The Boeing 737-800 SF, which is painted in RwandAir’s first cargo livery, will be based at the carrier’s Kigali hub.
The new jet delivered on 24th November 2022, will allow the Rwandan carrier to further expand its cargo operation, which has been on the rise.
RwandAir will operate the new freighter to a number of key destinations in Africa and the Middle East, including Johannesburg, Nairobi, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yvonne Makolo, CEO of RwandAir said: “The delivery of our dedicated cargo aircraft is a huge milestone in RwandAir’s fleet expansion plans.
Cargo is of ever-increasing importance for the aviation industry, and as a landlocked country, we recognize the importance and value of good cargo connections.
We want to ensure that Africa is seamlessly connected to the world, driving economic growth and valuable trade deals.”
From its hub at the heart of Africa at Kigali International Airport, RwandAir is renowned for its excellent customer service where recently RwandAir won the award for ‘Best Airline Staff in Africa’ at Skytrax’s 2022 World Airline Awards, for a second successive year.
RwandAir currently operates to a variety of destinations across East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
Qatar News Agency has reported that President Kagame departed Hamad International Airport this Thursday.
Apart from attending the opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup 2022, Kagame also attended the reception hosted by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in honour of world leaders who graced the international football tournament.
During his stay, Kagame along with other leaders graced the High Level Opening of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Pavilion in Qatar.
He also attended the launch of “Scoring the Goals” Campaign hosted by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, co-founder and chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education.
The pavilion to bring to limelight the United Nations (UN) SDGs is being visited by attendees of the FIFA World Cup 2022 from 20th November.
Rwanda and Qatar enjoy vibrant relations where both countries’ leaders have held reciprocal visits at different times.
As Rwanda hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) thus year, the Emir of Qatar graced the event even though his country is not a member of the bloc.
This week, Law Ministers from across the Commonwealth are meeting in Mauritius for [the 2022 Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting->https://thecommonwealth.org/events/commonwealth-law-ministers-meeting-2022]. This is the first in-person meeting of Law Ministers since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcoming the consensus, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland said: “I welcome the unanimous agreement of Law Ministers today to progress these principles for recommendation to Leaders at our next Heads of Government meeting. The indispensable role of the media, the 4th estate, in a modern democracy cannot be overstated.
Our Commonwealth Charter affirms that freedom of expression, including media freedom, is essential to the flourishing of democratic societies and a basic condition for development. An important role of the Commonwealth is to help to build consensus amongst our members on the vital issues that they face.
By realising the values and aspirations of our Charter across all the countries of the Commonwealth, we will deliver political, economic and social systems and services which are robust, effective and fair, resulting in reduced demands on justice systems in the future.”
The primary objective of the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting is to advance Commonwealth consensus and cooperation and to enable Law Ministers to set clear directions on a range of legal, rule of law and justice issues of mutual interest to member countries.
The Commonwealth Charter states that the Commonwealth is “committed to peaceful, open dialogue and the free flow of information, including through a free and responsible media, and to enhancing democratic traditions and strengthening democratic processes.”
During today’s discussions, Law Ministers expressed gratitude to the Commonwealth Accredited Organisations for their hard work, dedication and valuable contribution to and development of the Draft Principles and also thanked the Expert Working Group, chaired by a representative of Jamaica, for their valuable contributions to reaching an agreement.
Ahead of this week’s discussions, Law Ministers received a paper to consider on freedom of expression and the role of the media in good governance in the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth’s diverse membership spans to include 56 countries and it is home to 2.5 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Commonwealth member governments have agreed to shared goals on development, democracy and peace and the Commonwealth values and principles are expressed in the Commonwealth Charter.
The proposal to rise legal drinking age emerged among resolutions of the recent 15th forum of Unity Club Intwararumuri following discussions on the behaviours of youth, a segment of the population considered to hold the country’s future.
The Unity Club is an association that brings together members of cabinet – former and present, their spouses, and other top government officials, with a purpose of promoting unity and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.
