This approval, known as royal assent, marks the completion of the legislative process, confirming the parliament’s earlier decision to pass the bill after extensive debates and opposition.
The approval was formally declared in the House of Lords on Thursday, making the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill official law.
The legislation had received parliamentary endorsement late Monday night.
Prime Minister Sunak had previously indicated that he anticipated the initial deportation flights to Rwanda could commence within approximately 10 to 12 weeks following the passage of the bill.
The bill, part of the government’s strategy to deter illegal migrants from arriving in the UK via small boats across the English Channel, passed after securing approval from the Upper House, which had proposed several amendments.
The Lords had refused to pass the bill without further amendments, including the inclusion of a provision exempting agents, allies, and employees of the UK overseas, including Afghans who fought alongside the British Armed Forces, from being removed to Rwanda.
The Lords also demanded tighter checks on the safety of Rwanda for asylum seekers to ensure the scheme had “due regard” for domestic and international law.
But after weeks of parliamentary ping-pong, the Lords gave way and let the bill pass without any formal changes. The passing of the bill paves the way for Royal Assent from King Charles later this week, after which it will become law.
The legislation sailed through the Upper House moments after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government would force Parliament to sit as late into Monday night as necessary to get the bill passed.
“Enough is enough. No more prevarication. No more delay. Parliament will sit tonight and vote no matter how late it goes. No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda,” Sunak said during a media briefing on Monday.
He affirmed that the first flight will take off to Rwanda in July despite strong opposition from the Labour party, which resulted in the missing of March to June deadline initially set by the authorities.
The scheme was first announced in April 2022 by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government following a deal with Rwandan authorities.
The bill was introduced to Parliament after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government’s scheme was unlawful. The judges argued that genuine refugees being removed to Rwanda faced the risk of being returned to their home countries, where they could face harm.
The UK plans to offer failed asylum seekers up to £3,000 (Rwf4,866,727) to move to Rwanda under the new voluntary scheme.
Passage of the Bill has been delayed for weeks as the Lords insist on key amendments, including exemption of Afghan service veterans from the scheme to remove migrants to Rwanda.
Conservative MPs and opposition parties are now urging Sunak to reconsider plans to relocate Afghans who served alongside British soldiers, including interpreters, to the East African country as part of the government’s strategy to deter people from arriving in the UK via small boats across the English Channel.
Labour peer Des Browne, who was defence secretary from 2006 to 2008, told The Guardian that some of the MPs in government were uncomfortable with Sunak’s tough stance on the matter.
“I can barely walk five yards in the corridor without some Conservatives stopping me and saying they wish the government would budge on this issue,” Lord Browne stated.
“They can’t understand why the government couldn’t concede something on this. I don’t understand why they’re not more questioning about the implications of this for our security and for our own armed forces.”
Lord Browne insisted that some of the Afghan veterans had resorted to using “irregular” routes to enter the UK after being denied entry by the UK government.
Conservative MP for South Swindon, Robert Buckland, expressed his optimism that the Bill, which declares Rwanda a safe country, would pass today if ministers were willing to compromise.
“There is still a cohort of Afghans who are not in a safe place and who put themselves in the line of danger not just to secure their country, but in the interests of freedom,” he said.
“If the government were to offer some concession, as they did with modern-day slavery, it would unlock the bill.”
Sunak is keen on the MPs sitting through the night to pass the Bill after several setbacks. He expressed his confidence on Friday that the Bill would sail through.
“Repeatedly, everyone has tried to block us from getting this bill through, and yet again you saw this week Labour peers blocking us again, and that’s enormously frustrating,” he said on Friday after the Lords insisted on amendments to the Bill on Wednesday.
“Everyone’s patience with this has worn thin, mine certainly has. Our intention now is to get this done on Monday. No more prevarication, no more delay, we are going to get this done on Monday, and we will sit there and vote until it’s done,” he added.
Besides the Afghan exemptions, the Lords are demanding tighter checks on the safety of Rwanda for asylum seekers and “due regard” for domestic and international law.
The scheme was first announced in April 2022 by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government following a deal with Rwandan authorities.
The Bill was introduced to Parliament after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government’s scheme was unlawful. The judges argued that genuine refugees being removed to Rwanda faced the risk of being returned to their home countries, where they could face harm.
The UK plans to offer failed asylum seekers up to £3,000 (Rwf4,866,727) to move to Rwanda under the new voluntary scheme.
Through Ibuka, an umbrella organization of survivors, associations, concerned individuals, and other organizations that fight against the 1994 atrocities, the survivors took issue with Blinken’s statement posted on X platform on April 7, terming it as shocking, offending, and misleading.
