The start and the finish line will be in Nyamirambo, at Intwari Primary School. The race will pass by Tapis Rouge, Nyabugogo, Muhima, Gakiriro for a total of 12 kilometers.
Adult male riders will do 9 laps equal to 108 kilometers, male teenagers, 8 laps equal to 96 kilometers while women riders will run 6 laps equal to 72 kilometers.
The trajectory that will be used is the same used during the second stage of the ‘Rwanda Cycling Cup 2019, Tour de Kigali’ won by Nkurunziza Yves in the male category.
The race will take place 31 days before ‘Tour du Rwanda 2.1” which is scheduled from February 23rd to March 1st, 2020.
Riders including Areruya Joseph, Mugisha Samuel, Mugisha Moïse, Nzafashwanayo Jean Claude, Munyaneza Didier, and Uhiriwe Byiza Renus will not be part of the race as they are currently representing Rwanda in ‘La Tropicale Amissa Bongo’ race in Gabon until January 26th, 2020.
11 teams will compete in the ‘Heroes Cycling Cup’ including Fly Cycling Club, Les Amis Sportifs, Cycling Club for All, Benediction Club, Muhazi Cycling Generation, Karongi Vision Sport Center, Kigali Cycling Club, Nyabihu Cycling Team, Kayonza Young Stars Cycling Team, Ciine Elmay, and Bugesera Cycling Team.
Dr. Vuningoma’s funeral is scheduled for January 25th, 2020. His body will be collected from King Faisal Hospital where he passed on at 8:30 A.M.
A memorial service will be held at his home in Kacyiru at 11:00 P.M, funeral mass from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M at Giporoso, Remera Anglican Church while his burial and committal service will be held at Rusororo at 4:00 P.M.
Dr. Vuningoma was a veteran linguist and a Rwandan culture enthusiast. He obtained a Ph.D. in African Studies at France’s University of Nice in 1989, a Master of Arts Degree from Université de Bordeaux III in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Makerere University in Uganda in 1974. After his doctorate studies, he served as a lecturer at Kigali Independent Institute (KIE) in African Studies and later on as Vice-Rector in charge of Academics.
He also served as editor-in-chief at The New Times.
On January 18th, 2018, Dr. Vuningoma was appointed member of Media High Council (MHC).
Bishop Rucyahana John, NURC President explained that the partnership with GFI will serve as a channel to spread ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ which is considered as a tool to sustain cohesion among Rwandans.
In 2013, ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ was initiated to build a national identity based on trust and dignity. It aims to strengthen unity and reconciliation among Rwandans by providing a forum for people to talk about the causes and consequences of the genocide as well as what it means to be Rwandan.
“The partnership with GFI will allow us to inculcate to the Rwandan diaspora living in Zambia, the values of unity and reconciliation which have been a core pillar to the reconstruction of our country after the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.”
Although the partnership will not contribute to bringing to justice, genocide fugitives and deniers hiding in Zambia, teachings that will be given are expected to drive the Rwandan diaspora in Zambia to denounce ‘génocidaires’.
Rucyahana said that some Rwandans living in the diaspora don’t know anything about the history of the genocide and hence don’t understand the gravity of genocide crimes.
“genocide implies devastating consequences including inter-generational trauma, children made orphans, families eroded by poverty and so on. We expect the teachings that will be spread to bring to light the truth about genocide and its effects and hopefully also reveal genocide perpetrators who are still hiding from justice in foreign countries.”
The partnership will be a compliment to Rwanda-based Prison Fellowship which was founded in 1995. Prison Fellowship focuses on instilling action-based practical reconciliation among Rwandans directly or indirectly affected by the 1994 genocide against Tutsi as well as other crimes.
Currently, the organization is making gap-filling interventions in the justice system which is very fundamental to enhance forgiveness and reconciliation among the affected communities.
GFI teachings are expected to also lead genocide perpetrators to come forth, admit their crimes and accepted to face justice for their acts. “If genocide convicts in Rwanda are capable of admitting their crimes after years of denial, we expect the same result in Zambia as well.”
