Lt Gen Muhoozi has come to Rwanda two times this year on a mission to mend ties between Uganda and Rwanda that had worsened since 2017.
Since he was involved in the process to restore relations to normal, Lt Gen Muhoozi has been warning Rwanda’s dissidents that they have no place in Uganda.
He also echoed similar message in February where he warned Kayumba against using his country to threaten Rwanda’s security.
His previous visit to Rwanda was on 22nd January 2022, a move that was followed by the reopening of Gatuna border.
Later on, Rwanda reopened all land borders on 7th March 2022.
During his second visit to Rwanda which lasted three days, Lt Gen Muhoozi met with President Paul Kagame who also gifted him cows before returning to Uganda.
At the time, the Presidency revealed via Twitter handle that discussions revolved around bilateral relations.
Gen Muhoozi who often uses his Twitter handle to express views on issues including relations with Rwanda has posted a message detailing topics of discussions with Kagame during his first visit.
“The first day I reconnected with my uncle 3 months ago, I promised him a number of things. First of all, as Commander Land Forces, UPDF, my army would never attack Rwanda. Secondly, no security official of Uganda who fights Rwanda would retain his job. More to follow…” he tweeted.
Lt Gen Muhoozi posted the message along his pictures with President Kagame on his first visit.
Rwanda had voiced concerns over Uganda’s collaboration with dissidents, abducting, torturing Rwandans and obstructing Rwanda’s trade interests.
Following the first visit of Lt Gen Muhoozi, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda said that Rwanda had already raised concerns of dissidents with intentions to threaten Rwanda’s security operating in Uganda and highlighted that it is time to put into action what is needed most to bring the situation to normal following discussions, signed agreements, transmission of messages through envoys.
Rwanda Formed Police Unit-Two (RWAFPU-2) of 180 officers commanded by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Hodari Rwanyindo will be deployed this Friday to take over peacekeeping positions in Kaga Bandora while RWAFPU-1 of 140 officers headed by CSP Callixte Kalisa will replace the same number operating in CAR’s capital, Bangui, and will be saluted off next week.
It is the eighth rotation of RWAFPU-1, which was first deployed in the central African nation in 2014, and seventh rotation for RWAFPU-2.
DIGP Namuhoranye, while giving them the final message prior to their deployment, reminded them not to lose focus and to remain committed to what they were trained and deployed to do.
“The spirit and morale you are going with should define you throughout the mission. Whatever happens in the mission should not tilt you from your resilience and sacrifice,” DIGP Namuhoranye.
He said that Rwanda has gained experience in CAR, identified and fixed the gaps adding that any gaps that may arise will be a result of an individual character.
“Your personal commitment to serve has a national character and your tour-of-duty should define your international professional character as you were trained. That is what the Rwandan flag you are donning stands for…to serve with dignity and professionalism,” the Deputy Police Chief said.
He advised them to make a commitment to prove themselves right and professionally in all dimensions of their peacekeeping mandate.
“We have strong units with strong command. Know why you are being deployed and do what you are deployed to do; support each other, desist from anything that will tarnish your individual and national image.”
He, however, cautioned that indiscipline like any kind of abuse, loose talk, alcoholism and other bad and unprofessional practices, will not be tolerated.
“Your country sends you as ambassadors and people should feel safe with you. Always be where you are required to be in the right time and do what you are supposed to do.
The duties you are required to perform and how you execute them are all of equal value; they should send the same message of a professional Rwandan Police officer, who understands the drills and trusted,” DIGP Namuhoranye concluded.
Rwanda maintains three Police contingents in CAR. The third contingent–a Protection Support Unit (PSU)– undertakes special duties such as protection for VIPs, including the SRSG, his two deputies, the Prime Minister of CAR, President of the National Assembly, Minister of Justice and the Head of MINUSCA Police Component, among others.
FPUs specializes in public order management, protection of displaced persons, delivery of humanitarian assistance, escort duties and protection of UN facilities.
Marara was named Rwanda’s ambassador to Qatar by the cabinet meeting held on 9th April 2022 replacing François Nkulikiyimfura who was posted to France to assume similar functions.
Marara previously served as counsellor of the Rwandan High Commission in Canada since 2018.
He has also worked as an administrative assistant in different government ministries from 2009 to 2017 and for five years, he worked as the senior manager for PSI Rwanda (an international health organisation).
The 38-year old holds a Masters of Business Administration from Oklahoma University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism.
As he presented the report on the profile of the candidate, the chairperson of the committee on foreign affairs, cooperation and security, John Bonds Bideri expressed optimism that an evaluation on Marara’s competencies proved that he has what it takes to fulfil his duties smoothly.
“We realised his competencies, skills and experience shall allow him to fulfil his duties as the new ambassador,” Bideri said.
Rwanda and Qatar enjoy cooperation agreements in the areas of education, tourism, trade and security among others.
Under this program, the UK will provide an upfront investment of £120 million to fund invaluable opportunities for Rwandans and migrants including secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.
These asylum seekers from African countries and others outside the continent will be treated decently like Rwandans upon arrival. It is expected that those willing to return to their mother lands will be helped to do so.
Unlike asylum seekers and refugees from Libya living in Gashora Transit Camp, the ones from UK will be housed in specially-selected accommodation facilities where they will wait for asylum claims to be processed.
Following agreements between both countries on 14th April 2022, different media houses and individuals majority of whom being from the western part of the world relentlessly criticized the deal for personal reasons.
Sources reveal that Hope House, in Gasabo District is one of buildings expected to accommodate these asylum seekers.
It is said that two more buildings will be built in coming years for the same purpose.
The Mirror media house recently ran a story indicating that the building known as ‘One Dollar Campaign Project’, normally accommodates orphans who survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The publication however distorted the truth explaining that beneficiaries were booted out from the building to make a way for refugees and asylum seekers.
The media house also wrote that some beneficiaries claimed that they have nowhere to stay after they were given a tight deadline to have left the building.
The Mirror’s article supports reactions of individuals from the UK and others from Europe expressing frustration over the country’s approach to resolve the issue of asylum seekers and refugees.
One of these people who opposed the decision is the leader of the Anglican church who strongly criticized the British government’s plan to put some asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda, saying “sub-contracting out our responsibilities” to refugees can’t stand up to God’s scrutiny.
According to the Washington Post, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made the direct political intervention in his Easter Sunday sermon at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England, saying there are “serious ethical questions about sending asylum-seekers overseas.”
He said “sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures.”
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The major purpose of Hope House was to provide vulnerable orphans of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi with shelter during holidays and leave the building after graduation as they can apply for jobs and live without dependence.
This means, the facility was used as a transit for beneficiaries before starting to live on their own.
The building used to accommodate AERG students from secondary schools and universities. AERG (Association des Etudiants et Eleves Rescapes du Genocide) is a body that brings together genocide survivors studying in university and secondary schools.
The Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Yolande Makolo recently reacted to the article run by The Mirror via Twitter handle saying that “the Genocide against the Tutsi ended 28 years ago & this hostel has been almost empty for the last 5 years, the last few remaining tenants are graduating & being facilitated to move to a new life.”
The Coordinator of AERG, Audace Mudaheranwa has told IGIHE that Genocide orphans have been accommodated in the building on rotational basis where few beneficiaries remain in the building.
“There are few beneficiaries who are also in the phase of making their way out. There are processes in place to help them move to a new life. We already had the program before the migration partnership,” he said.
Mudaheranwa revealed that the building has been previously accommodating only 22 individuals yet it has the capacity for 200 people.
“We had talked to the remaining few beneficiaries, showed how the building is large enough. They told us that they were ready to seek shelters elsewhere. They are mature people who can receive support the same way it is extended to university graduates,” he noted.
Genocide orphans in Hope House are preparing to leave because they are mature people aged 29 and above who need to live on their own.
“They were not forced to leave because of refugees. We engaged with beneficiaries who suggested that we should help them to move to a new life if possible and get support their survival outside. They said that they were ready to leave the building so that it can be used for income generating activities whereby revenues can be used to support them and others,” said Mudaheranwa.
Today, the management of Hope House is being discussed to seek how it can be used appropriately.
The five-storey building constructed between 2010 and 2014 has all necessary equipment including beds.
It is built on 2000 square meters. Two individuals will share one room with separate beds.
Asylum seekers to be hosted at the facility will be fed thrice a day.
Hope House also has a large room that can serve as a refectory and multipurpose hall where asylum seekers will turn up for social interactions.
The Head of State was speaking on Wednesday 20th April 2022 during fireside chat on the ‘Digital Revolution’ discussing its impact in Rwanda, Africa and on global development as a whole.
The event organized by the World Bank was also joined by the Chief Executive Officer of MasterCard, Michael Miebach; the President of World Bank Group, David R. Malpass and Leila Search, Senior Investment Officer for FinTech Investments at International Finance Corporation (IFC) among others.
Speaking at the event, Kagame said that broadband is essential to digital transformation.
“80% of Africa’s population has a mobile phone but not everyone has access to high speed internet on a smartphone. Yet, broadband is the key to unlocking digital transformation,” he noted.
“On our continent, the major challenge continues to be the insufficient reach of fiber optic cables in rural areas. This means that the majority of Africa’s population does not have access to high speed internet. These are key areas in dealing with the matter,” Kagame added.