Speaking to IGIHE, Tito Rutaremara, a political expert and the Chairperson of Rwanda Elders’ Advisory Forum affirmed that drunkenness and drug abuse is among issues affecting the youth.
He however observed that rising legal drinking age is not the only solution.
“The solution should be about enforcing laws, to discourage people serving alcohol to minors and get them arrested because the situation might remain the same if the age is raised to 21 without close monitoring,” he said.
“Besides, bar owners need to be strict and refrain from serving alcohol to minors. On the other hand, they might order alcoholic drinks through other people. So, the most important thing is that parents have to own the problem, educate children on the negative effects of alcohol and prevent them from consuming alcohol.
The youth and schools should also play their part in this sensitization. In brief, the policy needs to be devised, have people serving them with alcohol punished and call for collective efforts to contain alcohol consumption among teenagers,” added Rutaremara.
Figures from Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) show that 744 teenagers aged below 18 represent 3% of people arrested over drunkenness and drug abuse between 2018 and 2022.
For people aged between 18 and 30, the number increased to 14,765 representing 58.7% while 9,658 are people above 30 representing 38.4%.
According to statistics from Ndera Neuro-Psychiatric Teaching Hospital, in 2021/2022, 96,357 mental health patients were received by the hospital, and of these, 70 per cent are youth with issues induced by alcohol and drugs.
According to the World Health Organisation, 5.3 per cent of all deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption.
Globally, around 61 per cent of countries have a drinking age of 18 or 19. India is the exception, where some states have a minimum drinking age as high as 25 and 30 years old.
In Africa, the highest legal drinking age is 21 in Egypt while the lowest is 15 years old in Ethiopia. In countries like Algeria and Benin, there is no legal drinking age.
Despite the fact that part of the youth fell for different vices including alcohol, Rutaremara explained that Rwandans should not feel like the country’s future is destroyed because there are others with good conduct.
“The youth have a lot of evil obsessions but it would be wrong to assume that they are all in the same case. There is a large number of youth with good manners but we have to work hard to bring others in the right direction,” he said.
Customers can now own a smartphone of their choice for as low as Rwf200 per day by dialling *182*12# and going through a simple onboarding process. Each device purchased under the device financing program will be bundled with free data, talk time and SMS from MTN. Customers can choose to pay for their devices in daily, weekly, or monthly payments. All payments will be made via Mobile Money.
MTN customers will be prequalified using a credit score that will be based on customers’ purchases of various telecommunications services such as Voice, Data, SMS, and Mobile Money over the last twelve months.
The service is in line with MTN Rwanda’s commitment to offer its customers unmatched personalized services that meet their needs as enshrined in MTN’s overall mission to lead the delivery of digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress.
“Smartphone affordability has been a barrier to our customers being able to access the mobile internet. Our partnership with Bank of Kigali sets to increase affordability and lighten the burden to avail smartphones to all, which underpins MTN Rwanda’s belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life.
Additionally, with ‘Macye Macye’, we are committed to creating a more connected world to enable more people to access the power of the Internet and bridge the digital divide in the country, where approximately 75% of the population do not own a smartphone. This is yet another milestone that will allow MTN to enrich the lives of our customers as well as to accelerate Rwanda into an innovative digital economy with Accessible and Affordable Internet services,” said Mapula Bodibe, MTN Rwanda Chief Executive Officer.
As the financing partner, Bank of Kigali Plc will offer lending services to eligible customers in the smartphone financing scheme whose credit scoring will be in line with BK’s credit qualification criteria.
Commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer for Bank of Kigali, Dr. Diane Karusisi said: “We are very delighted to partner with MTN Rwanda for the device financing program which we believe will further accelerate smartphone penetration and empower communities. At Bank of Kigali, we are constantly innovating to create digital products and campaigns that will allow us to serve Rwandans seamlessly, and this program speaks to our belief that everyone should easily access digital financial services.”
