The Mass read on Sunday 2nd October 2022 coincided with the celebration of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus whose life was characterized by love and innocence.
It was attended by the Deputy Commissioner General of Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS), DCGP Rose Muhisoni; RCS Spokesperson, SSP Pelly Uwera Gakwaya and the Director of Nyarugenge Prison, SP Augustin Uwayezu.
Cardinal Kambanda was accompanied by Bishop André Havugimana, the chaplain of Mageragere Prison which is part of the Centrale Saint Therese of the Child Jesus in Butamwa Parish.
Cardinal Kambanda told gathered congregants that God loves human beings but detest their sins. He asked them to allow the Holy Spirit to guide their steps and shun evil acts.
Using an example of an inspiring quote of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Cardinal Kambanda said that those willing to join the Kingdom of God should be willing to become like little children.
“We are little in front of God and need to respect what God teaches us,” he said.
Cardinal Kambanda requested inmates to look back to their past when they were little and innocent kids to restore that image and strive to build the nation instead of committing crimes.
During the Mass, inmates were taken through the parable of the Lost Sheep in the Bible included in the Gospels of Luke 15:1-7.
The parable of the Lost Sheep is about a shepherd who had 100 sheep but 1 of them wandered off and got lost. The shepherd left the 99 and went in search of the lost sheep until he finds it and celebrates its return.
The parable reflects how Jesus came to the world to save his sheep sinking into evil acts to return them to the ‘Father in Heaven’.
Speaking to IGIHE after the Mass, Cardinal Kambanda said that inmates are also stuck in crimes and need someone to help them get rid of them.
DCGP Muhisoni thanked the Catholic Church for its contribution to inmates’ rehabilitation programs to convert them into good citizens working with others to fast track national development.
The 2022 Singapore Grand Prix officially known as the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022, was a Formula One motor race held on 2 October 2022 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore.
The sporting event takes place over three days (usually Friday to Sunday), with a series of practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race on Sunday.
The Head of State has been in Singapore for a three-day visit since 30th September 2022.
During his stay in Singapore, Kagame delivered the ‘Majulah Lecture’ at NTU to close to 1000 participants in a session moderated by Prof. Subra Suresh, President of the academic institution.
He also witnessed the signing of a partnership agreement between the Government of Rwanda represented by the Ministry of Education and NTU allowing Rwandan students to get opportunities to study at university starting next year.
Rwanda and Singapore enjoy cordial relations. Both countries have partnership in the areas of investment, trade, education, rule of law, technology and air transport service among others.
The country’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong recently visited Rwanda during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in June.
It was his maiden official visit in Rwanda and Africa. At the time, Loong was also hosted at Urugwiro Village by President Kagame.
During dinner hosted on Saturday, the Rwanda bilateral force demonstrated cultural dance and martial arts as part of the event’s entertainment.
In his remarks, President Touadéra thanked Rwanda and President Paul Kagame for the support and collaboration with Central African Republic in maintaining security in CAR.
Rwandan Contingent commander, Col Egide Ndayizeye thanked Touadéra for the warm reception and also commended the good cooperation with CAR Armed Forces in ensuring the security of Central African Republic.
On the other hand, this has become an investment opportunity where investors continue to build more and more modern housing estates, which can be afforded by middle-income earners.
One of them is Village Umutuzo. Inaugurated on Thursday 29th September 2022, Village Umutuzo is a real estate that seeks to help people get rid of rental fees.
The first phase of this project has seen a total of 67 houses built in Gahanga Sector in Kicukiro District. The estate comprises modern buildings built under an innovative concept to settle a large population on a small plot of land.
The project is run by GiRiNZU, a French-Rwandan real estate developer founded by a French national, Stéphane Monceaux in collaboration with a female Rwandan, Jacqueline Wibabara to help individuals wishing to own modern homes in Kigali city.
This estate seats on two hectares and has three sections with different structures for people to buy houses of their choice.
The company has offers that range from Rwf35 million to Rwf120 million for houses and apartments from 2 to 6 bedrooms.