According to Ibuka, Blinken’s post failed to highlight the specific target of the 1994 Genocide – members of the Tutsi community – who were marked for extermination, as established by the Trial Chamber of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
Blinken had, in a blanket statement that drew condemnation, said the Genocide targeted the Tutsis, Hutus, and Twas in Rwanda.
“Honorable Secretary of State Blinken, in not explicitly stating that the genocide specifically targeted Tutsi, your statement obscures the primary, intended victims. While some Hutus and Twas also lost their lives, they were not the primary targets; the genocide overwhelmingly aimed at exterminating the Tutsi population. Indeed, it was extremist Hutu factions who orchestrated these atrocities,” the letter signed by senior officials of the organization reads in part.
The survivors lamented that the statement blatantly contradicted the definition of genocide as stipulated in Article II of the UN Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 8, 1948.
“Therein, genocide is defined as a ‘crime committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such,’” Ibuka noted.
The organization stated that it was impossible that the 1994 genocide targeted “Tutsis, Hutus, Twas, and others” indiscriminately as purported by Blinken.
“That would mean there were three separate genocides in Rwanda – one against each group. Alternatively, a single genocide against the Rwandan national group, which would mean that victims would have been targeted, not for their “ethnicity” but for their Rwandan nationality. And we know that both options are historically not true,” Ibuka added.
Blinken’s statement, Ibuka stated, had retraumatized many survivors and exacerbated their pain and undermined the effort to advance knowledge and understanding of the genocide and human rights.
The survivors now want Blinken to retract the statement and issue a fresh one that doesn’t distort facts about the Genocide against the Tutsi that left more than one million people dead.
“Thus, we are profoundly hurt and outraged by your misleading statement issued on a day of mourning and reflection for the loss of Tutsi lives. We urge you to rectify this misrepresentation by retracting your previous statement and issuing a new one that accurately reflects the historical truths of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi,” they demanded.
Recently, Trent Kelly, a member of the House of Representatives from Mississippi’s 1st congressional district also called on the US government to adopt the correct name for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He said he had introduced a resolution calling for the government to adopt the official definition of the Genocide, a move he said would ensure lessons from Rwanda’s painful history are not forgotten.
The congressman spoke at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C, where members of the Diplomatic corps, congress, academia, media, Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda gathered to honour the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Gen. Ogolla was among 10 military officers killed in a helicopter crash at the Sindar area in Elgeyo Marakwet County on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking during a memorial service for the late military chief held at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata, Nairobi on Saturday, the Head of State disclosed that his advisors had warned him against appointing Ogolla as CDF, citing claims that he was among senior officials in the National Security Committee who attempted to overturn his victory in the August 2022 presidential election.
The claims were first made by former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati in his presentation to the Supreme Court after the disputed presidential poll that pitted Ruto against the longstanding opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Chebukati, in a sworn affidavit, told the Apex Court that the National Security Advisory Committee, formed ahead of the presidential contest and comprising Ogolla, then a Vice Chief of Defence Forces, had asked him to alter the election results to force a run-off in the event he was unable to declare Raila Odinga the winner.
Revisiting the claims yesterday, President Ruto said when he was sworn in as president, he convened a closed-door “Come to Jesus” meeting with Ogolla to establish facts about the claims.
At the meeting, President Ruto said, Ogolla acknowledged the attempt to subvert the will of the people, and gave the Commander-in-Chief three options: send him to court martial, force him retire, or pardon him.
“I asked Ogolla for a meeting. And I had one-on-one, man-to-man, come-to-Jesus meeting with General Ogolla,” Ruto said.
“He said Mr President, I have no defence. I will not try and defend myself. It was wrong and you have three choices: send me to court martial, have me retire, or forgive me,” he added.
After the meeting, the President said he reflected on Ogolla’s words drawing parallels to his own experiences and legal battles at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where he was charged with crimes against humanity over Kenya’s 2007-2008 Post-Election violence which claimed the lives of over 1,200 people and left more than 500,000 others displaced.
“That evening, I went home and reflected on what Ogolla had told me. In the reflection, I through of my own story and my own episode at the ICC at The Hague where circumstances conspired and I was there,” he stated.
“I also reflected on the brief that I had been given when I came into office as President where I was told to think carefully about who I would appoint as Interior minister, Director General of NIS, Inspector General of Police and CDF.”
After careful consideration, Ruto revealed that he settled on Ogolla as CDF due to his outstanding qualifications.
“I made a conscious decision to take a different trajectory, where professionalism and competency must come before ethnicity, and I made up my mind that Ogolla deserved to be CDF and it is an appointment I am proud of,” President Ruto averred.
Ogolla took over the CDF mantle from Gen. Robert Kibochi whose term ended after 44 years in the military.
