The incident occurred in the morning of Friday 3rd February 2023 when the maize drying facility which caved in, took 11 lives and left more than 30 people injured.
The drier belongs to Duharanire Ubukire – Gasagara Cooperative based in Gasabo District of Kigali City.
Following the accident, the government assured to take measures to ensure the safety of built up structures is reinforced to avoid similar incidents in the future. The deceased were buried on Sunday in Rusororo.
Minister of State in charge of social Affairs at the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC), Assumpta Ingabire represented the government during the ceremony.
She condoled with the bereaved families and others whose relatives sustained injuries. Ingabire told them that the government stands with them during these difficult times and ‘will continue to stay closer to them’.
“On behalf of the Government of Rwanda, we have come here to sympathize with you. You lost siblings, children and parents but we are also saddened by the incident because it is a loss to the country. These brothers have died but they leave a good legacy – the legacy of work,” she said.
“The government will continue to stay close to you to move on with life, be it in terms of wellbeing or sustaining the cooperatives’ activities. There are recommendations to reinforce safety on facilities used by citizens and we assure that this incident won’t repeat itself,” added Ingabire.
It said that the accident resulted from heavy weight of maize on the drier’s wooden structure and wind that shook it.
The latter is part of resolutions of the Extra-Ordinary Summit of East African Community (EAC) Heads of State held in Bujumbura on Saturday 4th February 2023.
During an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Prof. Nshuti disclosed that regional Heads of State sticked to dialogue as the ideal process that might put an end to the fighting between Congolese Army (FARDC) and M23.
“What we have agreed upon as the region and considered it to be the best solution to this problem, is that nothing is better than dialogues. They have to endorse it when the resolution is backed by the whole region; otherwise, the presence of regional forces in the country would be useless,” he said.
Even though discussions between Heads of State resolved to opt for the process of negotiations, there are footages showing Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi chatting with Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, the commander of EAC troops deployed in DRC.
Tshisekedi is heard telling Maj Gen Nyagah that they want the troops he leads to help them in the fight against M23.
Prof. Nshuti has said that fighting M23 was not part of discussions.
“Fighting was not part of discussions because we focused on political process. It was about dialogue not fighting M23 […] They were only asked to cease fire and withdraw as negotiations go on. The option for EAC troops to fight them was not part of discussions,” he noted.
Prof. Nshuti further revealed that Tshisekedi himself also agreed to engage in negotiations with M23.
“We asked them to engage in negotiations and agreed, this time around, that they are going to do so. He [Tshisekedi] accepted it. It is about reaching consensus as a region on what should be done. Ceasefire and withdrawal going hand in hand with negotiations,” he said.
“It is about helping them to restore peace and end hostilities not helping them to fight,” added Prof. Nshuti.
Resolutions held in Bujumbura complement previous ones reached in Luanda, the capital of Angola in November 2022 where concerned parties were urged to end hostilities and engage in dialogue.
At the time, M23 was asked to withdraw from captured areas to be allowed to take part in discussions. The rebel group has so far withdrawn from several areas and handed them over to EAC forces.
However, fighting has been going on between FARDC and M23, which claims that it is protecting Kinyarwanda-speaking communities from attacks by Congolese Army.
The repatriation of foreign armed groups from DRC including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was also part of discussions in Bujumbura.
FDLR is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
It was reported at different times that the rebel group works with FARDC to fight M23.
Usto Hafashimana alias Yussuf, 34, was arrested on Friday, February 3, in Nyamirambo, Nyarugenge District following two months of investigations into four separate gruesome murders and two cases of attempted murder.
He was paraded to the media on Sunday, February 5, at Kigali metropolitan headquarters in Remera, Gasabo District.
The inhuman acts were committed between December 27, last year and January 23.
Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, the RNP spokesperson, said that the arrest of Hafashimana was a result of thorough investigations.
“All the four murders and two attempted murders, were committed in the same scenario, with a machete, sometimes beheading the victims. Investigations connected all these dots and information from other people, whom he was also conniving with in other criminal acts of theft, helped to identify and arrest the suspected killer,” CP Kabera said.
{{How Hafashimana was committing the murders}}
While speaking to the media, Hafashimana said that he was killing them with a machete and would kill only those he found sleeping.
“It was a random target. I didn’t know or have any history with those I killed. I would go household by household at night and anyone I found sleeping, especially security guards, I would kill them with a panga. I beheaded two of them, took their heads and dumped them in a well,” Hafashimana said.
A decapitated head of one of the victims, was recovered in a swamp in Masaka Sector, Kicukiro District.
When asked how many people he had killed, Hafashimana said: “I knew that I had killed six people, but I was told that I killed four and two others survived. The plan was to kill at least 40 people.”
