Kagame was speaking in an interview ahead of opening the ‘Campaign Against Genocide Museum’ slated on Wednesday 13th December.
Located at Kimihurura in parliamentary building, the museum shows the history of Rwandans’ bravery in putting an end to the genocide, saving lives of people as well as liberating the country.
Speaking about the history of liberation struggle, the head of state said that on 7th April 1994, he ordered the troops to stop the genocide and protect themselves.
“The order which came the next day was not only to protect themselves, to split so that they are not all under one heavy attack while in one place, but split for two reasons or more; one was that the force had to cross and go to the Amahoro Stadium where there were already people taking refuge and were being threatened. In fact they had almost under attack, so that force had gone to protect those ordinary people who had fled from that place,” he said
Even though there had been UN force around the area, Kagame said they weren’t going to do much or they were overwhelmed.
“They were requested if possible to join up the UN force that was at Amahoro Stadium to protect people who were fleeing and running into the stadium as well as fighting to protect themselves,” he added.
Meanwhile he explained that there were two companies from which one went to protect people at stadium and another one continued holding the ground by protecting people from outside as well as those who were on their way heading to stadium.
{{UN troops failure}}
Reports say that UN troops that were deployed in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi failed their mission of protecting civilians who were being killed, but left them to the mercy of killers.
Speaking about UN troop’s failure, Kagame said that the first reaction was to pull out their forces.
“I don’t know the UN had come here to do what, I wonder whether they were pulling out because they had achieved what they had set out to achieve from the beginning, which was not the case or they were really giving up on the situation and they were saying this is impossible to deal with and therefore we are doing nothing here, let’s go,” he said.
He said the gesture informed Rwandans that ‘We are there for ourselves and we are there on our own”
An outreach conducted by Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe in four districts namely Gatsibo, Gakenke, Ngororero and Nyaruguru has revealed that women are still spending much of their time doing household chores while more men appear in good income-generating jobs.
Sharing with the stakeholders about findings on gender gaps on Friday, Marguerite Mutumwinka, 2nd Vice President of Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, said gender equality principles should be respected in planning and budgeting at national and local levels.
“We examined how this principle is being implemented in four districts and we found gender gaps. This is what we want to discuss with different stakeholders including government and non-governmental institutions and to jointly chart the solutions,” she said.
“Budget implementers are not duly considering the principle of gender responsive budgeting. Budgeting guidelines also have gaps and we want them addressed over time. GBS is in place but there are still gaps.”
Rebecca Asiimwe, Director of Gender Mainstreaming Unit at Gender Monitoring Office (GMO), said national planners do Gender responsive budgeting but local implementers are yet to fully understand it.
“More sensitization is required and it is a process towards change. With Government commitment to fighting gender-based violence, increase girls in science and technical education, we shall be able to address gender gaps in budget implementation,” she said, adding that more women in professions like construction and plumbing will help them make more money than many are making in subsistent jobs.
She said analyzing budgets from a gender perspective is integral to understanding the extent of gender mainstreaming within projects and policies.
Rwanda’s Organic Budget Law of 2013 on State Finances and Property enforces accountability on financing for gender equality and provides for mandatory gender responsive planning and reporting through Gender Budget Statements.
{{Skills gap}}
Nelson Muhayimana, Nyaruguru District’s Planner, said they consider gender principles promotion in the projects but there are still areas of jobs in which few women appear to have the skills required.
“We consider gender equality in jobs allocation. For example, we targeted to give women 50% of supervision jobs in the last fiscal year and we got 60%. However, they are technical jobs like site design, mapping of roads and terraces sites in which women stood at 33% because they did not have the required skills yet we had to examine applicants’ competencies,” he said.
Muhayimana said women also have potentials to acquire technical skills and encouraged more sensitization to make women understand that they able and should look for jobs generating better income than they are making.
GMO report on Gender and Access to Finance released in March this year shows that female accessing formal financial services have almost doubled from 36% in 2012 to 63% in 2016 although it remains below compared to males whose proportion increased from 51% to 74% in the same period.
Women having access to informal financial services have decreased from 32% in 2012 to 24% in 2016 compared to males who dropped from 27% in 2012 to 17% in 2016.
