The Office of the President, Urugwiro Village, revealed that President Kagame hosted Azoulay in his office this Friday.
The UNESCO Director is in Rwanda to unveil World Heritage List plaques at four genocide memorial sites.
The four memorials of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that have been inscribed on the World Heritage list include Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi, and Bisesero.
While at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Audrey Azoulay expressed that the inclusion of these memorials in the World Heritage is based on the international community’s acknowledgment of what happened in Rwanda.
It is scheduled that on April 6, 1994, she will visit the Murambi memorial to place the commemorative marker.
In addition to presenting the Rwandan government with the UNESCO certification of these memorials as World Heritage sites, Azoulay is expected to join Rwanda in the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
The recognition of the Genocide memorials as World Heritage sites emphasizes that their history must be preserved and that Rwanda and UNESCO agree that this history should be taught to prevent such atrocities from occurring again.
All these dignitaries arrived in Rwanda on the evening of Friday, April 5, 2024 to join Rwandans in commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
President Petr Pavel was welcomed at Kigali International Airport by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta, a reception also accorded to Madagascar’s Andry Rajoelina.
During this visit, it is anticipated that President Petr Pavel will have discussions with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, and will also meet with Czech nationals working in Rwanda.
Among other attendees of the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi will be Bill Clinton, former President of the United States, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs representing President Emmanuel Macron, and other dignitaries.
The Czech Republic has a strong relationship with Rwanda in areas such as military cooperation, agriculture, energy, and industry.
In 2022, investors from the Czech Republic arrived in Rwanda and initiated discussions with medical institutions aimed at enhancing the quality of education, contributing to the country’s goal of earning foreign currency through medical tourism.
{{The wife of Guinea’s President Gen Mamady Doumbouya arriving in Kigali}}
He said this during the Conference on the 30th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi, held in Nairobi on Thursday. It brought together more than 500 people, including the youth, the Rwandan community living in Kenya, members of the diplomatic corps, and friends of Rwanda.
Ngoga reminded that genocides are not born overnight, but rather stem from deep-seated prejudices, discrimination, and a systematic dehumanization of a particular group, as it was the case for Rwanda.
“As we renew our resolve to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again, we are seeing dangerous trends of rising hate speech and intolerance in many parts of the world. Particularly troubling is the current widespread proliferation of hate speech and incitement to violence, things that were very clearly present in Rwanda immediately before the genocide,” he said.
He went on to say that these vices threaten human rights, social stability and peace, hence calling for decisive, deliberate and timely actions by the international community.
This was also echoed by PLO Lumumba, pan-Africanist and Founder of PLO Lumumba Foundation, who observed that one thing that humans learn from history is that they learn nothing.
He added that it was unfortunate that many decades after the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, another genocide unfolded in Rwanda, and the international community stood by.
Nobody needs to be told of the pain that hatred occasions to man, he observed, reiterating the need to remain vigilant and prevent the repeat of such atrocities.
“We must never forget that eternal vigilance is critical that we may preserve dignity among men. If we are not eternally vigilant, then we are likely to repeat the things that harm us. We cannot afford the luxury of doing nothing when we know that the perpetrators of evil are always in the business of planning the next evil,” he noted.
{{The failure of the international community}}
Charity Kagwi-Ndungu, Former Trial Attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), who also participated in the conference in Nairobi noted that there was a possibility to prevent the death of a million people during the Genocide against the Tutsi, had the international community had the will to do so.
“The world community could have done better for Rwanda. During that time there was still a lot of help and sympathy going to Habyarimana’s regime. Also, the Security Council refused to use the word genocide because it would have required a global response,” she explained.
Meanwhile, according to Lonzen Rugira who also participated in the panel discussion, one of the remaining challenges following the Genocide against the Tutsi is refusing to repatriate or try genocide suspects who are still roaming freely in many parts of the world, consequently denying justice to genocide victims.
“If these countries are refusing to send them to Rwanda or prosecute them where they are, it means they are facilitating the evasion of justice, and, therefore, accomplices in these crimes,” he said.
Speaking during the Kwibuka30 International Conference ahead of the 30th commemoration of the genocide, Domitilla Mukantaganzwa, the Chairperson of the Rwanda Law Reform Commission (RLRC) and former Executive Secretary for the National Gacaca Jurisdiction, termed 2007 as a catastrophic year for the Gacaca community-based courts, which began to hear the trials of genocide suspects in 2002.
Mukantaganzwa said that during this period, many judges were killed, survivors assassinated, and equipment of the courts destroyed.
