Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

In a statement, the Rwanda National Police (RNP) revealed that the course, conducted at Lake Kivu in Rubavu District, was organized in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

The course covered various topics, including general criminal law and penalties, laws governing specific crimes, criminal procedure law, investigating water-related crimes, managing and securing ports, evidence collection, interviewing witnesses, and case file preparation.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Emmanuel Hatari, the Regional Police Commander for the Western region, presided over the closing ceremony.

The officer emphasized that the course was crucial for marine-related operations.

“Just like in other parts of Rwanda, security in water bodies is given special attention to ensure that daily activities such as transportation and fishing are conducted safely and with confidence in security,” CP Hatari said.

He reminded the trainees to utilize the acquired knowledge and skills to prevent and investigate crimes in the waters.

The walkout, spanning seven facilities in four states, came during the busiest delivery time in a year as Americans complete their Christmas shopping.

At a San Francisco distribution center, about 50 workers formed a picket line early Thursday morning. Dressed in high-visibility yellow vests, they carried signs reading “Amazon: obey the law” and “Amazon is unfair” and chanted slogans, demanding Amazon negotiate with their union — the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Among them was Leah Penslar, who wore an “Amazon Teamsters” beanie.

“The company needs to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract with us,” Penslar told NBC.

The strike occurred less than a week before Christmas when delivery networks faced their peak demands. Workers have taken action at delivery hubs including San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta and Skokie, with the union reporting picketing activities at hundreds more Amazon facilities nationwide.

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien in a statement posted on social media.

The situation developed after Amazon did not meet the union’s Dec. 15 deadline to begin negotiations. According to the union, nearly 10,000 Amazon workers joined its movement, demanding higher wages, better benefits, and improved workplace safety conditions.

However, Amazon disputed these claims.

“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally misled the public — claiming that they represent thousands of Amazon employees and drivers,” said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement, “They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative.”

The company also said the union “threatened, intimidated and attempted to coerce” employees and third-party drivers to join their cause.

Despite the protests, Amazon maintained that the strike would have minimal impact on holiday deliveries. The striking workers represent a small portion of the retailing giant’s about 1.1 million U.S. employees.

While there may not be “a material impact” on deliveries, “it is possible there may be some isolated incidents of delay,” said Dan Romanoff, an analyst with the investment research firm Morningstar.

Delivery operations showed signs of slowdown in New York City, while operations in other cities remained largely unaffected. The company’s multiple locations in metropolitan areas serve as a buffer against potential disruptions.

Industry observers noted that Amazon’s extensive logistics network, built over years of rapid expansion, provides significant resilience against localized disruptions.

The strike reflected ongoing discussions about Amazon’s business practices and workers’ rights.

As the second-largest U.S. private employer after Walmart, Amazon often faces questions from unions who say the company’s focus on speed and efficiency can lead to workplace injuries.

The company maintains that it provides industry-leading wages and implements automation designed to reduce repetitive stress.

The company recently announced an investment of 2.2 billion U.S. dollars to raise the wages for employees at its fulfilment and transportation network. But union representatives said such measures did not fully address their concern about workplace conditions and job security.

The announcement came Thursday, as health officials worked to address the outbreak in the remote Panzi region of Kwango Province.

First reported in late October 2024, the illness has caused 37 deaths in health facilities out of nearly 600 recorded cases, with an additional 44 community-level deaths still under investigation.

Symptoms of the illness include fever, headaches, and cough, and the outbreak has particularly affected children under five years old, who account for 40% of the cases.

“The working diagnosis now is malaria,” said Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s chief of staff, during an online briefing.

He emphasized that the situation has been worsened by severe malnutrition in the area, calling it a critical contributing factor to the high mortality rates.

The Panzi region, located about 700 kilometers southeast of the capital Kinshasa, is difficult to access due to poor infrastructure and the ongoing rainy season. With no functional laboratories in the area, samples must be sent to Kinshasa for testing, delaying confirmation of the diagnosis.

Compounding the challenge is the region’s high malnutrition rate—estimated at 61%—and a lack of essential resources such as clean drinking water, medicine, and healthcare facilities. These conditions have created a perfect storm for the spread of illness and increased vulnerability among the population.

While malaria is the leading hypothesis, Africa CDC has not ruled out other possibilities, including a viral hemorrhagic fever occurring alongside malaria. Earlier investigations ruled out COVID-19 but concluded that the illness affects the respiratory system.

Health authorities are also considering other potential culprits, such as measles, influenza, or pneumonia, with laboratory testing ongoing to confirm or rule out these diseases.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed the global risk as low, local risks remain significant due to the proximity of the outbreak to Angola. Cross-border transmission concerns have prompted calls for enhanced coordination between the two nations to prevent further spread.

The DRC has also been grappling with mpox outbreak that has resulted in over 1,000 deaths.

The announcement by Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, follows 42 consecutive days without any new confirmed cases, as required by World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The last confirmed patient was discharged from the hospital on November 8, 2024.

Rwanda announced the Marburg virus outbreak on September 27, 2024. By the time the outbreak was declared over, the country had recorded 66 illnesses and 15 deaths.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Dr. Nsanzimana acknowledged the progress made in containing the outbreak while expressing condolences for the lives lost.

“This is an important milestone for Rwanda’s public health system. While we mourn the lives lost, we are encouraged by the progress made. We have reached this point because of the dedication of our healthcare workers, the government, and our partners whose seamless collaboration and swift, coordinated action made it possible to contain the outbreak effectively,” the minister stated.

The Ministry of Health had earlier confirmed that the outbreak originated from a mining cave inhabited by fruit bats, a known reservoir of the Marburg virus.

Dr. Nsanzimana noted that the government will continue to strengthen surveillance systems to avert future outbreaks.