Women having ATM debit cards were 40% compared to 60% men in 2016. A bigger disparity appeared in rural areas with men and women standing 76.1% and 23.9% respectively while it was at 52.8% and 47.2% among urban population. The uptake of mobile money transactions stood at 46% and 33% of men and women respectively.
The five-star hotel with world-class service has prepared three and four offers for Christmas and New Year respectively to give Kigali dwellers and visitors yet more reasons to end 2017 and start 2018 in style. Festive themed meals will be served at special prices for adults, further reduced for children between 6 and 12 years while children five years old and under children can enjoy all free of charge.
The Christmas Eve dinner buffet in Marriott’s Soko Restaurant allows goers to indulge in Christmas cake, gingerbread houses, turkey, roast beef, African BBQ, and fresh seafood as a special treat on Sunday, December 24th from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. At the same, Cucina Restaurant’s Christmas Eve dinner will give guests the chance to celebrate this holiday season the Italian way.
You can make it a Christmas to remember with Christmas Day brunch at Soko which features traditional turkey dishes, sweet treats and kid’s activities from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.
{{Welcome to 2018}}
Kigali Marriott’s New Year’s Eve Party has all to usher revellers to the New Year in style with a fun-filled experience to keep only the sweetest memories of the year ends and another year openings. The party will ring the New Year in a live band, cocktails, draught beer, regional bottled beer and sparkling champagne. It’s in Kigali Marriott’s Iriba Bar & Terrace on Sunday, December 31st from 7:00pm till late.
Before the party starts, you can visit Soko for a New Year’s Eve dinner buffet. It showcases an incredible range of culinary delights including turkey, roast beef, seafood, Asian dishes, Indian cuisine, and African BBQ. For those looking for an intimate, yet indulgent way to celebrate, try a five course Italian meal at Cucina Restaurant’s New Year’s Eve dinner.
Last but seemingly the best is the New Year’s Recovery Brunch at Soko Restaurant on Monday, January 1st from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. Meet New Year 2018 head on by joining a brunch designed to help you recover from the previous fun-filled evening with bottomless black coffee, sweet treats and fun activities for kids.
Kigali Marriott Management and Staff wish you “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2018!”
For reservations, please phone phone +250 222 111 111
Pregnant women must routinely go for antenatal care visits in health facilities where their blood pressures can be measured; they must be vigilant to identify any of the danger symptoms and report quickly to the hospital, according to Dr Andrew Oryono, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Heritage Medical Park, located in Kagarama, Kicukiro District.
He says HBP is a lethal but often symptomless complication; hence it is nicknamed ‘silent killer.’
Also known as hypertension or better called hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, HBP is among the top five complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal deaths, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) report 2016.
The complications are severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth), infections (usually after childbirth), high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), complications from delivery and unsafe abortion.
Defined as the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood, blood pressure is measured by taking the { {{Systolic pressure}} } (blood pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood) and the { {{Diastolic pressure }} } (blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. Thus blood pressure is reported as systolic blood pressure over diastolic blood pressure in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
Dr Oryono says the blood pressure is said to be low when it is less than 90/60mmHg, normal when it is between 90/60mmHg and120/80mmHg while HBP starts at 140/90mmHg and above.
“High blood pressure or Hypertension is when blood flows through blood vessels (arteries) at higher than normal pressures. It is a common disease and often occurs during pregnancy causing maternal and prenatal morbidity and mortality,” he says.
{{HBP risk factors}}
Dr Oryono says every pregnant woman has a potential to get high blood pressure (Preeclampsia) but there are factors that account for higher risks. These include extreme age as women below 20 and those above 40 years old, first pregnancy, preeclampsia in previous pregnancy, carrying multiple foetuses like twins, triplets or more, family history of high blood pressure or preeclampsia, pre-existing or chronic high blood pressure, kidney disease or blood disorders and diabetes, African or Native American ancestry, obesity before pregnancy and being impregnated by new spouses.
