Category: News

{{After a trial that took ten years, the “Butare case” before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda could also be its longest at the Appeals stage.}}

One year after the judgment of the six accused, their appeals procedure has hardly got started because of translation problems.

On June 24, 2011, the ICTR sentenced former Women and Family Affairs Minister Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, her son Arsène Ntahobali and former mayor Elie Ndayambaje to life imprisonment for their role in the 1994 genocide in the southern Rwandan prefectureof Butare.

Another former mayor, Joseph Kanyabashi, was sentenced to 35 years, while former prefects Sylvain Nsabimana and Alphonse Nteziryayogot 25 and 30 years respectively.

They all decided to appeal, but they are still waiting for the French version of the judgment.

Although some members of the defence teams speak English, the working language of the six convicts is French.

On June 24, 2011, presiding judge William Hussein Sekule read out only a summary in English of the court’s conclusions.

The full judgment in English was distributed to the parties three weeks later. It consists of 1,500 pages, over which the translators are still sweating.

“We are working tirelessly. It’s not easy to translate a text full of judicial terms,” said one of the translators who asked to remain anonymous.

“And then in judicial matterseven more than in other areas you have to be very careful when you translate.But we hope to be finished in a few weeks time.”

Cameroonian translator François Bembatoum told Hirondelle in February 2010 that this invisible but indispensable team were already struggling.

“Translation, it’s not like photocopying,”he said.

“There are well known international standards for translation. Unless we get sufficient resources in relation to the workload, well itis just going to take time.”

Since then, according to a memberof the Registry, the language section has not been spared in the gradualstaff cuts as the ICTR prepares to close by December 2014.

The Court has advised the defence teams with members who understand English to prepare provisional appeals on the basis of the English judgment, which can be adjusted once the Frenchis available.

Nsabimana’s lawyer Josette Kadji says her team has been doing just that. “We have worked with the English version, while we wait for the French.

When we get it, we’ll have 60 days to finalize our written appeal.”
Kanyabashi is waiting for the translation of another document as well as the judgment, since the Prosecutor has also decided to appeal in his case only.

Once the convicts have filed theirwritten arguments, the Prosecutor will be given the necessary time to respondin writing.

It is only after the judges have read all these documents that the Chamber will set a date for an appeals hearing. “Maybe towards the end of this year, maybe next year,” says Kadji.

Hirondellenews

{{The head of Ethiopian Orthodox Church,His Holiness Abune Paulos, Fifth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Ichege of the See of St Tekle Haymanot, Archbishop of Axum Abune Paulos, has died at the age of 77 in an Addis Ababa hospital.}}

The sudden death of the controversial leader could add to tensions in the influential church that is already divided both at home and abroad.

The church’s public relations office said Thursday that the synod and other leaders would meet to arrange the funeral and transitional leadership.

Unlike his predecessor, Abune Paulos was a handpicked Patriarch, chosen by prime minister Meles Zenawi in an apparent bid to defuse opposition by Christians to his rule.

Around half of Ethiopia’s 85 million population are orthodox Christians and traditionally, the Orthodox Church plays an important role in Ethiopian political life.

Abune Paulos survived an assassination attempt in the mid 1990s inside the church.

{{Uganda has reportedly tightened its Internet security after hackers attacked the prime minister’s website posting statements supporting gay rights, the country’s Internet regulator said Friday.}}

Its alleged that Activists hacked into the website of the prime minister’s office earlier this week and posted a fake press release announcing the minister’s support for a gay pride parade.

“Our first priority is to apply all necessary resources to give all institutions, the tools, processes and support they require to strengthen the security of their IT systems in case of any incident,” Uganda’s National Information Technology Authority said in a statement.

Pro-gay activists targeted Uganda after a controversial bill that would see certain homosexual acts punished by the death penalty was re-introduced to parliament earlier this year.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the proposed legislation has previously attracted heavy criticism for the draconian penalties it proposed.

It would introduce the death sentence for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for the second time, as well as for gay sex where one partner is a minor or has HIV.

The statement posted online claimed to be from the prime minister’s office and condemned widespread homophobia in Uganda.

“We have got to expel the narrow mindedness from this country, and begin afresh, starting with a full and formal apology to all homosexuals living in Uganda today,” the statement, purporting to be from Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, said.

The statement had been removed from the website as of Friday.

AFP

{{The Leader of Congolese opposition party-Alliance for Development and the Republic (ADR), François Muamba Tshishimbi has proposed deployment of Africom, U.S. military force along the Rwanda DRC border to contain M23 rebels, Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and other armed groups in the région.}}

Muamba made the proposition 16 August during a press conference in Kinshasa he organized to mark the first anniversary of his political party.

“We also believe that our country should pursue the question of securing its eastern borders to bilateral relations with partners such as the U.S., already have a neutral safety mechanism called Africom “said Muamba.

He said his party supports the view of deploying an international force between the DRC and Rwanda which should remain neutral.

The Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Ntumba Lwaba said the quotas of the international force will be essentially the Great Lakes region and the entire African region.