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From the onset of the outbreak, Rwanda’s government, healthcare workers, and international partners activated a robust response. A 24/7 command post was established to coordinate surveillance, testing, case management, vaccination, risk communication, and community engagement.

The country’s extensive network of nearly 60,000 community health workers was also instrumental in active case finding and monitoring contacts of infected individuals during the mandatory observation period.

Molly Phee, the United States Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, confirmed this during a recent media briefing regarding President Joe Biden’s visit to Angola earlier this month.

During the presser on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Phee stated that Kenyatta had committed to organizing talks between M23 and the DRC. The East African Community (EAC) endorsed this initiative, transferring the responsibility for resolving the armed group crisis in eastern DRC to the African Union (AU).

“President Kenyatta has agreed to help broker talks between M23 and the DRC. The EAC supported moving that mandate to deal with the armed groups in eastern DRC to the African Union. President Kenyatta was, in fact, in Luanda this past weekend,” Phee stated while commenting on conflict resolution efforts in the region.

Her remarks come in the wake of the postponement of talks intended to bring together Presidents Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Félix Tshisekedi (DRC), and João Lourenço (Angola) in Luanda on December 15, 2024. The talks were delayed due to the DRC government’s refusal to negotiate with M23.

On the scheduled meeting day, President Lourenço, Tshisekedi, and Kenyatta met in Luanda to discuss ways to restore lasting peace and security in eastern DRC.

One of the key issues discussed was the resumption of talks between the DRC government and armed groups operating in the eastern part of the country, including the possibility of involving M23.

President Biden had earlier tasked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines with using U.S. intelligence resources to hold the DRC and Rwanda accountable for commitments they made to de-escalate tensions in eastern DRC in support of the Luanda mediation process.

M23 previously participated in the Nairobi talks in April 2022 but was expelled by an envoy of President Tshisekedi, who accused the group of instigating violence. M23 denied the allegations.

The DRC government continues to face pressure to reengage in dialogue with the group to address the security issues plaguing eastern DRC collaboratively.

Rwanda maintains that meaningful peace efforts in the region require the inclusion of M23, as the group remains one of the key players in the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC.

The Rwandan government has also called on the DRC to take ‘serious’ action against the FDLR, which poses a security threat to Rwanda. The FDLR comprises remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

RIB spokesperson Dr. Murangira B. Thierry emphasized this message in a recent interview with IGIHE.

The warning follows a disturbing incident where a student was severely assaulted after days of harassment at a house party in Kicukiro District.

RIB’s investigation revealed that the assault took place in a house rented by the perpetrators. Authorities arrested several individuals aged between 19 and 24 in connection with the crime.

Dr. Murangira warned that such events often lead to criminal activities, including child abuse, drug use, assault, theft, and public disturbance. He urged property owners to be vigilant and avoid renting their properties for “House Parties” to prevent the escalation of such incidents.

Landlords who fail to heed this warning may face legal consequences for aiding and abetting criminal activities.

Trump told Fox News he was “totally against” a proposed government funding bill, putting the stopgap measure, which would keep the government open until mid-March, in danger.

Congress has until Friday night to prevent a funding gap, as lawmakers passed a continuing resolution in September to extend government funding through December 20.

The new package, unveiled on Tuesday, mainly allows the government to maintain its current spending levels for the next three months, providing lawmakers with additional time to negotiate new spending bills.

It also includes 100 billion U.S. dollars in disaster relief for recovery from major hurricanes and the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge, a one-year extension of the farm bill with an extra 10 billion dollars in aid for farmers.

With some hardliners opposing the stopgap measure and a slim House majority, Republicans will once again need Democrats’ support to approve government funding.

“We should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give the Democrats everything they want,” Vice President-elect and Senator JD Vance said in a joint statement with Trump.

“The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill without Democrat giveaways combined with an increase in the debt ceiling,” said the statement, pressuring the Democrats to cooperate on a debt ceiling increase now.

The latest statement drew criticism from Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And hurt the working class Americans they claim to support. You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” he said on social media platform X.

In a series of posts on the X platform, General Muhoozi claimed he would “capture Khartoum” with the support of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, prompting Sudan to issue an official demand for a public apology.

In a strongly-worded statement, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the remarks as “reckless and irresponsible.” The ministry described the comments as an unprecedented violation of diplomatic norms, international law, and the principles of mutual respect between sovereign nations.

“The threat of war, the violation of state sovereignty, and the defiance of the United Nations Charter and African Union regulations are too dangerous to be treated lightly or used as tools for personal publicity,” the statement emphasized.

The Sudanese government, which has faced instability due to ongoing civil war, urged the African Union and other international bodies to denounce Muhoozi’s statements, which it said undermine regional stability and insult African nations.

Although the posts were deleted shortly after being published, their impact was significant. Sudanese social media users continued to express widespread anger, urging authorities to pursue accountability measures against Uganda.

Similarly, the army chief’s remarks about the crashing “white machineries” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have provoked tensions with the Congolese government. This led to the summoning of Uganda’s Acting Chargé d’Affaires, Matata Twaha Magara, by DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, on Wednesday.

The son of President Yoweri Museveni had declared: “This is my final warning to all white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. Starting January 2, 2025, we will launch operations against all white mercenaries in our zones. In the name of Jesus Christ, the God of all Bachwezi, no mercenary will remain in the DRC next year.”

The remarks were interpreted as a direct reference to foreign operatives from groups like Agemira and RALF, which have reportedly supported the Congolese national army (FARDC) against the M23 rebellion since 2022.

General Muhoozi has a history of making controversial statements. He previously threatened to invade Kenya while serving as commander of the land forces, a remark that led to his dismissal from that post before he was appointed commander of the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces.