Lt Gen Kamanzi was appointed UNMISS Force Commander by the United Nation Secretary General António Guterres on 6th April 2017.
He has been replaced by Indian Army officer, Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar who was appointed by the UN Secretary General on Friday.
A farewell parade has been held at UNMISS Force headquarters, Juba, in South Sudan on the occasion and was attended by UNMISS military officials which included Deputy Force Commander, Staff Officers, all contingents from Rwanda, China, Nepal, India, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Before leading UNMISS, Lt Gen Kamanzi has led the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) since 2016, he served as Army Chief of Staff in the Rwanda Defence Force (2012-2015).
Lt Gen Kamanzi served as Commander of the Rwanda Military Academy (2010-2012) and commanded an infantry brigade (2007-2010).
He held the position of Deputy Force Commander in the African Union Mission in Sudan (2006-2007) and also served as a member of Joint Military Commission, Lusaka Peace Process for the DR Congo (1999-2000).
The accused include Thomas Mugabe, Sostène Ndibwami, Alexis Kagame and David Murekezi who were previously acquitted of all charges by the High Court annulling the ruling of the Intermediate Court of Nyagatare taken in 2014.
The case was filed by six girls from secondary schools in Nyagatare district who claimed that the four men are part of a group seducing young girls for sexual acts.
They were convicted of defilement where Mugabe Thomas, Kagame Alexis and Murekezi David were handed 10 year sentence while Ndibwami was handed a suspended sentence of one year and fined one million francs.
They were released after proving that the girls with whom they had sex were mature and that they did it after mutual consent.
The four men were brought again to the Supreme Court on 21st May 2019 where prosecution requested to nullify the decision of the High Court to consider the sentence they had been handed previously by Nyagatare court.
Prosecution had earlier pleaded that the High Court didn’t take into account the enormity of defilement and claimed that these men submitted forged documents to prove that the girls were 18 years old.
It is alleged that the hearing was attended by a woman living in Uganda who had been told that her daughter is jailed in Rwanda and the only way to get her out of prison is to confirm the daughter is aged over 18 years.
The woman is said to have facilitated the provision of a forged documents for her daughter’s identity. The woman later revealed the truth after learning that she was dragged into dirty affairs tampering with justice for her daughter.
She provided daughter’s immunization card which helped the prosecution to establish she was not of consent age.
The four accused men requested court to uphold the previous ruling saying it was decided after a deep investigation into the case.
As the accused appeared in the Supreme Court today to provide explanations on alleged offenses, one of the defense lawyers was absent for ill-health leading to the postponement of the trial.
The court adjourned the next sitting to 11th June 2019 at 8am at the Supreme Court.
The campaign targets 900 schools in 30 districts countrywide.
As per statement of MINEDUC, the objectives of the Campaign are to advise Head teachers to supervise in-class teaching activities, to advise teachers to be present and punctual on duty, to advise teachers to plan and teach lessons respecting the Competence Based Curriculum Standards and to take measures to prevent issues of absenteeism, class repetition and school dropout.
“The campaign will involve a combination of school visits, in class inspection and outreach sensitization, and thereafter feedback will be shared at the debriefing meeting,” reads in part the statement released by MINEDUC.
The campaign outcomes include better teaching delivery, improved teaching and learning practices, improved head teacher supervision of in-class teaching activities, improved regular attendance of teachers, improved regular assessments (formative and summative), improved pupils’/student’s attendance and reduced drop out, increased engagement of parents in better pupil’s/students’ learning.
MINEDUC and its affiliated Agencies, other stakeholders such as Governors and Mayor of Kigali City, Local Government Leaders, District/Sector Education Officers, School Owners, School General Assembly Committees, School Head Teachers, RDF, RNP, National Reserve Force and Key Opinion Leaders will be involved in the campaign.
Previous campaigns left teachers and schools failing to comply with quality education standards suspended.
The previous phase of the campaign held on 10-21 September 2018 to 899 schools countrywide left 118 teachers punished while 118 schools were suspended until regulations they meet standards.
MINEDUC revealed that the majority of suspended schools were from Kayoza, Kirehe, Rubavu, Rulindo, Kamonyi and Nyagatare districts.
Some of reported cases include boarding schools with inadequate equipment, having same bathrooms for girls and boys and shortage of water. Other schools were blamed for poor hygiene among others.
In August 2018, 57 secondary schools were suspended and opened the third school term later after meeting required standards.
It is additional to more awards his film ‘Mercy of the Jungle’ has been receiving in different festivals around the world.
He previously won an award in Luxor African Film Festival [LAFF] held in Egypt where he received The Silver Mask of Tutankamun award.
Mercy of The Jungle’ also won the top prize in FESPACO festival held in Burkina Faso, and scooped two more awards Festival du Cinema Africain de Khouribga held in Morocco at the beginning of this year.
