According to The New Times, Musoni arrived in Rwanda on Friday 21st October 2022.
He was handed the sentence in 2015 by Stuttgart Court in Germany on counts of leading a terrorist organization. He was accused of with the then President of FDLR, Ignace Murwanashyaka handed 13-year sentence after he was found guilty of war crimes in relation to five FDLR attacks in eastern Congo and of leading a terrorist organization.
At the time, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice rejected an appeal by Musoni, who was given an eight-year sentence, but overturned Murwanashyaka’s conviction and sent his case back for a retrial.
The court cited legal errors in the reasoning of the original verdict that could have counted both for and against Murwanashyaka, including doubts about the war crimes conviction and whether he encouraged or facilitated attacks on villages.
It also said that section of the Stuttgart court’s verdict was contradictory in parts.
Murwanashyaka and Musoni lived in Germany where they had been granted asylum and coordinated FDLR.
They were charged with 26 crimes against humanity and 39 war crimes.
The duo was arrested in 2009 in Germany while their trial began in 2011.
Musoni was born in 1961 and settled in Germany in 1986 where he worked as a computer specialist.
He returns to Rwanda after serving his sentence while his boss Murwanashyaka died in prison in 2019 before completing his sentence.
The meeting comes at a time when many African countries and environmental activists lament of emissions from developed countries which continue relenting on compensation of occasioned damages.
They highlight that some families lost relatives due to floods, landslides, erosion, drought and other effects of climate change associated with the increase of greenhouse gas emissions released by countries; mainly from Europe and the United States of America.
The United Nations (UN) report dubbed International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) indicate that greenhouse gas emissions will exacerbate global warming by 2030.
The report shows that the global warming will increase from the current 1.2 to 1.5 degree celsius or 2 by 2040.
Like other African countries, Rwanda is among countries with least emissions but the continent is more affected than developed countries.
{{Rwanda’s stance at COP27 }}
Rwanda has an ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38% by 2030 compared to business as usual, equivalent to an estimated mitigation of up to 4.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Rwanda is among countries expected to attend the upcoming COP27 which draws near and will be an opportunity to call other participants for action to concert efforts aimed at dealing with climate change.
Herman Hakuzimana, the Environment and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Specialist at Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), has said that Rwanda will put forward its broad agenda aligning with designed national policy.
“Rwanda as a country affected by climate change, wants to see resolutions of the meeting highlighting how funds earmarked to mitigate climate change will be increased and raised,” he said.
The previous meeting ‘COP26’ resolved that funds allocated for climate change action plan should be doubled to reach at US$40 billion by 2025.
The funds are expected to bridge existing gaps related to financial constraints.
As for Rwanda, the country needs US$11 billion to implement the climate action plan.
The funds are made up of 5.7 billion dollars for mitigation and 5.3 billion dollars for adaptation.
Rwanda also wants to highlight its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38% to 16%.
Hakuzimana said that Rwanda is not among major polluters but wants them to reduce emissions.
“We also want the meeting to come up with a resolution demanding major polluters to reduce emissions lest the issue continues to exacerbate,” he revealed.
Experts indicate that issues related to climate change increase proportionally to global warming.
Paris Agreement targets to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degree Celsius.
Hakuzimana explained that Rwanda wants delegates to take a resolution requesting countries to take bold actions to meet the target.
Rwanda will also advocate for special attention to implement National Determined Contributions.
The country will also mobilize developed countries to contribute US$100 billion to run different projects to help poor countries overcome effects of climate change.
The pledge was made at COP held for the 21st time in 2015. The funds were to be provided between 2020 and 2025 but not a single coin has been donated.
Faustin Mvuniyingoma, the coordinator of Rwanda Climate Change Development Network (RCCDN) has also said that Civil Society Organizations need increased funding to implement projects aimed at dealing with climate change.
“Damages and losses should be compensated. There are people dying, washed away crops, landslides and destroyed infrastructures. There is a need for compensation because there are people releasing emissions that occasion such devastating effects. Their contribution is needed to compensate damages,” he said.
