instance in a particular village, the accruing demand for services including accommodation, restaurants, shops, transport, welding, building, hair salons among others, will be handy and thus encourage the youth to acquire relevant vocational skills.

    Equipping the youth with vocational skills would easily curb rural-urban migration challenges. Youth with such skills can easily operate from their rural areas, achieve more financial independence and reduce on poverty related problems experienced in the rural areas.

    However, the government needs to create a more conducive environment that promotes small and medium enterprises common in markets with abundant vocational skills. The laws on starting business and taxes on such businesses need to be carefully considered to encourage entrepreneurship.

    Supportive infrastructure especially electricity, roads and water should be expanded to the deeper countryside to encourage projects established by youths with such skills. The current unattractiveness of vocational institutions is largely due to inadequate infrastructure in the rural countryside.

    The few youths with vocational skills find it challenging to establish projects and businesses in the countryside largely lacking electricity, roads and other support infrastructure. This situation forces them to migrate to urban centres where such infrastructure is available and dependable. 

    Finally, if Rwanda heeds to the proper development and expansion of vocational institutions, a large percentage of the country’s youth would improve their innovativeness, increase financial independence, reduce unemployment and thus boost the private sector. There should be an overhaul of the country’s education system through emphasising vocational skills training and making it appealing to the youth while at high school and establishing supportive infrastructure. 

  • Inkotanyi’s role in the genocide rescue activities, part 1

    Though the RPF soldiers (Inkotanyi) might not have saved everyone on time during the Tutsi genocide, those who were saved narrate the heroism exerted by the peace-aimed soldiers led by President Paul Kagame. Igihe.com brings you an insight of some of the rescue operations conducted in the city.

    Chantal Mukanyandwi, 35, is one of the survivors who were rescued by RPF soldiers at Saint Famille church located in the city’s main roundabout. She and her family run for refuge at the church hoping the militias would spare them as was the case in the 1959 war where militias spared Tutsis who hid in religious centers.

    Venant Ntabwomvura, 80, a doctor at the Butare University Hospital noted that the reason why many saw churches as safe heavens was because the majority respected religious institutions and associated them to holly grounds thats why militias in the first war feared to attack those who camped in churches.

    The lady further explains that some of her neighbors also took refuge in the church’s enclosed premises where priests and nuns lived. They thought militias would still refrain from the known holly grounds but on contrary the evil minded killers didn’t care at all instead they took advantage of the Tutsi gatherings in the church to pursue mass murder on them.

    Mukanyandwi adds that, “at the beginning of April militias came daily to pick people who we suspect were killed since no one ever came back. Whenever we asked their whereabouts they told us that they were taken for questioning which sounded suspicious,” she remarks.

    In addition to mystery, city leaders were often accompanied by militias in taking away some of the Tutsis who were hiding in the church. Among the prominent leader who was seen in the operations was Tharcisse Renzaho who was the mayor, Odette Nyirabagenzi a councilor from Nyarugenge sector was also among the local leaders in the clique.

    To make matters worse, the leaders would on several occasions trick them that the situation was controlled, but too bad some believed in their mere lies which made them loose their lives when they left the church on 16 June 1994. The mayor had faked that peace had prevailed and that everyone should go back to their respective homes. Due to this trap Mukanyadwi claims to have lost the majority of her family members.

    On the following day the blood-thirst militias broke into the church and killed a good number of people, she was lucky since she hid herself with wounded bodies, “my God the church was full of corpses,” she recalled.

    The militias break-in was no surprise since the catholic priest Wenceslas Munyenshaka used to organize masses as a way of inviting militias who would indentify those to kill next. It is also known that the priests made sure that those hiding were present during the preaching sessions.

    To make matters worse, the priest also ordered a good number of huge pits to be dug at the church’s backyard and since it was done in secrecy, no journalist nor UN peace keeping soldiers were allowed to see what was going on, when asked the priest would simply lie that the pits were to be used as toilets. But literally the pits served as graves.

    Killings went on and militias would often commit atrocities in the church, “I remember one day they came and shot people randomly, the anger was a result of a successfully rescue operation conducted by RPF soldiers,” Mukanyandwi comments.

    Igihe.com further talked to some of the Inkotanyi soldiers who are now serving in the Rwanda Defense Forces about some of the rescue activities in the city. Major Gerald Nyirimanzi in charge of Military History Department was together with Major Emanuel Rusakara at a rescue operation at Saint Famille. He noted that among the reasons why they started the war was to rescue and remove an oppressive regime which carried out the genocide. In an interview with igihe.com they told us how they conducted the rescue process.

    Major Nyirimanzi noted that they immediately rescued Tutsis who were hiding at Saint Famille after receiving intelligence reports that there were plans to kill them. RPF mission was to rescue and restore peace in the country, Tutsis who were in the country during the war at least they had heard about the Inkotanyi’s initiatives through Radio Muhabura which was used by the rebels to communicate their plans about Rwanda’s development.

    The small team of soldiers had to find all means to rescue the Saint Famille victims despite the large presence of militias surrounding the church. Of course penetrating through the militias required some skills and among the tricks they used concentrated on corrupting the enemy’s radio communication system. Nyirimanzi noted for instance they tricked that the RPF soldiers were about to attack the presidents house, the aim was to disorganize the large number of militias at the church with the majority rushing to the presidents house, the trick worked and the Inkotanyis fought their way into the church. 

    Major Nyirimanzi disclosed that the rescue operation was a challenge since the victims hesitated to open the door even after explaining to they came in peace , it seems they didn’t trust them given that in the past militias have used a similar statement. Inkotanyis didn’t spend much time on the doors since they were working on a deadline hence they proceeded to rescue those who were hiding in neighboring Sainte Paul premises, here the rescue process was fair since they broke windows and saved those who were inside including the ones hiding in nearby bushes.

    Rescuing those in the city centre also required more military coverage in other suburbs. In this respect a group of soldiers attacked from Gisozi sector were later on supported by a battalion known as Bravo from H Coy three platoons. The first platoon was in charge of taking the lead while the second platoon was assigned to rescue people at Saint Paul premises which is close to Saint Famille Catholic Church and the third took the back cover and also assisted soldiers and civilians who were affected in several cross-fires with the militias. The soldiers rescued more than 500 people who were taken from Gisozi to Kabuye for treatment.

    The major added that ”saving everyone wasn’t easy because they were some who wanted to carry their property along which delayed the rescue process elsewhere . It is due to this delay that some military police from the militia side started shooting at the RPF soldiers in various parts of the city. The crossfire led to injuries of some of the rescued people which made even some to halt their movement due to serious injuries. Those who were left in the swamps were rescued the previous night..

    The rescue process from the city’s Catholic Church and Saint Paul wasn’t the only operations in the city. Details about other hiding spots and how the saving process was conducted will be disclosed in our second part of the story. The second series will highlight rescue activities at Stade Amahoro, Sainte Andre in Nyamirambo and Rebero.

  • Food prices affected by other forces, not fuel increase-Traders

    As fuel prices continue to affect the East African region leading to political unrest in some of the countries, Rwanda remains unperturbed as Government delinks the cost of fuel to that of food items.

    In a recent interview, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa warns that oil products would always directly or indirectly affect other commodity prices but added that such a stretch should not exceed 0.4 percent to one percent increment arising out of an equal increase on fuel prices. The Minister however says that food prices are expected to remain stable.

    “It will depend on the behaviour of the market but food prices shouldn’t change, even last time when fuel process increased, they remained stable,” she says.

    On the lack of mechanisms to protect consumers, the minister though admits that there is no law to protect consumers’ interests against overpricing as local consumer watchdog Consumer Rights Association of Rwanda appeals to the government to give it more support to deliver on its mandate.

    According to the Acting Managing Director of Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), Regis Gatarayiha, there have been ongoing discussions and negotiations with the business people not to rapidly increase prices of their products as they wait for the situation to calm down.

    Igihe visited various markets in Kigali including Kimironko, Nyabugogo, and Gikondo market among others to ascertain how the mounting fuel prices may have affected the cost of food.

    According to the survey, both traders and consumers indicate that there are various other factors like food deficiency that may have impacted on the increase of food prices. 

     “In recent days, the price of beans had increased to RWF 700 per kg but has since fallen back to RWF 600 per kg,” says Rosaria Mukarurinda, a trader in Kimironko market. She notes that inconsistent rainfall has led to a food shortage, that has in turn helped food prices to soar to levels high, a situation she says cannot be blamed on fuel.

    For Yeluminee Mukasindambiwe, who vends rice, groundnuts, sugar, millet flour, cooking oil among others, though there is a hike in fuel price, the major problem is a shortage of produce from farmers, who claim little harvest.

    “Increase in fuel prices is adding salt to an injury,” Mukasindambiwe says, adding that though food prices have increased, the situation cannot be compared to the neighbouring countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

    According to the farmers that we interviewed, the price increase of food prices rose by a small margin among almost all food products. For instance, the price of a kilo of matooke rose from RWF150 to 170 per kg.

