The weeklong service that started yesterday is conducted by opticians from the United States (USA) in collaboration with Come and See Rwanda (CASA-Rwanda) organization and Assemblée de Dieu Church.
Frank Murenzi, the Executive Director of CASA-Rwanda has said that Rwanda’s vibrant external relations enabled the availability of these specialists.
“The service is rooted in good relations between Khalvari and churches in Rwanda particularly Come and See Rwanda and Assemblée de Dieu,” he explained.
Some beneficiaries from the program at the outset revealed that it will improve their sight because they had run short of means to access treatment.
“I would not see alphabets well and shade tears sometimes as I read. They have given me glasses that have improved my sight,” said Jean Murekezi.
“I always failed to read the bible in church and I had abandoned using my phone because I couldn’t see well. I am thankful for the support,” said another beneficiary, Patricia Mukamusoni.
Dr. Rodolfo Rudy Sarmiento one of the ophthalmologists said they were motivated to offer such free treatment realizing that eye disease is on the rise around the world leading to vision impairment.
“We found it necessary to provide the treatment. Many Rwandans need eye treatment despite the scarcity of ophthalmologists. We observed the growing demand when we came to Rwanda last year. We chose to provide our contribution in partnership with Christian churches,” he stressed.
A total of 600 residents will attend eye test where some of them will get glasses while 60 others will get eye surgery from the service worth Rwf 50 million.
The forgery took place one week after the management of Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) stopped the auctioning of the butchery over suspected fraudulent acts committed by former managers of the cooperative.
Arrested men include contractors who built the butchery and the notary of Rubavu Sector who signed alleged forged documents.
The case is connected to the meeting held in 2015 where suspects approved Rwf 435 million KOADU owe to contractors of the butchery and signed the document without consent of the cooperative members.
The spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Modeste Mbabazi has said that their file was transferred to the prosecution.
“We have transferred their case to the prosecution for quite some time,” he said.
The president of KOADU cooperative, Bertin Musabyimana Nyarubisi has said that it was a good decision to arrest the suspects.
The butchery was to be auctioned on 25th July 2019.
Considering the development of technology, PSF has upgraded its infrastructure and entered into a partnership with MTN Rwanda to explore the usability of cell phones for all transactions allowing access to the Expo ground.
Today, PSF and MTN Rwanda have a great pleasure to announce the official launch of a digital user-friendly ticketing solution named MTN m-Ticket, to be kicked off during the 22nd Rwanda International Trade Fair (Expo) starting from July 22nd to August 11th, 2019.
The ticketing solution is part of a full cashless Expo. Next, to the introduction of MTN m-Ticket, all 500 exhibitors will be trained and equipped with MoMoPay. After the Expo merchants will keep their shortcodes and keep using MoMoPay. This partnership aims at accelerating the Government of Rwanda’s cashless agenda as well as offering simplified options in ticketing sales while saving customers the time & the hassle of queuing.
MTN CEO Bart Hofker said “All 500,000 expected visitors will save time and the hassle of queuing when buying a ticket, and on the EXPO itself they can pay all 500 exhibitions with MoMoPay without cash and no fees. It will bring safety to the exhibitors and save a lot of time counting money. No one needs cash, just MoMo.”
PSF CEO, Ruzibiza Stephen said “All around 500,000 expected visitors will save time and the hassle of queuing when whiling to access the Expo grounds. It is easy and convenient for our visitors, 500 exhibitors, and PSF members to access the services wherever they are and whenever needed. This includes access to the Exhibition countrywide.
The partnership was signed by CEOs Stephen Ruzibiza of PSF and MTN’s Bart Hofker during the Transform Africa Summit held in Kigali in May 2019.
With this new system, visitors will be able to buy m-Tickets to get into the Expo and pay using MTN Mobile Money.