Dr. Joshua H.K Banda, GFI Managing Director said that even though GFI won’t arrest genocide perpetrators, teaching the truth about the genocide is a contribution to bringing genocide criminals to justice.
So far, 8 genocide criminals were brought to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) with the collaboration of Zambia.
GFI is the first organization to partner with NURC in teaching the history of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi. Since its creation, five years ago, it has contributed to spreading values of unity and reconciliation in Zambia as a nation that has suffered from years of ethnic tensions.
In the past, Rwanda and Zambia have partnered in different projects including trade, investment, mining and tourism.
On March 27th, 2015, RwandAir, the flag carrier airline of Rwanda launched Kigali-Lusaka flights going 6 flights per week.
Aged 17, he lives in Gatanga Village, Karenge Cell, Rwimbogo Sector in Rusizi District. He, since childhood, has always been curious to know the functioning of tools and wanted to make them.
As a child, he used to see a sparrowhawk picking up chicks, and that inspired his idea of a machine that broods and hatches eggs.
He says, “In my childhood, when I kept chicken, they hatched eggs and sparrowhawks would take them away. I then got an idea of a machine that hatches the eggs and keeps the chicks. At first, I failed to make the machine, but I finally found some few materials and started putting them together to make the machine.”
Niyigena adds that for him to make the machine, he made internet research which enabled him to get an idea of how to make the tool that increases and decreases temperature.
“I used the internet, and copied how it is made. The tool I made increases or decreases the temperature as you wish. What this machine does is brood eggs, hatches them, and keeps them for two weeks until they are tangible,” he says.
Niyigena says that among the challenges he faced was a lack of internet that slowed down his research and implementation of his ideas.
Today, he also makes flat-irons for ironing clothes. Showing one of his flat boxes he says; “This is a flat-iron made from wood, a piece of metal, clay, and wires.”
His materials are sometimes bought or collected from a place where they prepare metals. “Upon knowing the name of a material that I need, I buy it.
He got the skills while studying at Groupe Scolaire de Mushaka. He advises his fellow youth is to believe that nothing is impossible.
“While studying at Mushaka, I used to make research, sometimes on the weekend, or at night. We did not study this at school. It’s all about commitment. Don’t say it’s for white people. Instead, try it out and make it yourself,” he says.
He has sold two of the machines, each one at Rwf 100,00. He is taking sciences at a school in Nkombo Island, Rusizi District.
HWPL stated that peace education is to nurture human resources with the values of peace and spirit, which has been developed at the core with values such as “the dignity of life”, “loyalty” and “coexistence and sustainability.”
Furthermore, with the aim of applying these values within a wider community as well as individuals, help individuals to awaken the spirit of peace and play a pioneering role in establishing a peace culture.
Peace education, supported by HWPL, was conducted at schools in Burundi last year.
At this seminar, the participants shared the results of peace education in 2019 and discussed the plan for further process for this year.
In particular, practical measures for the implementation of international law for peace based on the DPCW that addressed the importance of a culture of peace through peace education were also discussed.
Hatungimana Liévain, a teacher of Leoboth School, said, “Thank you for the active cooperation of HWPL for the seminar. It was a good time to learn the spirit and attitude of peace education instructors working for peace. I believe that the HWPL peace education instructors will change students into people who have a good influence on friends, family, neighbors, countries, and all over the world.”
President Kagame said that the government of Rwanda has put forth a conducive environment for investment and is currently ranked second on the continent in doing business.
“We have made efforts in attracting investors and the World Bank has ranked Rwanda in the top African countries with the most favorable trade environment.”
Rwanda is also ranked 29th on the World Bank list of countries with a favorable investment climate. This has helped Rwanda to fully harness its economic potential and maximize the benefits of private investment.
President Kagame said that the future promises growth in Intra-African trade by 50% and that is set to establish a competitive market favorable for enhancing market competition and stimulating investment for business-led growth.
