As per the weather report released, the highest precipitation was 126.1 mm in Byimana, followed by Kigali-Aero with 85.5 mm. Rubavu had the lowest at 6.7 mm. In general, the Southern Province and Kigali City experienced the highest amount of rainfall.
Meteo Rwanda shows that the first ten days of February got between 45 to 10.5 mm. In comparison to the rain from past years, this first period of February 2020 experienced a slightly higher amount of rain.
The soil moisture in the first ten days of February 2020 decreased a lot in the Southern Province, Kigali City, the south of the Eastern Province due to the highly sunny times and high amount of heat that characterized these ten days.
Meteo Rwanda says that in the second ten days of February, those are February 11 to February 20 of 2020, “The soil moisture is expected to reduce due to the decrease in rainfall.”
“In comparison to the first ten days of February, the rainfall is expected to decrease a lot in the following ten days of February. The rainfall will be between 20 mm to 40 mm. The north and south of Western Province are expected to have the highest amount of rainfall.”
“Basing on the data that shows a decrease in amount of rainfall, farmers are advised to keep preparing their fields for the next season as well as consulting agronomists for advice.”
The weather monitoring agency shows that during the first ten days of February the temperature was between 22.2°C and 28°C in most parts of the country. The highest temperature was in Bugarama at 30.8°C.
Uwizeyimana who is the former State Minister in Charge of Constitution and Legal Affairs and Munyakazi, the former Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education submitted their resignation letters to the Prime Minister on February 6th, 2020.
Uwizeyimana resigned three days after he was accused of assaulting a security guard on duty at the entrance of the Grand Pension Plaza.
In a brief interview with IGIHE, RIB spokesperson, Marie Michelle Umuhoza said that the dossier of Uwizeyimana has already been submitted to prosecution.
“We have thoroughly conducted our investigation and have now relayed the case file to prosecution.”
The prosecution will then re-evaluate the case and decide if it proceeds to a court of law.
News that Minister Uwizeyimana had assaulted a woman appeared on Twitter last week with a tweet that narrated the incident. Uwizeyimana violently pushed the ISCO security guard after she asked him to pass through the checkpoint as protocol states. He refused and proceeded to push her down.
Three hours after the tweet went viral, Uwizeyimana tweeted an apology and said that he regretted deeply what he did.
“I deeply regret what happened. It should not have happened to me as a leader and public official. I already apologized to the ISCO staff and now I do so publicly and apologize to the public as well.”
However, his apologies were vain and many Twitter users who were outraged by his deed kept asking that he resigns from his position.
{{Dr Munyakazi still under investigation}}
RIB spokesperson, Marie Michelle Umuhoza said that Dr. Isaac Munyakazi is still being investigated for corruption crimes.
“We are still gathering evidence for the corruption crimes he stands accused of.”
IGIHE sources say Dr. Munyakazi Isaac is being investigated for forgery during the 2019 National Examination where he helped place a school which ranked in the top 100 best performing schools among the top 10 best performers at the country level. It is said that he did it with the help of Rwanda Education Board (REB) officers and that he received money from the school in question for that service.
Article 4 on the offences and penalties for corruption in the Rwandan penal code states that ‘Any person who solicits, accepts or receives, by any means, an illegal benefit for himself/ herself or another person or accepts a promise in order to render or omit a service under his or her mandate or uses his or her position to render or omit a service commits an offence.”
If found guilty of that crime, a penalty of three to five times the money received is applicable as well as not less than 5 and not more than 7 years’ imprisonment.
Dr. Munyakazi obtained his Ph.D. in Education Management while Uwizeyimana holds a Master’s degree in law.
Uwizeyimana was sworn in as State Minister in Charge of Constitution and Legal Affairs on October 4th, 2016 while Dr. Munyakazi Isaac was sworn in as Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education in October 2016.
Rwanda National Police spokesperson in the Southern Province, CIP Sylvestre Twajamahoro told IGIHE that 7 people died on spot while 8 were gravely injured and transferred to CHUK for treatment.
“The truck was carrying tree logs from Muhanga to Kigali. When brakes failed, the truck hit Coaster RAC 178 Z which was being driven by 38-year old Niyonsenga Manasseh. Six people aboard the coaster died instantly but Niyonsenga drove a few miles ahead during which he hit another car on his way and died too from the impact.”
He said that the people who were gravely injured were taken to CHUK for treatment while those who had minor injuries were treated on the spot.
“We have now opened all roads and traffic circulation is back to normal but we are still looking for Kaberuka to question him and identify the cause of the accident.”
Twajamahoro urged all drivers to regularly subscribe for motor vehicle inspection to avoid unnecessary road accidents and reminded them of the purpose of the ‘Gerayo Amahoro’ campaign which is dedicated to influencing a road safety culture.