“We had to start again with the support of the people from the grassroots,” she said.
Mukantaganzwa further noted that another challenge faced during the period was a lack of confidence from the international community in the Gacaca Court system.
“There was a lack of understanding from the international community. Many people were against the process and said this would never work. They tried to confuse the genocide with other crimes. We were able to sit with them and explain to them the reality of the matter,” Mukantaganzwa added.
On the positive side, the RLRC boss noted that the Gacaca courts were able to hear many crimes including rape which were not being handled well in other courts.
She highlighted that the victims of rape were able to access justice with ease after many of them were humiliated in other courts in countries like Belgium.
Mukantaganzwa stated that the Gacaca Courts were able to directly link 46,000 out of 60,000 people to the genocide, representing 76 percent of the genocide suspects.
She attributed the success of the courts to the move by the some of the perpetrators to confess to their crimes and the goodwill from President Paul Kagame’s administration.
“The President himself was present when we began in one of our districts, and the support from the government was immense, many were involved in it. He told us that we must proceed without any hesitation,” she said, further acknowledging support from some quarters of the international community who provided financial support.
Charles Adeogun-Phillips, who led teams of international prosecutors and investigators in 12 precedent-setting and complex genocide and war crimes trials before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda UN-ICTR, said silence by victims of rape was common during the trials.
He also noted that the reluctance of some victims of rape to confide in male investigators about their ordeal affected investigations.
“There existed a culture of silence. Some witnesses said they were not comfortable talking to investigators about their rape ordeals,” he said.
Michèle Hirsch, a lawyer who represented relatives of victims at the trial in Belgium, noted that during the process “No one wanted to include rape as a war crime.”
Notably, the ICTR indicted 93 individuals for their involvement in the genocide, which resulted in the killing of more than one million people in approximately 100 days. This led to 61 convictions and 14 acquittals.
Additionally, the ICTR withdrew two indictments, and three individuals died before the conclusion of their trials. Furthermore, five cases were transferred to national courts in Rwanda and France.
The book, titled “Smile after Tears,” revisits the challenging times she experienced during the Genocide against the Tutsi.
Born in Gisagara District in the Southern Province of Rwanda, Rutayisire comes from a family of six children.
Except for Mutegwaraba Henriette and herself, other family members, including Rutayisire Fraterne, Tuyisingize Jean Claude, Umubyeyi Assoumptha, Mutambarungu Constance (who was only 2 years old), her father Rutayisire Antoine, and her mother Mugorewishyaka Theresie, were killed during the genocide.
In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, she explained that she named her book ‘Smile after Tears’ to show that despite the numerous painful experiences, there is still a promising life ahead and one should not be consumed by sorrow.
“The reason is that I lived through tears. Losing parents and family at 13 is not easy. There was a long period of grief. I decided to write a book. I said to myself that I should not be overwhelmed by sorrow,” she shared.
She chose to write about her experiences feeling that it could also help others who might have gone through similar ordeals.
In her book, Rutayisire deeply expresses how the loss of her parents and four siblings, with whom she shared a strong bond, devastated her.
“Remembering people without a photo is very hard, what I talk about is what I witnessed at the age of 13. We grew up in the countryside where cameras were not available. Now, there are no photos of my parents or siblings; we remember them in our hearts and through the life we shared with them at that time,” she recounts.
Among the siblings she lost was the youngest, who was only two years old, whose smile she cannot forget. Rutayisire describes how she fled to the Isar-Rubona center along with falimy, where they had been told it was safe, only for it to be attacked by the Interahamwe, leading to her separation from her family.
After being separated, she hid in the forest for three days, and, driven by hunger, decided to go die in her family’s homestead. She also narrates how she found two children of her uncle with their deceased grandmother, decided to take them with her but later witnessed their murder in her hands and was told that she would die of sorrow.
“A woman screamed when she saw us, calling the Interahamwe, and they took us to a place where people were being killed. They handed me a hoe to dig my own grave and that of the children. Due to hunger, I dug but failed, as I had never handled a hoe before. Eventually, the children were killed, and it was said that I would die of sorrow,” she explained.
She was saved by a person who used to herd her family’s cows and decided to take her back to her place of origin. Later, she met a woman who took her in as her own child, and they moved to Kigali. There, she grew up, completed her primary education at GS Intwari in Nyamirambo, and later met an elder sibling who had fled to Burundi.
