Category: News

{{A french paper-Libération reports that the Rwandan army was in possession of 15 French Mistral missiles on the eve of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

It cites a UN document which, it argues, raises questions about the role Paris played in Kigali in the years and months prior to the genocide.

Mystery surrounds the discovery of a UN document by a British journalist which reveals the presence of 15 French Mistral ground-to-air missiles in the Rwandan army arsenal in the build-up to the 1994 genocide.

At the time, the exportation of these missiles was strictly forbidden.}}

{{MTN Rwanda has announced the beginning of the ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ campaign from which, each member of staff will make a financial contribution that will support one child’s education for nine years.}}

With 300 MTN Rwanda employees, this means 300 vulnerable children, from more than 9 schools will directly benefit from this year’s ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ campaign.

‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ is an MTN Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), annual employee volunteerism initiative launched in 2006 with an aim to secure high levels of participation by MTN members of staff, in social projects that highly impact local communities.

As part of the programme, MTN employees across Africa and the Middle East come together in a 21 day-long campaign to roll up their sleeves in an effort to uplift communities, and give their neighbourhoods a “Y’ello” touch!

“Here in Rwanda, MTN employees are planning an adopt-a-child campaign. As part of the campaign, each staff member will raise funds to pay for nine basic years of education to vulnerable kids, covering items such as school uniform and stationery,” said Paul Mugemangango, the Snr Manager Legal and Corporate Affairs, MTN Rwanda.

“MTN employees in the various provinces of Rwanda will also embark on a capacity building campaign to educate, amongst other, teachers, on the use of the Internet for email and social networking,” he added.

For 21 days on a daily basis, about 300 MTN Rwanda staff members will be involved in a many activities, some of which are aimed at collecting and providing reading materials aimed at enhancing the reading culture.

MTN chose the universal education theme because it is in line with the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The specific MDG target requires that by 2015, all children (male and female) are able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

According to MTN Rwanda’s Chief Executive Officer, Khaled Mikkawi, “Education is a powerful enabler, providing people of all ages with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to make positive decisions about their lives. It contributes to personal and national economic development, playing a key role in eliminating poverty and hunger.”

“The objective of 21 Days of Y’ello Care is for us to make a visible and sustained contribution to the Rwandan society and other societies in which MTN operates and also provide an opportunity for MTN Rwanda staff to actively contribute to community development and be inspired by ‘giving back’,” Mr. Mikkawi said.

As part of the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign, colleagues across MTN operations are always looking to outdo each other on who can organise the most impactful initiative.

The overall winner takes home a coveted $100,000 prize. The prize money is utilised by the winning MTN operation to fund additional community initiatives.

{{Al-Shabaab has again threatened to bomb Kenya within two weeks promising Kenyans that they will weep.}}

According to a US-based private intelligence firm (Virginia-based IntelCentre) the militant group had Wednesday warned Kenyans that “two weeks from now, you will weep”.

IntelCentre said the militant group threatened to bring down Kenya’s skyscrapers warning that “something big is coming” within two weeks and that the country would soon “watch your towers coming down”.

The group has in the past months threatened to bring down Kenya’s “tall glass buildings” after Kenyan troops in October crossed into Somalia following a spate of attacks and abductions in its territory that it blamed on the militants.

IntelCentre says that the buildings most likely to be targeted were those housing hotels, especially “those frequented by Westerners, government offices, media and prominent corporations”.

The extremist group is suspected of carrying out a May 28 attack on a Nairobi building housing clothing retail stores that killed one person and injured 35 others.

{{After 31 years Egypt has lifted its state of emergency, that gave security forces sweeping powers to detain suspects and try them in special courts.

It has been in place without interruption since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.}}

Lifting the law was a key demand of activists in last year’s uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt’s military rulers, who took charge after the ousting of Mubarak, indicated they would not renew the law.

Some Egyptians had feared the country – preparing for a presidential election run-off- would be left in a power vacuum without the law, which expired at midnight on Thursday.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) issued a statement to reassure the country that it will “continue to carry its national responsibility in protecting the country until the transfer of power is over”.

“This is huge,” said Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist who had long campaigned to lift the law.

“What is really crucial is the message. The security forces operated under a culture that told them they were constantly above the law. Now they need to abide by the existing legislation and they won’t enjoy any extra-legal powers.”

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner described the lifting of the emergency law as “a step in the direction” towards democratic transition.

{{The former Rwandan Youth Minister Callixte Nzabonimana will spend the rest of his life in prison after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) sentenced him to life in Jail on Thursday.}}

ICTR Trial Chamber presided by Ugandan Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa convicted Nzabonimana of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide and extermination, as a crime against humanity.