{{The murders}}
On December 27, last year, Hafashimana allegedly beheaded one only identified as Matayo, in Kicukiro District, Kigarama Sector, Rwampala Cell, Uwateke Village. The decapitated body was recovered in Rwampala swamp.
On December 30, the duo of Vedaste Hagenimana, 22, and Philemon Nzabagerageza, 27, were allegedly attached by Hafashimana with a machete at a construction site in Nyarugunga Sector, Kibaya Cell in Kamashashi Village.
They both survived with injuries. Hagenimana lost his left eye while Nzabagerageza’s left hand was also cut off.
Later on January 15, one Vedaste Gafaranga, a night guard in Marembo Village, Nyarukombe Cell of Muyumbu Sector, Rwamagana District, was killed.
Hafashimana is also said to be behind the murder of one Gideon Niyonsenga, on January 18, in Kanyinya Village, Nyagahinga Cell, Rusororo Sector in Gasabo District. Niyonsenga was also a night guard.
One Leonce Nshimiyimana was also beheaded on January 30, in Rusororo Sector, Gasabo District.
Nshimiyimana was Hafashimana’s close friend. Investigations indicate that he killed him in a bush in Rusororo Sector where they were at the time hiding and planning to break into one of the houses in the area to steal valuables.
At the time of his arrest, Hafashimana was also found with assorted valuables belonging to some of the victims, including mobile phones.
The suspect, who hails from Ngororero District has a history of burglary. He was previously convicted for theft and served two years at Nyarugenge prison between 2015 and 2017.
{{Survivors narrate the ordeal}}
Hagenimana and Nzabagerageza narrated how on the night of December 30, last year, as they were sleeping, were attached.
“It was at about 01a.m, when someone armed with a machete, appeared from nowhere as we were asleep, and started cutting us. We don’t know how we survived by somehow, God was with us,” said Hagenimana.
Rashid Barinda, who was employing the deceased, Gideon Niyotwagira, said that the attack happened at about 03:45a.m.
Nzabagerageza said: “I lost my hand and the other was left injured… I cannot do anything. My worry right now is my child, who expects all the parental support, which I can no longer give. Any support to find other means of survival besides using my hands, to support my child, will be much appreciated.”
“I heard a scary sound, but at once I thought that maybe Niyotwagira had fell down. When I came out, I found my security guard lying dead in a pool of blood,” Barinda said.
Japhet Niyonshima, a twin brother to Niyotwagira, narrated how as brother came to Kigali to work.
“We came to Kigali three months ago, from Ngororero, to look for casual jobs. We were staying together in Rusororo although my brother had a night duty as a security guard, where he was killed as he was sleeping,” Niyonshima narrated.
Meanwhile, CP Kabera said that the arrest of Hafashimana saved lives of many other people.
Murder under article 107 of the law determining offences and penalties in general, is punishable with life imprisonment.
The accident which occurred on Friday 3rd February 2022, claimed 11 lives and injured 36.
The statement released by Prime Minister Ngirente reads that the government stands in solidarity with bereaved families.
“The Government of Rwanda conveys its condolences to the families of the bereaved. Those injure dare being attended to by emergency health personnel and evacuated to medical facilities. The government will provide appropriate support to the bereaved families and the injured,” reads part of the statement.
The government has also assured to take measures to ensure the safety of built up structures is reinforced to avoid similar incidents in the future.
Speaking to IGIHE, Bafakulera disclosed that he submitted his resignation to PSF’s Board of Directors on Friday 3rd February 2023.
“I have resigned over personal reasons,” he noted.
Bafakulera said that PSF has made good progress and expressed hope that his deputies will continue to lead the organization until the election of a new chairperson.
“This federation which currently stands firm is led by my former deputy, Jeanne Françoise Mubiligi whom we have been working together. She knows what to do and will work with the second assistant to help her discharge the duties until the election of a new chairperson,” he disclosed.
Bafakulera was re-elected to lead PSF for the second term in March 2022. He had been elected for the first renewable term in 2018.
Bafakulera is among Rwanda’s tycoons where he runs several investments including hotels.
He owns different hospitality establishments including Ubumwe Grand Hotel. Bafakulera is also involved in logistics business as well as trade of rice and cooking oil.
The deal signed in April 2022 paves the way for deportation to Rwanda of migrants and asylum seekers staying in the UK illegally.
Under this program, migrants are set to benefit from secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons and higher education.
After signing the agreement, it was reported that those willing to return to their mother lands will be helped to do so.
The UK made the decision to discourage people crossing to the country illegally and reduce the budget spent on them every year.
