Category: News

{{In a case at ICTR involving former Rwanda planning Minister Augustin Ngirabatware, prosecution witness admitted Monday; he had received by e-mail a recording of an interview with RFI conducted May 4, 1994, by former Minister for a trip to Senegal.}}

Last week, the same witness had intervened to refute, before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the alibi defense of Ngirabatware, including the fact that it will be returned to Senegal in mission between April 30 and May 5, 1994, according to the press reports.

Massamba Ndiaye is an investigator in the prosecutor’s office in Arusha. March 6, he was first called to the stand of the eight additional witnesses permitted to testify to counter the alibi defense of Ngirabatware.

Cons-examined Monday by the defense, he has admitted receiving an audio recording of the interview Ngirabatware, transmitted by e-mail by the administration of RFI.

Responding to a question from Counsel Mylene Dimitri, he said: “Yes, it says Ngirabatware was interviewed in Dakar. That’s what this email confirms. ”

Counsel then showed him an article published by PANA May 2, 1994, indicating that Ngirabatware was welcome to Dakar for a message from its president to Senegalese President on the situation in Rwanda.

”This is what is written,” Ndiaye said Massamba.”He was in Dakar. He came to bring this message. ”

The trial continues Tuesday. Ngirabatware is accused of complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and incitement to commit genocide.

{{Police has detained Nyirabahire Claudine, 49, and her son, Bitunguhari Felicien 18 allegedly accused of complicity in the murder of John Bosco Ntambara, 49, using a hoe and an iron bar.}}

The crime occurred on March 11th at Nyarubuye cell, Fumbwe sector in Rwamagana District.

According to neighbours, the motive was family conflict. They stressed that Ntambara was drunk and accused his wife of adultery.

According Nyirabahire, a witness, the woman hit her husband on the head following the quarrels.

The family is said to have been involved in misunderstandings for over two decades.

The police Spokesman Superintendent Theos Badege, urged citizens to seek help from the authorities rather than taking the law in their hands.

“These crimes have serious consequences on families and society in general,” said Superintendent Badege.

He called upon residents to provide timely information through community policing to prevent such crimes.

If found guilty the suspects risk life imprisonment.

{{The world’s number four richest woman is battling a court a case filed against her by her own three children who want to remove her from the throne of the family’s multi-billion dollar trust.}}

Gina Rinehart is also Australia’s richest woman with an estimated wealth of more than $18 bn.

Three of her four children including; John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Welker want their mother removed from the control of the trust. The court in Sydney has ruled against her.

She has spent several weeks trying to keep the dispute over control of a family trust behind closed doors however; the lid has finally been lifted on an ugly family dispute.

On Friday Rinehart lost a bid to go to the High Court, but it took until today for documents at the heart of the case to be released.

The children of Australia’s wealthiest woman may have a long time to wait before they can enjoy the family fortune. Gina Rinehart has an estimated wealth of more than $17 billion, derived from coal and iron ore assets.

Documents released from court today contain allegations that Gina Rinehart secretly delayed the date her children will receive the family trust to the year 2068.

It’s also claimed that Gina Rinehart threatened her children with a huge tax bill if she was not given long-term control of the family trust.

Gina Rinehart emailed her daughter Hope and said, “This lawyer stuff will never work and all that will result is on massive tax leaving you in bankruptcy.”

There are also claims that Gina Rinehart offered her daughter Bianca a quarterly payment if she agreed to withdraw from the legal proceedings.

Documents also contain a statement from Gina Rinehart saying that her siblings should not receive part of the family trust because, “None of the plaintiffs has displayed the degree of perseverance, work ethic, responsibility and dedication that would be required to administer the trust.”

On Friday, Gina’s brother, John Hancock, released his own statement saying, “I won’t be able to replicate my youngest sister Gina in ‘earning’ the achievement of a Rolls Royce at 25, but at 36, and I’m now using my set of skills to earn enough for my family.”

{{The French President Nicholas Sarkozy has called for a “revision” of the Schengen Agreement threatening to “suspend France’s participation” if a new government policy is not implemented within twelve months.}}

There is a large pupulation of Rwandans living in France and various countries in Europe. Rwanda has enjoyed historical ties with France, German and Belgium.

The Schengen treaty is intended to guarantee the management of migration by controlling the external borders of Europe, however this relies heavily on neighbouring countries.

Sarkozy threatened to pull France out of the visa-free Schengen zone unless the European Union makes progress on reducing illegal immigration.

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 between member states of the European Economic Community.

The treaty was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later.

The treaties created Europe’s borderless Schengen Area, which operates very much like a single state for international travel with external border controls for travelling in and out of the area, but with no internal border controls.

Sarkozy recently criticised foreigners in France, made the threat in the hope of destabilising Socialist candidate Francois Hollande who is currently leading in pre-election polls.

400 million Europeans in the Schengen zone can cross borders without a passport. Illegal immigrants who access the area can also take advantage of this ability to move freely between countries.

According to 2010 statistics indicating distribution by continent of origin of third country nationals living in the EU, the largest proportion (36.5 %) were citizens of a European country outside the EU-27 a total of 7.2 million people; among these more than half were citizens of Turkey, Albania or Ukraine.

The second biggest group was from Africa (25.2 %), followed by Asia (20.9 %), the Americas (16.4 %) and Oceania (0.9 %). More than half of the citizens of African countries that were living in the EU were from North Africa.

{{Members of PS-Imberakuri opposition political party have expressed concerns over the sudden disappearance of a party official Jean Baptiste Icyitonderwa who has been in charge of awareness in the party.}}

Some members of the party started speculating that the police had secretly detained Icyitonderwa however; Police Spokesman Supt Theos Badege says this is mere hearsay.