Speaking at the launch, Yaw Ankoma Agyapong, MTN Rwanda’s Chief Consumer and Digital Officer noted that giving more people affordable opportunities to own smartphones, will go hand in hand with the need for reliable internet access to enter the digital world.
“Devices and internet solutions go hand-in-hand; we cannot have one without the other. So, to all our customers, we are saying ‘Gahunda ni MTN 4G’, as we offer affordable 4G packages that are convenient to use for browsing, streaming, and downloading. To our customers who have been on the fence on whether to transition to our 4G network, now is the time,” he said.
{{Interested buyers have various plans to select from:}}
{{Single device plan:}} Spend all your credit earned on one single smartphone. This plan is for individuals buying smartphones for their own use.
{{Family device plan:}} Spend all your credit earned on multiple Smartphones. This plan is for individuals buying smartphones for themselves and other family members.
{{Upgrade device plan:}} Bring your current device and trade it in; use the value given for your old device to top up your credit eligibility and get a higher-valued Smartphone.
{{Community device plan:}} Get special community credit scoring as a member of a SACCO, cooperative, or association.
{{About MTN Rwandacell PLC}}
MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda) is the market leader in mobile telecommunications in Rwanda. Since 1998, it has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network and leading digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress.
The telecom offers various services to subscribers, including innovative propositions such as personalized voice and data offers for individuals and corporates with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold and new digital world to customers.
{{About Bank of Kigali PLC}}
Bank of Kigali Plc is the largest commercial bank in Rwanda, by total assets. In 2017, Global Credit Ratings affirmed Bank of Kigali’s long-term and short-term national scale ratings of AA-(RW) and A1+(RW) respectively with a stable outlook.
The Bank has won several back-to-back international and regional banking awards from Euromoney, The Banker, Global Finance Magazine, and EMEA Finance. Bank of Kigali has been recently awarded “Best Bank in Rwanda 2022” by Global Finance.
Generally, over 84,000 people are detained in Rwanda’s prisons. Of these, 12,000 are remanded excluding suspects detained at Police stations as per findings by TIR released in May 2022.
The main objective was to assess the application of other alternative measures to imprisonment.
The probe followed another conducted by the Commission for Human Rights in 2019/2020 which indicated that overpopulation in Rwanda’s prisons stood at 136%.
Speaking to BBC towards the end of last week, the Executive Secretary of TIR, Apollinaire Mupiganyi said that overcrowding in prisons results from, among other reasons, the incarceration of individuals suspected of minor crimes yet there are other alternative punishments under Rwanda’s penal code that should be applied.
“The conducted survey indicated a sharp increase from the previous statistics released by Human Rights Commission. This stresses the need for quick action. It is apparent that challenges still exist. Security organs mandated to carry out investigations, even the judiciary rush to opt for imprisonment instead of other 12 alternatives that should be applied to make prison the last choice,” he said.
Mupiganyi explained that there are crimes requiring imprisonment but pointed out other available options like fines, house arrest, introducing electronic ankle monitors, mediation, and amnesty among others.
“The other 12 alternatives are applied at a very low percentage hence resulting into a sharp increase of detainees,” he said.
The Spokesperson of the National Public Prosecution (NPPA), Faustin Nkusi, explained that criminals increase overtime where there are emerging crimes including cybercrimes and human trafficking among others going hand in hand with fast development.
In the year 2021/2022, the Prosecution received 83,349 dossiers involving 106,554 suspects.
Of these, 43,645 dossiers were filed to courts while 39,211 suspects were released without undergoing trial.
The President of Rwanda Bar Association, Lawyer Moise Nkundabarashi said that overpopulation in Rwanda’s prisons can be reduced by 97,38% in case the other alternatives for imprisonment are applied.
He explained that some cases can last for three years due to a large number of people seeking justice. To this end, Nkundabarashi disclosed that an individual acquitted after spending three years in jail hardly copes with related effects.