During an interview with TalkTV, Prime Minister Sunak said that there is hope to start sending immigrants who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda.
He said that they want to break the chain of illegal immigration, which has allowed people to enter the UK through the waterway from France, known as the English Channel, in large numbers.
Figures from the British government show that last year, immigrants who entered the country using small boats through illegal waterways reached 45,756, up from 2,526 in 2021. The figures represent an increase of more than 17,000.
In addition, the government is paying £5.5 million to care for illegal immigrants staying in hotels while their applications are being processed.
The policy to deport migrants to Rwanda [has been fiercely criticised by human rights organisations and opposition parties->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/ruling-on-deportation-of-asylum-seekers-from-uk-to-rwanda-may-be-appealed], but Mr Sunak promised to keep the drive in place.
“The system that we need, the system that I want to introduce, is one whereby if you come here illegally, you should be swiftly detained and then in a matter of days or weeks we will hear your claim, not months and years, and then we will safely remove you somewhere else. And if we do that, that’s how we’ll break the cycle,” Sunak told TalkTV.
The Prime Minister said he was able to reach an agreement with France to increase patrols on the waterways in his first 100 days as PM noting that it has begun to yield results.
“A, I’ve got a new deal with France, which is increasing the amount of patrols that are happening on French beaches, which is making a difference already.
“Secondly, I’ve got a brand new deal with Albania. Albania accounted for 30 per cent of all illegal migrants.
If you come illegally, you will not be able to stay here – we will have the ability in the vast majority of cases to send you to an alternative safe country,” he said.
Their first flight to Rwanda was expected on 14th June 2022 but was cancelled at last minute after an intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Recently, the High Court in the United Kingdom ruled in favor of the country’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. It however resolved that the cases of eight people who were initially scheduled for deportation to Rwanda had not been properly considered, and ordered a new review of them by the home secretary.
The incident has been confirmed to IGIHE by the executive secretary of Rusororo Sector, Nsabimana Matabishi Desire.
“It is true that the drying facility collapse claimed ten lives and injured 36. The deceased include six men and four women. Those who were injured are receiving treatment at Masaka Hospital,” he said.
Sources indicate that the incident happened as residents returned to the facility to dry maize harvested recently.
Police Spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera has also confirmed the incident to IGIHE noting that an assessment to establish cause of the accident was underway, by press time.
The Head of State delivered the remarks as he attended the second ‘Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development’ held in Senegal.
Kagame also serves as the Chairperson of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee to help lead implementation of Agenda 2063 on behalf of the African Union (AU).
Agenda 2063 is the blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.
Kagame said that a good progress has been made over the years even though ‘Africa’s infrastructure gap remains significant’.
“To close this gap for good, mobilizing domestic resources is very critical. This is why in 2017, AUDA-NEPAD launched the 5% agenda on increasing institutional investment in Africa’s infrastructure,” he said.
The president observed that having inclusive, reliable and sustainable infrastructure would reduce the cost of doing business, boost regional trade and become more resilient against future shocks.
He further stressed that increasing infrastructures is part of a wider vision as outlined in the agenda 2063 to build a more secure and prosperous Africa.
“Let us seize this momentum to make faster progress towards our shared goals,” noted Kagame.
Through AUDA-NEPAD, the African continent has set out goals to increase electricity and water infrastructures by 2040.
The continent also seeks to overhaul the transport sector by building infrastructures including roads, railways, boosting maritime and air transport to connect all parts of the continent.
Boosting technological infrastructures is also being considered under this vision.
These priorities are expected to be achieved through the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) initiated in 2010 in Kampala, the capital of Uganda to assist AUDA-NEPAD member countries fast track projects of high social impact.
The first meeting under this programme was held in 2014 in Dakar. At the time, it was agreed to fast track the implementation of 16 priority projects.
The meeting also led to the establishment of Africa50 by African governments and the African Development Bank to help bridge Africa’s infrastructure funding gap by facilitating project development, mobilizing public and private sector finance, and investing in infrastructure on the continent.
Africa50 focuses on medium- to large-scale projects that have a significant development impact and that provide an appropriate risk-adjusted return to investors.
Kigali Innovation City aimed at making Rwanda, an ICT hub in Africa is among projects being implemented through this programme.
The conference due to take place from 7th to 10th March 2023, will bring together forensic science practitioners from 40 countries.
During the conference, experts, institutions and countries will receive awards for their contribution to promote the forensic sector with a view to encourage others to follow the suit.
The Director General of RFL, Dr. Charles Karangwa has told IGIHE that Rwanda was selected as a host of the 10th conference due to security and adequate infrastructures.