To purchase an MTN m-Ticket, customers must follow the user journey below;
Via SMS
• Customer opens a new SMS window
• Customer types the word EXPO, space, number of tickets (1-10) to be purchased
o Sample message: Expo 3 (for buying three tickets)
• Customer sends the SMS to 7799
• Customer receives a Rwf 1,500 debit request on MoMo.
o Where the customer doesn’t receive a debit prompt, he/she dials *182*7*1# and enters their PIN to complete the transaction
• After payment approval, the customer receives an m-Ticket via SMS
o Sample m-Ticket
• The customer can now proceed to the Expo Turnstile
• The Turnstile has a screen that validates the m-Ticket by scanning the SMS on the phone
• Once validation is completed the customer will see a green arrow indicating that the customer can go through the gate
• After the customer has passed through the Turnstile the gates automatically lock
Via USSD
• Customer dials *779#
• Select language
• Selects the number of tickets he/she wishes to purchase
• Receives an SMS notification displaying the amount to be paid and a transaction ID
• Followed by a debit request on MoMo requesting for approval of the previously displayed amount on SMS.
• After payment approval, the customer receives an m-Ticket via SMS
o Sample m-Ticket below
Please note
• If a customer purchases one (1) ticket he/she is eligible for a single entry
• Where a customer has purchased multiple m-Tickets he/she is eligible for entries equivalent to the tickets
• Unused m-Tickets will only be valid for the Expo period (22nd July to 14th August)
• The m-Ticket can be purchased remotely
• The m-Ticket is transferable to offnet customers (Airtel customers)
• Customers with a broken phone screen will be supported by MoMo agents
• Customers without phones will be supported by MoMo agents i.e. the agent purchases an m-tickets on behalf of the customer and help the customer to enter the gate
• m-Tickets are secure that they can’t be duplicated
-ENDS-
{{For more information, please contact}}:
• Mr. Eric Kabera, Head of Communications & Marketing: erick@psf.org.rw
• Ms. Teta Mpyisi, Senior Manager, Brand & Sponsorship: pr2.rw@mtn.com
{{About PSF:}}
{The Private Sector Federation – Rwanda (PSF) is a professional organization, dedicated to promote and represent the interests of the Rwandan business community. It is an umbrella organization that groups 10 professional chambers. It was established in December 1999, replacing the former Rwanda Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Private Sector Federation (PSF) has registered major successes since its creation in 1999. Beyond a strong brand and membership base, PSF pioneered Business Development Services (BDS), registered wins in advocacy and played a strong national, regional and international role.}
{{About MTN Rwanda: }}
{MTN Rwanda is the market leader in the mobile telecommunications industry in Rwanda. Since 1998, MTN Rwanda has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network and is now proudly Rwanda’s No 1 Network. MTN Rwanda offers superior services to its subscriber base, including innovative propositions such as personalized voice and data offers with MTN Irekure. The company is also the front runner in Mobile Financial Services in Rwanda with Mobile Money, Tap&Pay and MoKash Loans and Savings}
Zhakata was the talk of social media after his arrival in Egypt last week, 50 days after starting a hitch-hiking adventure to watch the Africa Cup of Nations; it did not take much for CAF President Ahmad to catch wind of the story and decided to hand the young man a ticket home.
His story got even better after Zhakata, who met the president on Wednesday morning, will get a VIP ticket to watch Friday night’s final between Senegal and Algeria at the Cairo International Stadium.
“I feel so privileged and honored to have met the CAF president. This is no small thing because he is the highest in the echelon of African football,” Zhakata said.
The Zimbabwean saw his journey prolonged by visa hitches crossing over from Kenya to Ethiopia and later from Sudan to Egypt, all caused by political protests that were experienced coincidentally at the same time in Ethiopia and Sudan.
“After all, I went through for 50 days, all I endured trying to cross all those borders and the frustrations and now seeing the president himself come and hand me this gift, I really feel thankful. I feel like I have made an impact in African football,” Zhakata said.
He arrived in Cairo on the day South Africa was eliminated by Nigeria in the quarter-finals and long after his favorite Warriors were boxed out of the competition. The following day, his third preferred team Madagascar lost to Tunisia in the quarters.
