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Rev. Karangwa was arrested towards the end of October 2019.

Karangwa appeared in court today morning for hearing of bail application as investigations are underway.

He was neither accompanied by a defense lawyer nor relatives or the church’s followers.
Karangwa told the judge that he was not ready for the hearing and requested to postpone it to get a defense lawyer.

The prosecution said that the files were transferred to the court three days ago and so defense lawyers should have seen it.

It, however, explained that the suspect has the right to legal representation and requested to adjourn the hearing.

The presiding judge postponed the next hearing on Tuesday 12th November 2019 at 2 pm.

The suspects are all residents of Muyira Sector, Nyundo Cell in Mugari Village where four underage children were rescued.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Police spokesperson for the Southern region, said that the rescue of the children and subsequent arrest of those who were violating their rights is part of the ongoing operations against child labour.

“All the four children, with three of them girls, had dropped out of school including one aged 12. Two children were working in a restaurant while others were working as house-help doing domestic chores,”he explained.

“It’s so unfortunate that one of the suspects is a teacher; these are parents with school-going children, who should understand that these children they were employing to do hectic work in their homes and businesses should equally be in school,” CIP Twajamahoro added.

Article 6 of law No. 71/2018 of 31/08/2018 relating to the protection of the child defines a child as “any person under eighteen (18) years of age.”

“These are operations meant to fight child labour, promote child rights and ensure children go to school. These child labour activities are harmful to minors and their development. Children should be guided to have a better future,” the spokesperson said.

“Parents and guardians should remember their responsibility of looking after their children; take them to school and to avoid any form of abuse that makes children escape from their homes,” he advised.

Article 6 of the law regulating labour in Rwanda, prohibits subjecting a child below the age of 18 to any form of works, which are physically harmful to the child; work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined space; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools or which involves manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in an environment, which exposes the child to temperatures, noise levels or vibrations damaging his/her health; work for longer hours or during the night or performed in confined spaces.

The event was part of Visit Rwanda’s ‘Business-to-Business’ outreach at the World Travel Market, which takes place each year in London to introduce global travel buyers, investors, and operators to more than 5,000 of the biggest destinations and brands in the world.

The event began with a screening of the Rwanda Royal Tour, a travel documentary featuring President Paul Kagame and showcasing Rwanda’s tourism offering.

The film includes President Kagame taking American Journalist Peter Greenberg on safari to see the Big Five, to Volcanoes National Park to encounter the mountain gorillas as well as sharing Rwanda’s incredible journey of transformation.

A group of 20 Rwandan tour operators had the opportunity to present themselves and showcase the tourism experiences and travel packages they offer.

The event also featured a performance from Indatwa Cultural Troupe which gave guests a taste of Rwanda’s unique cultural heritage.

“The World Travel Market in London brings together some of the globe’s leading travel agents. We were excited to provide a platform for Rwandan tour operators to connect with their international colleagues and foster new business relationships. Wherever we are in the world, we are pleased to see travel professionals excited about Rwanda as a popular luxury eco-tourism destination,” said Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board.

During the event, representatives from the Rwanda Development Board, Rwandan tour operators, hoteliers, international tour operators, and travel media took time to network, learn from each other, exchange knowledge and expertise as well as explore new opportunities. The event was organized in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Tourism Chamber.

Aimable Rutagarama, Rwanda Tourism Chamber Chairperson said that the event with Visit Rwanda in London was the perfect opportunity for Rwanda Tourism Chamber members to network with global travel buyers and media.

“Rwanda’s private sector tour operators and hoteliers are at the forefront of promoting the country and providing tourists with world-class travel experiences,” he noted.

Visit Rwanda and the Rwanda Tourism Chamber have been exhibiting their travel experiences and services to global investors and potential tourists at the World Travel Market, which started in London on Monday 4 November and concludes on 6 November 2019.

Ramaphosa who was speaking during a televised interview at CNBC Africa where he hinted on different issues concerning his country’s economy and foreign policy, emphasized South Africa pulls a lot of lessons from Rwanda’s achievements through his country’s economy surpasses Rwanda’s economy.

“We are learning quite a lot from Rwanda. Rwanda has achieved tremendous achievements. I have had a number of people from our local Government sector going to Rwanda just to go and see how Kigali manages to be the cleanest city on the whole continent and I say emulate them,” he said.

“Be like them and even beat them, be better than Kigali. In terms of their business savviness, their regulatory framework and their more-open economy, we have a lot to learn from them. For instance, when they say they have one stop shop, they mean it in real effect. When you get to Rwanda, you open business the same day and you have all your payments in a few hours, get your company registered and takes certificate,” added Ramaphosa.

He further explained that South Africa is learning from others which he believes is the beauty of being united as part of the African Union ‘that we can learn from one another, exchange good lessons and emulate what they are doing best and if they are doing wrong things we can learn from that and say we are not doing that’.