The late General will be laid to rest today at his rural home in Mor Village, Siaya County, in line with his wish to be buried within 72 hours after his demise.
In a statement on Friday, the Rwandan Head of State eulogised Gen. Ogolla as a soldier who served with great professionalism and humility.
“I send my heartfelt condolences to President William Ruto, the family, and loved ones of the victims of the plane crash, including Chief of Defense Forces General Ogolla, who will be remembered for his professionalism and humility in his service,” Kagame wrote.
President Ruto confirmed the death of Gen. Ogolla in a press conference from State House in Nairobi on Thursday night.
The CDF and nine others died after a military helicopter they were travelling crashed at the Sindar area in Elgeyo Marakwet County on Thursday afternoon at around 2:20pm.
“Today, at 2:20pm, our nation suffered a tragic air accident in Sindar area, Keben location, Tot division, in Elgeyo Marakwet County. I am deeply saddened to announce the passing on of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces,” he said.
In his tribute, President Ruto said the country had lost one of her most valiant generals and servicemen.
“This is a moment of great sadness for myself, as the Commander in Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, the Kenya Defence Forces fraternity, and the nation at large. The demise of General Ogolla is a painful loss to me, and certainly, the sorrow we all feel about his passing is shared by all the people of Kenya, especially the KDF fraternity. A distinguished four-star general has fallen in the course of duty, and service to the country,” he added.
The ill-fated chopper was carrying 12 military officers at the time of the crash. The President said there were only two survivors.
Others who perished in the air crash were Brigadier Swale Saidi, Colonel Duncan Keittany, Lieutenant Colonel David Sawe, Major George Benson Magondu (Pilot), Captain Sora Mohamed, Captain Hillary Litali, Senior Sergeant John Kinyua Mureithi, Sergeant Cliphonce Omondi, and Sergeant Rose Nyawira.
“I convey my deepest condolences to all families that are grieving this untimely loss, and our mourning nation as well. I also wish quick recovery to the two injured soldiers in this accident,” President Ruto added.
He said a team of investigative officers from the Kenya Air Force had been dispatched to probe the cause of crash, even as he announced a three day of national mourning in honour of the fallen General.
Gen. Ogolla died nearly a year after he was sworn in as Kenya’s military boss on April 29, 2023.
He took over the CDF mantle from Gen. Robert Kibochi whose term ended after 44 years in the military.
Prior to assuming the CDF role, Ogolla served as the Commander of the Air Force and Vice Chief of Defence Forces.
A US official confirmed the attack to CNN, reports that were corroborated by several other international media outlets, including BBC and Al Jazeera.
However, an Iranian official told CNN that their air defenses intercepted three drones, insisting that there were no reports of a missile attack.
The BBC reported that blasts were heard in the central province of Isfahan but noted that the target of the attack remains unclear.
The strike came against the backdrop of Iran’s support for the Palestinian Hamas militant group, whose assault into Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday night in a retaliatory attack, which the country attributed to an Israeli raid on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed seven senior military personnel.
On Sunday, the country urged Israel not to retaliate, saying “the matter can be deemed concluded.” Iran, while acknowledging its commitment to resolving the conflict amicably, warned that any further provocations would result in a severe response.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense when required. Should the Israeli regime commit any military aggression again, Iran’s response will assuredly and decisively be stronger and more resolute,” Iran’s Mission to the United Nations warned, even as it accused the United Nations Security Council of failing to stop Israel’s aggression.
Israel’s army declared the Iran attacks “foiled” on Sunday, insisting that it had shot down 99 percent of the drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies.
Iran’s attack received condemnation from United States President Joe Biden that resulted in further sanctions on the country on Thursday.
Biden, in a statement, said the sanctions target “leaders and entities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s Defense Ministry, and the Iranian government’s missile and drone program that enabled” the April 13 attack on Israel.
“As I discussed with my fellow G7 [Group of Seven] leaders the morning after the attack, we are committed to acting collectively to increase economic pressure on Iran,” the US president said.
“And our allies and partners have or will issue additional sanctions and measures to restrict Iran’s destabilizing military programs.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres had also condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, warning that the serious escalation of the conflict between the two countries poses a real danger of a regional war.
State House Spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed confirmed the meeting in a post on X on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
“President William Ruto has convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council at State House Nairobi this evening following a Kenya Defence Forces’ helicopter crash this afternoon in Elgeyo-Marakwet County,” Mohamed confirmed.
Police say at least five people died after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) helicopter crashed and caught fire at the Kaben-Cheptulel border between Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties on Thursday afternoon.
The CDF was accompanying seven other military personnel on a trip to Kenya’s North Rift region. The cause of the crash is yet to be established.
