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  • Kagame tips African Nations on the need to open their borders

    Kagame tips African Nations on the need to open their borders

    {Yesterday, President Kagame joined President Kenyatta, Prime Minister Mara of Mali, AfDB President Donald Kaberuka for a discussion on the need for African nations to open their borders to each other. }

    Rwanda is one of the nations that have opened its borders to all African nations:

    “Common sense and enlightened self interest are the reasons we opened our borders to all African nations.”

    To address challenges that come with opening borders, President Kagame emphasized the importance of involving citizens concluding that benefits far outweigh the costs:

    “We chose to put in place infrastructure to address challenges that come with opening our borders. We haven’t taken any steps without having conversations with our citizens. We have been able to fill skill gaps and the benefits go to the people.”

    President Kenyatta urged African nations to increase political will towards achieving free movement across the continent as well as prioritize complementarity over competition:

    “We need to be facilitating business not obstructing it. If we facilitate business, we can transform our continent that much faster. We need to look at our neighbors not as competitors but focus on our comparative advantage. If your neighbor grows, so will your citizens.”

    During the session, President Kagame, President Kenyatta, Prime Minister Mara also signed a call to action from the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Africa and the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on New Models for Travel and Tourism to all African Nations. The statement called on African States to eliminate barriers to business, student and tourist travel across Africa.

    President Kagame ended the day with the Grow Africa Invest Forum where he stressed the importance of agriculture:

    The importance of agriculture cannot be overstated. It has been there for long and will continue to be there. We are focusing on it to make sure we are maximizing the benefits for ourselves and for our people.

    President Kagame also shared steps Rwanda undertook to rebuild the agricultural sector:

    “Defining the problem properly, focusing on the real issues, connecting with the ordinary citizens and farmers and ensuring their participation based on their understanding of the importance of agriculture in transforming their life. We have seen improved seeds, productivity methods, use of technology and improved land management.”

    Themed Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs, this year’s forum brings together more than 1,000 business leaders and government officials from across the world to discuss innovative structural reforms and investments that will create jobs and ensure sustainable growth across the continent.

  • Canada court upholds conviction of Genocide criminal Desire Munyaneza

    Canada court upholds conviction of Genocide criminal Desire Munyaneza

    MONTREAL – The first person ever found guilty under Canada’s war-crimes legislation has failed in an attempt to have his conviction overturned.

    The Quebec Court of Appeal said Wednesday it has upheld the conviction against Rwandan war criminal Desire Munyaneza.Munyaneza’s trial heard he raped women, participated in the slaughter of hundreds of people inside a church and used sticks to beat children tied up in sacks.

    He was found guilty in May 2009 of several charges relating to rape and civilian massacres in Rwanda and later sentenced to the maximum life in prison.

    His lawyers filed an appeal almost immediately thereafter.In a decision released Wednesday, the province’s highest court dismissed the multipronged appeal of the landmark verdict.

    “In the court’s opinion, these arguments have no merit,” the appeals court ruled.

    Munyaneza appealed on several grounds, alleging poorly defined charges, irregularities and misrepresentations by the trial judge and a lack of credibility in Crown witnesses.

    But the three justices who listened to the arguments over three days in April 2013 picked apart the arguments of Munyaneza’s lawyers and said it was clear he played a central role in the crimes.

    “Almost all of the Crown witnesses, who for the most part were in no way connected with each other, stated that the appellant acted as a leader during the events that took place in the Butare prefecture between April and July of 1994,” they wrote. “That is why the (trial) judge found that he was ‘at the forefront of the genocidal movement’.”Instead of refraining and refusing to take part in the genocide, he chose to participate actively as Interahamwe (Hutu militia) leader and as a member of the local elite.”

    The offences took place in and around Butare, where Munyaneza, the son of a wealthy local businessman, was an influential figure.

    Munyaneza arrived in Toronto in 1997 seeking refugee status but his claim was rejected.

    He was arrested by the RCMP at his Toronto-area home in 2005 and eventually convicted on seven charges related to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    In October 2009, Munyaneza was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years, despite pleading for leniency on the issue of parole eligibility.With time served, Munyaneza was expected to be eligible for parole at the earliest in 2030.

    The appeals court ruling also confirms the validity of the country’s war-crimes legislation, which was under the microscope during the expensive, secretive and lengthy trial.

    Quebec Superior Court Justice Andre Denis oversaw the two-year case and heard from 66 witnesses in court proceedings that were held in Canada, Europe and Africa.Many of those witnesses were heard behind closed doors and had their identities hidden to shield them from reprisals.

    The Munyaneza case has been followed intently by international legal observers as it was the first test of prosecuting someone in a Canadian court for crimes committed abroad.Munyaneza was convicted under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, enacted in 2000.