But despite the football on the field not favoring his sacrifice, Zhakata says he feels more than proud to have achieved the feat that few people have boasted of achieving.
“I was planning to raise some funds to go back home because the journey took longer than expected and along the way I accumulated so much debt. But now, at least I can relax easy and enjoy some football. I am going home with a prestigious airline!” said Zhakata.
He plans to leave for Zimbabwe next week on Thursday as he plans to travel to the Red Sea, a symbolic place in the Biblical story of the Israelites journey from Egypt to their promised land.
“I need to go there to visit the place, say my prayer and mark another great day in my life. I believe it is symbolic,” he added.
Zhakata also said he has presented a petition to Ahmad to forward to the African Union on African traveling within the continent and visa requirements after his experiences.
Kitaoka who is on a visit to Rwanda between17th-21st July 2019 visited the memorial accompanied by JICA management in Rwanda.
They were taken through the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and laid wreaths to mass graves at the memorial.
President Kitaoka who visited the memorial for the second time said that he was deeply moved by history reflected at the memorial reminding him of what happened in his country 47 years ago.
At the time, Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities were bombed with atomic bombs following the 2ND World War killing 3,000 people.
“What happened is beyond imagination. I am however inspired by the way Rwandans and the Government of Rwanda overcome bad history to promote good politics that Rwanda has become a dignified country. They share this with Japanese people,” he said.
Kitaoka came to Rwanda following the visit of President Paul Kagame to Japan in January 2019 and held discussions on different areas supporting Rwanda’s development programs.
He is also expected to visit various projects supported by JICA in Rwanda including k-Lab, Fab-Lab, Rusumo International Bridge and One Stop Border Post (OSBP) as well as holding talks with President Kagame.
Manchester City recorded a 4-1 victory against West Ham United in the opening game of the 2019 pre-season tour of Asia.
Stephen HA, VP of TRANSSION HOLDINGS and GM of TECNO Mobile said:” TECNO feel very honored that our brand will be with City players all through 2019 Asia tour. We believed that our blue spirit will be a winner. “
Just last week, TECNO announced the renewal of the global multi-year partnership with Man City at a celebration event in Delhi, India.
Damian Willoughby, Senior Vice President of Partnerships at City Football Group, said: “Manchester City prides itself on partnering with some of the world’s leading organizations, so we are thrilled to be announcing the renewal of our established partnership with TECNO Mobile. During the past three years, we have collaborated on a number of exciting initiatives that have engaged, connected and entertained our global fanbase.”
In the festival that will take place in Silicon Valley in California, African films will be screened on 6th, October 2019.
Silicon Valley African Film Festival started 10 years ago.
Shingiro has told IGIHE that he is excited to see his film reaching the international level, a feat he had not expected when he started.
“I never expected this to happen, it was a low budget project, I did not think I had it in me to do something that can impact the world,” he said.
This film was produced last year. It focuses on women abuse that affects their children. In the film, they tell a story of a young lady that killed her father after seeing him abuse her mom for a long time.
Luna was also screened in the Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt, ending March 2019.
Rwandans traveling to and living in Uganda have been illegally arrested, imprisoned and tortured at different times accused of being spies.
Recent statistics show that over 1000 Rwandans have been illegally deported from Uganda.
Talking to the media yesterday Baziruwiha one of the two recently deported Rwandans said he was arrested on accusations of being Rwanda’s spy.
The man hailing from Rutsiro district went to Uganda in May 2018 for fishing business which he practiced in Lake Victoria.
Baziruwiha later joined ADEPR Pentecostal Church International Uganda (PCIU). He later moved to Wasiko region where he was in January 2019 assigned preacher in the same church.
He explained that the church leader got jealous of his new appointment and started asking why he left Rwanda.
Baziruwiha replied to the church leader that he will return to Rwanda when the situation is normalized at both countries’ borders but the he kept running after Baziruwiha and Rwandan colleagues.