The Head of State also shared Rwanda’s efforts where the country continues to invest in related infrastructures.
“In Rwanda, we have made significant investment in broadband infrastructure. We have been able to reach over 95% broadband coverage. If you look at our country health sector, for example, most of the facilities in Rwanda are connected to the internet,” he said.
The President revealed that the partnership with the World Bank has helped Rwanda to tackle barriers and commended its great support.
He underscored that universal access to broadband would eliminate barriers and inequalities in the use of internet particularly in rural areas.
The President also talked about the importance of cross-border payment systems where more efforts are put in place to enhance partnerships aimed at streamlining digital transformation particularly in Africa and the East African Region (EAC).
“It will evolve, there has been effort across the region, during the integration process of our region. EAC has come closer together in a sense that it becomes one big country that brings partner-states together,” he noted.
“It is looking at how we can even have monetary union, and under that, different harmonization activities and services will be undertaken to ease the movement and therefore the currencies within the payment system as it is,” Kagame added.
Commenting on mitigating the risks of new technologies, President Kagame said that ‘one has to be aware of the risks involved with these new technologies and take steps to make sure that risks are mitigated but at the same time harness the productivity and efficiencies and all the values entailed’.
The development was initially announced by Immigration Denmark Minister, Mattias Tesfaye speaking to Reuters on Wednesday 20th April 2022.
“Our dialogue with the Rwandan government includes a mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers,” he said.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda has also told IGIHE that talks are ongoing between both countries to address the issue.
The talks between Rwanda and Denmark follow the signing of Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the United Kingdom (UK) and Rwanda last week on 14th April 2022 that will see the latter accommodating asylum seekers staying in UK illegally.
As he spoke to Reuters, Minister Tesfaye revealed that the deal would aim to ‘ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterises migration across the Mediterranean today’.
Denmark, which has introduced increasingly harsh immigration policies in the last decade, passed a law last year that allows refugees arriving on Danish soil to be moved to asylum centres in a partner country.
In April 2021, Rwanda and Denmark signed Denmark also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on asylum and immigration issues.
The MoU was signed at a time when Denmark had already joined countries providing funds to support asylum seekers from Libya hosted in Gashora Transit Camp.
Speaking to the media last year in July, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and international Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta stressed that the cooperation on asylum and immigration issues involves the management of a refugee transit camp in Bugesera but dealing with refugees’ problem in a broader perspective.
“Signing such agreements signifies that we are ready to discuss the issue but have no clauses of hosting asylum seekers illegally staying in Denmark,” he said.
Dr. Biruta further stated that agreements are entered into in adherence to international norms and provisions for human rights.
He said that refugees assisted under such circumstances need to be protected and helped to sort out their problem taking into consideration their dignity and rights.
“Any contribution to address refugees’ problems is in light of that context. It is about international norms, their dignity and rights,” he noted.
Denmark accommodates over 35,000 Syrian refugees who have been living in the country for the past ten years.
The purpose of the tour is to gain knowledge on the planning and conduct of the RPA Liberation War and understand the key factors that led to the success of the RPA/F struggle and to broaden the Allied Officers understanding of the recent history of Rwanda including the Genocide against the Tutsi.
Such knowledge will enable course participants to emulate and maintain the values that led to the success of the struggle to include among others resilience, sacrifice and patriotism.
The study tour will cover the Eastern Region where the RPA struggle begun in Kagitumba, Nyabweshongezi, Ryabega, Nyagatare, Gabiro, Kaborogota and Northern Region sites that include Mulindi, Gicumbi, Butaro, Musanze as well as Kigali City sites that include the Campaign against Genocide Museum to mention a few.
Any alcoholic beverages produced without complying with the standards is classified as illicit.
The Ministerial Order nº 001/MoH/2019 of 04/03/2019 establishing the list of narcotic drugs and their categorisation, therefore, lists kanyanga among “simple drugs.”
Article 263 of law No 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offenses and penalties in general, states that any person, who unlawfully produces, transforms, transports, stores, gives to another or who sells narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, commits an offence.
Upon conviction for simple drugs, the offender faces between seven and ten years and a fine of not less than Rwf5 million but not more than Rwf10 million.
This is why Rwanda National Police (RNP) fighting and preventing production, trafficking, selling and abusing of illicit drinks like Kanyanga as well as narcotic drugs, remains among its priorities because of their adverse and far reaching effects to the users.
To fight Kanyanga as well as narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances, Rwanda National Police focuses mainly on breaking production or the supply chains.
In the operation conducted on Tuesday, April 19, in Nyanza District, Kigoma Sector, Butara Cell, Buruba Village, Police and local leaders dismantled a distillery owned by one Mvuyekure Theogene, who was producing and supplying Kanyanga.
