It is the first commemoration song Kizito produces featuring names of victims and remembered families.
Kizito has said he has received many people’s request to produce songs to remember their family members.
“I receive many requests to make such songs remembering particular families killed during Genocide against the Tutsi. I cannot afford to produce a song for every family but I will try to do it to the best of my ability. I draw much attention to songs about the current period in general,” he revealed.
Kizito explained that he produced the song for Rwandans living in USA to help them associate with people inside the country in this period.
In the new song, Kizito remembers his father Buguzi Augustin killed in Kibeho during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
“Bari beza” song lasts 14 minutes and 23 seconds. It is the third song Kizito Mihigo releases during the 25th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Other similar songs released previously include “Kubabarira ntibivuga Kwibagirwa” and “Abarinzi b’amateka”.
The audio of the new song was produced by Producer Bob while the video was made by producer Faith Fefe.
This book was published in Paris, by {L’Harmattan}, on May 7th, 2019.
In an interview with IGIHE, Dr. Bideri observed that his book is a contribution to the preservation of the memory of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and a presentation of the political and cultural context of the tragic event, and a means of transmitting the history to the younger generations.
Dr. Bideri had the chance to leave Rwanda at the end of 1993 when all the signs already announced the prospect of a genocide that would target Tutsi. Thousands of civilians had already been exterminated in northern Rwanda and Bugesera between 1990 and 1993. Later after his departure, five months to the day, the genocide took away six members of his family, including his parents, his sisters, and brothers.
Even though he had left Rwanda, the massacre of his family was told to him by witnesses of his family who escaped from the genocide, they are the ones who speak in the book.
The title of the book, {The Color of Genocide} does not mean color in the first sense of the word, but rather “calamity”, “extreme misfortune”. Indeed, says the author, genocide is without “color”, a tragedy that man inflicts on man, […], the sum of the individual tragedies, that of the author, those of the other victims, is the color of the genocide.
The author shows that genocide is a crime that does not stop with the cessation of the massacres, its sequels continue to haunt the survivors several years later.
In his book, Dr. Bideri says that he knows in detail the massacre of his family, how his parents and his family members were killed by grenades thrown inside the house by soldiers: “the roof and the walls crumbled, […] my parents died shredded.”
They were killed on the 8th of April 1994 in Gisenyi, a few hours after the start of the genocide against the Tutsi.
One of her sisters was shot in Kigali neighborhood of Kigali, thrown into a trash bin and woke up when dogs began to devour the bodies. She was able to walk and reach the ICRC offices, less than 500 meters from the massacre site.
Dr. Bideri was born in the former commune of Mukingo, in northern Rwanda, today in the Busogo area. As the eldest son, his father told him the family story, especially the persecution and massacre of Tutsis since 1959.
His dad told him how he was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned in the terrible Ruhengeri prison. He will be released a few days before the execution of several Tutsi at Nyamagamba hill near the prison of Ruhengeri. Arrests and summary executions of Tutsi took place throughout the country, especially in Bugesera and Gikongoro.
In particular, the author recalls that in 1973, Tutsi were attacked, houses burned, and many fled to churches. He did not understand why the Tutsi were persecuted and hunted like animals. The ruling power was attacking the Tutsi as it saw fit.
From 1990, things took a dramatic turn, the call for the extermination of Tutsi was made in the open. Media of hatred, especially the RTLM, and the Kangura newspaper, openly called for the massacre of the Tutsi and even announced the month of April 1994 as the beginning of the genocide.
In this book, we read fear and arbitrariness. An omnipresent fear in the Tutsi who, by being Tutsi, is condemned to live in despair because he can suffer from any other fellow-citizen controls, arrests, imprisonment, torture, rape, death. Arbitrary responsible civil authorities who ignore the basic rights of any Rwandan citizen.
The author says that he never thought of writing a family tragedy, but that circumstances led him to do so. He wrote by duty of memory, to bring into the body of readers the unspeakable fear of the victims.
The author shows in several places that the survivors of his family were saved by soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. It pays homage to the courage of these young soldiers who shed their blood to save lives.
It shows that even Hutu who were pushed by ex-FAR and Interahamwe to leave Rwanda and flee were saved in the bottom end of Zairian forests (now Congolese) by the Rwandan Patriotic Army. They were fed with biscuits, transported and repatriated to Rwanda voluntarily. Hutu civilians served as a human shield for escaping genocidaires.
After the genocide, life slowly resumed, with enormous difficulties. His two younger sisters succumbed to the consequences of genocide, trauma and pain had the last word. They were marked by genocide, their broken inner balance.
In his interview, the author insisted a lot on the memory: “let everyone know what happened, never forget, that they were women, men, and children, all of us, in any corner of the world.”
Dr. Bideri has already published in 2008, at l’Harmattan, another book, Rwanda 1990-1993, the massacre of Bagogwe, a prelude to the genocide of Tutsi.
The Color of a Genocide will be launched very soon in Kigali on June 14, 2019.
With over 10 years’ experience, 600 employees and a turnover of about 35 million USD in 2018, VSONE is currently providing a variety of products and services in the public sector (E-Government), Banking, Financial and Insurance solutions, E-health and hospitality E-services as well as automation of manufacturing across various countries in Asia.
VSONE AFRICA being a tier one partner of HP and other major IT companies such as Oracle, SAP, and others will leverage its parent company broad experience, expertise, products and services to create Made in Africa, by African Solutions.
“Our strategy is to build an African company using our learning from Asia to boost the continent huge talents through strong local partnerships. I am a strong believer on the continent potential”, said VSONE Chairman, Mr. Prabodha Sumanasekera.
He further indicated that VSONE sees Rwanda as a central location from which the company will cover the continent as plans to expand to Kenya, Mozambique, Angola, and DRC are underway. By the end of the year, VSONE will also be operational in the South and West of Africa.
Rwanda has been a leader in the deployment of IT solutions for development, education, and health. It is now building a modern regional airport hub and a strong airline with constant economic growth of over 6%. Therefore, establishing VSONE Africa Headquarters in Rwanda will enable the company to benefit from all these positive factors.
Nkubito Manzi Bakuramutsa, the Africa CEO, mentioned that it is an exciting time for the continent. Africa has 1.2 billion population, 60% of whom are young, full of creativity and talent. We are Inspired by President Kagame quote at the Transform Africa 2019:
“Everything we need for transformation is in the room or represented in the room. VSONE is looking to participate in moving the continent from a consumer of content to a producer of content and a key player in the 4th Industrial revolution. We want to align our business strategy, to the AU and Smart Africa visions.
CD4 shall support livestock farmers grouped in different cooperatives in Rwanda through training on cooperative management to acquaint them with local and international competencies.
The project will be funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
During the launch of the project; CD4 project manager, Willy Nyirigira revealed that the project strives for the development of cooperatives. The latter began operations towards the end of 2018 and will be implemented until 2023.
She explained that CD4 project training will start with maize cooperatives in Rwamagana district, Horticulture cooperatives in Bugesera district, both in Eastern province districts and Dairy cooperatives in Gicumbi district- Northern Province.
Nyirigira emphasized that Land O’Lakes specializes in dairy processing and animal nutrition.
She revealed that Land O’Lakes has been in Rwanda since 2007 where they have implemented various projects including dairy one.
Nyirigira said that Land O’Lakes and partners are aware that a large number of cooperatives already received Government support like the provision of equipment and building milk collection centers among others. She, however, explained that cooperative members can’t get good yields to reap from those businesses without proper management.
“Under this five-year program, we will draw emphasis on building the capacity of cooperatives in terms of leadership, financial and resources management, building competencies at the market, and working with financial institutions among others,” said Nyirigira.
The support will be provided in areas of priority based on outcomes of discussions with cooperative members.
Nyirigira unveiled that they will assess the performance and capacity of each beneficiary cooperative annually to ensure it emulates best practices.
“During the assessment, we first identify the area of priority in need of support and do it annually. This will help us to identify whether a cooperative has matured or not to expand the support to others,” she stressed.
CD4 project will also support cooperative agencies in Rwanda to improve the quality of service delivery.
Hakizimana Pierre Celestin, the president of IAKIB cooperative that brings together farmers in Gicumbi district involved in the dairy business said they expect increased income after acquiring training.
He said the training will enable members to realize their dreams of transforming the cooperative into a well-managed company.
“We have already benefited from Land O’Lakes support to meet standards of supplied milk,” revealed Hakizimana.
The Managing Director of Rwanda Cooperatives Agency (RCA), Prof. Harelimana Jean Bosco said the project of Land O’Lakes is expected to enhance cooperatives’ management and improve productivity.
“This five-year project is promising to bring transformations in the cooperative. You have seen that livestock owners in Gicumbi district have started demonstrating good performance. We want Cooperatives to catalyzing economy,” he highlighted.
The five-year project will support 220 Cooperatives.
According to figures from RCA, Rwanda accounts to over 9,000 cooperatives with more than 5 million members.
The Vice Chancellor at UTB, Dr Kabera Callixte said that the MoU is putting emphasis on knowledge sharing in areas of their expertize, job creation, and innovations, among others.
“The MoU will enable us strengthen cooperation between both institutions with mutual sharing of knowledge. The cooperation opens doors for students to carry out research on both sides and getting deeper insights about Government’s programs,” he said.
Gasamagera Wellars, RMI Director General said that it is part of agreements the institution has with different universities.
“We chose partnership with this university because it offers courses and imparts specific skills needed at the labor market. We will especially collaborate in research,” he said.
UTB was established in 2008. It has over 6000 students of who the majority are based in its Kigali campus while 1900 attend courses from the Rubavu campus.
The agreement was signed yesterday at Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
Planned to be operational in less than two years, the high-tech multi-million euro factory will directly employ over 100 people in the district and indirectly employ over 300. In the first phase of production, 9,000 square meters of tiles will be produced daily and this will be doubled in the second phase targeting both the domestic and regional market. Subsequent phases will focus on other ceramic products on demand.