There are multi-storey houses comprising two bedrooms, a modern bathroom, a kitchen and a well maintained garden, built as bungalows. One of them costs Rwf35 million.
The second category consists of one-storey houses, with three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a landscaped garden. A house under this category costs over Rwf74 million.
The third category, which is more costly, consists of houses with four bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, a modern kitchen and a large garden. Each costs Rwf120 million.
Village Umutuzo is built of bricks. Construction activities were executed by quite a large number of employees, majority of whom being Rwandans.
These houses are equipped with household furniture such as beds, chairs, tables and more.
Those who want to own these houses are encouraged to link up with the company for direct payments or seek loans from respective financial institutions to own houses.
One of the founders and president of GiRiNZU, Stéphane Monceaux, said that he once came to Rwanda and saw a government with good plans to settle the people which inspired him to build modern estates.
“We are a company which is unique and highly innovative at a global level. We build urban villages which are very sustainable where we would be happy to see our children live. We worked with the City of Kigali to be able to build houses like these that will house a large number of people and on a smaller land,” he said.
“With our team made of local architects and engineers, we reinterpret the living atmosphere to create a Rwandan solution that brings Umutuzo [comfort],” added Monceaux.
Jacqueline Wibabara, a co-founder and vice president emphasized that they are committed to building affordable houses, and to support the government’s plan to settle the population decently.
She also said that the company has prioritized women empowerment where it seeks to reach 50% of women representation in hiring process at all levels in the years to come.
Wibabara disclosed that they consider lowering prices to help people with various economic backgrounds own a decent house easily.
The Mayor of Kigali City, Pudence Rubingisa, praised the initiators of this project, saying that this program will support the national policy of settling people on small land.
“The fact that the city has gained the houses in this village and the others being built under GiRiNZU project is a great achievement. These houses are offered at a moderate price encouraging many people to buy them,” he said.
“We have a national policy to improve housing in order to resettle a large number of people on small land to ensure efficient use of land in accordance with the master plan and environmental preservation measures. So, this project came in handy,” added Rubingisa.
The Ambassador of France in Rwanda, Anfré Antoine, praised the collaboration between the French national and the Rwandan woman, which led to the project beneficial to many people.
GiRiNZU has another project to build two urban villages in Gahanga, on two and more than three hectares respectively.
So far 85% of the houses in ‘Umutuzo Village’ have been purchased.
The Head of State was delivering ‘Majulah Lecture’ to close to 1000 participants in a session moderated by Prof. Subra Suresh, President of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore in the morning of Friday 30th September 2022.
The event followed the signing of a partnership agreement between the Government of Rwanda represented by the Ministry of Education and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) allowing Rwandan students to get opportunities to study at the academic institution starting next year.
President Kagame said that the partnership is a result of a discussion he had with Professor Suresh a few years ago, and an addition to Rwanda’s relationship with Singapore.
“We are enthusiastic about the opportunities that this collaboration will open up for both Rwandan and Singaporean students and researchers, and we intend to make the most of it,” he said.
The Head of State said that he considers the invitation to deliver the ‘Majulah Lecture’ a particular honour, because the title is drawn from Singapore’s national anthem where “Majulah” is a call to progress, to move forward, together and united.
Kagame also reminisced on Rwanda’s journey over the past 28 years.
In 1994, Rwanda had basically ceased to exist as a nation. A million people lay dead, out of a population of around seven million, because of a perverted genocidal ideology. Millions more were refugees. Every public institution had been destroyed, and the national treasury was looted.
The Head of State went on to explain that , to most observers, what Rwandans could aspire to, in the generation which followed that tragedy, was simply to survive where ‘charting a pathway to prosperity seemed like a preposterous dream’.
Even though the country still has a long way to go, the President stated that it has been fundamentally transformed for the better.
He stressed that Rwanda found its way forward through home-grown solutions in three key areas.
Firstly, Kagame pointed out the country’s need to innovate around national unity and social cohesion where it started by creating security, considered as the basis for anything else to happen.