During a pass out ceremony held on Friday 21st October 2022, the newly trained soldiers demonstrated to the RDF leadership the skills at arms and tactical drills acquired during the year-long military training.
The enrolment ceremony was presided over by the RDF Army Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Mubarakh Muganga on behalf the Chief Defence Staff Gen Jean Bosco Kazura.
In his remarks, the Army Chief of Staff thanked the young soldiers for the good choice made to join the RDF family to protect the country and its people.
He welcomed the graduates and urged them to observe RDF values including patriotism, discipline and commitment. “I urge you to always be the best in all tasks given to you and to learn from your predecessors,” he said.
He reminded them that the success of RDF has and will always be built on exceptional discipline.
During the ceremony, different awards were presented to recognise the best performers during one-year training.
Pte Byiringiro Egide received the overall best student award followed by Pte Gisingizo Aime Bruno and Pte Habumugisha Benon.
The educators who arrived in Kigali in the evening of Wednesday 19th October 2022 include 135 to be deployed in Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs). Others will be deployed to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), three Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centres (IPRCs) while some will teach in the University of Rwanda – College of Medicine and Health Sciences (UR-CMHS).
They were recruited after passing job entry exams and accepting to work in Rwanda.
Those Zimbabweans are allowed to stay in Rwanda with their families. They will spend three days for induction during which they will be taught about Rwanda’s history, visit Kigali Genocide Memorial and other places.
The new educators are expected to start their jobs on Monday next week.
Speaking at the ceremony to officially welcome the foreign teachers; the Minister of State in charge of ICT and TVET, Claudette Irere said that they will first be taken through Rwanda’s history values, home-grown solutions and get more information about their new job.
She reminded them that the country expects a lot from them to promote quality education.
Irere explained that they were recruited as experienced teachers who will also assist or train Rwandan counterparts.
The Ambassador of Zimbawe to Rwanda, Prof. Charity Manyeruke said that the successful recruitment of teachers from Zimbabwe is a fruit of vibrant relations between both countries.
Zimbabwe opened an embassy in Rwanda in 2019 and Rwanda opened embassy in the country in the same year.
Prof. Manyeruke thanked both countries’ heads of state for being far sighted. He explained that Zimbawe has undergone several reforms to promote the education sector for far too long noting that fruits of these efforts are self-evident.
He highlighted that Rwanda and Zimbabwe have so far signed 22 agreements in different areas including energy, exchange of knowledge and employees from different sectors, an addition to existing trade cooperation.
Prof. Manyeruke underscored that the collaboration between Rwanda and Zimbawe aligns with provisions of the African Continental Free Trade Area, to remove employment barriers among African countries.
The Ministry of Education has revealed that the government will pay the teachers’ salaries and provide accommodation nearby their workplace in the first three months.
It is expected that they will have been familiar with the country during this time, whereafter they can rent selected accommodations or build own houses depending on available means.
Family members who came to Rwanda with the teachers can also apply for jobs matching with their qualifications in Rwanda.
Their employment contract will last for two years but can be renewed in consideration of different aspects including their performance.
Some of these teachers have told IGIHE that they are excited to work in Rwanda as a country of their dreams with an inspiring development journey and visionary leadership.
“On my side, I have to say that my dreams have come true. I come here as an experienced English teacher where I will be mentoring fellow teachers,” said Zendile Ndlovu.
Of these teachers comprising 96 men and 58 women; six will be assigned to TVET schools, 11 will be deployed to IPRC as three serve as lecturers at the University of Rwanda.
The mass relocation of residents from Kangondo and Kibiraro slums located in Remera Sector to Busanza modern estate built in Kicukiro District by the Government of Rwanda began in September this year.
The government explains that the relocation is in public interests to move citizens from hazardous zones to safe places.
The Deputy Government Spokesperson, Alain Mukuralinda has told IGIHE that 1130 families comprised of 5,402 members have been relocated to Busanza estate.
Each family resettled in the model village was given a house with the value estimated between Rwf14 to 35 million.
Residents with properties valued below than Rwf14 million also received similar shelters.
However, families whose properties were worth more than Rwf35 million did not receive houses but were given monetary compensation.
Mukuralinda explained that 45 out of 53 families have been compensated under this expropriation model but eight more have not yet received payments due to unsettled issues.
“There are two people who approved their properties’ valuation but established that they had been presented as collaterals. We are still waiting for banks to release original documents of their properties. As of today, six residents have not yet signed a document detailing how their properties were valued,” he said.
Mukuralinda further revealed that there are two people living abroad, one residing in Ivory Coast while another one resides in Canada. As he said, they approved the valuation of their properties via email but funds have not yet been disbursed.
He explained that their money will be kept in the national coffers until they will designate representatives approved by respective embassies or come to Rwanda to pick the money themselves.
Among others, three former Kangondo residents rejected the valuation of their properties awaiting the court’s decision while another one is waiting for a revised valuation as per current prices in 2022.
Mukuralinda has told IGIHE that 89.7% of available houses in Busanza estate have been given to resettled residents while 130 more remain unoccupied.
Before the relocation, 114 residents had filed a lawsuit claiming for monetary compensation instead of houses.
Mukuralinda explained four of them agreed the compensation model through negotiations with the City of Kigali, ten accepted cash payments as their properties were worth over Rwf35 million while two refused cash and are awaiting court’s decision on 11th November 2022.
Former President of FDLR, Ignace Murwanashyaka and Vice President Straton Musoni were respectively handed 13 and 8-year sentence by Stuttgart Court in Germany in 2015 accused of having issued orders to plot attacks in Northern Kivu Province between 2008 and 2009.
Murwanashyaka was found guilty of war crimes in relation to five FDLR attacks in eastern Congo and of leading a terrorist organization. Musoni was found guilty of leading a terrorist organization but acquitted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice rejected an appeal by Musoni, who was given an eight-year sentence, but overturned Murwanashyaka’s conviction and sent his case back for a retrial.
At the time, the court cited legal errors in the reasoning of the original verdict that could have counted both for and against Murwanashyaka, including doubts about the war crimes conviction and whether he encouraged or facilitated attacks on villages.
The court said that section of the Stuttgart court’s verdict was contradictory in parts.
Murwanashyaka and Musoni lived in Germany where they had been granted asylum and coordinated FDLR.
They were charged with 26 crimes against humanity and 39 war crimes.
The duo was arrested in 2009 in Germany while their trial began in 2011.
Musoni was born in 1961 and settled in Germany in 1986 where he worked as a computer specialist.
Musoni is set to return to Rwanda while his boss Murwanashyaka died in prison in 2019 before completing his sentence.
He made the revelation on Tuesday 18th October 2022 as he appeared before the parliamentary chamber of deputies to provide explanations on different issues including water distribution in rural areas, which raises concerns over hindrances that might impede government’s policy for universal access to safe water by 2024.
The decision to summon the minister was reached on 6th May 2022, following the community outreach visits of parliamentarians to different districts across the country to witness citizens’ livelihood standards and the implementation of development projects.
They established that some districts still have a lower percentage of residents with access safe water.
The problem was mainly noticed in the districts of Burera (43%), Nyabihu (56%), Nyagatare (60,2%) and others including Karongi, Nyaruguru, Ruhango and Rutsiro.
The parliamentarians also identified poor management including hiked water prices imposed by some water administrators, failure to rehabilitate water supply networks or ravaged water kiosks among others.
Some areas are reported to have idle water supply systems. The issue was specifically identified in Gakenke District where only 41 out of 100 similar infrastructures are fully operational while seven are not functional.
In Nyagatare District, it was observed that 33 villages do not have water despite the presence of water supply networks.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Dr. Erneste Nsabimana explained that the old system for water distribution in rural areas has changed.
He said that 90% of water supplied to the areas was from springs that were drained due to increase in human activities including agriculture and climate change as well.
This affected many projects that sources water from springs, but according to the minister, there is a plan to replace old water distribution systems to catch water from rivers and build mini water treatment plants.
“That is why the government has taken measures to build water treatment plants sourcing water from rivers and lakes. This plan will solve these problems. Related discussions with sponsors and relevant stakeholders are on commendable stages,” he said.
“We are left behind in building mini plants. Many northern Africa countries like Morocco and Senegal have applied the system and supplied large quantities of safe water to the population. It does not require advanced technology. Such plants are not expensive like large ones and are promising to get us on desired outcomes,” added Minister Nsabimana.
He explained that a master plan for water distribution has been designed in all districts noting that the remaining challenges are related to financial constraints.
“Inadequate budget is the major constraint where the blueprint is not aligned with our resources,” said Dr. Nsabimana.
Dr. Nsabimana disclosed that the government is aware of the issue of old water supply systems noting that they will be replaced depending on available means.
He explained that an assessment has indicated that 400 water distribution systems need to be replaced where the Ministry of Infrastructure needs Rwf15 billion to implement the project.
“We continue to discuss the issues with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. We will renovate them gradually depending on available means,” Dr. Nsabimana said.
Regarding the poor management of water resulting in hiked tariffs, Minister Nsabimana said that the related policy is being revised to address issue.
Gen Muhoozi arrived in Kigali on Saturday last week where he was received by Maj Gen Willy Rwagasana, Commander of the Republican Guard and Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga, the Spokesperson of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF).
Following his arrival, Gen Muhoozi met with President Paul Kagame but topics of discussions were not disclosed to the public.
As he arrived in Uganda, Gen Muhoozi posted a message of his Twitter handle that he was very happy to be back home after another very successful stay to beautiful Rwanda.
Gen Muhoozi revealed that he was honoured to have more great discussions with President Kagame, whom he calls his uncle and asked God to bless Rwanda and Uganda.
“Uganda-Rwanda relations are now very strong indeed! God bless both brotherly countries,” he tweeted.
On Sunday, Gen Muhoozi participated in the bi-monthly Car Free Day along with President Kagame and Kigali City residents.
He was also seen with Kagame in his farm located in Kibugabuga of Bugesera District.
During his visit to Rwanda, Gen Muhoozi was accompanied by journalist Andrew Mwenda and others including Alexander Mukonzi, a son of his uncle Gen Salim Saleh.
Members of his delegation were gifted cows by Kagame at his farm in Bugesera.
Gen Muhoozi was also given cows by the Head of State during his recent visit to Rwanda in March 2022.
Gen Muhoozi has visited Rwanda three times this year. His mediation efforts saw the tensions that existed between Rwanda and Uganda for four years de-escalating.
He delivered the message on Tuesday 18th October 2022 during an interactive session with students and teachers on his visit to the school located in Kigarama Sector of Kicukiro District in Kigali City.
“The UAE has put great emphasis in promoting science, technology and innovation in the education system and curriculum. One of the targets of National Agenda is that UAE students must be the best in the world in reading, mathematics and science.
This is something that I also wish for all of you, to be the best you can be in your science classes at your school,” said Amb. Alqahtani.
The Ambassador also took the opportunity to share the key initiatives put in place by the UAE in advancing education not only to UAE citizens but also to Rwandans.
Since 2002, the UAE through the Al Maktoum Foundation has supported Rwanda’s education by funding two secondary schools namely; the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Girls Secondary School for Sciences in Muhanga and the Hamdan Bin Rashid Kimisange Secondary School which he has visited.
Students from these schools have been performing well in national examinations.
For the last 12 years, the UAE through the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has also been 100% supporting the Islamic Secondary School for Sciences and the Islamic Cultural center.