“AfCFTA has become a reality and that implies strong political will and supports the dream of a united Africa.”
During the summit, Rwanda listed its first local currency bond on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) worth $40 million.
Different institutions from Rwanda attended the summit including Bank of Kigali, Enterprise Urwibutso, Mara Phones, Rwanda Finance Ltd, Ampersand, Cogebanque, Africa Improved Foods, and Water Access Rwanda.
What to expect with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
A World Bank report released in December 2019 on the AfCFTA showed that the common market would benefit the African continent in different ways.
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement which was signed by 44 African countries on March 21st, 2018 in Kigali shows that a single market for goods and services across Africa will lead to poverty reduction. At least 30 million Africans (1.5% of Africans) will rise above the poverty line.
The report shows that 12 million people in West Africa, 9.3 million in Central Africa and 4.8 million in East Africa will rise above the poverty line. The AfCFTA has the potential of lifting 67.9 million Africans (3.6% of Africans) to middle income status by 2035. That is a $5.50 income per day.
The World Bank currently reports that 415 million Africans live in extreme poverty, earning only $1.90 per day.
The AfCFTA will connect 1.3 billion African citizens from 54 countries and is expected to generate $3.4 trillion annually.
The Continental Free Trade Area was established in the capital of Niger, Niamey and will start operating on July 1st, 2020. This trade bloc will improve Intra-African trade and definitely solve the problem of food import in Africa.
Casa Mbungo André was made head coach of the football club in August of 2017 and left in November of 2018 after spending three months without being paid the contract wages.
In October 2018, he wrote a letter to the management of Kiyovu Sports communicating that he would leave the team in thirty days if his payments were not affected.
On May 16, 2019, Casa reported the case to FERWAFA which ordered Kiyovu Sports to pay him Rwf 6,500,000.
On the 7th of July 2019, FERWAFA gave Kiyovu Sports sixty days to pay the former coach, failure of which a ban would be imposed on their transferring and registering of players.
Kiyovu Sports appealed against the order, but, on the 8th of November 2019, the appeal committee of FERWAFA rejected it.
On January 4, 2020, the representative of Casa demanded that FERWAFA enforce the ban, which was agreed by FERWAFA disciplinary committee on Saturday, January 18, 2020.
The ban comes at a time when Kiyovu Sports has entered into a four-year Rwf 132,000,000 contract with AZAM Bakhresa Group.
Kiyovu Sports is currently in the fifth position with 26 points in the national football league. It recently registered such new players as Habamahoro Vincent from AFC Leopards, Kenya, and the Cameroonian Mbazo ’o Nkoto Karim, registered before the ban was enforced.
Although the topic of the discussion was not announced, it would not be a faux pas saying that the discussion is a promise for better diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Rwanda.
Rwanda having talks with British high officials is not a surprise as it happens a few months before the Commonwealth Heads of States Meeting (CHOGM) which will be held in Kigali starting June 22nd, 2020.
Apart from that, the UK has partnered with Rwanda in various development projects in the past including mining while Rwanda exports agricultural products including tea, coffee, vegetables and fruits to the UK.
Prince William Arthur Philip Louis is a member of the British Royalty and the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. He previously met with President Kagame in July 2019 where they agreed about the venue of CHOGM and Prince William promised he would attend the meeting.
All the talks are proof that the UK-Rwanda relations will only get better and it is supported by Ambassador Lomas recent remarks where he said that the Brexit would not in any way affect the relations between Rwanda and the UK but will rather promote them as the UK will be able to negotiate its own trade terms after the Brexit.
It was reiterated by John Rwangombwa, governor of the National Bank of Rwanda as Rwanda listed its first local currency bond on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) worth $40 million during the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020.
In 2011, the UK offered a grant worth €330 million (Rwf 317 billion) for 4 consecutive years. The grant was directed towards education, health, agriculture and improving the livelihoods of Rwandans.
