Category: News

{{Authorities of Huye district have called upon everybody to support genocide survivors regardless the quantity of their wealth.}}

This was said on 3rd May 2012, during the handover of cows to windows at Mwurire cell of Mbazi sector. The cows were donated by the Rwanda insurance society SONARWA.

The recipients appreciated the support from SONARWA especially during such hard times.

The Executive Secretary of Mbazi sector thanked SONARWA for their help and promised that they will take good care of the cows and also help other residents to get cows from those they received.

The representative of SONARWA Tissien Muberangabo said SONARWA gave cows to genocide widows to support them in what they lost in genocide and pleaged continued support.

The Mayor of Huye district Kayiranga Muzuka Eugene urged others to emulate SONARWA even when one has a little wealth.

He explained that helping genocide survivors does not require giving too much but just expressing that you always think about them.

{{Prosecution at the Special court for Sierra Leone in The Hague has requested an 80-year sentence for former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

A hearing session has been set for May 16, 2012 and pronouncement of the punishment will be on May 30th.}}

Taylor was convicted on April 26 for war crimes committed between 1996 and 2002, including aiding and abetting murder and rape on a mass scale.

Prosecutor Brenda Hollis argued: “Taylor was not a simple weapons procurer or financier who sat on the sidelines of a civil war raging in a neighbouring country. The court’s findings reveal the reality of Taylor’s role in the peace process.”

She also noted that ‘while the accused publicly played a substantial role in the Sierra Leone peace process secretly he was fuelling hostilities between the AFRC/RUF and the democratically elected authorities in Sierra Leone, by urging the former not to disarm and actively providing them with arms and ammunition … acting as a two-headed Janus’.

Court found that Taylor provided military, operational and financial support to Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone in the knowledge that they were committing serious crimes, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, conscripting and using child soldiers.

Brender added that “the purposely cruel and savage crimes committed included public executions and amputations of civilians, the display of decapitated heads at checkpoints, the killing and public disembowelment of a civilian whose intestines were then stretched across the road to make a check point, public rapes of women and girls, and people burned alive in their homes,” she wrote.

“The brutality and impact on the victims should be reflected in M. Taylor sentence” she concluded, then requesting “a prison term of no less than 80 years. No significant mitigating circumstances exist in this case.”

{{Pierre Célestin Rwigema a former Prime Minister of Rwanda has broken silence denying media rumours that he tried to flee again. He returned to Rwanda in October 2011 after a decade in exile.}}

Rwigema allegedly attempted to escape from Rwanda but was intercepted at Kigali International Airport..He told state owned vanacular newspaper Imvaho Nshya, “ever since I willingly returned to Rwanda, I have never attempted to flee again”.

The former Prime Minister questioned the intentions behind the media rumour which claimed he attempted to escape and settle in German; “I think the media has hidden motives of spreading this lie”.

Rwigema said the media published the lies without contacting him to give him a chance to respond; “surely I was not contacted. I just heard about this rumour on a local radio which was quoting a newspaper that had published the article containing the lies”.

He expressed surprise about a media outlet that could publish such a story without evidence.

Ever Since Rwigema returned from Exile, he travelled out of rwanda in October 2011 and later travelled again in November 2011. He returned on 7th January 2012 with his wife and they are now settled in Rwanda peacefully.

Rwigema says that’s the last time he stepped at the Kigali International Airport and that he enjoys all rights and liberties like any other citizen especially movement.

Rwigema said that in support of the ongoing government program of Job creation, he is currently involved in Agriculture adding that he is happy and has no problem that could push him back into exile.

{{The Secretary General of the East African Community Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has deployed three Deputy Secretaries General to different dockets as directed by the 10th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State held last week.}}

In changes announced Wednesday morning the newly appointed Deputy Secretary General Hon. Jesca Eriyo takes over the Productive and Social Sectors docket previously handled by Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva.

Hon. Eriyo, who was sworn in on 28 April 2012 at the 10th Extraordinary Summit, assumed office with effect from 30 April 2012, taking over Uganda’s slot for Deputy Secretary General that was previously held by Hon. Beatrice Kiraso.

Mr. Nsengiyumva has been redeployed as the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration, while his predecessor in that position, Dr. Julius Tangus Rotich, becomes the new Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, filling a position left vacant by the exit of Hon. Kiraso, whose second and final three-year term came to an end on 28 April.

Dr. Enos Bukuku retained the Planning and Infrastructure docket, while Mr. Peter Kiguta also remains Director General for Customs and Trade.