Rutayisire continued her education up to the university level and now lives in the United States. She is an entrepreneur with business activities spanning the realms of real estate—encompassing buying, selling, and leasing properties—and the promotion of Made-in-Rwanda products in global markets.
Rutayisire highlights that 30 years after the halt of the Genocide against the Tutsi, survivors should not remain trapped in sorrow but strive for progress to honor their lost loved ones.
Rutayisire announces that her book will soon be available on Amazon, Appbook, and in an audio format. She also plans to translate it into other languages, including French and Kinyarwanda.
Specifically, in Rwanda, the fallout has been a 127 Rwandan Franc hike in gasoline prices per liter, with diesel experiencing a 52 Franc increase. This adjustment pegs the new gasoline price at 1,764 Rwandan Francs per liter and diesel at 1,684 Rwandan Francs.
{{Global market dynamics}}
The global oil market has been anything but predictable. On January 5, 2024, a barrel of gasoline was valued at $73.8, which slightly dipped to $72.7 by February 5. However, the following months saw a steady climb, with March recording prices at $78.15, escalating to $86.7 in the present day.
Some regions are now facing even steeper prices, with a barrel costing up to $89.35, and the trend suggests a further increase could be imminent.
A pivotal meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ministers, representing key oil-producing nations, was convened this week to deliberate on potential measures to temper the soaring prices.
Despite the urgent need for solutions, the assembly concluded without any decisive action, opting to stick with current policies. This decision hints at a probable continuation of the upward price trajectory.
Previously, OPEC had decided to reduce oil production by at least 2.2 million barrels per day until June of this year, in addition to a previous decision in 2022 to cut extraction by 3.66 million barrels per day. These measures were explained as efforts to prevent market instability. However, ongoing tensions with the United States and the Ukraine-Russia conflict add layers of complexity to the situation.
{{The Ukraine-Russia conflict}}
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia exacerbates the oil market’s instability. Since January, Ukraine has initiated multiple strikes on Russian oil refineries using drones, rendering about 14% of Russia’s refinery capacity inoperative.
The latest of these attacks targeted a refinery in Tatarstan, prompting Russia to halt oil product exports to prioritize domestic needs, further squeezing global supply.
Moreover, the Houthi rebels’ assaults in the Red Sea have jeopardized crucial shipping lanes, affecting countries region-wide, including Rwanda.
{{Rwanda’s competitive edge}}
Among the five East African Community (EAC) countries, Rwanda has the lowest fuel prices in the region. For example, a liter of gasoline in Tanzania costs $1.26, while diesel is at $1.24. In Uganda, gasoline is at $1.43 and diesel at $1.29. In Burundi, gasoline costs $1.52 and diesel $1.48, while in Kenya, the prices are $1.53 for gasoline and $1.49 for diesel, respectively.
As of April 1, the price of gasoline in Rwanda was equivalent to $1.27 per liter, the same as diesel, showcasing Rwanda’s relatively lower fuel prices within the region.
Annually, Rwanda consumes over 2.835 billion liters of diesel and approximately 181.6 million liters of gasoline.
The higher consumption of diesel is attributed to its extensive use in public transportation, industrial machinery, construction, agriculture, and other sectors.
In a conversation with SABC News’ Sophie Mokoena, Kagame underscored the pivotal role South Africa, under Nelson Mandela’s stewardship, played in Rwanda’s progress by providing educational avenues for Rwandan youth.
Kagame looked back on the era of Mandela and [Thabo] Tabo Mbeki with fondness, noting that during their time, the relationship between the two countries was mutually beneficial.
They facilitated the education of Rwandan youth in South Africa, a group that included both those impacted by the genocide and descendants of perpetrators, by sending them in significant numbers.
He mentioned that the support from South Africa was instrumental in Rwanda’s development, highlighting the importance of the financial aid provided for tuition fees at local rates.
The President recalled that the relationship soured when Colonel Patrick Karegeya, a former head of Rwanda’s intelligence, was killed in South Africa.
At the time, the Rwandan government was accused of being involved in his death, an allegation Rwanda has consistently denied.
Based on the strong historical ties between the two countries, President Kagame argued that it is not fitting for the nations to continue their current strained relations but instead should resolve their differences.
The journalist reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor are planning to join Rwandans in commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi on Sunday, April 7th.
The visit by Ramaphosa and Pandor is expected to include discussions aimed at revitalizing the relationship between the two countries.
“The current agricultural season of 2023/2024 has not performed according to expectations due to the El Nino-induced drought. As a result, more than 80 percent of our country received below-normal rainfall,” Mnangagwa said during a state of the nation address at the State House in Harare, the capital.