{{Symptoms}}
Pregnant mothers with high blood pressure often have no symptoms and can be referred to as mild preeclampsia but severe preeclampsia (BP ≥160/110mmhg) is characterized by end-organ damage and the symptoms include persistent severe headache, blurred vision, temporary loss of vision in one eye or both, epigastric pain or right upper quadrant abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting after 20 weeks of pregnancy, decreased urine output, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing on exertion, sudden weight gain, swelling of the face or fingers, altered mental state like developing confusion, anxiety and sometimes coma.
Dr Oryono, however, reminds that these symptoms do not necessarily come from HBP and pregnant women must always get examined to ascertain complications behind the symptoms.
Though the cause of preeclampsia among pregnant women remains unclear, placental delivery reverses the symptoms of preeclampsia, suggesting that the placenta has a controlling role in the condition.
{{Hypertension effects}}
In addition to possible death, hypertension carries more dangerous effects to mothers and foetuses. Mothers face fatal convulsions; the placenta may prematurely separate from the wall of the uterus and internal bleeding occurs where it had been attached, a condition known as ‘abruptio placentae’; stroke or cardiovascular accident due to burst of blood vessels in the brain and this is the main cause of maternal death, according to Dr Oryono.
It can also cause difficulties in breathing as a result of accumulation of fluids in the lungs (pulmonary oedema), uncontrolled bleeding from various sites of the body, kidney failure, blindness that may occur due to retinal detachment or occipital lobe lesions and ruptured liver.
Foetal complications include foetal growth restriction, preterm delivery resulting into a premature baby, foetal distress, intrauterine foetal death and more.
According to WHO, hypertension is a very common disease, albeit not well-recognised nor well-controlled among people of all categories. The global mortality index ranks hypertension as the leading cause of death (smoking is second), making it the most dominant silent killer disease. Hypertension accounts for 51% of all strokes and 45% of all heart diseases.
WHO statistics show that at least 33 women die of pregnancy related causes every hour in the world and hypertension is among the leading causes. Maternal mortality stood at 216 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2016 while Sustainable Development Goals aim to reach less than 70 per 100,000 live births in 2030.
In Rwanda, the rate was at 290 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.
In the recent past, dozens of Rwandans have been detained illegally by Uganda’s military intelligence under unclear circumstances and subjected to torture for allegedly being Rwandan planted spies.
On Saturday 09th November, another Rwandan, Fidele Gatsinzi was arrested by plain clothed security operatives suspected to be CMI agents and his whereabouts remain undisclosed up to now. Gatsinzi had gone to Kampala last week on Thursday to visit his son who studies at Uganda Christian University in Mukono.
Family sources say, Gatsinzi booked into Winks Hotel in Ntinda near Capital Shopers where he spent one night before being kidnapped the next day at around 9am local time.
“We have been trying to look for him for the past two days but we have failed to trace his whereabouts,” a close relative of Gatsinzi told this website. “We requested his niece to go and check his hotel but upon arrival, she was told that Gatsinzi left in the morning and didn’t return.”
However, his belongings remained in the hotel room.
Since September, dozens of Rwandans have been illegally detained under unclear circumstances by CMI and subjected to torture to induce false confessions that they allegedly spy for Rwanda.
On 23rd Sept 2017, three Rwandans, Bayingana James, Nsekanabo Lando Ali, Byaruhanga Nduwamungu Vianney were arrested by Uganda’s CMI from Bukasa and detained in Mbuya for three months till their release in November.
Rene Rutagungira was arrested on 6th August 2017 from Bakuri in Kampala and remains under custody till today.
“All these arrested people are subjected to torture and detained incommunicado and asked common questions such as their military background, their associates in Uganda and their involvement in kidnap of Rwandans,” a source said.
Recent media reports indicated of an existing scheme to fake kidnaps of Rwandan refugees reportedly committed by Kigali as a strategy of portraying Rwanda as a “hostile” state
As these arrests increase, a general fear of safety for Rwandans travelling to Uganda is growing by day. Many tend to alert family members, friends and officials whenever they travel to Uganda asking them to keep keen ‘eye’ just incase they suddenly disappear.
Contrary to the standards that guide arrests of foreigners, Rwandans detained by CMI are denied consular access from Rwandan diplomats and legal counsel. Since most are detained in ungazetted detention centers, Uganda’s Police force is usually unaware about these arrests.
