Police intercepted the commercial motorcyclist in Remera village of Gasiza cell in Bushoki sector, as he headed to Kigali.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Alex Ndayisenga, the Northern Region Political and Civic Education Officer (RPCEO) said that the suspect was arrested by the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU), which was in its routine operations along Musanze-Kigali highway.
“The RPU officers stopped the motorcyclist, searched his bag only to realize that it contained 10kgs of cannabis and 2 litres of Kanyanga, leading to his immediate arrest and his motorcycle registration number RB 902S, impounded,” SP Ndayisenga said.
The suspect was allegedly heading to Kanyinya sector of Nyarugenge District to supply clients. The taxi-moto operator is also a resident of Kanyinya, where he was operating his criminal business.
“He was coming from Gasiza where he got the narcotics from another supplier, who is yet to be arrested. Investigations are still underway to bring to book anyone connected to this ring,” he said.
Cannabis is listed as a”very severe narcotic drug” in Rwanda while Kanyanga is classified as a “simple drug.”
Anyone convicted for very severe narcotic drug, under article 263 of the law determining offences and penalties in general, faces between 20 years and life imprisonment, and a fine of up to Frw30 million.
In case of simple drugs, the offender faces between 7 and 10 years in prison.
Dr. Jean Damascene Bizimana, the Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, made the remarks during an event Friday to unveil a 10-year funding package for the project in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
“Digitization will preserve the history and provide visitors with electronic access to all information through videos and audio. It will enable people to visit these memorials without the need for a guide,” he said.
The move will start with three memorial sites, including Nyange and Murambi in western Rwanda, and Ntarama in the east, but with a target of covering other memorials across the country, according to Dr. Bizimana.
Bizimana said necessary data, including survivors’ testimonies, pictures, information about trials, and other relevant information, has been collected to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
The latest official figures show that there are more than 170 genocide memorial sites in the country.
On early Saturday, the capital of Khartoum and its adjacent cities, Bahri and Omdurman, were hit by air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry, and artillery.
The weeks-long conflict between Sudan’s military factions has caused a humanitarian crisis in the country, sent a geopolitical shockwave that reverberates through the region, and prompted many countries to rush to evacuate their citizens.
{{Fighting continues despite truce pledges}}
Fierce clashes and explosions rocked Khartoum’s upscale Kafouri neighborhood on Friday and Saturday, according to media reports.
The government’s Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) warplanes were said to have bombed their rivals, the paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Clashes were also reported around the Republican Palace, the SAF’s headquarters, and the area close to the Khartoum international airport on Friday. These areas have been flashpoints since the war erupted on April 15, with explosions also heard across the river in Omdurman.
On Friday, Türkiye reported that one of its evacuation planes was hit by gunfire outside Khartoum with no casualties, only hours after the two sides agreed to the latest ceasefire, which was brokered by foreign powers and is supposed to last until midnight on Sunday.
The RSF accused the government forces of violating the ceasefire with air strikes on its bases in Omdurman and Mount Awliya, while the army blamed the RSF for violations.
The two rival generals leading the SAF and RSF have targeted each other in the media. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) and leader of the government forces, branded the RSF a militia that aims “to destroy Sudan” in an interview with U.S.-based TV channel Alhurra. He also claimed that “mercenaries” were crossing the border from Chad, Central African Republic, and Niger to exploit the chaos.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy chairman of the TSC and leader of the RSF, denounced his rival in an interview with the BBC, calling him “not trustworthy” and a “traitor.”
The friction between the SAF and RSF had been building for months. Both sides were required to cede power to civilian parties under a transition plan meant to be finalized earlier this month, but the process foundered over timing issues, including when the RSF would be absorbed into army ranks.
{{Humanitarian crisis }}
As violence continues to grip Sudan, residents in Khartoum are enduring dire conditions, with dwindling access to basic necessities and restricted movement due to the volatile security situation.
Food, water, and other essential services are scarce. Electricity is cut off across much of Khartoum and other cities. The cities are also plagued by fighters who loot and destroy homes, shops, businesses, and open-air markets.
According to the United Nations, the death toll has reached at least 512, with close to 4,200 wounded, though it believes the real figures are much higher. More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan in the first week of the fighting, while only 16 percent of hospitals were operating normally in the capital.
The ongoing violence has driven tens of thousands of refugees across Sudan’s borders, posing a risk to the volatile region between the Sahel and the Red Sea.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday the violence could spread to other countries in the region, saying that it is “lighting a fuse that could detonate across borders, causing immense suffering for years, and setting development back for decades.”
