The affected residents are from Nyagitabire Cell, located in Nyagihanga Sector, Gatsibo District in the Eastern Province.
The Mayor of Gatsibo District, Richard Gasana, confirmed the damage, noting that authorities are actively working to assist those affected.
“The residents whose homes were affected are currently being sheltered by their neighbours. We have dispatched a team, including district employees and Red Cross staff, to assess the damage and provide the necessary assistance,” Gasana said.
He also urged residents to securely fasten their roofs as the rainy season approaches, and prevent them from being blown away by strong winds.
Luke Lundberg, CEO of Masaka Farms, states that the company employs over 40 Deaf individuals, who make up 60% of the workforce.
“Since the company was founded in 2016, we have intentionally provided employment to the Deaf community and now have over 40 Deaf employees,” Lundberg emphasized, affirming the company’s commitment not only to continuing its inclusive workforce culture but also to delivering quality dairy products in Rwanda.
This inclusive workforce has not only enriched the company’s operations but also set an example worth emulating for the entire corporate community.
Serge Ndabikunze, an Assistant Production Manager at Masaka Farms, confirms that the lives of employees with disabilities have significantly improved since joining the company located in the Kigali Special Economic Zone.
“Some of us are now able to rent houses, and those who were living in difficult conditions are now able to improve their lives. Thanks a lot to Masaka Creamery,” Ndabikunze revealed.
Masaka Farms values the skills and contributions of hardworking employees like Ndabikunze, who play a vital role in ensuring the quality and innovation of their products. The company promotes continuous development for these employees by offering advanced training and educational opportunities.
The company’s commitment to an inclusive work environment has not only made it a household name but also earned it several prestigious awards, including the UNHCR Gold Seal for Gender Equality and recognition as Disability Advocate of the Year.
As Masaka Farms continues its impressive growth, Brand Marketing Specialist Peace Tumusiime told IGIHE that the company is rebranding to reflect its growth, innovation, and commitment to offering high-quality products.
The rebranding will include a new logo, updated packaging, and the introduction of new flavours to their line of dairy products. Currently, the company produces yogurt (flavoured, plain, and Greek), fresh cream, sour cream, mascarpone, butter, cow ghee, and fermented milk products.
“The rebrand represents an evolution of the company’s identity as it expands its product range beyond dairy,” Tumusiime revealed.
She added, “The updated brand aims to connect more deeply with consumers by showcasing a fresh, modern look and emphasizing quality, inclusivity, and local heritage.”
IGIHE understands that the rebranding is also a strategic move to strengthen Masaka Farms’ presence in the market, ensuring that its products resonate with both existing and new customers.
With the rebranding, Gilbert Abagiraneza, Sales and Business Development Manager at Masaka Farms, assures that the company will continue delivering new and high-quality products traditionally imported from abroad.
The officers received their training at the Rwanda Military Academy GAKO, in a partnership between RDF and Qatar Armed Forces.
In a statement, the RDF emphasized that the joint initiative highlights the strong bilateral ties between Rwanda and Qatar and their mutual commitment to enhancing security capabilities.
RDF noted that the training was aimed at equipping personnel with advanced skills to effectively handle emerging security challenges, safeguard high-profile individuals, respond to terrorism threats, and manage riots, all to contribute to security and stability within Rwanda, in mission areas, and to strengthen regional security efforts.
The RDF Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. MK Mubarakh, who presided over the pass-out ceremony, congratulated the new trainees for their dedication and discipline, which contributed to their success throughout the course.
The RDF boss urged the officers to use the acquired skills and knowledge to effectively discharge their duties.
“I take this opportunity to congratulate you on this milestone. There is no doubt that you will now perform better and fulfill your duties,” he said, further expressing his appreciation to the Qatar Armed Forces for sharing their skills with RDF personnel and for the strong collaboration between the two countries.
Capt Abdulla Al-Marri, the Chief of Training, praised the RDF for strengthening the partnership between Qatar and Rwanda through collaborative efforts like the just completed training program.
The ceremony was also graced by RDF generals, senior and junior officers, along with a delegation from the Qatar Armed Forces.
Celebrated on August 15 every year, the day commemorates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken up into Heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life.
In Rwanda, the day is particularly special to the members of the Catholic Church, as thousands of pilgrims often throng the Kibeho Holy Land, renowned for the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
The ‘Holy Land,’ situated in the Nyaruguru District of Southern Province, rose to prominence four decades ago following reported apparitions of Mary to three high school girls.