“It is our option that suspects should be tried without detention but it requires much effort to educate people that trying a suspect being out of prison does not mean the case is ignored. We have different examples where the Prosecution did the same and filed lawsuits against individuals out of jail who faced justice and taken into prison after courts’ verdicts,” affirmed Nkundabarashi.
The Judicial Spokesperson, Harrison Mutabazi said that more than 40,000 criminal cases were taken to court during last year’s judicial year.
The number excludes civil, commercial, administrative and labour court cases.
“The number is an addition to the backlog of court cases accumulated in the previous years,” he noted.
Mutabazi explained that judges try to balance all punishments as provided by law but the situation is exacerbated by backlogs and the shortage of courts’ employees.
{{Promising efforts}}
As for civil and commercial cases, a mediation policy was introduced in Rwanda. Rwandans are encouraged to opt for this method as it is believed to be efficient and fast in conflicts’ resolution.
Besides, Rwanda introduced plea bargaining procedure, on 11th October 2022, to adjudicate on criminal cases.
A plea bargain is any agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and the defendant where the latter agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for a lenient sentence.
This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges. It may also mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence.
Plea bargaining is provided by the Law regarding criminal cases. The Article 26 of the Law stipulates that; at the end of the suspect’s interrogation, the prosecutor may propose a plea bargaining agreement whereby the suspect helps the prosecutor to obtain all the necessary information in the prosecution of the offence and to know other persons involved in the commission of the offence and in return of some benefits but without hindering good administration of justice.
The prosecutor undertakes to make concessions to the suspect in relation to charges against him or her and the penalties that he or she may request.
During investigations, a suspect who enters into plea bargaining with the prosecution may be prosecuted while free.
Plea bargaining does not prevent the victim of the offence from getting information on the prosecution file and from contributing to the explanation on the commission of the offence.
The article 26 of the same Law stipulates that, in case of an agreement of plea bargaining, the public prosecution charges the suspect as agreed on by both parties.
The court may admit or reject an agreement of plea bargaining but cannot alter the agreement.
In case the agreement is admitted, the court, while taking a decision, considers the agreement on plea bargaining concluded between the public prosecution and the accused.
Nkusi explained that the process is more advantageous as it paves the way for lenient punishments, prosecuting suspects while free, suspending a punishment and slapping them with fines among others.
Participants in the eight-day training facilitated by experts from the health protection department of the Carabinieri, the Italian Police, include Police officers, investigators, those from the ministries of Health, Justice, Agriculture, Trade and Industry.
Others are from Rwanda Forensic Laboratory (RFL), Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) and Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA).
During the eight days, participants covered key aspects of public health protection such as food safety and hygiene inspections, counterfeit pharmaceuticals; tools for inspection (checklists) of food and pharmacies; and anti-doping.
Functionality of pharmaceutical Security Initiative (PSI) in tracking counterfeit medicines as well as laws and policies also formed part of the training.
The training also included field visits to pharmaceutical and food premises such as shops and restaurants.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Vianney Nshimiyimana, the Commissioner for Cooperation and Protocol at Rwanda National Police (RNP), while closing the training, congratulated the participants for the successful completion of the course.
He added that this important course is one of the “success stories” of the cooperation between RNP and Carabinieri.
“This public health protection course seeks to equip the participants with the necessary knowledge, technic and skills to analyze the standards, conformity assessment and sharing information on counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals and consumer products,” CP Nshimiyimana said.
He observed that Rwanda’s ambition is to be a service hub and that public health protection is fundamental to this course.
“No one would wish to be where his or her health is not well protected. The knowledge and skills you have acquired should help you to fulfill your tasks.. to ensure the good health of people living in Rwanda.”
Col. Francesco Sessa, the Carabinieri Liaison Officer in Rwanda, also lauded the good cooperation between RNP and Carabiniere especially in capacity development.
He challenged the trainees to be catalysts in consumer protection and public health.
With the land area of 993 square kilometers, 13 sectors, 88 cells and 537 villages; Karongi District is situated in close to 130 kilometers from Kigali City.