{{Victims who were so far reported dead include:}}
Rukundo Theogene
Ntawushiragahinda Thacien
Irafasha Gervais
Dr. Eric Munezero
Mutesi Marie Louise
Ngendahayo Edouard
An unidentified 30-year old woman
Gravely injured victims:
Gaudence
Hategekimana Gratien
MINAGRI gave the caution after residents of Nyagatare District reported swarms of insects in their fields during morning and evening hours and suspected they might be locusts.
The insects were identified on Monday, 10th February 2020 in Nyamiyonga, Nyagatabire, and Kibirizi.
Jean Claude Musabyimana, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture advised farmers to report any unusual insect outbreak since desert locusts are already making ravages in neighboring countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia among others.
“The Ministry of Agriculture informs Rwandans that locusts have not yet reached Rwanda. MINAGRI is establishing measures to prevent and counter their spread.”
MINAGRI is working hand in hand with the World Food Programme (WFP), monitoring the extent of the outbreak and studying ways to counter locusts.
Locusts are a collection of species of short-horned grasshoppers with a swarming phase which is why they are referred to as migratory pests. They have the capacity of flying 150 to 200 kilometers per day and a single swarm can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometer.
MINAGRI reported it has put enough measures in place in case the desert locusts reach Rwanda.
Farmers who identify unusual insects in their fields can call MINAGRI on 4127 and report the case or inform local authorities.
Since February 9th, 2020, a swarm of locusts swept through Uganda from Kenya passing by Amudat in Karamoja.
Scientists predict the locusts could spread through the entire East Africa but that it could strongly depend on the climate since locusts thrive only in hot climates.
Desert locusts are the world’s most destructive migratory pests and if not controlled, the outbreak predicts a full-blown catastrophe and food shortage.
REG reported that the households which received electricity are in the first and second Ubudehe categories specifically from 16 districts across Rwanda including Kirehe, Gatsibo, Nyagatare, Nyabihu, Gakenke, Ngororero, Nyarugenge, Rubavu, Kayonza, Bugesera, Rwamagana, Gisagara, Kicukiro, Gasabo, Musanze, and Nyaruguru.
Munyabugingo Charles, REG Kanombe branch manager recently told IGIHE that the households were selected according to Ubudehe stratification categories as well as proximity to transmission lines and that the project was sponsored by GIZ which operates on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Residents from the 16 districts who received electricity expressed gratitude as they could not afford it on their own.
Bahungura Innocent, a resident of Cyivugiza cell, Muko sector, Gakenke district said that he had no hope of ever accessing electricity and that is a dream that has become reality.
“I can never thank enough the government of Rwanda for this initiative and most especially President Paul Kagame for thinking about us.”
Mukandori Emerance and her mother, Nyiramavugo Donatille said they were thankful to REG for providing electricity for free.
“We never expected this. We used to sleep before the sunset to avoid stumbling in the dark but we can now stay up until 10 pm.”
Nshimiyimana Jean d’Amour, a resident of Rubavu district, Nyakiriba sector, Nyarushamba cell, Runyeheri village said he had no means to access electricity but that he has been put on the grid for two months now. His neighbor, Kayangwe Francois also said REG changed his life.
“After we were put on the grid, I collected some money with the support of my wife and we started a bar and now we get a monthly income and can meet all our financial needs.”
Nduwamungu Martin, a resident of Juru sector, Bugesera District said that his children are now capable of revising for their exams even at night and thanked the government of Rwanda for the initiative.
REG report shows that currently, 1.4 million households (52.8%) have access to electricity including those that are connected to the grid and those that use solar energy.
In Ghana alone, $3.5 billion were transferred in 2018, which represents 7.3% of the country’s GDP. Obviously, remittances from the diaspora are a catalyst for the development of recipient countries, especially when an enabling ICT environment accelerates transfers and reduces their costs, which often remain high.
In this dynamic, mobile network operators play an increasingly important role, with their mobile money services representing a less expensive means of transferring smaller amounts.
In 2019, as much as 63% of all dematerialized transactions were expected to take place via mobile phone transfers, which is not surprising given the extensive penetration of mobile money services on the continent, with some 350 million users so far.
In Ghana today, the value of mobile money transaction flows equates to 75% of GDP, driven by strong regulatory measures and increased collaboration between MNOs and the traditional financial system.
{{Regulatory pressure}}
While this trend of increased transaction dematerialization promotes financial inclusion and therefore improved social development of Africa’s unbanked populations, risk management practices call for an adaptation of the methods used to regulate and monitor the financial transactions ecosystem.