Alphonsine Mumureke was the first to claim that she saw a Lady of incomparable beauty, who presented herself as ‘Nyina wa Jambo’ (Mother of the Word), while in the cafeteria of the Catholic boarding school Kibeho College, Rwanda, on November 28, 1981. The 16-year-old girl said that she immediately recognized the Lady as the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mumureke’s claims were initially met with scepticism, with some people dismissing her as crazy or possessed by evil spirits. Others accused her of fabricating the story to gain favour at the school run by the Benebikira Sisters.
Amid the scepticism, two other students at the school, Marie Claire Mukangango and Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, also reported the phenomenon, further deepening the mystery.
From May 1982, the phenomenon was reported outside the college of Kibeho with some visionaries claiming to have seen Mary and others Jesus.
The growing number of visionaries prompted an inquiry by the Catholic Church, led by Mgr. Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, former Bishop of the Diocese of Butare, to which Kibeho belonged at the time.
As part of the investigations into the reported apparitions, two separate commissions were established by the local Catholic Church. A medical commission began its inquiry on March 20, 1982, while a theological commission was installed on May 14, 1982.
The main mandate of the two committees was to investigate the events with all objectivity, patience, serenity and without taking into account their personal emotions.
While conducting their probe, it’s documented at the Kibeho Sanctuary that the two commissions were guided by instructions given by the Holy See: The “Norms for Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations”, published by the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith on February 24, 1978 in Rome. The Holy See is the central governing body of the Catholic Church worldwide.
Given the large number of supposed visionaries, the commissions had to prioritize the first eight cases—those from the first year of the apparitions at Kibeho, which occurred between November 28, 1981, and November 28, 1982.
“This choice, however, was a working hypothesis, not a presumption of authenticity for such a large number of visionaries,” Kibeho Sanctuary explains on its website.
In the months and years that followed, the commissions released reports about the apparitions, and on August 15, 1988, Augustin Misago, the Bishop of Gikongoro, approved public devotion linked to the apparitions at Kibeho.
To promote the already authorized public worship, Mgr. Misago presided over the laying of the foundation stone for the future chapel of the apparitions on the esplanade of the shrine during the first anniversary of the apparitions on November 28, 1992.
On May 31, 1993, the very first official Diocesan pilgrimage to Kibeho took place with the intention of praying for peace in Rwanda. This was at the height of the liberation war between the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) and government forces.
On November 20, 1993, about one year after the laying of the first stone for the Shrine of Kibeho, the Bishop blessed and inaugurated a provisional Chapel in one of the dormitories of Kibeho Secondary School, nicknamed the “dormitory of the apparitions”.
Sadly, in April 1994, during the Genocide against the Tutsi, Kibeho Parish Church became a site of massacre. Many victims, who sought refuge there, were killed in what should have been a safe haven for them.
After the country’s liberation and the beginning of the nation’s healing journey, pilgrimages started at Kibeho on Christmas Eve of 1995.
Nearly six years later, on June 29, 2001, Bishop Misago declared the authenticity of the Kibeho apparitions, paving the way for even more pilgrimages to the site.
“Yes, the Virgin Mary appeared at Kibeho on November 28, 1981, and in the months that followed. There are more reasons to believe in the Apparitions than to deny them… The Apparitions of Kibeho are now officially recognized… The name given to the Marian sanctuary at Kibeho is Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows,” the late bishop declared in his judgment.
He added, “That Kibeho become a place of pilgrimage and of encounter for all who seek Christ and who come there to pray, a fundamental centre of conversion, of reparation for the sins of the world and of reconciliation, a point of meeting for ‘all who were dispersed’, as for those who aspire to the values of compassion and fraternity without borders, a fundamental centre that recalls the Gospel of the Cross.”
Today, tens of thousands of pilgrims from around the world visit the site each year to seek blessings.
The Assumption Day celebrations are marked by a Mass and prayers led by devotees. Water from the fountain near the church is said to have miraculous properties. Pilgrims collect it in jerry cans, have it blessed by the priest, and take it with them when they depart.
In a landmark ruling delivered on Monday, August 5, 2024, Federal Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust law in the US by illegally suppressing competition and stifling innovation.
The judge concurred with the Justice Department’s argument that Google relied on anticompetitive payments to companies such as Apple, Samsung and AT&T to ensure its search engine is enabled by default on most smartphones. The company was reported to have spent $26.3 billion on this campaign in 2021 alone.
Google’s practices were found to have violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act in the markets for general search services and general text advertising. The judge noted that the default search engine deals ‘are exclusive and have anticompetitive effects.