As these continue illegal detentions escalate, sources say increased recruitment of Rwandans into rebel ranks for RNC continues unabated. Credible information obtained by this website shows that the recruitment drive is happening in refugee camps of Nyakivala, Kibale and Mubende with support from Uganda’s CMI.
During these recruitment visits to refuge camps, Rugema Kayumba, a former army corporal and cousin to fugitive Kayumba Nyamwasa does the mobilization propaganda while the entire recruitment scheme is supervised by CMI that provides the team with logistical support including security escorts.
RNC’s Rugema Kayumba re-located from his asylum home in Norway and now coordinates fugitive Kayumba Nyamwasa operations from Kampala where he’s a special guest of CMI.
“It is most likely that the arrests are being done to divert or cover-up the recruitment for RNC that is now in full gear in refugee camps accommodating Rwandans,” a highly placed intelligence source told this website.
Two RNC fugitives Maj. (rtd) Habib Mudathir and Capt (rtd) Sibo Charles left Rhino refugee camp in Arua facilitated by CMI to coordinate training for RNC recruits in Minebwe S.Kivu of DRC and prepare another training camp in West Nile of Uganda.
Credible information from intelligence sources say the two renegade ex-soldiers (Habib and Sibo) are trying but with limited success to mobilize retired RDF officers inside Rwanda, hoping to have them in RNC training camps.
The 53 Infantry Battalion (53Bn) is relieving 37Bn that ended its tour of duty with UNAMID.
The outgoing 53Bn was briefed on Saturday at Rwanda Military Academy Gako by the Army Chief of Staff (ACOS), Maj Gen Jacques Musemakweli who urged the peacekeepers to portray high degree of commitment and professionalism while fulfilling their mission of protecting people.
“When your country selects you for a mission like this, you should raise your national flag high and make your nation proud by fulfilling the assigned mandate and tasks in the best way you can. You should uphold high level of discipline, physical and mental readiness and stay focused on your mission” Musemakweli advised the peacekeepers.
He emphasized that RDF has set good standards in peacekeeping mission and urged the departing troops to deliver even better.
At the start of rotation this morning, RwandAir airlifted 135 RDF peacekeepers of 53Bn to Zalingei in Darfur and returned with the same number of the incoming 37Bn.
The returning peacekeepers landed at Kigali International Airport tyesterday evening and were welcomed by Col Paul Nyemazi, 305 Brigade Commander on behalf of RDF Leadership.
He congratulated them for a job well done, good conduct during their tour of duty and took the opportunity to remind the officers, women and men to use the acquired experience to serve better their country.
The rotation operation that kicks off yesterday will be concluded on 19th December 2017 after rotating 1624 troops to and from Zalingei in Darfur, Republic of Sudan.
Ngirente was speaking Sunday at the closing ceremony of the 16th Forum of youth from Catholic Church in Rwanda at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu District.
The Forum attracted 5,000 youth from Catholic church and invitees from other churches in Rwanda and outside the country.
The forum aimed at fostering humanity among youth.
He said that youth take a big percentage of Africa’s population and should play a big role in its development.
“For the Government of Rwanda and African countries in general, youth have great value, they are the hope of today and tomorrow, they occupy the big number of Africans and have the potential to develop our continent,” he said.
“In Rwanda, 65% of population are below age 30, more capable than others to quickly acquire knowledge that would help us be a ‘Knowledge-based economy ‘,” he added.
He called on them to avoid bad behaviours like drunkardness, divisionism, laziness, coward and adultery among others that could lead to ruining their future
“We want you to be visionary and committed to contribute in all development activities. you should invest in learning and using ICT as a way to open doors for opportunities from inside and outside the country,” Ngirente urged youth.
Their arrest on December 8, followed the seizure of over 600 kilograms of various minerals from them, believed to have been obtained illegally.
Police identified the suspects as Jean Ngabonzima, 36, Jean Baptist Habimanab, 31, Epimaque Nzungize, 34, Jean Chrisostome Ngabonzima, 40, and Joseline Itangishaka, 37.
The District Police Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Marc Gasangwa, who confirmed the arrest, said that “investigations have been instituted to establish the source of the valuable metals.”