Mercy of The Jungle was shown in the festival on 21st and 22nd May 2019 and qualified for the award offered by the panel of judges grading the youth.
Joël Karekezi has via Facebook expressed delight for the award highlighting that the ‘future is in our hands starting from the youth’.
“The Mercy of the Jungle” film features the story of depicting the journey of Rwanda’s soldier (Xavier) who won the battle and later found himself in the forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the enemy controlled area.
The film lasting 90 minutes was written by Casey Schroen, Joel Karekezi and Aurélien Bodinaux. Video shooting and production were directed Joel Karekezi.
It also features other characters like Marc Zinga, Stéphane Bak, Ibrahim Ahmed Pino, Nirere Shanel, Kantarama Gahigiri among others.
Ruhanga Genocide Memorial is the former Ruhanga Episcopal Anglican Church (EAR Ruhanga) and includes a mass grave inside the building.
It became a memorial site after over 15,000 Tutsi were killed at the church during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and buried there.
After receiving explanations on genocide history on Friday, the management of KBS Ltd donated home items worth over Rwf 5 million to 20 vulnerable families of genocide survivors in Kinyana cell.
The donations range from beds, mattresses, chairs and curtains to each family to replace existing old ones.
The Managing Director of KBS Ltd, Emmanuel Habanabakize revealed that citizens are major stakeholders of day-to-day transport services and stressed that it is the responsibility of KBS Ltd to join Rwandans towards the rebuilding process after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi which left wounds, widows and orphans.
“We cannot bring back our relatives killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. As members of the private sector we deeply understand suffering genocide survivors endured. It is our commitment to support them towards the resilience journey as we remember fallen victims,” said Habanabakize.
“ As His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Rwanda always reminds us , no one from outside will solve our problems. We have the responsibility to strive for self-reliance to transform history of our nation. With this regard, KBS stands firm for that commitment of finding own solutions and we are capable of doing so,” he added.
The President of IBUKA, organization umbrella of genocide survivors in Rusororo sector, Emmanuel Nduwayezu said existing equipment had turned old and thanked KBS Ltd for the donations that came in handy.
“These people no longer had beds and mattresses. We deeply appreciate the support of KBS,” he said.
According to the management of KBS Ltd, the company is committed to supporting vulnerable Rwandans as a way of giving back to community as major stakeholders of its services.
The project, code-named Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages, is among the 10 areas of cooperation agreed on during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in 2015 in Johannesburg South Africa and attended by among others, the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mr. KAYIRANGA Emmanuel, Mayer of Rulindo, said “on behalf of district we would like to thank the Chinese government for this donation, and StarTimes for the work they have done to make it happen, We promise to take care of these donations in order for the sets to give the best outcomes as it was intended. “
The project, which was implemented by StarTimes under the supervision of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda and the Ministry of Local Government, was started in June 2018.
Ms. Xing Yuchun, Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of China in Rwanda.
“My colleague told me with the newly installed TV sets and devices around 1.5 Million Rwandan people in these rural areas have been connected to satellite television services and get access to a total of 23 Channels, a new world opened for many Rwandans who finally can successfully have access to entertainment, national and international news, culture and history to all the information on every culture, technology, education, etc. I think this will impact positively to my fellow Rwandans daily lives. It will also extend the opportunities, expend their horizon, improve welfare and provide more opportunities for a better life especially for the promising younger generation.” she said.
The Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages is a China-Africa cooperation project that seeks to reduce the information divide by offering digital TV in rural areas.
Assumpta Ingabire, the Permanent Secretary of MINALOC also noted: “I have the honor to express our sincere appreciation to the government of China for supporting us to implement TV penetration program across districts of the country. Today we are here to officiate the handover of the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages. The ministry of local government will take over the project management and the follow up of districts of Rwanda. This is also an opportunity for us to extend our sincere congratulation to Star Africa Media (StarTimes) which worked tirelessly since April 2018 for the good completion of this project
This TV penetration program brings to our citizen information and knowledge which are the foundation of development; as we all know knowledge is the power in the transit force for development, and one way of obtaining knowledge is through information; that is what we are bringing to our citizens today: Information, Knowledge, and development.
We also thank the good partnership we have between our two countries, and we really appreciate the support of the government of China”
Jess Jing, StarTimes chief executive officer, said villagers will be able to access information on agricultural markets, and with the provision of educational channels on the decoders, they will help sharpen the learning exercise and increase innovation amongst pupils in the science sphere. the project will also give happiness to people when they enjoy national or international football leagues, moreover, this project will ensure effective communication in such a way that many Rwandans will easily be reached especially with government programmes since now many rural Rwandans have access to Television.