Gen. Ogolla was sworn in as Kenya’s military boss on April 29, 2023.
He took over the CDF mantle from Gen. Robert Kibochi whose term ended after 44 years in the military.
Prior to assuming the CDF role, Ogolla served as the Commander of the Air Force and Vice Chief of Defence Forces.
According to The Telegraph, the list of 13 military top brass includes three former Chiefs of the Defence Staff as well as a former Chief of the General Staff and a former Chief of the Naval Staff.
In a letter quoted by the British publication, the group sent a strong warning to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying deporting Afghans who fought alongside the British army would be a “dereliction of our moral duty”.
“Any brave men and women who have fought alongside our armed forces or served the UK Government overseas must be exempt from removal to Rwanda,” the letter signed by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Craig of Radley, Gen Lord Richards of Herstmonceux and Gen Lord Houghton of Richmond—all former Chiefs of the Defence Staff—was quoted as saying.
The group further accused the government of mismanaging the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy – known as the ARAP scheme – which was launched in April 2021.
The scheme was established to help current or former Afghan staff who were employed by the UK government in Afghanistan.
The military chief’s warning comes amid reports that Afghan soldiers have been subjected to torture and murder by the Taliban after being denied help by the UK Government, despite extensive evidence showing they were paid, trained, and worked “shoulder to shoulder” with British special forces.
The military top brass argue that the Arap scheme was “intended to be a lifeline for brave Afghans who worked alongside UK forces but there is a huge backlog of applications”.
“It is essential that those who have made it to British shores are not unduly punished by being removed to Rwanda when the Government’s scheme is up and running,” the group is further quoted.
The sentiments come at a time Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill, which proposes the relocation of certain asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda for processing their claims, returns to the Commons on Monday after a series of defeats in the Lords.
Rwanda and the UK signed the Migration and Economic Development Partnership in April 2022.
Officials said the migrants caught trying to enter UK territory illegally by boat or hiding in vehicles would be sent to Rwanda.
The scheme faced headwinds last November after the UK Supreme Court ruled that it was unlawful.
This forced the government to amend the legislation, including a new treaty and stating in law that Rwanda is a safe country.
MPs are expected to vote on those amendments when they return to parliament.
This week, Sunak, while expressing his confidence that the scheme would succeed, faulted the Labour Party for the delays in the implementation of the programme.
“First of all we need to get it through parliament, where the Labour Party has been blocking it for a long time.
“Once it is up and running I am confident we will be able to operationalise the scheme [and] get people on flights because that’s how we set up a deterrent and ultimately end the unfairness of people jumping the queue, coming here illegally, putting pressure on local services and risking their own lives,” he stated in response to a question from the reporters seeking to know when the first flight would depart to Rwanda.
In March 2024, UK authorities announced that the government would offer failed asylum seekers up to £3,000 (Rwf4,866,727) to move to Rwanda under the new voluntary scheme.
In a statement released in the wee hours of Sunday morning, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, however, faulted the UN Security Council for failing to stop Israel’s aggression, which claimed the lives of seven Iranian senior military advisors.
“Upon instructions from my Government and pursuant to our letter dated 1 April 2024 concerning the Israeli regime’s armed attacks against the diplomatic premises of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, the Syrian Arab Republic, which led to the martyrdom of seven Iranian senior military advisories (A/78/838-S/2024/281), I would like to inform you that, in the late hours of 13 April 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out a series of military strikes on Israeli military objectives,” the statement reads.
“This action was in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and in response to the Israeli recurring military aggressions, particularly its armed attack on 1st April 2024 against Iranian diplomatic premises, in the defiance of Article 2 (4) of the Charter of the United Nations.”
Iran accused the UN Security Council of failing in its duty to maintain international peace and security, which it said had allowed the Israeli regime to “transgress red lines and violate the fundamental principles of international law.”
“Such violations have exacerbated tensions in the region and threatened regional and international peace and security,” the mission stated.
Iran, while acknowledging its commitment to resolving the conflict amicably, warned that any further provocations would result in a “stronger” response.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense when required. Should the Israeli regime commit any military aggression again, Iran’s response will assuredly and decisively be stronger, and more resolute,” the mission warned.
Israel said on Sunday that more than 300 drones and missiles were launched at it from Iran, Iraq and Yemen, adding that a majority of them had been intercepted.
Israel further noted that the attacks had resulted in minimal damage but warned people to remain alert.
United States President Joe Biden condemned the Iranian drone attacks on military facilities in Israel, further affirming America’s “ironclad commitment” to the security of Israel.
“Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” he said.
Iran’s attack mirrors that of Israel-Hamas war which started on October 7, 2023.
Hamas launched missile attacks on Israel, saying the attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, threats to the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners.