Despite intensifying pressure from international mediators, the rival generals have only managed to achieve temporary ceasefires that have failed to stop the clashes.
Moreover, the UN has expressed concern over the “alarming” situation in Darfur, where at least 96 individuals have been reportedly killed in Geneina, a city located in West Darfur State, since Monday.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported extensive looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps designated for displaced people. As a result of the ongoing conflict, Sylvain Perron, MSF’s deputy operations manager for Sudan, said that they have been compelled to suspend nearly all operations in West Darfur.
{{Countries rush to evacuate citizens}}
The conflict has triggered a rush of countries to evacuate diplomats and citizens. Several countries have evacuated nationals by air, while some have gone via Port Sudan on the Red Sea, more than 800 km away from Khartoum.
On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that over 1,300 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Sudan. China has actively helped bring foreign nationals out of Sudan, and has so far helped nationals of five countries to evacuate from Sudan on Chinese ships.
Despite these efforts, there are still a small number of Chinese citizens outside the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, she said, adding China will continue to do its utmost to assist them and other countries who have requested assistance in evacuation.
Other countries have also been conducting evacuation operations. Egypt has evacuated a total of 6,399 Egyptians, 1,072 of whom were evacuated on Friday. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday some 16,000 people had crossed the border from Sudan into Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens.
France said on Thursday that it had evacuated 936 people, including U.S. and British nationals.
Saudi Arabia, Britain, the United States, and Japan also have conducted evacuation missions to get their nationals out of Sudan.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that 65 Iranian citizens had left from Port Sudan, through Jeddah, to Iran, praising the “influential cooperation” from Saudi Arabia in the country’s evacuation mission.
The event took place on April 30th, 2023, in Kagugu Cell, Kinyinya Sector of Gasabo District.
The community work involved clearing bushes nearby a road in the area and refurbishing damaged paths, among other activities.
Emmanuel Habanabakize who represented KBS employees at the exercise said that joining residents in the community work is the best way to cement their relationships to foster national development together.
“We have conducted usual community and engaged directly with citizens that we serve. They actually want our backing in daily life and we are convinced that it is our responsibility to stay closer to them in development activities,” he said.
Philip Mundia Githiora, Kenya’s Ag. High Commissioner to Rwanda, hailed the welcome they received to participate in the activity and the cordial relations and cooperation that continue to be deepened between the people of both countries.
He noted that the exercise further cements bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Kenyans living in Rwanda donated Rwf2 million to subscribe 500 Kinyinya residents for Mutuelle de Santé and pay school fees for 500 Primary School learners.
Boniface Nzioki Mutua, the president of the Kenyan diaspora in Rwanda, said that joining Rwandans during the community work and their contribution reflects their gratefulness for cordial relations between Rwanda and their country.
He reiterated their commitment to continue walking with Rwandans along the development journey.
The Executive Secretary of Kinyinya Sector, Havuguziga Charles, welcomed the donation, noting that it would be utilized to increase the number of residents subscribed for Mutuelle de Santé and support vulnerable learners.
The training, which concluded on Saturday, April 29, was attended by 80 officers from various units of South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS), deployed in Malakal.
The Rwandan peacekeepers trained their counterparts in crowd control, when to use force and provision of First Aid.
Crowd control looked at three aspects; peaceful, hostile and aggressive demonstrations.
The deputy Police commissioner for Malakal, Major General Chol Atem Jongeth, commended the “practical cooperation” between the Rwandan Police peacekeepers and the South Sudan Police.
“Rwanda and South Sudan Police institutions enjoy good working relations, especially in training. Here in Malakal, you have continued to preserve that good legacy to share with us your policing experience and skills,” Maj. Gen. Chol said.
He reminded the trained officers to put the acquired skills to good use and to share them with others.
The Rwanda FPU contingent commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prudence Ngendahimana reminded the trainees that training is continuous.
“Our primary responsibility as peacekeepers is to protect civilians and key UNMISS installations but also to support the local people in human security activities and capacity development for the South Sudan Police.
We work well with the South Sudan Police and always committed to share with you the knowledge and skills,” SSP Ngendahimana said.
One of the trainees, Second Lieutenant Jal Deng Chol, said that the course is crucial as it provided them with the required knowledge and skills to respond to common security issues.
“This is the second training that the Rwandan peacekeepers have conducted and we are gaining a lot to ensure law and order, community policing and Umuganda (communal work) to support community development and to give back to the people as our partners, environmental protection and fighting gender based violence,” Deng said.