Rwanda remained the second easiest place to do business in Africa and is now 38th globally, according to the 2020 World Bank Doing Business report released towards the end of last month.

The World Bank assessed 190 countries using 10 indicators in business regulations.
These include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

Rwanda ranked second in Africa after Mauritius and maintained the first position in the East African Community. Rwanda is also the only low-income country in the top 50.

The 2020 report also saw Rwanda’s global ranking drop 9-positions to 38th from 29th last year, mainly caused by the World Bank’s sudden change in methodology.

He was arrested on 22nd October 2019 and appeared for the first time in Nyarugenge Primary court on 30th October 2019 for bail application hearing on alleged crimes as investigations got underway.

The hearing was adjourned after Bayigamba told the judge that he was not ready for trial citing the absence of his defense lawyer. He requested time to negotiate his legal representative to which prosecution said is part of the suspect’s rights to get legal representation.

Bayigamba was taken to court today as expected but the hearing could not proceed because prosecutors were holding a general assembly.

It is said that Bayigamba sold land to two different persons. It is alleged that Bayigamba received payments in advance from one buyer but later sold the same land to another person and failed to pay back the advance.

Bayigamba is among prominent figures in the Private Sector. Apart from being the Managing Director of Manumetal Ltd, he once chaired the association of manufacturers and the Private Sector Federation.

Bayigamba also assumed different functions in the top management of different institutions including RwandAir, Soras, Agaseke Bank (currently Bank of Africa), Banque Populaire and the University of Rwanda among others.

He also served as the Minister of Sports and Culture and the Chairperson of the Olympics Committee in Rwanda among others.

Uwambajemariya Florence, the mayor of Burera district has been appointed the executive secretary of Western province replacing Habiyaremye Pierre Célestin.

Dr. Jeanne Nyirahabimana, the mayor of Kicukiro district has been appointed the executive secretary of Eastern Province replacing Habimana Kizito.

Jabo Paul, the executive secretary of Northern Province has been transferred to Southern province exchanging duties Mushaija Geoffrey appointed executive secretary in Northern Province.

The provincial executive secretary is mandated to issue instructions to the province’s staff, coordinating and supervising service delivery, preparing the budget plan at the provincial level and following up its implementation; assessing files and other archives to be approved or signed by the Governor and reviewing issuance of tenders among others.

The report makes recommendations in the areas of the office’s mandate to fight corruption and injustice, declaration of assets by public officials, and assessing whether laws governing access to information and leadership code of conduct among others are being adhered to during the period in review.

Murekezi told the parliamentarians that of the 1,091 cases filed with the Ombudsman requesting retrial on the basis of unfairness, 851 were civil lawsuits, mostly which are land-related.

Some of these are directly related to inheritance issues.

118 are related to criminal cases, 69 are commercial cases, and 30 constitutional while 23 are related to labor.

Murekezi said that after a thorough analysis of the cases, only 96 merited retrials, something that indicates that Rwandans need to be sensitized about the value of courts and time.

“In 2018/2019, we had 1,091 cases. Of these, the ones that we felt required fresh trials are 96 only. That shows you that there is a serious problem where the masses are wasting time and court resources,” he said.

He pointed out that an assessment carried out by his office for the last five years had indicated that the ombudsman’s office had reviewed 5273 cases.

Of these, 5343 had been rejected while 433 were found to be unjust.

Murekezi also criticized local leaders whose citizens’ forums with the locals only deal with small matters instead of digging deeper.

“They don’t do any follow-ups. They fail to complete cases and this is costing locals’ money because they are obliged to pay more yet these are issues that can be fixed by an executive secretary,” he said.

He informed the parliament that unlike the previous years, his office’s activities were now fully funded by the European Union for the next three years.

{{Changes in the law}}

The issue of cases filed with the ombudsman requesting retrials has in the past been blamed for backlog which weighed down the Ombudsman’s Office for years.

To fix this, the government last year amended the law and stipulated that a complainant can only petition the Ombudsman’s Office after exhausting all legal avenues up to the Supreme Court.

While those were the conditions in the previous law and a complainant had to write to the Ombudsman if they felt the verdict was unjust, the current law requires the complainant to instead write to a higher court than the one that delivered the judgment.

For instance, if a case was tried by the Primary Court, the complainant is required to petition the Intermediary Court. If the case was tried by the Military Court, they write to the Military High Court.

The President of the court that has been petitioned is required to review the case for any injustices and, if any are found, they write to the Supreme Court which will determine which court should try the case.

Unlike the previous years, the new law requires one to petition the court after the verdict exactly 30 days after the trial.

The Deputy Ombudsman in charge of prevention and fighting injustice; Odette Yankurije says that previously, the law was relaxed and some people could even petition six years after a verdict that they are complaining about was delivered.