The number of Deputy Secretaries General is determined by the EAC Council of Ministers, and the Deputy Secretaries General are then appointed by the Summit of Heads of State on the recommendation of the Council and on a rotational basis.

Each Deputy Secretary General serves a three-year term that is renewable once.

The Deputy Secretaries General’s roles include deputizing for the Secretary General and performing such other duties as may be prescribed by the Council.

{{The Rwanda National Police Friday launched the center for Ethics at the Police Headquarters in Kacyiru. The center aims at instilling high quality ethical standards within the Police force.}}

The Minister of Internal Security Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana noted that the center was long overdue.

“The ethics center will go a long away in ensuring high ethical standards are maintained,” Minister Harelimana said. The center will not only accommodate police officers but also other public servants.

The center will focus on key programs such as advocacy, capacity building, guidance and cancelling. The ethics centre targets senior planners of government agencies, faith based organisations, Partners in policing and Private sector.

The United States Ambassador to Rwanda Donald W. Koran said that the establishment of an ethical center would bring about a well trained and highly professional Police force. The Center is linked to Rwanda’s wide vision to become knowledge based economy.

Koran reminded Police officer’s present that the future of the center belonged in their hands. The ethics center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan center dedicated to focus on ethics and compliance aspects of Police response.

Chief Superintendent (CSP) John Uwamungu, the director of the ethics center noted that the center is built on a pillar of maintaining professional standards values and norms.

“We intend to develop a resource centre for accessing the best available information in Ethics, Values and knowledge,” CSP Uwamungu said.

{{Two women in Gasabo district have been arrested in connection with killing a newborn baby.}}

The mother of the baby Jeanne Icyoribera 43 is accused of killing her own baby with the help of Jeanne Nzamukosha 26.

The incident happened on Wednesday at Masoro cell, Ndera sector and the two suspects are detained at Ndera Police post pending investigations. Both suspects are residents of Huye district.

The body of the murdered baby was taken to Kibagabaga Hospital for postmortem.

Police sources say Nzamukosha ex husband Theoneste Mwumvaneza arrived at their former home to visit his pregnant ex wife but was surprised to find out that she was not pregnant.

They later became suspicous and Mwumvaneza immediately informed the local patrol team, neighbours and Police.

Neighbors further attested to the fact that Nzamukosha had not attended pre-natal checkups and had evaded health workers from time to time.

If found guilty, the two suspects are likely to face between 2 and 5 years in jail subject to article 325 of the Rwandan penal code.

Police spokesperson Supt. Theos Badege condemned the crime as unacceptable; “It beats my understanding why a mother would get involved in the murder of her own child.”

{{As we commemorate the 2012 World Press Freedom Day, Rwanda stands with the rest of the free world in the belief that Free Media Transforms Societies.}}

The freedom of media and of expression as guaranteed in articles 33 and 34 of our Constitution symbolizes Rwanda’s recognition that free press is instrumental to social empowerment through enlightenment for transformational purposes.

That is why we regularly asses the media environment in the country to ensure that necessary policy and legal review is carried out to always stay true to national aspirations and trends elsewhere in the free world.

When we celebrated this day a year ago, it was just over two months after the Cabinet meeting which sat on the 30th of March 2011 had made landmark decisions in regard to media, intended to spur sector transformation, thus promoting freedom.

These were, ONE, introduction of media self regulation, TWO, transformation of the state broadcaster into a public broadcaster, THREE, relieve MHC of regulatory responsibilities so that it solely focus on media capacity development, FOUR, privatize state-owned newspapers to eliminate possible unfair competition and, FIVE, set up a government communications agency to ease dealings with the media.

A quick scan through the above five decisions will easily indicate to you that they were made with a hindsight to accelerate the promotion of Press Freedom as well as boost media development going forward.

We have also since sanctioned a survey called Rwanda Media Barometer, which shall be measuring media reform progress in verifiable terms to inform policy makers, but also importantly to give feedback to other media partners and stakeholders.

Since 1994, Rwandans have made a commitment to gradually transform media in the country into a genuine stakeholder in national life, and the progress has been reallyimpressive. Our goal is to create a viable media sector with a business mind, an ambition to prosper, built on professional ethical standards and entrepreneurial acumen.

For this to be realized we have to refine the legal framework, develop media capacity, attract sizable investments into the sector as well as encourage community participation. All this we have been doing concurrently, and the activities herein are what constitute the Rwanda Media Sector Reform.