Following the recent judgement, Bloomberg reports that the Department of Justice attorneys could ask the presiding judge to order Google to sell portions of its business. This could lead to Google selling off parts of its business, including its Android operating system, Chrome web browser, and advertising platform AdWords, to restore competitive balance in the market.
Citing sources within the DOJ, Bloomberg reports that U.S. authorities are also considering ‘less severe’ options that would require the company to share data with rival search engines like Microsoft’s Bing and DuckDuckGo.
Other options on the table include pushing for restrictions on Google’s artificial intelligence products to prevent the company from gaining an unfair advantage over its rivals.
Meanwhile, as the feds ponder on the next move Googe has already announced plans to appeal the recent judgment.
Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, enjoys a massive user base worldwide, with billions of daily active users across its platforms, including the Google Search Engine, Gmail, Android OS, and YouTube.
The company has in the past defended itself against the accusations, stating that its market dominance is primarily due to its superior products.
“People don’t use Google because they have to — they use it because they want to,” Kent Walker, one of Google’s top lawyers and its president of global affairs, said last year.
He added, “It’s easy to switch your default search engine — we’re long past the era of dial-up internet and CD-ROMs.”
If the DOJ moves forward with the proposal to break up Google, it would be the first time in over two decades that federal authorities have pursued such an action. The last major instance occurred when the DOJ secured a victory in an antitrust case against Microsoft, though the bid to split the company was abandoned in 2001.
The grant, offered by the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) will benefit agripreneurs from dozens of other states on the African continent.
“Through our Matching Grant Fund (MGF), you can secure funding to realize your project idea. For all MGF projects, the maximum contribution provided through Agri-Business Facility (ABF) can cover up to 50% of the total project budget, with contributions reaching up to €100,000,” the organization said in a statement.
OACPS noted that while all its 79 member states are eligible to apply, priority will be given to projects from countries with no or few previously selected projects to ensure regional balance.
Agripreneurs from Rwanda stand a better chance of receiving the grant, as no project has been selected from the country before.
Seventy-one projects have been awarded the fund previously. Some of the countries that have benefited from the funding before include Tanzania (9 projects), Democratic Republic of Congo (6), Kenya (5), Côte d’Ivoire (5), Zambia (5), Uganda (4), and Nigeria (2).
To qualify for the grant, the submitted idea should aim to make the sector more inclusive, particularly for women and youth.
{{Who Can Apply?
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OACPS encourages group applications, as single-applicant submissions will only be considered in exceptional cases.
According to the organization, lead applicants must be legally registered private sector entities, such as processing companies, agricultural producers/farmers’ organizations, or national and international retailer companies.
Additionally, consortium partners may include private sector foundations, qualified NGOs, training or research institutions, or extension agencies.
Interested agripreneues are required to submit their applications, comprising a concept note, letter of intent and proof of legal registration of the lead applicant by 12:00 pm on August, 18, 2024. The application documents should be submitted via email using the address abf-fund@giz.de.
The appointment was made following the resolution of BK Group Plc Board of Directors on August 13, 2024, and is pending all regulatory approvals.
Speaking on the new appointment, Mr. Jean Philippe Prosper Chairman of the Board of Directors of BK Group said: “We are delighted to have appointed Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana as Chief Executive Officer of BK Group PIc. His leadership and vast experience in the economic and financial sectors will be instrumental in driving BK Group’s strategy and future growth ambitions.”
Dr Ndagijimana will work closely with the CEOs of our 5 subsidiaries: CEO of Bank of Kigali PIc; CEO of BK General Insurance; CEO of BK Capital, CEO of BK TecHouse, and Executive Secretary of BK Foundation.
Dr Ndagijimana is an economist and has a recognized financial professional background. He brings a good and deep understanding of the financial sector. Previously, he served as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.
The Board of Directors expresses its deepest gratitude for Beata’s dedication and invaluable contribution to the business and Rwanda’s financial sector over the past 2 years.
{{About BK Group Plc
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BK Group Plc is a home-grown, award-winning Rwandan institution with deep roots in the African financial space since its inception in 1966. Over the years, BK Group Plc has gradually transformed into a premier one-stop shop, with a full range of financial services offered under a single roof.
The Group’s activities range from retail and corporate banking to asset management and investment banking. Additionally, BK Group provides non-life insurance products as well as innovative enterprise solutions designed to stimulate growth in the Rwandan digital space.
BK Group Plc is currently listed on both the Rwandan Stock Exchange (RSE), having floated its shares in 2011, and the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2018.