“For these crimes, and considering all relevant circumstances, the Chamber sentences you (Callixte Nzabonimana) to life imprisonment,” the presiding judge announced.

According to the judgment, Nzabonimana agreed with other members of the Interim Government to encourage the killing of members of the Tutsi population, at a meeting in the prefecture, on April 18,1994.

Parties to the agreement shared a “specific intent to destroy the Tutsi population as such in whole or in part in Gitarama prefecture,” the chamber concluded.

The Judges also found that this Geologist who hold a PhD from France incited Hutus to kill Tutsis at several occasions in various locations in Gitarama, in April, May and June 1994.

Shortly after pronouncement of the judgment, the convict’s Lead Counsel, Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse said he had already decided to appeal, “surely we will appeal. The trial is starting now on appeal.”

The Prosecution had labeled Nzabonimana as the main instigator of the killings in his home prefecture of Gitarama. He was a leader of the then Rwandan ruling party, MRND, at both national and prefecture level and at various times between 1989 and 1994, held the positions of Planning Minister and later Minister of Youth within the Government of Rwanda.

Born in 1953, the convict was arrested in connection with the charges on February 18, 2008 in Tanzania. His trial opened on November 9, 2009 and was concluded on September 12, 2011. The prosecution called 20 witnesses, while the defence fielded 40.

Many other members on the interim government were convicted by the ICTR, among them former Prime Minister Kambanda, now serving life imprisonment sentence in Mali.

Four others were acquitted, three of them still hosted by the tribunal, for lack of countries to accommodate them.

{{Police has detained a group of seven men in connection with theft of a cargo truck (Fuso) belonging to Edouard Rutayisire.}}

Police sources say the driver of the truck Callixte Nsengiyumva, stole the truck from its parking yard at Magerwa and drove it to Muyumbu sector in Rwamagana district where he hid it. He later returned to Kigali to look for a buyer.

Nsengiyumva convinced Samuel Nkongoli, a second hand spare parts dealer in Gatsata to help get technicians to dismantle the truck while Nkongoli would help sell spare parts and get a cut.

A group of mechanics later travelled to Rwamagana to dismantled the truck, loaded the spares and drove back to Kigali. They stopped at Kabuga to celebrate and began quarrelling over who would take the Lions share.

Sensing the likelihood of being arrested, Nkongoli called a Police officer at Gikondo Police station claiming he overheard thieves quarreling over who deserved the lion’s share of the loot.

A Revenue protection department was quickly dispatched to intervene and Nkongoli was asked to lead them to the city on the promise he would not be arrested.

However, the promise wasn’t kept as Police quickly found out that in fact, Nkongoli was part of the scheme from the beginning.

Rutayisire acknowledged Police efforts in arresting the thieves and retrieving the spare parts of his vehicle. “Though they managed to salvage the spare parts, I am overjoyed that the thugs didn’t get away with it,” Rutayisire said.

If convicted, Nsengiyumva and his accomplices are likely to face up to five years behind bars for breach of trust according to the Rwandan Penal code article 424.

{{Sweden has advised East African Community (EAC) member states to first create strong economic fundamentals for convergence before rushing to introduce a single currency in the region.}}

The advice was given yesterday by the Swedish minister for Finance, Mr Anders Borg, during a public lecture on “Lessons from the European Crisis” at the University of Dar es Salaam.

He said: “I am a supporter of the monetary union, but I would advise that the EAC countries take cautious steps by building very strong economic fundamentals, without which partner states are likely to see negative productivity and a high rate of unemployment.”

He said, if rushed, the monetary union may backfire by dragging even better performing economies to negative growth because of disparity in productivity among them.

Instead, he advised that the EAC partner states make use of the over 130 million people of the regional market at their comparative advantage to increase trade integration and productivity among themselves.

Although Sweden is a member of the European Union, it rejected a proposal to adopt the euro currency in 2003 and has since recorded better economic performance than the rest of Europe.

While productivity has been negative in Europe in the past few years, Sweden is growing at 1.5 per cent, three times that of European countries.

According to Mr Borg, who was on a state visit to–South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania, Sweden has been able to perform well as a result of structural reforms that it underwent within the past 20 years.

These especially concerned strengthening the fiscal framework that involved deregulating the agricultural sector, improving entrepreneurial climate and increasing investment in research and development (R&D).

In a quick rejoinder, local economists said looking at the experience of the Eurozone economic crisis, concurred that the EAC bloc should not rush into establishing a single currency.