In 2014, the UK offered another grant to Rwanda worth €330 to equally last for 4 years. In 2017, Rwanda and the U signed partnership agreements granting €64 million (Rwf 69 billion) for the 2017/18 National Budget and €62 million (Rwf 67 billion) for the 2018/19 National Budget.
Many institutions from the UK have invested in Rwanda including Unilever which signed a $30 million worth partnership agreement with the Government of Rwanda in 2016. The investment will allow Unilever to manage its industries and tea plantations located in Nyaruguru district, Kibeho and Munini sectors.
In 2015, Piran Resources Ltd invested $22 million in precious stones mining. BBOX has invested in providing off-grid electricity to Rwandan citizens through solar energy and Metalysis UK has recently announced a $16 million investment in Tin Ore mining in Bugesera district.
Prince William also held discussions with other African Heads of States including President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana.
The UK-Africa Investment Summit happens a few weeks after Prince Harry and Princess Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were resigning from royal duties and titles hence leaving Kate and Prince William with more responsibilities including the joint charity they managed together.
The quote, published more than a century ago, has a way it resonates among Rwandans, all around the world, and can be used in defining Rwanda and the leadership of the country.
In much of the world media, the country was usually referred to as “a tiny, central African state, the size of…”(then put the name of a very small American state) …and then they would continue with detailing the dark history of 1994.
But Rwanda, right after liberation, refused to be a hostage of that bad history.
Today, Rwanda not only personifies hope before the eyes of the world, it is demonstrating that big ideas can be nurtured from a flicker into glowing success, using the little resources available. What matters is the spirit.
When it was recently announced that a $70m basilica is to be constructed in Kibeho holy land in Nyaruguru district, and set to be one of the biggest in the world, my mind raced through a number of mega projects that the country embarked on, implemented and completed, some of which are the biggest in the region.
But what intrigues me, even more, is how these ideas, the idea of starting, no matter how big, are permeating among ordinary Rwandans. It is not uncommon today to find mega projects in millions of dollars in the hands of individuals in the private sector. When the government invests in multi-million dollar projects, it, in a way, boosts the confidence of the private investors to also seed their money in different sectors of the economy.
The spirit of entrepreneurship, as a result, has also been cultivated among rural Rwandans. Cooperatives have become vehicles of entrepreneurship through which individual and group capacities have been enhanced. Today, cooperatives of ordinary Rwandans own multi-storey, multi-billion buildings in Kigali and other towns around the country, agro-processing plants, transport companies, livestock, handicraft projects, among a plethora of others.
Farmers in villages, picking a leaf from the leadership of the country, have taken to that practice of taking risks, investing in small businesses; no matter how small, and this is gradually transforming their livelihoods. Many rural Rwandans that had never thought of themselves as potential investors [do no mind the size], have tested the waters and are now tasting the fruits, getting even more inspired by intense enthusiasm and their neighbors’ successes, neighbors that were once poor but have now got their lives better through those small investments.
What I am saying is, there is a top-down inspiration-top leader inspire and guide the people, and horizontal osmosis of ideas and zeal among peasants-one peasant inspires and ignites another. Where you would find envy and jealousy among peasant communities in yesteryears, today you find cooperation and sharing experiences.
But beyond the spirit of ‘money investments’, the RPF-led government has succeeded in investing in mindset change; with big fights against genocide ideology; still, leading from the front; taking good where it had never stepped before –geographically and in the minds of the people – talking to all people with one mellifluous educated voice of looking to the future with steadfast focus, empowering and actually giving them (all) the torch to light in the darkest of corners so that they do not stumble, nay, fall again; leading from the front, telling and showing the followers how possible it is – to build the Rwanda we all want.
That is a very big spirit; so big that it surpasses the physical size of the country, for it is a resource in itself that has become a Rwandan currency.
He had recently come back from India where he had gone for cancer treatment.
The late has worked in different organs of the Government, among which were education and culture where he once served as vice-rector of the former Kigali Institute of Education (KIE).
He has been the executive secretary of Rwanda Academy of Languages and Culture (RALC) since 2012 when it was founded.