Located in Western Province, the district has been taking advantage of its proximity to Lake Kivu separating Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to fast track development.
Like many other districts, Karongi is characterized by a hilly topography with attractive features as well as cultural and historical vestiges of great significance to the country.
These include the Congo Nile Divide, spectacular view of Lake Kivu shores, Nyungwe National Park, Gisovu Tea Plantation, Muciro natural forest and Ndaba rock among others.
Located in Nyarurembo Village, Kibuye Cell of Bwishyura Sector, Rwamatete Peninsula is among cornerstones for Karongi district’s attractiveness where a traveler standing there gets a clear view of eye-catching islands in Lake Kivu and beautiful hills in the area formerly known as Kibuye.
40 years ago, the peninsula’s attractive beauty lured the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda which detected investment opportunity in it and built accommodations to reduce dependence on foreign aids.
This investment paid off big time that it birthed Bethany Hotel, an icon of Rwanda’s hospitality sector on the shores of Lake Kivu.
It is among favourite hospitality establishments built in Karongi long ago.
It sits on the shores of Lake Kivu where guests are awakened, every morning, by singing birds from surrounding ornamental trees, waving water in Lake Kivu or folk songs by fishers returning home.
Speaking to IGIHE; Pastor Fidèle Sibomana, the Managing Director of Bethany Investment Group has revealed that the hotel was built in 1982 to reduce reliance on foreign aid.
“We foresaw that there would be a time when aid from donors might not be available. That is when the church started developing home grown solutions to achieve self-reliance in the future,” he said.
Today, Bethany Hotel has 55 cozy rooms with a target to increase them to 80 in the next few years.
Prices are relatively low as one night accommodation ranges from Rwf60,000 to Rwf30,000 per room depending of clients’ choices and available means.
The management says that the low price is meant to make the hotel affordable for Rwandans willing to enjoy the beauty of their country in a relaxed setting.
The General Manager of Bethany Hotel, Janvier Ntwali who has held the position for eight years, says that clients’ feedback on offered services is very positive, thanks to a dedicated team of professionals.
“We offer different services at this hotel to guests looking for a relaxed setting, you can have meal at our bar and restaurant or work with us to organize a meeting here,” he said.
As IGIHE journalist visited the hotel recently, he was taken to different islands in Lake Kivu aboard its boats. Visited natural features include the Island of Peace (Akarwa k’Amahoro), Chapeau de Napoléon and Monkeys Island (Akarwa k’Inkende) among others.
Apart from the view of Lake Kivu, the hotel is surrounded by ornamental trees and flourishing garden, adding up to other services fascinating guests to prolong their stay.
Besides, the hotel recently launched a modern Coffee Shop for interested guests to taste coffee grown in the vicinity of Lake Kivu.
Bethany Hotel has so far opened branches in Rubavu, Kigali and Nyagatare.
Ndayishimiye who also serves as the Chairman of the East African Community (EAC) will attend the talks scheduled this Thursday on the mediation of Angolan President, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço.
Burundi’s Presidency has via Twitter handle revealed that Ndayishimiye arrived in Luanda on Wednesday 23rd November.
President Paul Kagame and his counterpart of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi are expected to attend the meeting.
The presence of Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who serves as the EAC facilitator of the Nairobi peace process for DRC, has been also confirmed.
The meeting is being hosted by the Government of Mauritius from 22 – 25 November 2022 in Port Louis under the theme of ‘Strengthening international cooperation through the rule of law and the protection of human rights.’
In her opening remarks, Secretary-General Scotland said: “We must transform our justice systems to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. We face a huge task, and we have a huge responsibility, but this meeting is a real opportunity to craft a new legal settlement for the Commonwealth, which is fit for the times in which we live. We must enable the efficient delivery of swift, fair, effective and principled justice to strengthen the relationship between the work of Law Ministers and the full scope of the Commonwealth’s work across a range of national ministries.