Rwanda FPU-1 of 240 officers is the seventh rotation since the maiden contingent was deployed in Malakal in 2015.
The request was made on 28th April 2023 as BRD remembered for the 29th time its former employees and others from the Caisse Hypothécaire du Rwanda (Mortgage Bank of Rwanda) killed during Genocide against the Tutsi.
The event was characterized the laying of wreaths at the memorial monument, lighting the flame of hope , reading names of slain victims including former employees and clients of the two banks as well as testimonies.
The CEO of BRD, Kampeta Sayinzoga said that commemoration is a moment to honour victims brutally killed over innate personality, stand in solidarity with Genocide survivors and strive to prevent reoccurrence.
“It is a moment to reflect on unity and reconciliation of Rwandans and national development as well. We lost employees and clients who contributed to national development. This event serves as an opportune occasion to comfort those who lost relatives and continue to walk together as we remember and rebuild ourselves,” she noted.
Kampeta assured BRD’s commitment to continue standing in solidarity with Genocide survivors and disclosed plans to provide them with green cooking stoves under ‘Tekera Aheza’ campaign.
Faustin Mafeza, Research Analyst at MINUBUMWE requested BRD to lend a hand in writing history of Genocide against the Tutsi with a view to shun trivialization.
“Public, private institutions and banks need to take the leading step to write about history of Genocide against the Tutsi to shun misinterpretation, prevent denial and trivialization,” he said.
“Let us commit ourselves to have produced a book compiling history of Genocide against the Tutsi with a focus on BRD. It is possible,” added Mafeza.
Kalinda Ndabirora, a Commissioner for Justice at IBUKA, umbrella organization of Genocide survivors who delivered a talk at the event stressed the need to draw much attention on fighting propagandists denying and trivializing Genocide against the Tutsi.
“We need to devise strategies to fight them because they also change tricks overtime,” he advised.
Kalinda explained that reducing the number of slain victims, changing its appellation and undermining the essence of commemoration are among tools used by propagandists noting that fighting them is possible.
Maimuna Mukamana one of relatives of former BRD employees killed during Genocide against the Tutsi narrated her ordeal and journey to survival when RPA Inkotanyi soldiers stopped the Genocide.
Despite the bitter history, Mukamana disclosed that she has regained strength along with her children who survived and thanked BRD for having walked with her along the resilience journey.
Today, 13 former BRD employees, 7 employees of Caisse Hypothécaire du Rwanda and 15 clients have been identified among victims of Genocide against the Tutsi.
Members of the Trilateral Mechanism made the call in a joint statement along with the Quad on Sudan that brings together Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to a joint statement issued Friday.
“Members of the Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad welcome the announcement by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to extend the current ceasefire for an additional 72 hours and call for its full implementation,” the statement reads.
They also welcomed the readiness of the two Sudanese warring factions to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.
This initial phase of diplomacy to establish a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements will contribute to action on the development of a de-escalation plan as outlined in the April 20 African Union communique, the statement says.
Since mid-April, Sudan has been mired in military clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF following days of tension between the once-allied leaders of both sides.
The country has been suffering a political crisis since the Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency in October 2021 and dissolved the sovereign council as well as the government.
The UNECA said in a statement issued on Friday that informal cross-border trade in Africa is known to be large and an important contributor to the livelihoods of millions of Africans, but there are no agreed methods to measure it accurately.
“Understanding the scale, magnitude and characteristics of informal cross-border trade will be instrumental in accurately monitoring intra-African trade, as well as the development of appropriate economic policy,” a UNECA statement quoted Melaku Geboye Desta, coordinator of the African Trade Policy Center at the UNECA, as saying.
Desta noted that official trade statistics often capture formal trade and leave out informal trade, leading to an underestimation of the magnitude of intra-African trade.
He said the size of informal cross-border trade in Africa means that the level of intra-African trade is probably much higher than the figure that is often used by experts.
Acknowledging that there were some estimates of informal cross-border trade in Africa, Desta observed that the lack of an agreed definition of the phenomenon and common methodological tools used by different national statistical agencies have diminished the quality and utility of the resulting estimates.
According to the UNECA, there is no universally agreed definition of informal cross-border trade, as it has often been conflated with smuggling and other illegal practices.
It said informal cross-border trade has been broadly defined to include informal or unregistered traders and firms operating entirely outside the formal economy and the formal or registered firms, fully evading trade-related regulations and duties, for example, avoiding official border crossing posts.