The Group operates through five subsidiaries: Bank of Kigali, BK Insurance, BK TecHouse, BK Capital and BK Foundation.
Mega Global Link has announced plans to establish a branch of its ‘Mega Global Market’ in New York, USA. The new branch will include both an office and a store, designed to make it easier for customers to access a wide range of products and services.
Mega Global Market operates as both an online market and a physical store, offering a variety of products sourced from factories in China, the United States, and India.
Dr. Francis Habumugisha, CEO of Mega Global Link says the company’s ongoing expansion efforts are aimed at ensuring faster service delivery and creating new business opportunities.
“We are excited to bring Mega Global Market to the United States, offering our top seven products just as we have in Canada, Rwanda, and soon in Europe,” Dr. Habumugisha stated. “This expansion includes seven premium services and state-of-the-art body workout machines.”
The company’s offers range from leisure travel and study abroad programs in the US, Canada, and Europe to work-related travel and medical tourism. Mega Global Market also provides opportunities for individuals to engage in business ventures, including the chance to represent the brand and sell its products in different cities or countries.
Dr. Habumugisha further explained that individuals have the option to create their own branded products through a notarized agreement with the company. The African headquarters for Mega Global Market is located in Rwanda, where the company offers seven original nutritional supplements certified by global standards organizations.
Additionally, Mega Global Market provides advanced equipment designed to improve health and well-being, including foot and full-body massage machines, chairs that align the spine, equipment to support muscles, bones, and joints, and other modern implements.
“Deeply humbled and honoured to be reappointed as Prime Minister. Thank you Your Excellency Paul Kagame for this immense privilege,” Dr Ngirente posted on his X handle.
“I commit to continue serving our Country under your leadership and anticipate our journey to elevate Rwanda to even greater heights,” he added
The Head of State announced the reappointment of Ngirente as Rwanda’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, a reflection of his trust in his leadership.
Ngirente has served as Prime Minister since August 30, 2017, when he was first appointed to Cabinet.
He is credited with prioritizing accountability in the last Cabinet, promptly dismissing underperforming ministers and informing the public.
Before joining Kagame’s Cabinet, Ngirente held various roles, including Senior Advisor to the World Bank Executive Director in 2017 and Advisor to the World Bank Executive Director from 2011 to 2017.
He also served as a Senior Economic Advisor to Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and was the Director General of National Development Planning and Research in the same ministry.
He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Belgium, a Master’s degree (MSc) in Agricultural Economics from UCLouvain, a Master’s degree (MA) in Financial Risk Management from Saint-Louis University in Brussels, a University Certificate in Statistics from UCLouvain, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics/International Economics from the University of Rwanda.
The Office of the President announced Dr. Ngirente’s appointment on Tuesday evening.
Dr. Ngirente has been reappointed as Prime Minister two days after President Kagame took the oath of office for another term following the Presidential elections held on July 14-15, 2024. He had previously served as Prime Minister since August 30, 2017.
Dr. Ngirente is credited for prioritizing accountability in the outgoing Government, with underperforming ministers being promptly dismissed and the public informed.
The Government led by Dr. Ngirente started with 20 ministries but concluded with 21; two ministries were abolished, one was established, and another was reinstated.
The Ministry of Land and Forestry and the Ministry of State Investment were abolished, while the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement was established, and the Ministry of Internal Security was reinstated.
Only three ministers who started with the Government in 2017, including Prime Minister Dr. Ngirente, remained in office until the end of the term.
Dr. Edouard Ngirente was born in 1973 in Mbirima and Matovu, in Mbilima Village of Coko Sector, Gakenke District, in the Northern Province. He attended primary school at Rwahi Primary School and continued his secondary education at Groupe Scolaire de la Salle, formerly in Byumba.
Dr. Ngirente studied Economics at the University of Rwanda and was among the first students there after the Genocide against the Tutsi.
Upon completing his studies, he worked in agronomy at the former National University of Rwanda in Butare, where he also taught. During that time, he was employed by the university on a project responsible for monitoring price fluctuations in markets.
He holds a Master’s degree in Statistics and Finance from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium.
He served as the Director of Planning at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning before being appointed as an Economic Advisor at MINECOFIN. On March 30, 2011, a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Kagame at Village Urugwiro approved his request to take an indefinite leave of absence.
In 2014, Dr. Ngirente assumed the role of Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
In 2016, he became a Senior Economic Advisor in the senior management of the World Bank, representing 22 countries, including Rwanda.