Through our system of friendship, interdependence and interoperability, our member states are strengthened in the pursuit of better lives for all Commonwealth citizens. We can ensure that the best way to deliver justice lies in perfected justice systems, operating in societies in which we systematically tackle the causes of injustice.”
In his opening remarks, the Attorney-General of Mauritius, the Honourable Maneesh GOBIN said:
“Mauritius and each Commonwealth State, have pledged to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens within the framework of the rule of law and the protection of human rights. However, today, it no longer suffices that people are protected at the national level only, but in effect, a universal approach has become pressingly imperative. In this context, Law Ministers of the Commonwealth are committed to strengthening international cooperation for the furtherance of the Commonwealth goals and objectives.”
A key focus of the CLMM 2022 is the Commonwealth Plan of Action on the Equal Access to Justice Declaration. In 2019, Commonwealth Law Ministers adopted a Declaration on Equal Access to Justice, to prioritise access to justice across the Commonwealth. To ensure the implementation of the declaration, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed this action plan, as well as practical toolkits and best practice guides for governments.
Port Louis, 23 November 2022: No conversation on the rule of law can be complete without a discussion on access to justice for citizens across the Commonwealth, said the Commonwealth Secretary-General the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland, at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM), this week.
The meeting is being hosted by the Government of Mauritius from 22 – 25 November 2022 in Port Louis under the theme of ‘Strengthening international cooperation through the rule of law and the protection of human rights.’
SG speech small
In her opening remarks, Secretary-General Scotland said:
“We must transform our justice systems to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. We face a huge task, and we have a huge responsibility, but this meeting is a real opportunity to craft a new legal settlement for the Commonwealth, which is fit for the times in which we live. We must enable the efficient delivery of swift, fair, effective and principled justice to strengthen the relationship between the work of Law Ministers and the full scope of the Commonwealth’s work across a range of national ministries.
Through our system of friendship, interdependence and interoperability, our member states are strengthened in the pursuit of better lives for all Commonwealth citizens. We can ensure that the best way to deliver justice lies in perfected justice systems, operating in societies in which we systematically tackle the causes of injustice.”
In his opening remarks, the Attorney-General of Mauritius, the Honourable Maneesh GOBIN said:
“Mauritius and each Commonwealth State, have pledged to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens within the framework of the rule of law and the protection of human rights. However, today, it no longer suffices that people are protected at the national level only, but in effect, a universal approach has become pressingly imperative. In this context, Law Ministers of the Commonwealth are committed to strengthening international cooperation for the furtherance of the Commonwealth goals and objectives.”
A key focus of the CLMM 2022 is the Commonwealth Plan of Action on the Equal Access to Justice Declaration. In 2019, Commonwealth Law Ministers adopted a Declaration on Equal Access to Justice, to prioritise access to justice across the Commonwealth. To ensure the implementation of the declaration, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed this action plan, as well as practical toolkits and best practice guides for governments.
{{These resources include:}}
{ {{Environmental, Social and Economic Development provisions in Investment contracts }} } – a resource for government lawyers in the Commonwealth, to protect the environment and take into consideration social and economic matters when consulting investment contracts with multinationals.
{ {{The Law and Climate Change toolkit}} } – a large repository of legislation on the climate and the environment from across the Commonwealth
{ {{The Commonwealth’s Anticorruption Benchmarks }} } – This publication provides 25 benchmarks on good anti-corruption practices for national governments and public sector bodies.
{ {{Commonwealth Elections Cybersecurity Best Practice Guide}} } – This product has been developed to help election management bodies identify and manage cybersecurity risks.
The Declaration on Access to Justice urges Commonwealth member states to use people-friendly approaches to address the barriers to access to justice.
One such approach is the use of technology to provide access to legal services as well as enhanced delivery of justice services. At this week’s meeting, Law ministers will hear presentations on the themes of people-centred justice and the future of our courts.
Ministers will adopt recommendations by the end of the meeting on 25 November, which will inform justice work in their respective countries across the Commonwealth.