“The police are aware of the case and we’re assisting concerned people to find the whereabouts of Icyitonderwa,” he further said. “To be honest we’re not keeping him in our cells.”

A communiqué from PS-Imberakuri states that at around 4am on 3rd March this year, burglars broke into Icyitonderwa’s house who was not there at that time and stole several household items and injured a young boy who resides with Icyitonderwa.

Concerned PS-Imberakuri members speculate that the attack on Icyitonderwa’s house is part of a wider plan from their enemies, who want to silence members assisting Ntaganda in his appeal case scheduled soon.

{{Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro Diocese passed away today morning while he was at work. His colleague said that early in the morning the late Bishop was well.}}

In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Father Boniface Ntwali said, “Bishop Misago this morning was well with no problem. Misago also spoke to his colleague also this morning.”

Archbishop Smaragde Mbonyitege confirmed the death of Bishop Misago, saying that he was very healthy that today he presided and preached at the Mass.

In 2000, Misago was acquitted of genocide charges after a Rwandan court ruled he played no part in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
Bishop Misago was born in 1943.

He became the Bishop of Gikongoro Diocese in 1993.

Bishop Misago will be burried Thursday.

{{Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Emmanuel Butera, the Commissioner for Operations has urged the Traffic Police unit to uphold professionalism and improve customer care and service delivery.}}

This is part of his ongoing tour of specialized police units.

Addressing the Traffic Unit at the Kigali Metropolitan Police building, ACP Butera urged the unit to improve service delivery and be accountable for their actions.

He noted that they should uphold the image of the institution through professionalism. “You must bear in mind that whatever you do reflects the image of Police and therefore being professional is paramount”.

ACP Butera said that the force must avoid scandalous actions such as corruption and carelessness while on duty and encouraged them to be smart, offer best services and maintain discipline while undertaking their responsibilities.

He also acknowledged their contributions in ensuring that people living in Rwanda are safe, involved and assured. He encouraged them to always strive for what can improve their performances.

“It’s the responsibility and duty of traffic Police officers to curb traffic offences,” ACP Butera said.

He warned that nobody is above the law and that Police officers caught committing traffic offenses must be punishment.

He urged commanders to be closer to their forces and ensure that they are briefed before and after work and in return get the feedback from them.

{{This weekend senior five students of samuduha integrated college SICO spent their Sunday afternoon studying.}}

One absent minded student identified as kwezira who was staring outside the classroom, noticed a policeman in the nearby bush area beating a man brutally.

kwezira alerted fellow classmates that later stared at the brutal drama between a policeman and a civilian just in the neighborhood of the school premises which disorganized their Physics lessons.

The secondary school is located along Remera-Kabeza.

According to Kimenyi Julien, a small crowd had gathered around the scene witnessing the beating, “we could get a good view from our class windows since our class is in a storied building,” he said adding that the policeman kicked the man thrice in the chest, punched his face with a fist and as that was not enough he got a hoe handle and hit his head hard.

{{Police in Kicukiro district has arrested Patrick Semuhoza 32 was suspected of fraudulently soliciting Frw 120,000 from Damascene Sinamenye 23 after convincing him that as a Rwanda Defense Forces Captain, he would facilitate him go for United Nations Mission in Darfur.}}

By the time of his arrest, he had already received Frw 45,000 advance payment. Investigations are still ongoing.

Police continues to urge the public to avoid being victimized by swindlers who promise easy access to quick riches such as money, work, and sponsorship among other opportunities.

Superintendent Theos Badege, the Rwanda National Police spokesperson said, “People should also seek more information about such promises and try to find advice before committing themselves”.

He noted that the recruitments and selections of UN missions are clear, transparent and that the administration procedures are done by competent authorities.

Badege also urged the public to report such con incidences so that culprits are arrested and brought to book.

If convicted, Semuhoza is likely to be charged with swindling, a crime that is punishable by a jail sentence between six months and five years according to article 428 of the Rwandan penal code.

{{Rwanda plans to be an orphanage free country. There are over 3, 153 children aged between 0 to 30 years living in 34 orphanage homes. }}

A survey conducted by the National Commission for Children has revealed that 72% of children in the orphanages actually have parents.

It’s against this back drop that Representatives of institutions with children affairs in their docket, are converging in Kigali to brainstorming on ways children can be placed in families.

The children in orphanages have been categorised according to age and those with parents.

According to national children commission, the big number of children have both or either parent, accounting for 72%, and there are 1,000 children totally orphans. 22% are aged between 18 and 30 years.

The commission officials say the children above 18 years should be integrated into Rwandan society, to render their contribution to nation building, while children below 18 years old will be placed in safe families.

Zayina Nyiramatama, the executive secretary of the National Commission for Children, emphasised that Rwandan children don’t deserve to live in orphanages.

“Orphanages will be closed gradually. It will be done with the help of health experts such as psychiatrists, and social workers. We will take time to analyse each children individually, get to know their background and place in appropriate families. We will also monitor them whether they are staying in those families”.

Claudine Nyinawagaga, the country director of hope and homes for children, said that the first phase of placement will be according to their status, that is those with parents or either parent and those without parents.

The last alternative will be adoption when deemed necessary.

“There is what we call international adoption. It comes as a second option, but the first step to have children brought up in families. We have seen that 72% of the children in orphanages have parents or at least one parent, that’s where we are putting our efforts”.

In a move to have ‘orphanage-free’ Rwanda close to 200 children have been placed in Guardian Angels or Malayika murinzi families.