“We received information from residents that the group was suspected to be possessing minerals, whose source was not known,” SSP Gasangwa said.
The suspects are not minerals, according to the DPC.
“Acting on the information, we conducted a targeted operation, we recovered 6,935kgs of various minerals that were not tagged, from the suspects,” he added.
The minerals recovered include coltan, trolamine and cassiterite.
Trolamine is used as an ingredient in sunscreens, analgesic creams, and cosmetics.
He said that in most previous cases, such minerals were found to have been mined illegally or stolen from stores of legitimate miners.
The DPC thanked the residents for the community policing act, and warned against unlawful mineral dealings and illegal mining activities in particular.
In a related, one person was reported dead after he was covered by a cliff while illegally mining coltan.
SSP Gasangwa referred to Article 1 of the Ministerial Regulations No001/Minifom/2011 relating to fighting smuggling in mineral trading that stipulates in part that nobody is allowed to purchase or sell minerals without commercial registration.
Article 4 of the same instrument indicates that transportation of minerals outside mining licensed areas (concessions and permits perimeters) is only allowed, when the consignment shows the source mine, its value and when it has the right tag.
Article 438 of the penal code, stipulates that; “Any person who undertakes illegal research or illegally carries out commercial activities in valuable minerals, shall be liable to imprisonment of six months to one year and a fine of up to Rwf10 million.”
Source:RNP News
Ngirente was speaking Friday while officiating the celebration of the International Anti-Corruption Day in Kigali.
He said the celebration of the day helps people from around the World reassess their efforts in fighting against corruption which he said continues to undermine the economy of many countries.
The 2017 East African Bribery Index, he said ranked Rwanda 5th in Sub-Saharan countries that invest much in fighting against corruption.
Ngirente said that more efforts are still needed to uproot all forms of graft.
“Though we celebrate progress in fighting against corruption, we are yet to reach our target. There are some institutions where corruption still appears. There are a number of people who are reluctant to reveal corruption cases,” he said.
He said that Advisory Councils from National, Districts, Sectors and cells level should involve fight against corruption in their programmes as provided by laws so they become the foundation of ending corruption.
“Ombudsman’s office will be empowered more so that they will be capable to monitor and collaborate activities aimed at fighting graft in all government institutions,” he said.
He said the government targets to empower particular bodies in criminal investigations and prosecution for fighting corruption.
The Ombudsman, Anastase Murekezi emphasized that there is a political will to end graft though it is still appearing in different institutions.
He said that some entrepreneurs engage corruption to win public tenders.
He cautioned against informal means of getting wealth saying that they should fight them everywhere.
Kagame was speaking Friday in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in the official opening of the Africa Business Forum.
Kagame joined President Sisi El Fattah of Egypt,President Alpha Condé of Guinea and Chairperson of the African Unionand other Heads of State in the opening of the Forum.
The head of state commended President Sisi’s vision and foresight, in bringing all the regions of the continent together, in collaboration with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to empower the youth through business and entrepreneurship.
“This reminds us, once again, of Egypt’s historic commitment to Africa’s independence and progress, and its unique role as a bridge between Africa, and the wider Middle East,” he said.
{{How inclusive private-sector growth can be achieved? }}
“Africa’s future prosperity will be delivered, in large part, through inclusive private-sector growth; however, governments have a big role to play, to make that a reality,” he noted.
Kagame explained that by making it easier to do business within African countries,the continent has to catch up fast, and compete globally.
“We can’t afford to waste opportunities because of unnecessary red tape, and the associated delays,” he said
Kagame it will be achieved by making it easier to do business, with each other, in Africa, and integrating African markets, to make them more attractive for investment.
“This is why regional cooperation is becoming increasingly central to Africa’s future, as we see with the Tripartite Free Trade Area which joins COMESA, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community,” he explained.
“The institutional reform of the African Union that is currently underway, with strong support from African leaders, is essential to getting these agreements fully operational, so that our citizens can enjoy the benefits,” he added.
He said putting information technology and broadband connectivity into the hands of young people; particularly entrepreneurs can help private sector growth.
“That is the logic behind the Smart Africa initiative, based in Kigali, with more than 20 Member States around the continent,” he said adding that prosperous economies are knowledge economies.