Other aspects considered include the country’s efforts to fight corruption and experience in organizing international conferences.
They are additional to the fact that the country has a competent institution offering forensic services in a short time span.
This time around, the meeting will bring together over 400 participants from across the world.
Dr. Karangwa affirms that Rwanda will benefit a lot from the conference including enhanced visibility as a country that has taken forensic services to greater heights.
He disclosed that the country will also generate revenues as guests will visit touristic attractions and consume other services.
“They will need transport services and accommodation at hotels. The conference will also enhance Rwanda’s visibility as a country committed to become a hub for forensic services at continental and global levels,” he said.
The conference will attract forensic experts and specialists from the United States, Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa. It will also feature exhibitions on best practices from participating countries.
Rwanda’s forensic laboratory which initially operated under the auspice of Rwanda National Police (RNP) has been strengthened gradually since it was established in 2005.
To maintain professionalism, the laboratory entered agreements with Key Forensic Services from the United Kingdom (UK) to build the laboratory and furnish necessary equipment.
After enacting the law establishing RFL in 2016, the institution started offering convenient services to the judiciary, members of the private sector and citizens in 2018.
It became an autonomous body in the same year and is currently run under the aegis of the Ministry of Justice.
The RFL has modern equipment as well as experts and specialists capacitating it to conduct forensic investigations used to boost justice delivery.
RFL provides services including forensic toxicology, drug and chemistry, and documents examination and fingerprint analysis, DNA forensics, ballistics, forensic pathology and digital forensics.
As at November last year, RFL was offered services to more than 20 African countries.
There is a proverb that goes, ‘No man is an island’. The latter implies that humans are inter-dependent and need to be part of a community in order to thrive. It is undisputable that one can’t know everything but the combination of expertize from different individuals make a significant impact.
It is under this backdrop that a young Nigerian, Damola Oloketuyi identified challenges that obstruct students from pursuing studies abroad in universities of their choice and founded AOC Schengen to provide them with needed support.
AOC Schengen is an educational consulting firm which runs international recruitment services to students who aspire to continue their education abroad in Europe.
They are assisted to get admission into universities in different countries including The Netherlands, Germany, and Spain among others.
Having started operations in 2018, the firm has offices in Nigeria, Germany, Gambia and has recently expanded footprints to Rwanda.
AOC Schengen’s Founder and Managing Director, Damola holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and pursued Master’s in Aviation in Germany in 2014.
Like, other students he wanted a place where he could practice what he learnt and have internship opportunities.
He got partial employment in an aviation consulting firm within the first six months of studies and got hired by his school after graduation in 2016. Working with the school sharpened Damola’s marketing and relationship kills. His work was mainly about developing the market for African students to study in Germany.
The services were not popular at the time that he would to travel to Nigeria to talk to students and bring available opportunities to light.
“My hard work paid off big time that I was promoted as regional director where I was in charge of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Cameroun among others,” said Damola.
After holding senior managerial positions, and developing the market for the Schengen region, Damola founded his own company in Germany.
“By doing so, I wanted to create more options for people through my company initiated in 2018,” he noted.
The company started with offices in Germany but has expanded footprints to four countries including Rwanda.
Damola works with staff members in respective countries to prepare students get international competencies, provide advises, match students with the right schools and the right country based on financial and academic capabilities.
He encourages students aspiring to study overseas to take advantage of consultancy services he offers to get tailored information on what exactly they qualify for and application process.
“We help them understand why they are going to those countries and what courses fit. We have helped a large number of people but we still need to do more in different African countries,” says Damola.
“We are the major recruiters and get awards for that. The man behind the services has been a student and went through the whole system. We offer unique services that cover life after getting visa. We actually help students build the career not just helping them familiarize with campuses’ settings,” he adds.
Apart from admission into European universities to pursue Bachelor’s or Master’s courses, AOC Schengen also helps students on visa application process at a reasonable cost.
“If you pay, we guarantee you the admission. If you don’t, we pay back the money,” assures Damola.
He explains that his company seeks to create awareness about Schengen benefits and take it across the whole East Africa.
So far, AOC Schengen has assisted over 100,000 students since it began operations in 2018.
According to Damola, studying abroad opens students’ minds and exposes them to numerous opportunities.
“When you study abroad, always look for the right course and right country to meet your end goal. Besides, opportunities are not tied to one country. You always have to look at benefits that can be involved,” he advises.
AOC Schengen has opened office in the city centre inside WAKA building and offers free consultation sessions to students via Instagram ([@aocschengen->https://www.instagram.com/aocschengen/?hl=en]).
Interested students can access more information via provided link: https://aocschengen.de/ or call +250792574316