Within the framework of joint action in order to support the education sector in Rwanda, the UAE Government provided scholarships to outstanding students in different UAE universities, through the UAE Technical Assistance Program.
“The scholarship programs will enable the students to build a better future, and contribute to achieving development for their country and the local community,” said Amb. Alqahtani.
In 2018, 20 male and female students from Rwanda received UAE Government scholarships at the UAE University in the disciplines of Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biology, Biochemistry, and Computer Science.
Among others, 10 Rwandan students were given full scholarships to pursue bachelor’s degree programs at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi University in 2019.
In consideration of the fact that education plays a critical role in knowledge-driven economy, Amb. Alqahtani commended students for excellent performance and reiterated his country’s commitment to provide scholarships to best performers in internationally recognized universities of his country.
The UAE has established an excellent and diversified system of higher education in a very short period.
The UAE University, founded in 1976, led higher education in the country. Since then, the UAE currently has more than 76 public and private institutions of higher education and they include universities, colleges and vocational and technical institutes, both local and international campuses, such as the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi University, New York University and American University of Sharjah.
It has been providing scholarships to Rwandan students who excelled in their secondary education at some of these public and private universities.
Maki Abdalla Ali Hamadian, the Country Director of Al Makhtoum Foundation Rwanda said that the organization did not only contribute to infrastructure development mainly in the education sector in Rwanda, but also paid tuition fees for vulnerable families and provided food relief among others.
He explained that the two secondary schools have graduated over 700 students of whom more than 150 were admitted to universities in Rwanda while 60 were supported to pursue studies abroad.
Among others, 15 students were fully supported by the foundation and completed secondary studies.
The schools offer education from the lower to the upper secondary school with a focus on science courses in the combinations of Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology (MCB) as well as Mathematics, Physics and Geography (MPG) but the foundation plans to introduce technical courses to contribute to holistic, social and economic transformation.
During his visit to Hamdan Bin Rashid Kimisange Secondary School for Sciences, Amb. Alqahtani toured different facilities including a laboratory, computer lab and awarded a senior 5 student who exhibited outstanding performance with a laptop.
The Head Teacher of the school, Valens Safari thanked the ambassador for the gift which he considered a motivation for other students to work hard, so long as they have witnessed that hard work pays off.
Students thanked the ambassador for paying them a visit and got an opportunity to ask questions of curiosity.
The African airline has been operating flights to London via Brussels for the past five years, but from next month, these flights will be replaced with a new non-stop service to cater to demand.
A statement announcing the move reads that the new direct flights, which are on sale from today, will operate four times a week, an increase from the airline’s current indirect thrice-weekly operation.
Flights depart Kigali each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 23:35, arriving in London at 06:20 the following morning.
The return flight departs the British capital at 20:30 each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, arriving at RwandAir’s home hub at 07:00 the following morning.
Customers traveling to the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills, will experience RwandAir’s state-of-the-art A330, which offers a choice of flying in Business Class or Economy Class.
Commenting on the development; Yvonne Makolo, the CEO of RwandAir said: “We are excited to be launching direct flights to London, which are on sale from today, due to the popularity of our current services.
The UK is an incredibly important market for us, and we know our customers will value the shorter flight times and increased connections that will be offered by the new service.”
These direct flights are expected to increase access for those looking to see the famous mountain gorillas, experience Rwanda’s majestic scenery, or go on a safari at Akagera National Park.
The airlines’ convenient schedule also allows for easy connections through Kigali and onto a wealth of destinations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The airline has flown between London and Kigali since May 2017 via an indirect service through Brussels, having launched flights from London Gatwick on 26th May 2017.
In 2020, after three successful years of operations, the African carrier airline decided to switch flights to the UK’s busiest airport London Heathrow, helping to improve connections for those traveling from further afield.
From its hub at the heart of Africa at Kigali International Airport, RwandAir is renowned for its excellent on-time performance, customer service, and safety. The airline has for two successive years been awarded “The best airline staff in Africa”
RwandAir currently serves 28 destinations across East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