To this end, Rwanda also immediately initiated the process of merging the liberation army with the defeated army of the former government.
“A country without a shared national identity has no future. Rwanda’s historic unity had been progressively corrupted by the previous colonial and post-independence governments,” he said.
The Head of State said that Rwanda restored a traditional practice where a monthly community service brought all citizens together to improve their neighbourhoods.
The country also released genocide suspects back into their communities, where they were judged through Gacaca courts that focused both on punishment and on bringing the truth to light. This initiative was important for survivors and perpetrators to be able to live together again.
Among others, Rwanda focused on equipping young Rwandans with a positive concept of citizenship that emphasizes ‘what we all share, rather than what divides us’.
As a result, today, independent polls find that Rwanda has some of the highest levels of social trust in the world.
Secondly, Kagame pointed out, innovations in techniques of inclusive, citizen-oriented governance unlike the past where public institutions and assets were treated as the property of a few.
He gave an example of such poor governance in the past where studying at secondary school was a privilege afforded to those with political connections.
“But whenever citizens do not enjoy equal rights and treatment, a country’s stability is at risk. This is why we strive to establish a culture of meritocracy, where every young Rwandan knows that hard work and excellence will bring rewards, regardless of background,” Kagame noted.
The President also talked about the signing of performance contracts (Imihigo) by leaders at different levels of government as a practice that has become a habit.
“These are performance contracts that specify what is to be delivered and how to measure it. This is one of the tools we have adopted to encourage citizens to be fully involved in holding government to account. The practice is simple but powerful, and also affordable,” he said.
The Head of State underscored that the third area of innovation that Rwanda prioritized was technology.
“In the late 1990s, the government decided to make internet access and digital skills a keynote of our economic strategy. We even got pushback from some or our partners, the donors, at the time, who thought that technology was a luxury for a poor country. Fortunately, we persisted, and today services are the fastest-growing segment of the Rwandan economy, largely building on those infrastructure and training investments,” he said.
All public services, such as obtaining birth certificates or paying tax, are now done online, via a platform called Irembo, which is largely designed and operated by Rwandan professionals.
Kagame also hinted at Rwanda’s ambitions to become a vaccine and medicines manufacturing hub where the first end-to-end mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa will be launched by the German company BioNTech in Kigali.
He highlighted that what connects these three types of innovation that made a difference on Rwanda’s journey is the importance of mindset change.
Rwanda and Singapore enjoy cordial relations. The country’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong recently visited Rwanda during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in June. He was also hosted at Urugwiro Village by President Kagame.
At the time, the Head of State said that he had a very productive discussions with the Prime Minister of Singapore and thanked the country for being a reliable partner with Rwanda and expressed optimism that both countries will be doing even more together, in the years ahead.
“We value highly the trade and investment links as well as the cooperation between our central banks. Both our countries have created a strong foundation. Singapore’s development model and its commitment to social cohesion and national unity are very impressive,” he said.
Both countries have partnership in the areas of investment, trade, education, rule of law, technology and air transport service among others.
Figures show that Singaporean investment in Rwanda is estimated at US$150 million.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that President Kagame is in Singapore for a three-day visit. He is expected to meet with the country’s President, Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
In the morning of Friday 30th September 2022, the Head of State toured the exhibition showcasing the university’s history over the last 30 years that have led it to becoming one of the top academic institutions globally.
Kagame also delivered a lecture to close to 1000 participants in a session moderated by Prof. Subra Suresh, President of NTU Singapore.
As he delivered the lecture at a session attended by government officials and members of the private sector, Kagame said that Rwanda has been transformed for the better after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi owing to home-grown solutions.
Rwanda and Singapore enjoy cordial relations. The country’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong recently visited Rwanda during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in June. He was also hosted at Urugwiro Village by President Kagame.
At the time, the Head of State said that he had a very productive discussions with the Prime Minister of Singapore and thanked the country for being a reliable partner with Rwanda and expressed optimism that both countries will be doing even more together, in the years ahead.