“We must be very careful with the monetary union in EAC. We could start with increasing the degree of our political relations and labour market issues before saying farewell to our currency, which would mean giving away financial sovereignty as a tool to regulate the economy,” said Mr Adolf Mkenda, an economist at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

{{An SUV belonging to Canadian mission in Rwanda has been crashed by a fuel tanker this morning at Gishushu near the traffic lights area along Airport road.}}

The incidence happened at about 11AM 31st .

The Crashed car REG: 18CD005R belongs to the canadian embassy was waiting at the traffic lights when a fuel tanker REG:RAB 341 H arrived from Remera side with failed brakes and crashed into the rear of the SUV.

There were no major casualities however, the Car belonging to the canadians was being driven by an unidentified canadian woman and her child was in the passenger seat when the tanker crashed into their car.

The mother of the child is currently in a state of shock and the child was not injured.

{{A new type of cannabis narcotic has been developed by Israeli scientists. They claim it is very simmillar to the natural type but doesn’t get people stoned.}}

The new type may help those smoking marijuana for medical purposes as reported in Maariv daily on Wednesday.

The new cannabis looks, smells and even tastes the same, but does not induce any of the feelings normally associated with smoking marijuana that are brought on by the substance THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.

“It has the same scent, shape and taste as the original plant — it’s all the same — but the numbing sensation that users are accustomed to has disappeared,” said Tzahi Klein, head of development at Tikkun Olam, the firm that developed the species.

“Many of our patients who tried the new plant come back to us and say: ‘You tricked me,’” because they assumed they had been given a placebo, he said.

According to Maariv, Tikkun Olam sought to neutralise the effect of the THC and to increase the effect of another substance called CBD, or cannabidiol, which has been shown to help diabetics and to ease various psychiatric disorders.

Not only does it leave users stone-cold sober, it also doesn’t induce the munchies, the hunger pangs that the drug’s smokers generally suffer.

Despite the innovation, it is unlikely to have any impact on Israeli law, which outlaws the use of marijuana as illegal except for medical purposes.

According to figures published earlier this year by Sheba Medical Centre and the Israel Cancer Association, medical marijuana has been approved for use by about 6,000 Israelis suffering from various illnesses.

{{On 29th May was the United Nations Peacekeepers day,an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world’s most volatile and dangerous environments.}}

Rwanda’s Violette Kabatesi serving under UN in East Timor (UNMIT), Private Samuel Ntakirutimana and Cpl. John Twahirwa formerly in Darfour(UNAMID), and Sgt. Serge Kamari in Haiti (MINUSTAH) were honoured.

Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Unite Nations, Eugene-Richard Gasana accompanied by Col. Vincent Nyakarundi attended the medalion function dubbed Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.

This Day is also a time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. In 2011, 112 men and women died devoting their lives to peace. In the first four months of this year, another 27 peacekeepers have died while serving the United Nations.

In his message the UN secretary General Ban KiMoon said, “ we honour the memory of the more than 2,900 peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the years, and we pledge to carry on their work to bring stability to war-ravaged countries.”

The fallen peacekeepers came from many different troop-contributing countries, a poignant reminder of the global partnership that underpins United Nations peacekeeping.

Currently,116 Member States contribute military and police personnel to our operations. This impressive number reflects growing global confidence in the value of United Nations peacekeeping as a tool for collective security.

Moon noted that the new observer mission in Syria is the latest example that demonstrates how the international community looks to the United Nations for solutions to emerging challenges.

The Mission is facing difficult challenges but serves bravely to help keep the parties, starting with the Government of Syria, to their commitments to cease the violence that has killed thousands of people.

It is part of the larger UN efforts led by the Joint Special Envoy to end the violence and seek a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

The ultimate goal of any UN peacekeeping mission is to no longer be necessary.Until we reach that objective, we make every effort for peacekeeping to be as effective and efficient as possible.

“I am deeply grateful for every contribution of troops and police, as well as for the financial and material resources that make peacekeeping possible. I also thank all countries that provide political support and leadership.”

Members of the Security Council, in particular, guide and strengthen our work by establishing mandates and updating our deployments to respond to changing conditions on the ground.

Regional organizations play an increasingly important role. The African Union and the United Nations, for example, are working closely together in Darfur and Somalia while jointly addressing the threat posed by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army.

These partnerships help give UN peacekeeping the flexibility it needs to address today’s wide-ranging challenges to international peace and security.

Moon also said, “let us remember the sacrifice of those who have served, and let us pledge to strengthen the global partnerships that make our blue helmets a beacon of hope to millions of people around the world”.