According to a statement released via Rwanda National Police’s Twitter wall, two Rwandan nationals have been abducted by Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), today, at 12:30 pm.
“The two are residents of Gamba village, Tabagwe cell, Tabagwe sector, Nyagatare district, the same area at the border where the recent incident involving smugglers, who lost their lives, took place,” reads the statement.
Samvura and Habiyambere were abducted at Gasheke, 1.5km inside Uganda where they had gone to attend a baptism ceremony of the son of their friend Muhwezi Silver.
The two Rwandans had earlier been urged by their friends not to go to Uganda because they feared they would be putting their lives in danger. However, they ignored the warning, insisting that they needed to honor Muhwezi’s invitation.
The two are now part of the long list of the thousands of Rwandans currently languishing in CMI detention centers without access to consular support, legal aid, and unable to appear before the court to get justice in Uganda.
The donation was handed over to officials of Kigali sector on Saturday after the management and staff of Kigali Marriott Hotel joined Kigali sector residents in a monthly community work to rehabilitate Meraneza-Rwesero road in the area.
Nicole Ingabire Munyangabe, Senior Human Resource Manager at Kigali Marriott Hotel said the gesture aligns with the hotel’s initiatives to give back to community.
“It is part of Marriott International routines to partner with the community in different programs especially supporting vulnerable people. Moreover, the community work is an activity of public interest that we cannot be left behind joining the population for development activities,” she revealed. .
In 2018/19 fiscal year, Kigali sector had 76% of residents who subscribed for Mutuelle de Santé up from 38% in the previous three years.
The executive secretary of Kigali sector, Emmanuel Rutubuka said the donation from partners will raise the number of residents owning medical insurance.
The executive secretary of Nyarugenge district, Fred Hatagekimana lauded Kigali Marriott Hotel for the kind the gesture supporting vulnerable residents.
He called on residents to understand the role of owning a medical insurance and make it a habit to guarantee their families’ lives.
Beneficiaries are from the second Ubudehe category (social class).
Gaudance Mukabuzizi, one of beneficiaries was hit hard struggling to pay both medical insurances and school fees for her children. She expressed delight for the donation from Kigali Marriott Hotel that relieves her loads.
Marriott Hotel has an initiative dubbed “Serve 360” which aims at supporting Rwandans in different corners of the country entrapped with poverty, sickness problems among others.
The leaders of whom the majority is ambassadors visited the memorial yesterday from Intare Conference Arena in Rusororo where the ceremony was taking place.
Upon arrival at Kigali Genocide memorial, the leaders received explanations on Rwanda’s history before, during and after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
After receiving explanations and watching a film on genocide history, they laid wreaths at the mass grave of the memorial accommodating over 25,000 victims killed in different parts of Kigali.
The ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guy Nestor Itoua who headed the delegation wrote in the book of guests that victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi will always be remembered.
“We celebrate African Day during the period of commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Envoys representing African countries in Rwanda have got chance to visit this memorial holding great history,” he said.
The ambassador of Egypt to Rwanda, Ahmed Mohamed El-Ansary said that every human being should draw a lesson from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He called on African continent to work together striving for harmony.
The suspect resisted and turned violent, and was joined by others who attacked the officers with machetes while attempting to flee back to Uganda. The officers shot two people, one Rwandan who died instantly and one Ugandan who later died. Once the gang had crossed back over the border to Uganda, no further action was taken by the patrol.
The gang left behind a motorcycle (RE736G) laden with smuggled used clothes (caguwa).
The Daily Monitor wrote that on Friday, around 8 pm, the two people were shot in a Centre known as Habusavu, ‘about 50 meters into Ugandan territory’, which was reported as misleading, by Rwandan security forces.
“Contrary to the communiqué issued by the Uganda Police Spokesperson and some media reports, the incident happened in Rwanda,” reads the official communiqué from Rwanda National Police (RNP).
This was further echoed by Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera, who dismissed the incident as untrue.
“Fake news: no such thing happened,” he wrote, adding that a detailed response would be coming shortly.
Following the incident, Ugandan and Rwandan authorities met on Saturday morning to jointly examine the issue. The Rwandan delegation was headed by Mayor David Claudien Mushabe accompanied ACP Emmanuel Hatari, RPC Eastern Region. The Ugandan side was led by the LC5 Chairperson of Rukiga District Alex Akampikaho, CSP Byaruhanga, and the Deputy DPC of Kabale District, among others. The authorities from either side met residents along the common border and urged them to have a harmonious relationship. They also asked them to do away with smuggling as well as drug trafficking but embrace legal economic activities for their dignified lives. Investigations into this incident have started.
“Rwandan Security forces will continue to act with the professionalism they are known for, and on which they need no lectures,” reads the communiqué.