“Not anymore. Whether you are writing to the court or petitioning the Ombudsman, you have only thirty days to lodge a complaint from the time you lose a case or from the time the court tells you that there is no case,” she says.

PARLACEN, the Central American Parliament has begun to implement the DPCW in its member states’ laws, as well as the city of Policarpa in Colombia, which has also implemented Article 10 into its city code.

The DPCW has also received support from the National Assemblies of Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Panama. In the U.S., the DPCW has received 17 congratulatory certificates from the congressional districts and 15 support letters from city mayors.

The program for the Summit in Carson, California included speeches by Carson Mayor Albert Robles and performances by HWPL Peace Choir with Grammy-Award Winning Composer Benjamin Wright and Singer Odino Faccia.

Notably, the first World Peace Summit of South America was also held in Ecuador this year at the country’s National Assembly building.

Senators joined Former Presidents of Ecuador Lucio Gutierrez and Rosalia Arteaga Serrano to show their support. At the Summit, HWPL memorandums of understanding were signed with Former President Rosalia Serrano’s foundation, Fundacion FIDAL and Senator Cristina Reyes’ foundation Women that Change the World.

{{Agreement Marks Grenada’s Support for International Peace law, DPCW}}

Peace diplomats from the Washington D.C. branch of Heavenly Culture and World Peace (HWPL), in partnership with the Coalition of Caribbean Leaders for Peace (CCLP), traveled to St. George’s this past week to celebrate Grenada’s former Prime Ministers, Tillman Thomas and Samuel Hines’, entry into the newly formed CCLP.

The CCLP works closely with regional organizations and international leaders in the Caribbean Community encouraging leaders in office to adopt international peace law the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW).

The DPCW is a legal framework for spreading a culture of peace on a local, national, and international level.

The DPCW, which serves as the solution for worldwide peace and conflict resolution, has already been enacted as a National Declaration in several countries around the world; including Antigua and Barbuda, Seychelles and eSwatini, and international organizations such as the Central American Parliament.

The goal is for the law to be presented as a regional resolution through the CARICOM, Caribbean Community. Samuel Hinds, former Prime Minister of Guyana and Co-Chair of CCLP, when asked what’s the most important need for the Caribbean, he answered “Peace and the culture of peace.”

The luxurious state of the art facility is located at Sainte Famille Parish in Nyarugenge district in Kigali city.

It has 67 guest rooms with options of double, suites that can accommodate a family and deluxe rooms with luxurious refinement. It also has a large conference hall.

Sainte Famille Hotel is built on a comfortable, unruffled space, with a beautiful garden.
It also has a chapel for Christians where priests can celebrate a Mass for the willing guests.

The official launch held yesterday was also graced by the retiring Bishop Ntihinyurwa Thaddée who also blessed the new facility and presence of priests from different dioceses, contractors, the board members of the hotel, among others.

Bishop Ntihinyurwa explained that construction of the hotel started in 2014 with a lot of challenges including a delay of construction permit among others but expressed delight for the successful completion within three years.

“This is a great day full of joy. It is the hope for the Archidiocese to open the hotel to host guests from different corners. That is why it is called Sainte Famille Hotel,” he said.

The hotel is also expected to accommodate pilgrims coming to Rwanda among other guests attending different conferences in the country.

Bishop Kambanda Antoine told IGIHE that the Catholic Church culture of giving a warm welcome to guests inspired the church to build the hotel.

“The church is excited to provide our contribution aligning with its heritage to welcome guests for far too long. All congregations have responsibilities to accommodate travelers because it is a blessing,” he said.

Bishop Kambanda explained that the church has spent Rwf 6 billion on the construction of the hotel.

Wasafi Tv Instagram page has posted that the Rwandan artiste who has a joint song recording project featuring Diamond Platnumz and Mbosso, was added to the list of artistes awaited in Wasafi Festival.

The festival is slated from Saturday 7th until 9th November 2019.

Concerts will take place at Posta and Kijitonyama playgrounds in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Meddy will perform on the last day of the festival.

Other legendary artists to grace the festival include Wizkid, Tiwa Savage , Ferooz, Sholo Mwamba, TID, Nyandu Tozi, Jux, Professor Jay, Young Killer, Chin Beez, Amber Lulu, Gigy Money, Chidi Benz, Ruby, Country Boy, DJ Ommy Crazy, Lava Lava, Mboso and Queen Darleen among others.

Meddy previously performed in two mega concerts in Rwanda including ‘Kwita Izina’ gala along with Ne-Yo and other popular Rwandan artistes like Bruce Melodie, Riderman, Charly and Nina.

On 9th October 2019, he also performed at Youth Connekt concert which was also graced by performances of other Rwandan artistes and Patoranking from Nigeria.