“We value highly the trade and investment links as well as the cooperation between our central banks. Both our countries have created a strong foundation. Singapore’s development model and its commitment to social cohesion and national unity are very impressive,” he said.
Both countries have partnership in the areas of investment, trade, education, rule of law, technology and air transport service among others.
The hearing of opening statements began on Thursday 29th September 2022 but Kabuga boycotted the court as revealed by Iain Bonomy, the presiding judge at the UN tribunal.
Bonomy said that Kabuga is in good health but did neither accept to attend in-person nor virtually.
The MICT recently rejected the request of Lawyer Philippe Larochelle who requested the suspension of Kabuga’s trial awaiting the ruling on suggested replacement of defence lawyer.
On 5th September, Lawyer Larochelle appealed against the ruling dismissing the request to replace Emmanuel Altit as Kabuga’s defence lawyer.
He claimed that Kabuga was denied rights to choose a preferred defence lawyer which ‘would have a negative effect on court’s proceedings’.
On 20th September 2022, MICT validated the relevance for Kabuga’s defence plea but rejected the request to suspend the trial.
According to The New York Times, Kabuga refused to appear in court, saying in a note that it was in protest against a refusal to let him change lawyers, but judges ordered that the proceedings should go ahead and asked the prosecution to read its opening statement.
Kabuga is charged with several counts including five related to genocide; genocide, complicity in genocide, director and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide.
Other charges are persecution and extermination, both as crimes against humanity.
Arrested on 16th May 2020 in France, Kabuga was transferred to a UN tribunal in The Hague for stand trial. He is known as the Chief Financier of Genocide against Tutsi.
Kabuga was a wealthy businessman and core member of the Akazu (a small powerful circle of ideologues that masterminded the Genocide). He was also the founding president of the board of shareholders of hate radio RTLM, which incited killings.
Kabuga was originally scheduled to appear in court in Arusha, where the other arm of the MICT resides, but judges had ruled he would remain in The Hague “until otherwise decided.”
It was hard to sustain his business given that social gatherings were prohibited.
Besides, visits to national parks and other touristic attractions were also suspended.
As the government eased COVID-19 restrictions to resume domestic tourism, Nzabonimpa mulled ways to encourage Rwandans to visit their country’s attractions.
The man owns a company dubbed Beyond the Gorillas Experience Ltd, which focuses on hiking, visits to historical and cultural vestiges among others.
Nzabonimpa had his eyes wide open and realized that Rwanda has a lot of attractions that locals and foreigners need to explore like lakes, hills, parks’ perimeters, cow-based tourism and king’s palace among others.
In collaboration with members of the Private Sector (PSF), Rwanda Development Board (RDB) seeks to promote such attractions beyond the experience of visiting national parks.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Head of Tourism and Conservation Department at RDB, Ariella Kageruka said that the country plans to increase touristic attractions.
“ It is evident and the demand analysis proves it. The latter continues to indicate that people around the world consider new ways of visiting countries where they can spend long time in one country instead of touring different countries for one trip,” she said.
“These are great opportunities for members of the private sector, and other sectors because many of them have a link to tourism, be it agriculture and transport among others,” added Kageruka.
Among the attractions to be given attention, she pointed out hiking, visits to national museums, tourism on Rwandans’ lifestyle among others that can make tourists’ stay a memorable one.
Nzabonimpa has explained that they have explored more attractions since they began exploring other touristic attractions outside national parks and encouraged Rwandans as well as foreigners to take their time to visit such features.
“There are lakes, hills, agritourism, watching how local banana brew is made and cow-based tourism among others. In Rubavu, there is a scenic view of hills along the road to Rusizi and Lake Kivu. In this area, we trek through the hills where we spend ten days from Rubavu to Rusizi. It offers an amazing experience as we camp in different places and experience diverse attractions,” he said.
Rwanda also has plans to promote sports tourism, entertainment events and international conferences among others.