For banking and financial authorities, the stakes are high. Digitizing these methods through the use of advanced ICTs means being able to obtain real-time statistics on transactions, perform in-depth analyses and ensure operations compliance and security.
International regulations have increased the compliance burden for banks and financial institutions. Indeed, in a rapidly changing world, the risks to which banks are exposed are manifold, and compliance technologies facilitate improved risk mitigation. It is therefore incumbent upon the regulatory bodies, starting with central banks, to play a major role in the implementation of appropriate rules, processes and technologies to ensure compliance with the KYC and AML laws – respectively related to the verification of customers’ identities and the fight against money laundering. This is the only way to secure the market and to make it compliant and free from fraud.
In response to these growing needs for traceability and real-time analysis of dematerialized transactions, Global Voice Group launched their X-Stream remittance transaction monitoring solution last fall. This platform, which complements GVG’s mobile money monitoring platform Visio Fin-X (verifying 25% of all mobile money transaction flows in sub-Saharan Africa), provides an accurate and complete view of mobile money and remittance market development and trends in a country and makes it possible, through the collection and continuous analysis of key information, to apply the compliance standards in force, while ensuring users’ data confidentiality.
{{Detecting suspicious transactions}}
GVG’s X-Stream platform identifies the list of origin countries for all remittances, as well as the associated transaction volumes and values for single transactions as well as global amounts. In so doing, X-Stream performs an automated and detailed analysis of financial transactions, quantifying the total amount and total value of transactions related to each service provider, with associated financial intelligence centre client identification data.
In verifying remittance data, X-Stream delivers dual benefits: it improves fiscal compliance on these transactions by preventing under-reporting by transfer agents and reinforces financial security processes by automatically detecting suspicious transactions potentially linked to money laundering and other criminal activities through the cross-referencing of all transacting individuals to the world’s key criminal and financial databases.
It is clear that, while MNOs play an increasingly important role in money transfers, effective supervision of dematerialized transactions requires an approach where compliance legislation and policies are integrated with cutting edge ICTs in order to oversee all financial transactions within a territory, thus helping to reach inclusive growth goals.
{{Daryl Bhana, Vice President Global Operations & Strategy of GVG}}
Apart from local public transport companies operating in China, many airlines across the globe that flew to China suspended their flights to curb the spread of the virus.
Since its outbreak, Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 1114 people while 44370 are infected. The symptoms include respiratory difficulties and pneumonia which frequently leads to death. So far, no remedy or vaccine has been identified.
China reported that 4740 patients who were infected with the virus have now recovered and sent back home and that the number of new infections have reduced by 48.2% between February 4th and February 11th, 2020.
Robert Bapfakurera, chairman of the Rwandan Private Sector Federation(PSF) told IGIHE that flights to China were suspended as China began its Lunar year on January 22nd and that it was expected that business would resume by February 2nd.
“Holidays to celebrate the Chinese New Year were supposed to end on February 2nd but until now, the business has not resumed. News says the holidays will end on February 23rd.
However, even though the effects of Coronavirus in China are not palpable yet, business owners in Rwanda have started shipping products from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.”
Bapfakurera says the products Rwanda imports from China are mostly clothes, shoes, and home accessories. Since most business owners had ordered shipments before the holidays began, the effect of the Coronavirus has not been yet felt but with time, the economy will greatly be affected.
Muhimpundu Rose who has been shipping shoes from Guangzhou, China for four years now said that the price of shoes has escalated due to the virus.
“There is nowhere else we can import shoes from and the price have been hiking ever since the outbreak of the virus. A pair of shoes which cost Rwf 15,000 costs Rwf 20,000 now.”
Hitayezu Gerald who also ships shoes and clothes from China says the effects haven’t been felt yet but that he is worried for days to come if no vaccine or remedy is found.
On the other side, some business owners condemn their counterparts for exaggerating the matter at hand but concede that if no remedy is found in the next few months, a loss will be inevitable.
Heart of Africa Trading (HAT) is a shipping company that was founded in 2018 links Rwandan business owners to Chinese manufacturers and companies and helps them to import products in bulk.
Jeanne Izabiriza, HAT Chief Executive Officer said that the outbreak of the virus is an alarming situation.
“We had shipping containers en route to Rwanda but since the Chinese holidays have been extended, we have no communication to when they will get here.”
She said that if nothing is done to curb the virus, business owners will resort to shipping from Dubai even though their prices are slightly higher and that it might lead to a surge in prices on the Rwandan market.
Bapfakurera of PSF also says if the matter worsens, business owners will switch to other markets including Dubai, India, and Turkey. He said that PSF is negotiating with the government of Rwanda to reduce tax on imports to ease shipment once sellers start importing from other markets.