“By this declaration, I also call upon all Zimbabweans of goodwill, including those in the diaspora, the international community, United Nations agencies, development and humanitarian partners, international financial institutions, the private sector, churches and other faith-based organizations, as well as individuals, to generously donate towards ameliorating this state of national disaster,” Mnangagwa said.
He said that preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe needs more than 2 billion U.S. dollars for various response interventions.
Zimbabwe has put a total of 1,728,897 hectares under maize crop and other cereals, which should have guaranteed a bountiful harvest, the president said.
“We expect 868,273 metric tonnes from this season’s harvest, hence our nation faces a food cereal deficit of nearly 680,000 metric tonnes of grain,” he said. “This deficit will be bridged by imports.”
“Top of our priority is securing food for all Zimbabweans. No Zimbabwean must succumb to, or die from, hunger,” Mnangagwa said.
Zimbabwe has an annual cereal requirement of 2.2 million tonnes for both human and livestock consumption.
Due to drought, the country’s cereal production is expected at around 800,000 tonnes in the 2023/24 summer cropping season, according to the agriculture ministry.
“Today, the 3rd of April, I have submitted to the Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Lechesa Tsenoli, my letter of resignation as both the Speaker of National Assembly and a Member of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa,” Mapisa-Nqakula said in a statement. “The resignation is effective immediately.”
“I have made this conscious decision in order to dedicate my time and focus to deal with the recently announced investigation against me by our country’s law enforcement agencies,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula, a 67-year-old veteran of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, has been facing corruption allegations that she solicited a cash bribe of about 2.3 million rands (about 120,000 U.S. dollars) from a former military contractor while she was defense minister between 2016 and 2019.
The speaker took “special leave” from her parliamentary position on March 21 after an early morning raid by a special investigations unit on her Johannesburg home.
Last week, she launched an urgent court bid to block her possible arrest, but a judge at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed her application Tuesday.
Citing court papers, local media reported Tuesday that Mapisa-Nqakula may face 12 corruption charges for allegedly soliciting bribes amounting to a total of 4.5 million rands during her tenure as the defense minister.
In her late Wednesday statement, Mapisa-Nqakula stressed that her resignation was “in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations” being leveled against her.
“I believe that, at the right time, I will have the opportunity to thoroughly address these allegations as and when they have been formally brought against me in the appropriate forums, at which time I will clear my good name,” she said. “I maintain my innocence and am determined to restore my good reputation.”
“Given the public trust entrusted in me as the Speaker of our National Assembly and the need for me to protect the image of our organization, the African National Congress, I have an obligation … to step down from my office,” she added.
Mapisa-Nqakula also noted that she had informed the ANC leadership of her decision and she remains a “dedicated member” of the party.
In a statement issued later Wednesday, the ANC confirmed that it had officially received Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation letter.
“In her resignation, Comrade Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula highlighted her intention to protect the reputation of our organization, the African National Congress, after dedicating more than 30 years of service,” said the statement. “We value her commitment to maintaining the image of our organization, as it reflects our principles of organizational renewal that promote proactive responsibility-taking among members, rather than waiting for instructions to step aside.”
Alain Mukuralinda, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Rwandan Government, addressed these claims in light of comments made by the DRC’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, who accused Rwanda of meddling in the DRC’s internal affairs during an interview with France24.
Mukuralinda criticized the DRC’s stance as undermining the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, emphasizing that such denials only serve to divert attention from the significant threat posed by the FDLR.
This group, known for spreading hate speech, genocide ideology, and violence, consists of individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Despite the DRC’s claims that the FDLR is merely an excuse used by Rwanda, Mukuralinda highlighted the Rwandan government’s consistent calls for the DRC to expel the FDLR from its territory—a request that has been met with resistance and counter-accusations of Rwanda’s support for the M23 rebel group.
Furthermore, Mukuralinda pointed to evidence from various United Nations expert reports indicating collaboration between the DRC’s armed forces (FARDC) and the FDLR, including the provision of weapons and battlefield support.
This, according to Mukuralinda, exemplifies the DRC officials’ tendency to adhere to unfounded claims to mask their leadership failures in ensuring their citizens’ security.
The Rwandan government maintains its support for the Nairobi and Luanda peace agreements, advocating for the resolution of conflicts in Eastern Congo through peaceful means.
This stance underscores the importance of acknowledging and addressing the root causes of instability in the region, rather than perpetuating a cycle of denial and accusation that hampers peace efforts.