“During COVID-19, Rwanda continued to host international conferences, concerts and sports events. This is an exciting milestone because the country has been expending much effort in infrastructure development. Besides, partners were reinforced to make improvements luring international events organizers to think of Rwanda as their destination,” said Kageruka.
She also hinted at major events the country is set to host including the Basketball Africa League (BAL) tournament to be held in Rwanda for the third time, the Veterans World Cup and UCI Road World Championships in 2025 among others noting that it is a positive development proving how more great things are on the way.
{{Speedy recovery from COVID-19 effects }}
On 27th September 2022, Rwanda joined the rest of the world to celebrate the annual World Tourism Day. This time’s celebration focused on rethinking the impact of tourism on sustainable development.
The celebration held on Wednesday 27th September brought together officials from RDB, and partners including MasterCard Foundation, members of the private sector and investors in the tourism sector. The event also coincided with tourism exhibition.
The day was observed at a time when Rwanda continues to make commendable steps towards recovering the tourism sector that had been shaken by COVID-19 over the past two years.
Figures show that revenues from Rwanda’s tourism sector have been increasing steadily following the drop by 70% owing to effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, Rwanda registered an increase by 25% in tourism revenues reaching US$164 million up from US$131 million of 2020.
In 2019, the country generated US$498 million from tourism.
Kageruka has expressed optimism for Rwanda’s tourism to recover quickly from effects of COVID-19 and hailed Rwandans’ increased interest in exploring touristic attractions.
“As you know, tourism is rebounding, slightly over 80%. This evidences how people continue to promote tourism. RDB has also been introducing programs helping tourists to explore the country’s attractions. For instance, we have reduced gorilla trekking permit from US$1500 to US$200 for Rwandans and East African nationals and US$500 for foreign residents,” she noted.
The Director General of the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism at the Private Sector Federation, Frank Gisha Mugisha said that the country’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have played a pivotal role for the sector’s speedy recovery and expressed optimism that it will remain a major contributor to national development.
These include Lt Col Emmanuel Ruzindana, the Director of Operations promoted to Colonel and appointed Defence Attaché in Uganda.
Lt Col Frank Bakunzi, the Directing Staff of Rwanda Defence Force Command and Staff College (RDFCSC) in Nyakinama has been also promoted to Colonel and appointed Defence Attaché in Egypt.
Among others; the Head of State has appointed Brig Gen John Baptist Ngiruwonsanga as the Head Peace Support Operations (PSO) in RDF, Lt Col Claudien Bizimungu has been named Deputy Commander of Engineer Command; Lt Col Innocent Kayisire is named the Managing Director of Horizon Logistics; Lt Col Jean Paul Munana has been appointed as the Commander of Combat Engineer Brigade while Lt Col Faustin Mafura is appointed the Deputy Commander of Combat Engineer Brigade.
The statement released by RDF reads that the promotions and appointments take immediate effect.
The details emerged on Tuesday 27th September 2022 as the ministry announced results for primary school and ordinary level national examinations for the year 2021/2022.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Valentine Uwamariya has said that a total of 227,472 candidates sat for primary leaving national examinations of whom 125,169 are girls while the number of boys stood at 102,303.
“A total of 206,286 candidates obtained a pass mark, representing 90.69%. This means, the remaining 21,186 equivalent to 9.31% failed. Last year, pupils passed exams at 82.8%. This shows the improvement registered this year,” she said.
As for ordinary level, only 126,735 sat for exams out of 127,589 registered candidates.
“A total of 108,566 students passed the national exam representing 85.66% while 18,469 representing 14.34% failed exams. Unlike primary national exams, the ordinary level’s performance is below compared to 86.3% registered last year,” said Dr. Uwamariya.
Of those who passed primary leaving exams, 26,922 received boarding schools while 179,364 were sent to day schools.
Dr. Uwamariya has revealed that all students who failed to secure a pass mark will repeat classes.
Last year, a total of 60,000 who failed primary leaving and ordinary level national examinations also repeated the school year.