For some time now as you must be aware, Rwanda has embraced Information and Communications Technologies with increased passion. One component of this which we are quite enthusiastic about is new media.

Government is exploiting the phenomenon to establish diverse intra-communication networks among citizens to catalyze economic, social and political development as well as promote cultural cohesion.

Our target is to use social media to raise community participation in civic matters affecting them through open debates that should translate into actions.The objective is to help raise community awareness of the abundant opportunities out there while encouraging collective involvement in tapping them.

In conclusion I would like to reiterate Government of Rwanda’s commitment to continue promoting Press Freedom for the good of our people. We are determined to make use of emerging information technologies to reach out to every citizen for engagement and to raise our stake in global affairs.

Our goal shall remain to hinge participatory governance on free speech for socio-politicalemancipation, economic transformationand cultural advancement being the ultimate goals. Our intention is to construct a media scene that is sensitive to our past, responsive to the present and ambitious to Rwanda’s future.

Rwandans believe this is the kind of media suitable for our society and we have the means to achieve our objectives.

I wish you all a happy World Press Freedom Day,

The Author is the Minister of Local Government

{{About 40 elephants have grazed down crops belonging to local farmers in Karangazi- Nyagatare district.

Affected residents are demanding for compensation and the solving of the problem of elephants encroaching on their gardens.}}

The elephants escaped from Akagera National park and attacked gardens on Sunday destroying crops in Akanyange cell.

By the time of attack the residents were not available in the gardens but identified their hoof prints which were allover the gardens and directed towards the Park area.

Residents complained that the harvest they had earlier anticipated will not be attained because of the elephants attack this Sunday. Affected farmers are worried about how they will pay for the fertilizers they used on credit.

They request concerned authorities to urgently contain the increasing attacks by wild animals from the park.

Ruvuzandekwe Theogene one of the affected local farmers said, “I had an acre of Maize now its all gone. And I must pay for the fertilizers I was given on credit.” He requests that government should compensate them and or government should relocate us to another place where wild animals wouldn’t attack.”

{{Four Rwandan girls have won full scholarships to top US colleges. Each scholarship is worth approximately $225,000.}}

In July of 2011, Open A Door, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping talented young women from Rwanda gain access to university scholarship opportunities in the US, and then return home to become agents of change in Rwanda, organized a competition to get future young women leaders into their program. Fifty Rwanda girls applied.

Open A Door was able to leverage a small pool of money donated from friends and family into scholarships valued at almost $1M.

The four girls are: Rina Ntagozera, who will be going to Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania; Sharon Damas Batamuriza, who will be going to Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont; Charlotte Mugisha is going to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington and Denyse Niwenshuti, who will be heading to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The program involved conducting a thorough interview process to find the best and brightest young women. Candidates were nominated by FAWE, Imbuto Foundation as well as other organizations.

After selecting the girls, Open A Door provides them with SAT and TOEFL training preparation classes and then matches them with US mentors who help them navigate the college application and financial aid process. Mentors also negotiated scholarships and will provide emotional support, when the students are in the US.

The US Embassy, through its EducationUSA Advisor: Richard Karubente provided certification services as well as access to more TOEFL, SAT, and AP testing material. Each student continues to have access to additional material on studying in the US through free membership to the Information Resource Center located in the US Embassy.

This year OAD will accept a second class of Rwandan women in the program who will apply for the 2013 school year, and will also send a US-ESL trained teacher to Rwanda in July and August to prepare the new OAD students for the SAT and TOEFL entrance exams as well as help them fill out US scholarship application forms.

Interested students can contact Open A Door through their website at www.openadoorfoundation.org or through the US Embassy Information Resource Center.

{{A government car belonging to EWASA has been impounded while carrying smuggled Minerals in Nyamasheke district when two men were arrested while attempting to deliver nine bags of tin-Ore Mineral from Rusizi to Kigali.}}

Lucien Nsengumuremyi 42 and his colleague Damas Kagina 61were arrested 1 May at Buvugira cell, Bushekeri sector in Nyamasheke District.

The Vehicle carrying the smuggled Tin minerals-a Toyota double cabin pickup belongs to EWASA -the government utility agency.

The suspects were arrested and detained at Ruharambuga Police station and the exhibits including the EWASA vehicle have been impounded pending investigations.

Police spokesperson Supt. Theos Badege has warned those intending smugglers to drop their plans saying that Police will not tolerate them.

“It is part of our job to stop smugglers as provided for in the law especially when there is a government car involved,” Supt. Badege warned.