The deployment of the international force was approved in mid-July by Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame during the summit in Addis Ababa.

Okapi

{{Twagiramana Innocent 24, a businessman and resident of Muhanga district was found dead in his shop after committing suicide in the night of August 15.

This is the second suicidal case in Shyogwe in just two months.}}

Reasons for this suicidal action have not yet been established. He was residing at Kabungo in Kinini at Shyogwe Sector.

Neighbours told IGIHE that on saturday morning they knocked on Twagiramana’s shop door in need of buying machandise but there was no responce apart from the noisy television in the room.

During the fateful night before Twagiramana took his life, he had threatened his wife Mutoniwase Yvonne saying if she didnt leave the house, there would be two deadbodies.

Mutoniwase heeded and escaped to neighbours house where she spent the whole night as her husband hanged himself using a rope.

The wife to the diceased said she didnt expect her husband would take his life.

However, local residents said Twagiramana was always jealous and never liked seeing his wife in company with other men saying this could have caused him to end his life.

Another Version allegs that Twagiramana had consumed Marijuana early that day and had been randomly beating people.

Its also alleged by 9:00PM he closed shop after serving clients and turned on television with high volume. He is alleged to have taken rat poison and later hanged himself using a rope.

Peeping through under the door, they saw his lifeless body. His body was taken to Kabgayi Hospital for a postmotem. He will be burried at his birth place in Mbuye, Ruhango district.

Niyonsaba Dancille a local leader at Kinini in charge of development told IGIHE that Twagiramana had previously suffered from mental illness saying he once undressed and walked naked in public until Police dressed himup.

It had been assumed that he had recovered.

{{Ecuador has defied Britain and has given Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum, British Sky News has reported citing sources.}}

On Wednesday Ecuador accused Britain of threatening to storm its London embassy to arrest Assange after the UK issued a stern warning to the South American nation ahead of its decision on the his asylum bid.

Assange, whose 2010 publishing online of thousands of secret US diplomatic cables and military dispatches has angered US officials, says the charges against him are trumped up.

He stands accused of sexual assault by two of his former supporters in Sweden.

His supporters say they believe the US has secretly indicted him and would extradite him from Sweden.

{Source–News24}

{{In the ongoing Population census that started today August 16, President Paul Kagame has also participated in the national exercise.

At about noon,Yusuf Murangwa Director General National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda(NISR) arrived at Mr Kagame’s home at Kiyovu, Nyarugenge district to conduct the exercise. }}

Murangwa told reporters that the president was asked the same questions like any other citizen, ” He (president) provided the required information and granted us enough time”.

{{Two people have been rushed to Gisenyi Hospital after sustaining severe injuries in two accidents that occured in just a span of one hour at Mahoko trading center , Kanama in Rubavu District.}}

The accidents happened today morning.

The first accident occured when a man in his 20s was knocked down while trying to cross the road. He was knocked down by a speeding Daihatsu truck.

In the second accident a minibus Reg: RAA 518Z crashed into a motorcycle.

The minibus driver was a mechanic identified as Ntawukiramwabo Irahari and the motocycle rider Rudakonja Ribakare Esron 47, resident of Rubavu in Gisenyi sector.

Rudakonja was severly injured but was saved by the helmet.

{{Police in Gatare at Macuba sector is holding a woman suspected of having a hand in the death of her husband.

Niyokwizerwa Solange is said to have been a second wife to Gahamanyi 47 with whom they had five children.}}

Neighbours said that the two have always been involved in wrangles and fights just like it happened on wednesday night. The Couple allegedly disagreed when Gahamanyi insisted on selling a plot of land.

The incidence happened at Rugeregere, Cyimpindu at Kirimbi.

Neighbours said they had managed to help the couple settle down however, later Gahamanyi was found dead outside the house.

Bizuru Isaac the executive sectretary of the area told residents to avoid any form of disputes.

{{Genocide suspect Jean Uwinkindi August 13, refused four times in a row to answer questions from the Prosecution of the High court where he is attending the preliminary hearings of his trial for genocide.}}

According to Prosecution’s spokesman Alain Mukurarinda, Uwinkindi is arguing that he “has the right to be silent”.

Pastor Uwinkindi was arrested on June 30, 2010 in Uganda and transferred to the seat of ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania, two days later.

On April 19, 2012, he became the first genocide suspect transferred by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to Kigali to face trial before the High Court of his native country. He pleads not guilty to all the charges.

His refusal to speak doesn’t prevent the proceedings to go on, Mukurarinda told Hirondelle News Agency. “Preliminary hearings are still slated to resume on August 27”.

Uwinkindi’s defence lawyer Gatera Gashabana didn’t comment on Uwinkindi’s refusal to answer questions, but told Hirondelle News Agency on the phone that they would be ready for the preliminary hearings. “We will request our client to be released on bail”, he added.

Uwinkindi is charged with genocide and extermination. He is accused of encouraging and leading the killings of Tutsis in his Kayenzi parish during the 1994 genocide.