    © Times Colonist

  • Strip Tease Dancing Spreads in Kigali

    Strip Tease Dancing Spreads in Kigali

    {{Most Kigali night spots are increasingly adopting strip tease dancing as revellers demand for so much more.

    Our Reporter took to a Night hangout Spot in Nyamirambo to attend one of the new night entertainments commonly known as Kimansulo (a Ugandan word that refers to public flashing.)}}

  • Botswana Arrests Two Ugandan Doctors

    Botswana Arrests Two Ugandan Doctors

    {{Authorities in Botswana are holding two Ugandan doctors and have indicated that the duo is bound for deportation after completion of an inquest into cases they refused to reveal to the relatives.}}

    The doctors, Eli Musinguzi and Brian Mutebi, local media reported were arrested last week on Thursday over their alleged connections to a private clinic near the capital Gaborone; which was thereafter closed by police for “illegally operating.”

    Dr Musinguzi, who has lived in Botswana for seven years and worked at the country’s national referral, Princes Marina Hospital, for three years, has not been working at the private clinic, but his colleague, Dr Mutebi has worked there as full time staff.

    {{Wrongful arrest?}}

    The clinic is reportedly owned by another doctor, Mr Emmanuel Niwagaba, who was apparently out of the country at the time police reined in.

    Ms Rose Musinguzi, wife to Dr Musinguzi, described the situation as “worrying” saying both the police and immigration authorities have to this date not communicated the charges against her husband.

    “Dr Musinguzi wasn’t working at the clinic. I was told by the receptionist at the clinic that the police saw him coming from the clinic at one time. The police then asked for his contacts from the receptionist and later called him to the police station,” she said.

  • Eritrea’s Afewerki & Gen Bahsir Discuss Bilateral Ties

    Eritrea’s Afewerki & Gen Bahsir Discuss Bilateral Ties

    {{The Eritrean president, Isaias Afewerki, will arrive in Khartoum on Thursday to hold talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, to discuss bilateral ties and means for furthering cooperation between the two countries.}}

    Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) director, Mohamed Atta, travelled to Asmara on a one-day secret visit on Tuesday.

    Informed sources told the pro-government al-Rayaam daily newspaper on Tuesday, that Afewerki will be accompanied by several ministers and advisors.

    The same sources stressed that a summit between the two presidents will be followed by a ministerial meeting to discuss bilateral relations besides regional and international issues of common concern.

    It added that Afewerki’s program of work would include field visits to several projects and large enterprises on top of which is Al-Gaili oil refinery.

    Last April, Bashir disclosed during a visit to Sudan’s eastern state of Kassala intends to establish a joint Sudanese-Eritrean force to combat human trafficking and smuggling.

    He said that Khartoum would provide Asmara with its fuel needs in order to curb smuggling, underscoring existence of a high level of security coordination between the two countries to control borders and achieve security and stability.

    Bashir also called upon the government of Kassala state to carry out its responsibilities in order to achieve the required living standard for the residents along the borders.

    The head of neighboring countries’ department at the foreign ministry, Ibrahim Bushra, described ties between Sudan and Eritrea as good, pointing to the repeated mutual visits of the two leaders.

    He said that Bashir emphasised Sudan’s relations with Ethiopia do not come at the expense of its ties with any country, in reference to Khartoum’s relations with Asmara.

    Bushra added that Bashir had in the past offered to mediate between Eritrea and Ethiopia in order to clear the atmosphere between the two neighboring countries.

    He further stressed that Sudan supports the regional campaign led by Eritrea to lift the sanctions imposed upon it by the United States, saying that Sudan suffers from similar sanctions.

    Eritrea became an independent state in 1991 after a bloody war of independence with Ethiopia. The two countries fought a border war in 1998-2000 that has killed an estimated 70,000 people.

    The two East African adversaries remain at loggerheads since the disputed key town of Badme had been awarded to Eritrea by an international border commission.

    {sudantribune}

  • PHOTO OF THE DAY

    PHOTO OF THE DAY

    {{ {Mukangarambe Charlotte a resident in Kirehe District bathes her child. She lives at Bugarama village in Gahama Cell, Kirehe Sector.} }}

  • US Sanctions on 2 Generals From South Sudan

    US Sanctions on 2 Generals From South Sudan

    {{The US treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Tuesday that it has imposed sanctions on two military officers from both sides of the South Sudan conflict.}}

    US president Barack Obama issued an executive order last month directing his administration to impose sanctions on South Sudanese parties responsible for ongoing violence and human rights abuses in the world youngest nation.

    Today’s decision impacts General Peter Gadet and Marial Chanuong Mangok according to OFAC statement.