Baziruwiha explained that the church leader later took an accusation to the local police station in March 2019.
“There, we met a policeman who asked our identities. We presented them and he replied ‘let these people pray with others because they have permission from officials’.”
The church leader took allegations to other officials who also clarified that we have permission to stay.
In the morning of 23rd May 2019, Baziruwiha received a phone call summoning to report to himself officials.
He took his documents to police station and was asked who licensed him to found a church in Uganda.
“I told them that I don’t know founders that I am a preacher like others,” he replied.
The policeman told Baziruwiha that he had a target of ousting all Rwandans from Uganda and were taken to Entebbe police station.
He and his colleague were in the next morning told that they are from Rwanda’s intelligence on mission to Uganda.
They met several Rwandans in prison some of whom were not aware of accusations.
During their stay in prison, they were taken to court but the judge transferred them to Higher Court.
Baziruwiha said they met between 40 and 50 Rwandans.
“I took the names of some Rwandans detained there who asked me to inform their families,” he said.
Ugandan prisons accommodate Rwandans jailed between 4 and 5 years whose files were not taken to court.
Baziruwiha and Rwagasore were taken to the prison in red dresses given to notorious criminals.
Realizing how the court didn’t prove efforts to assist them, they thought about bribing the judge.
“We sold part of our properties including livestock like pigs and sought a person to negotiate with the judge. We were assisted by a neighboring old man but the judge asked one million Ugandan shillings to spoil the accusation changing to illegally fishing Rwandans,” he said.
On 26th June 2019, they returned to court which ruled on their deportation.
The policeman who detained them was not satisfied with the ruling and held them for one more week.
Hailing from Kayonza district, Bernard Rwagasore, 42, said that they rarely got food and one dish would be shared by 40 prisoners.
The duo was later deported on Sunday morning.
Rwagasore had been in Uganda for 10 years working for an institution of white people earning him a living and pay school fees for his children. He advised Rwandans to think twice before crossing to Uganda considering hard times he endured in Uganda where Rwandans are illegally detained and tortured.
A total of 1000 Rwandans have been reportedly detained in Uganda.
This saw the Government of Rwanda advising Rwandans not to travel to Uganda for their security until the situation gets back to normal.
It has been two years since Rwanda, Uganda relations worsened.
Rwanda expressed concerns over Rwandans who travel to Uganda for business purposes but are abducted, imprisoned and tortured accused of being Rwanda’s spies.
Rwanda also accuses Uganda of conspiracy with rebel groups intending to destabilize state security.
Rwandans traveling to and living in Uganda have been illegally arrested, imprisoned and tortured at different times accused of being spies.
Recent statistics show that over 1000 Rwandans have been illegally deported from Uganda.
Talking to the media yesterday Baziruwiha one of the two recently deported Rwandans said he was arrested on accusations of being Rwanda’s spy.
The man hailing from Rutsiro district went to Uganda in May 2018 for fishing business which he practiced in Lake Victoria.
Baziruwiha later joined ADEPR Pentecostal Church International Uganda (PCIU). He later moved to Wasiko region where he was in January 2019 assigned preacher in the same church.
He explained that the church leader got jealous of his new appointment and started asking why he left Rwanda.
Baziruwiha replied to the church leader that he will return to Rwanda when the situation is normalized at both countries’ borders but the he kept running after Baziruwiha and Rwandan colleagues.
Baziruwiha explained that the church leader later took an accusation to the local police station in March 2019.
“There, we met a policeman who asked our identities. We presented them and he replied ‘let these people pray with others because they have permission from officials’.”
The church leader took allegations to other officials who also clarified that we have permission to stay.
In the morning of 23rd May 2019, Baziruwiha received a phone call summoning to report to himself officials.
He took his documents to police station and was asked who licensed him to found a church in Uganda.
“I told them that I don’t know founders that I am a preacher like others,” he replied.