    Due to the fluctuation of food prices, many of the traders claim that they undergo a lot of challenges as. “We make very little profits but when we deduct taxes, rent and so forth, coupled with the soaring of price in food items, we get almost no profits but still we have to persist until the prices have stabilised,” says Marie Louise Kagoyire, a matooke and Irish potatoes trader at Gikondo market.

    A Kigali resident similarly echoes the concerns of the traders saying that they are often forced to reduce on the quantity of the food items due to price the increase.

    “When we go to the market hoping to buy, for instance, 50 kgs of posho and find that the prices have been hiked, we reduce on the quantity and purchase little according to the little money we have in our pockets and compared to the income one has,” Vincent Dusabimana, a resident of Jari Sector, Gasabo District, who had come to Nyabugogo food market explains.

    For Pierre Bizimana, the increase in food prices is dictated by a decrease in production. He says that he used to purchase 50kgs of sweet potatoes per month but has since reduced this to 30kgs due to this predicament..

    On her part, Jeanne Mukakamanzi, who used to purchase 25 kgs of rice for her family says, “I just quit from buying rice because of the price increase which keeps worsning. I will be buying posho until the prices stabilise ,” Mukakamanzi says.

  • Non tariff- barriers still a challenge to business community

    The Ministry of Trade and Industry in conjunction with the Private Sector Federation has produced an assessment on the status of Non- Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in the region, which shows that removal of NTBs especially along the Northern and Central Corridors are taking slow progress.

    However, in the northern corridor, progress has been recorded at border posts, which are no longer highlighted as a major barrier by truck drivers. This has likely been the result of introducing One-Stop Border Posts and 24hour 7day operations which avoid duplication of clearance procedures as well as reducing congestion and overnight delays.

     The report suggests that focused attention must be made to other persistent NTBs and not focused solely at improving border procedures. Weighbridges, for instance, remain a cumbersome, time-consuming process that nearly always results in hefty bribes being paid. Corruption also remains a real concern for firms, who face a significant addition to transportation costs as a result. Other NTBs identified suggest that the harmonisation and revision of tonnage regulations in particular must be considered by Kenya and Uganda in the near future.

    Whilst notable progress has been made by the Mombasa port in introducing measures to improve and expedite clearance of cargo such as 24hour 7days operations and a One- Stop Centre for key procedures, consultations with the private sector indicate that Rwandan exporters are still not experiencing the large improvements purported by officials. It still takes two weeks for Rwandan cargo to clear, with local shipments often clearing much quicker.

     Traders along the Central Corridor face similar problems but suffer to a much lesser extent from extortionate corruption than the Northern Corridor, with total bribery payments estimated at around US$20. Yet, significant NTBs exist along the route and have, in some cases, worsened since Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation conducted its baseline study in 2008. Particularly of note is the increase in the number of weighbridges encountered in Tanzania from five in 2008 to the eight currently observed.

    This is seen as a contradiction in respect to an agreement by Partner States aimed to eliminate NTBs and refrain from introducing additional ones. The increased time added to journeys is a significant cost to importers and exporters. Customs checks and police roadblocks are also an unwarranted hindrance.

    The Border Post at Rusumo, for instance, lags behind than other Border Posts in the region and is particularly poorly equipped and closes as early as 6pm due to the reliance on solar power. Additional NTBs, such as, time sheets and transit licenses further complicate the journey, and the risk of highway robbery is such that many drivers refuse to continue driving at night due to risk of theft.

    Dar es Salaam port has made some improvements in introducing competition to container management. However, customs procedures remain lengthy and the modernisation and automating of operations needs to be increased to ensure cargo clearance is expedited. Capacity is still limited in dealing with the demand for cargo handling facilities.

    Concerning the Bujumbura route, there are very few Rwandan trucks that travel to Burundi. Clearance on the Rwanda-Burundi Kanyaru Border Post does not take long, and the Gasenyi Border operates a ‘One Stop Border Post’ and the result is relatively quick. Nevertheless, the infrastructure at the port is still minimal. The port is rarely congested, mainly as a result of low demand. The Port has a capacity of 500,000 tones but the port does not handle even half of that. While driving along the Kigali- Bujumbura road, there are no roadblocks ; customs check points or weighbridges identified. 