Mvuyekure was also arrested.
“Mvuyekure was producing kanyanga and supplying local bars, but we thank residents, who reported his criminal acts,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Theobald Kanamugire, the Southern region Police spokesperson.
At the time of his arrest, he was in the production process and had already distilled 30 litres of the crude gin
Police also seized materials including drums and jerrycans, which he was using.
“Mvuyekure was handed over to (RIB) at Busasamana station for further legal process. Rwanda National Police has conducted several campaigns against narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and these are some of the results. We are happy that the public have owned the fight against these drugs by reporting dealers,” SP Kanamugire said.
He voiced the appreciation via a phone conversation with President Paul Kagame on Tuesday 19th April 2022.
A statement released by the Office 10 Downing Street, the Office of the United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister shows that Boris Johnson reiterated his determination to work closely with Rwanda to tackle this pressing issue and break the business model of people smuggling gangs, while supporting refugees through safe and legal routes.
“The Prime Minister also set out the UK’s support for Ukraine and the need for the international community to come together against Russia’s unjustified invasion,” reads part of the statement.
The Prime Minister also set out the UK’s support for Ukraine and the need for the international community to come together against Russia’s unjustified invasion.
The statement also indicates that both leaders looked forward to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda in June.
Rwanda and the United Kingdom (UK) signed Migration and Economic Development Partnership last week that will see Rwanda hosting asylum seekers from the country illegally.
Under this program, the UK will provide an upfront investment of £120 million to fund invaluable opportunities for Rwandans and migrants including secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.
These asylum seekers from African countries and others outside the continent will be treated decently like Rwandans upon arrival. It is expected that those willing to return to their mother lands will be helped to do so.
Unlike asylum seekers and refugees from Libya living in Gashora Transit Camp, the ones from UK will be housed in specially-selected accommodation facilities where they will wait for asylum claims to be processed.
The partnership between both countries reflect Rwanda’s commitments to protecting vulnerable people around the world, and ensuring development and prosperity for Rwanda and its people.
Rwanda’s history has embedded a responsibility to protect vulnerable people around the world. After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda has been an active contributor to peacekeeping missions where it is the largest troop contributor in Africa.
Rwanda was once one of the world’s leading producers of refugees, and as such is particularly concerned with taking urgent steps towards more humane solutions to the global migration crisis.
Rwanda already hosts almost 130,000 refugees from multiple countries including neighbours like the DRC and Burundi.
The country also accommodates other refugees from countries like Afghanistan and evacuees from Libya who have full legal and employment rights.
During a successful first year of the multi-year partnership and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the event showcased the country as a world-class tourism and investment destination and highlighted Africa’s growing sports industry. The inaugural season also brought to Kigali notable global personalities, former NBA players and legends to witness the historic inaugural season.
The second edition of the BAL, which started in March with stops in three countries, saw Dakar, Senegal host the Sahara conference, Cairo, Egypt hosting the Nile conference. The season will finish off in Kigali with an eight-game Playoffs and the Finals.
Through the partnership, Visit Rwanda branding is being prominently displayed, and the best of what the country has to offer is being broadcasted on channels such as ESPN to thousands of basketball and sports fans across the world. In addition, this season will see The BAL and RDB collaborate on youth development and social responsibility initiatives in Kigali on the sidelines of the playoffs.
The two partners organized a media event attended by over 20 journalists from various countries at the Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo, Egypt. They touched on the impact of the partnership, the upcoming Playoffs and what to expect when in Kigali in May.
Commenting on the development, Basketball Africa League President Amadou Gallo Fall said: “As we set to return to the world-class Kigali arena to play our second consecutive BAL final, teaming up with RDB and Visit Rwanda reflects our belief that sport, and basketball, can be an economic growth engine for the continent. Rwanda continues to lead the way for tourism in Africa, and this partnership highlights an African continent that is creative, vibrant, and ready to tell its story.”
Speaking during the media briefing Rwanda’s Ambassador to Egypt, Albert Kalisa, highlighted that sports and tourism are important to Rwandans at all levels.
“We have the responsibility to ensure Rwandans continue to take pride in their culture and in all sports engagements, like the BAL, that uplift our nation. We are very happy to see The BAL returning home to Rwanda for the second time, and we look forward to welcoming all visitors to Kigali in May,” he noted.
Eight teams from across the continent, including Rwanda’s Rwanda Energy Group (REG), who topped the Sahara Conference in Dakar, Senegal, will compete in the Playoffs. The Kigali Arena will host all the Playoffs games, with the second edition of the finals taking place Saturday, 28 May.