Shipping companies that carry goods from China have reduced the number of vessels in order to curb the spread of the virus and it is widely affecting the global economy. Bapfakurera said that goods are stranded in China.
China has seven container ports but with measures taken to contain the virus, they might remain vacant and it will, therefore, reduce the demand for containerized goods.
If the crisis persists, not only will businesses in Rwanda be affected but it will irreversibly disrupt the global supply chain.
A tweet from the Ministry of Sports reads: “This morning, 11th February 2020, Minister Aurore Mimosa received a courtesy visit by Ambassador Ron Adam at the Ministry of Sports. Discussions focused on partnership in sports development projects that can be jointly implemented.”
Ambassador Ron thanked Minister Munyangaju for having him for the courtesy call and underlined the interest of Israel in supporting cycling and rebranding Rwanda through the ‘Visit Rwanda’ initiative.
Israel opened its embassy in Rwanda in April 2019 and the Ambassador resides in Kigali.
Recently, Amb Ron Adam donated sports kits to children in the Dream Team Football Academy including 48 Jerseys and 30 Football balls.
In an interview with IGIHE last month, Amb Ron said that they have put emphasis on supporting sports in Rwanda and that the embassy is organizing a friendly football match between Rwanda and Israel.
“Israel is on good terms with Rwanda and we intend to maintain our relation through partnerships especially in sports.”
Israel Cycling Academy is one of the 15 teams that will compete in Tour du Rwanda scheduled from February 23rd to March 1st, 2020.
The minister was on February 8, 2020, addressing Rwandans and friends of Rwanda that attended the Annual Rwanda Prayer Banquet in Sheraton Hotel, Maryland, USA.
It was the 18th time that the event was happening, a time when the Rwandan diaspora meets and pray for Rwanda, thanking Him for what the country has accomplished as well as praying for the new year 2020. Present were Rwandans from such states as Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
This event still carries a goal of praying for Rwanda, its leaders, and citizens, as well as promoting unity and love.
Shyaka, the keynote speaker, explained to the people in attendance various values that guide a good leader, taking the opportunity to ask Rwandan diaspora to protect their unity and always remember their motherland.
The president of Rwanda Prayer Banquet, Antoinette Kanyabutembo, thanked the people who attended the event and asked them to pray for the remaining few months of Rwanda’s former Vision 2020 at the same timetabling before God Rwanda’s new Vision 2050.
Entrepreneur Dale Dawson who is also an advisor to President Paul Kagame showed how his first visit to Rwanda was inspired by Bishop John Rucyahana and how upon arriving in Rwanda he felt called for working with Rwandans.
He launched Bridge2Rwanda, a project that helps Rwandan high performers in national examinations to get scholarships into good international universities as well as connecting investors to Rwanda.
The vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Dr. Charles Muligande shared with those in attendance about his return to Rwanda in 1994, coming from Washington DC.
He talked about the hardships faced by the country and how it came to build up itself.
He added that faith has always supported him in all the appointments he has held.
The ambassador of Rwanda in the USA, Mathilde Mukantabana prayed for leaders of the diaspora and those who organized the event so that they stay focused on fulfilling their duties.
The theme of the event was the Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Minister Busingye reminded them that the functions they have been assigned require fairness and thoughtfulness.
“Your job has so many requirements as it entails fighting crime and making in-depth investigation so justice can be served.”
He stated that the job of an investigator might appear as a double-edged sword since it requires empathy but at the same time sternness to fight crime.
“As much as being an investigator demands being relentless in your work, it is important to note that it is illegal to forcefully obtain information from people or using deceitful ways in your investigation.”
Busingye told the investigators to avoid bias but use the skills they have acquired to uphold justice. He underlined that investigators should work hand in hand with the police, prosecution, defense lawyers and other institutions in the justice system to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws.
On the crime of sexual assault and rape, Busingye informed the investigators about its severity and urged them to focus on it as it has reached alarming rates.
“Sexually assaulting or raping someone is never an accident. It is premeditated and convicted criminals should be subject to severe punishment so that it can serve as an example to those whoever thought of taking the same path.”
The Deputy Secretary-General of Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Isabelle Kalihangabo reported that in 2019, there were 177 cases of sexual assault and rape in Nyanza district and criminals included 184 men and 29 women. She said that in 2019, 1721 cases of sexual assault and rape were reported in the Southern Province making 18.3% of total cases in the country.
Among the sexual assault and rape cases, the most predominant were rape on minors with 60 cases, 36 cases of assault and battery and 24 cases of sexual harassment.
In 2019, 18 rape cases and 14 polygamy cases were reported in the Southern Province