  • Interview with musical diva Miss Jojo

    Miss Jojo is one of Rwanda’s most celebrated musicians courtesy of her amazing R&B tunes and magnetic voice. IGIHE.com got a chance to interview the dazzling artist, who also doubles as a song-writer and whose music has already crossed boundaries to the whole of the East Africa region. 

    IGIHE : Who is Miss Jojo ? Tell us a bit about your background.

    Jojo :  Am Josiane Uwineza and I am 27years old. I was born in Nyamata in the Eastern province. I went to school at Butare for both my primary and secondary and finished my education at the National University of Rwanda.

    Why did you pick the name Jojo for your stage performance ?

    Since my Christian name is Josiane, I choose the name Jojo because people used to call me Jojo. I also wanted to make it easier for the people who don’t speak French. By calling myself Jojo, I wanted to be different from others and bring something that would be catchy to my fans.

    When was your first stage performance ? Were you nervous ?

    My first stage performance was at the Franco Rwanda cultural centre and I had one song which was released. But I had another song, which was not yet out and some friends of mine who were launching DVDs invited me to perform. Since I was supposed to perform my first song, I was so scared. People were waiting to listen to my debut song which was already out. Fortunately, I started with the one I had not released yet. The audience was at first very quiet while listening to my song, but later started shouting and screaming throwing some money on stage. I was full of excitement after the audience’s reaction to my performance. This gave me the courage to work hard on my music.

    How did you begin loving music ? Who inspired you to join the music industry ?

    When I was still young, I used to sing in school choirs, and one day, I wrote two songs for my choir which were sang at school. The students loved the songs, and that is when I discovered that I could sing and at the same time become a song writer.

    My family was the first to inspire me to sing. I loved South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka because I always dreamed of becoming a great artist like her. I will never forget performing on stage with her. It was something I loved so much, which I shall never forget.

    Do you have a record label, or are you a member of any music organisation ?

    Not permanently because I work with different producers here in Rwanda and in Kenya. In Rwanda, I normally work with Pastor P and JP, but I always go to Kenya to record most of my songs. In Kenya, I work with a studio known as Moja entertainment that is owned by a producer called Robert Kamanzi. I am not a member of any music organsation, because in Rwanda the music industry has not reached the level to accommodate music organisations. Every one is trying to make his/her ends meet, but we are looking forward to it.

    Who writes your songs ? What are the main themes of most of your songs ? Do you think these themes will change with time ? 

     I write them by myself. I compose my own songs. My main themes include love, encouragement towards peoples ‘challenges, and life in general, because in this world, life always has ups and downs. I don’t think my themes will change, because I don’t want to change the world but to give the world a reason to live despite the hard times they face.

    How has your music changed or evolved since you begun singing ?

    I began singing as a modest Jojo and it wasn’t that easy for me at first. However, my first album made it easy for me because I can now perform in different areas around the country and outside the country, mostly, in East Africa. This shows that my music has grown to some extent.

    What have been your biggest challenges as an artist ? Have you been able to overcome them ? If so how ?

    Like I said, at beginning, in life, there are always so many challenges but it does not mean that you back off. Most of the challenges I face are in failing to get sponsors who can develop my talent. This is not a predicament I face alone. Even my fellow artists face it too. Secondly, when concerts are organised, people do not turn up, yet, you have invested a lot in organising it and you end up losing a lot. But I try to always cheer up and focus on tomorrow.

    How many albums do you have so far ? Any collaboration with other artists within the country or outside the country ?

    I have only one album so far and another one is in progress but I don’t know the exact release date. I just know it will be very soon. For the case of collaborations, yes, I have many collaborations with different artists both outside and within the country. I have collaborated with such artists as Rafiki,Patino, Just family, Kidumu, Michael Rose and so many others.

    Apart from music is there any other talent you have that people don’t know about ?

    I really don’t know if I have another talent apart from singing.

    What advice do you have for the young upcoming artist who wants to make it big in the music industry ?

    My advice will be brief, I would love to tell them that they should stand focused on what they want and go for it. They should know that you cannot reap what you do not sow.

    How can fans gain access to your music ? Do you have a website ?

    You can get my songs anywhere, in different shops, around the country.

    Where do you see yourself in the future ? Let’s say in five years to come ?

    I want to see my music to be known around the whole of East Africa and if possible see my songs being played on MTV Base.

    Is there any one you would like to thank who contributed to your singing career ?

    Am very grateful to my family, first and foremost, because they have been there for me from the beginning. I cannot forget all my fans and my supporters around the country. All I am asking is that they continue to support my music and help contribute to the development of the music industry in Rwanda.