The policeman told Baziruwiha that he had a target of ousting all Rwandans from Uganda and were taken to Entebbe police station.
He and his colleague were in the next morning told that they are from Rwanda’s intelligence on mission to Uganda.
They met several Rwandans in prison some of whom were not aware of accusations.
During their stay in prison, they were taken to court but the judge transferred them to Higher Court.
Baziruwiha said they met between 40 and 50 Rwandans.
“I took the names of some Rwandans detained there who asked me to inform their families,” he said.
Ugandan prisons accommodate Rwandans jailed between 4 and 5 years whose files were not taken to court.
Baziruwiha and Rwagasore were taken to the prison in red dresses given to notorious criminals.
Realizing how the court didn’t prove efforts to assist them, they thought about bribing the judge.
“We sold part of our properties including livestock like pigs and sought a person to negotiate with the judge. We were assisted by a neighboring old man but the judge asked one million Ugandan shillings to spoil the accusation changing to illegally fishing Rwandans,” he said.
On 26th June 2019, they returned to court which ruled on their deportation.
The policeman who detained them was not satisfied with the ruling and held them for one more week.
Hailing from Kayonza district, Bernard Rwagasore, 42, said that they rarely got food and one dish would be shared by 40 prisoners.
The duo was later deported on Sunday morning.
Rwagasore had been in Uganda for 10 years working for an institution of white people earning him a living and pay school fees for his children.
He advised Rwandans to think twice before crossing to Uganda considering hard times he endured in Uganda where Rwandans are illegally detained and tortured.
A total of 1000 Rwandans have been reportedly detained in Uganda.
This saw the Government of Rwanda advising Rwandans not to travel to Uganda for their security until the situation gets back to normal.
It has been two years since Rwanda, Uganda relations worsened.
Rwanda expressed concerns over Rwandans who travel to Uganda for business purposes but are abducted, imprisoned and tortured accused of being Rwanda’s spies.
Rwanda also accuses Uganda of conspiracy with rebel groups intending to destabilize state security.
The incident took place on the night of 15th July 2019 in Kabashoti Village, Namabuye cell of Kagogo Sector.
IGIHE has learned that the couple had clashes that required local leaders’ intervention to settle the dispute.
It is said that officials asked the woman to stay away from the husband until the situation is normalized and the man was found hanging the next day.
The executive secretary of Kagogo sector, Louis Butoyi said that Nkundizanye’s death was communicated by residents.
“It started with clashes between the spouses that had been calmed by the village leader. He had asked the woman to spend the night in a neighbor’s home before the disputes are settled the next day. The man was however found dead,” he said.
He appealed to residents to report disputes on time.
Nkundizanye and his wife had two children. His body was taken to Ruhengeri Hospital for postmortem.
The BBC will close its operations in Burundi after it failed to reach an agreement with the government on the airing of programs.
“The BBC is closing its Bujumbura bureau and ceasing operations in Burundi. In March, the government banned BBC transmissions and blocked journalists from providing information to the BBC,” Mr. Madowo tweeted.
One of the BBC correspondents, Will Ross, who works on the African Edition, has also announced that the BBC closed down its office until further notice.
“The BBC is closing its bureau and operations in Burundi until further notice after efforts to resolve issues with the authorities there failed. In March the government banned BBC transmissions and anyone in the country from providing information to the BBC, Will Ross wrote on Twitter.
Will Ross, a BBC journalist working on the Africa section, has added that “the government of Burundi accused BBC of airing a documentary that damaged the country’s reputation”.
Burundi’s media regulator, the National Communication Council (CNC), suspended BBC for allegedly broadcasting content that ‘put national cohesion and reconciliation at stake.’
“The CNC has decided to withdraw the operating license for BBC… and VOA programs will still be suspended until further notice,” CNC chairman Nestor Bankumukunzi said at the time.
Burundi ranks 159 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.
Burundi is accused of shutting down media organizations critical of the government, harassing, imprisoning, torturing, and executing journalists.