    Gadet is a general leading former vice-president Riek Machar’s forces in Unity state, while Mangok is a major general commanding the presidential guard unit within the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

    Mangok and Gadet are now banned from travelling to the US and any assets they have in US financial institutions will be frozen.

    The United Nations and the international community condemned recent atrocities allegedly committed against civilians in Bentiu when the rebel fighters led by Gadet recaptured the capital of Unity state.

    The presidential guard is accused of killing civilians from Nuer ethnic group in Juba last December.

    “The measures taken against Marial Chanuong and Peter Gadet are only a first step and should serve as a clear warning to those in the Government of South Sudan and those who have taken up arms against it: the United States is determined to hold accountable those who choose violence,” US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said in a statement.

    Power also said that the US “will also seek in the United Nations Security Council to authorise targeted sanctions against those who continue to undermine South Sudan’s stability”.

    sudantribune

  • US Warns Uganda Churches Could be Targeted by Terrorists

    US Warns Uganda Churches Could be Targeted by Terrorists

    {{Churches in the Ugandan capital face a “specific terrorist threat”, the US embassy has warned, amid a wave of attacks in east Africa blamed on Islamist insurgents.}}

    “The threat information indicates a group of attackers may be preparing to strike places of worship in Kampala, particularly churches, including some that may be frequented by expatriates, in May or June,” the embassy warned in a statement to US citizens Tuesday.

    No specific group was mentioned in the warning, but Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents or their supporters have been blamed for a string of attacks, especially in neighbouring Kenya.

    Both Uganda and Kenya are key contributors of troops to the African Union force fighting the Shebab in Somalia, and the Islamists have carried out major attacks in both countries in retaliation in the past.

    In Kenya, two people were killed and dozens wounded in double bus bombings in the capital Nairobi on Sunday, a day after four were killed in twin attacks in the port city of Mombasa.

    Shebab bombers killed at least 76 people in Uganda’s capital Kampala in 2010.

    Uganda set up a specialist tourism police force in March as part of counter-terrorism measures, amid warnings of Shebab attacks.

    The United Nations has also warned of an increased threat of attacks from the Shebab following a major offensive launched against the militants in March.

    {wirestory}

  • Ghana Captain Asamoah Gyan Nominated for top UAE Award

    Ghana Captain Asamoah Gyan Nominated for top UAE Award

    {{Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan is the huge favourite to win this season’s Arabian Gulf League Foreign Player of the Year.}}

    The 28-year-old faces stern tests from last season’s winner Brazilian Grafite and two other Al Ahli players Hugo Viana (Portugal) and Ciel (Brazil).

    The ten-man shortlist includes three other Africans; Senegalese Makhete Diop (Al Dhafra), Al Jazira’s Abdelaziz Barrada who hails from Morocco and Simon Feindouno of Guinea.

    But Gyan’s incredible scoring form makes him the overwhelming favourite to win the coveted award.

    The Al Ain ace has scored 28 goals in 25 league appearances and set to win the top scorer award for the third consecutive time.

    His fiercest challenger is Grafite who has raked in 19 goals in 24 appearances.

    Arabian Gulf League Foreign Player of the Year nominees:

    Hugo Viana (Al Ahli)

    Ciel (Al Ahli)

    Grafite (Al Ahli)

    Simon Feindouno (Ajman)

    Abdelaziz Barrada (Al Jazira)

    Luiz Henrique (Al Shabab)

    Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain)

    Sebastian Tagliabue (Al Wahda)

    Makhete Diop (Al Dhafra)

    Kim Jung-woo (Sharjah)

    {myjoyonline}

  • Gen. Sisi Vows Brotherhood ‘Won’t Exist’

    Gen. Sisi Vows Brotherhood ‘Won’t Exist’

    {{Egyptian presidential favourite and former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has vowed that the banned Muslim Brotherhood group “will not exist,” should he win.}}

    In his first interview with Egyptian TV, he added that two assassination plots against him had been uncovered.

    Mr Sisi removed Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi from power last July.

    He is widely expected to win the presidential election on 26-27 May.

    Mr Sisi had denied he had any political ambitions when he ousted President Morsi and launched a crackdown on the Brotherhood last year.

    In a joint interview with Egypt’s privately owned CBC and ONTV television channels on Monday, he said: “I want to tell you that it is not me that finished [the Brotherhood]. You, the Egyptians, are the ones who finished it.”

    Asked whether the Brotherhood would cease to exist if he should gain the presidency, the former field marshal – dressed in a suit – answered: “Yes. That’s right.”

    He said there had been two attempts to assassinate him, but added: “I believe in fate, I am not afraid.”

    He did not provide details of who was behind the alleged plots or how advanced they were.

    {{wirestory}}