The UNECA made the call during the first physical meeting of the task force on developing a harmonized methodology for informal cross-border trade data collection.
The task force was established by the African Union, in collaboration with the UNECA and the African Export-Import Bank, with a mandate to provide political and technical guidance to the process of developing the continental methodology for informal cross-border trade data collection and overseeing its implementation.
The ceremony was held at two Genocide Memorials in Kicukiro and Rubavu districts on Wednesday 26th April 2023.
Attendees included Bralirwa employees, relatives of the deceased former employees, representatives from public institutions and IBUKA, the umbrella organization of Genocide survivors.
The commemoration event commenced with a reverent tribute to the victims characterized by the laying of wreaths at a memorial monument for the slain employees at Bralirwa’s plants in Kigali and Rubavu. Subsequently, Bralirwa employees held a walk to remember heading to Genocide memorials, where commemoration talks were delivered.
At the commemoration event held at Nyanza Memorial in Kicukiro, attendees were taken through the harrowing ordeal of the Tutsis, where 3000 victims were killed in the area for innate personnality.
Amb. François Xavier Ngarambe, who delivered a talk, reminded the gathered mourners that the Genocide was the culmination of a long-term plan of the former regime, which fomented ethnic divisionism. He further implored them to shun Genocide ideology.
Pelagie Mukandinda from Kicukiro and Mukarurema Shadia from Rubavu recounted their agonizing experiences of hiding day and night until the Genocide was halted.
They emphasized that commemoration should be maintained as a crucial tool for learning from the past and standing up against evil.
Gerard Mbarushimana, the President of IBUKA in Rubavu District, expressed gratitude to Bralirwa for their unflinching support to families of former employees, stating that continued remembrance of the fallen employees was a significant milestone towards sustaining resilience, unity, and reconciliation.
Laetitia Uwera, Human Resources Director at Bralirwa urged participants to take responsibility for educating children on the country’s history. She emphasized that commemoration helps to foster strength, pave the way for prosperity and contribute to national development.
The Managing Director of Bralirwa, Etienne Saada, affirmed that the company attaches great significance to remembering the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, and pledged continued support to families of former employees and Rwandans in general along their journey of resilience.
Rubavu District Vice Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Pacifique Ishimwe, commended Bralirwa for their initiative to stand in solidarity with the families of the Genocide victims, calling for such initiatives to be emulated by other companies.
Paul Rukesha, the Director General of Communication and Partnership Cooperation at MINUBUMWE, called on Rwandans, especially the youth, to fight trivialization of Genocide against the Tutsi.
The donation is part of a 10-year partnership between Liquid, MINUBUMWE, and Imbuto Foundation aimed at preserving Genocide memorials in the country. The company has also pledged to donate $100,000 annually towards this initiative. The cheque was presented to MINUBUMWE at its head office in Kacyiru on April 28, 2023.
The funding provided by Liquid will be used to preserve Genocide memorials with a special focus on digitisation, enabling visitors to access evidence of the Genocide against the Tutsi in the particular area where the memorial is located.
Speaking at the ceremony on Friday 28th April 2023, Sam Nkusi, the Chairman of Liquid Intelligent Technologies Rwanda, emphasized that digitalising the history of the Genocide was crucial for preserving it and helping younger generations to remember and rebuild.
Nkusi also highlighted that Liquid’s initiative will facilitate collaboration on research and documentation related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and its history and consequences. This, in turn, will help implement programs focused on civic engagement and promote Rwandan cultural values among the youth.
During the signing ceremony, Minister Jean Damascene Bizimana praised Liquid Intelligent Technologies for its support and revealed that the digitalisation of Genocide memorials will begin at Nyange, Ntarama, and Murambi Genocide memorials.
As he said, the project aims to provide visitors with electronic access to all information through videos and audio, enabling them to visit the memorials without the need for a guide.
Bizimana explained that the data collection process had been ongoing since last year, with available information, including testimonies, pictures, and trial information, being gathered to ensure the project’s success.
Sandrine Umutoni, Director-General of Imbuto Foundation, said their partnership with Liquid aligns with their youth empowerment program aimed at equipping young Rwandans with the necessary information and tools to become productive and active citizens.
Umutoni added that the digitisation of Genocide memorials would make the preservation of memory more sustainable and enable young people to use technology to empower themselves with information.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is a pan-African technology group with a presence across 14 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, and operates state-of-the-art data centers in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Harare, and Kigali.