Speaking at the signing, Francesco De Martino, Group CEO, Milbridge Holdings the parent company of Africeramics Ltd expressed special thanks to RDB, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Nyanza District for the support given us to achieve the important milestone.
“We were extremely impressed by the quick, proactive partnership that we received from all government institutions. We chose Nyanza as the base of our plant because it is strategically located where we can source high-quality inputs such as clay, granite and other alloys needed for ceramics,” he said.
The Mayor of Nyanza District, Erasme Ntazinda noted that the district is excited to attract the mega investment and has high expectations for this project.
“This accelerated process showed that all the parties were interested in ensuring the successful commencement of the project. I thank Africeramics Ltd for investing in our district a boost to our local economy. We commit our support to this project,” he said.
In his remarks, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Rwanda Development Board, Emmanuel Hategeka said that this investment fully aligns with our domestic market recapturing strategy and will go along the way ‘to reduce our import bill on construction materials, generate exports while at the same time generating jobs.’
“Being located in Nyanza district presents an added advantage of distributed development uplifting the rural economy. Today, all ceramic tiles in the country are imported yet studies show that we have some of the best quality clay for ceramics in the world. We applaud Africeramics Ltd for spotting the opportunity in the district”, he added.
The suspects; Patrick Ntakirutimana, 24, and Callixte Nshimiyimana, 27, were caught red-handed mining wolfram on Thursday.
They had already mined at least 17kgs of Wolfram, which they were caught with during the operation.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Alex Rugigana, the Police spokesperson for the Northern region said that the two men who are employees of a Wolfram mining firm in Rulindo committed the offense overnight.
“When the company ended its daily mining activities on Thursday evening, the two men went back later in the night and started mining illegally,” CIP Rugigana said.
“First of all, they put their lives at risk by going into the mining concession at night, although what they were doing is also unlawful,” he added.
Rugigana warned against such risky acts which in some cases result in fatal consequences.
At least 33 cases of illegal mining in Rulindo district since last year ended fatal.
“It is suicidal to go into a mining concession at night or without safety gears. Mining is done by authorised professionals with professional tools. People should consider safety in whatever they do. We have had many cases of landslides caused by illegal mining, and in some cases rescuing them becomes impossible,” he added.
CIP Rugigana urged the public to always provide timely information on such illegal and dangerous acts.
Skol Brewery Ltd Rwanda staff led by the management visited the memorial and donated Rwf 1 million to support the maintenance of the memorial.
They were explained the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, toured different facilities making Kigali genocide memorial and concluded the visit honoring victims laid at the memorial mass graves.
SKOL Brewery Limited Rwanda General Manager, Ivan Wulffaert said that what happened in Rwanda should be a lesson to the rest of the world that Rwandans should be characterized by unity than inflaming discrimination.
“Let the memorial be a reflection enabling us to look back and learn from the past so that genocide never happens again. We should be more inclined to seeking harmony than fuelling divisionism. We honor victims of genocide and console with survivors who lost relatives and friends,” he said.
Skol Brewery Ltd Rwanda makes drinks including Skol Panache and alcoholic drinks like Skol Lager, Skol Malt, Skol 5, Virunga Mist, Virunga Gold, Skol Canette among others.
The extension of remand had been requested by the prosecution which appealed following the release of the duo in April 2019.
The court said yesterday around 3:40 pm that the judge who presided the previous had a hospitalized child and was discharged on Thursday hence announcing the postponement of the ruling to 24th May 2019.
No one of the suspects were present in court except few relatives.
On 21st March 2019, the prosecution announced the arrest of Rutayisire and Gasana on account of misallocating public funds.
As they appeared in Gasabo intermediary court of lower instance for hearing on bail or remand at the beginning of April 2019, the duo was released on bail. The court ordered their immediate release after finding no evidence pinning them.
They are alleged of complicity in the misuse of funds worth Rwf 249 million in One Laptop Per Child Project that is under REB.
John Rutayisire was the first director of REB when the institution was created in 2011, out of merger of different institutions under the education sector including Rwanda National Examinations Council (RNEC), Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC), The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and Student Financing Agency for Rwanda (SFAR).
He served until 2015 when he handed over to Gasana who served until 2017.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the visit is part of Diplomatic Up-Country Excursion organized for the 4th time to be held from 17 to19 May 2019.
According to the ministry, the excursion aims at giving Heads of Mission the opportunity to explore the diverse splendors of Rwanda, through educational and physical approaches to extend and enrich their knowledge and experience.
This year’s program takes place in the Western and Northern Provinces of Rwanda, from 17th to 19th May 2019 with a focus on Wildlife Health, Environmental Sustainability, Tourism, and Community Education.
It is an occasion for Heads of Mission to get firsthand information on the progress achieved by local entities, and a way of building and developing cooperation between Provinces and countries, Regional and International Organizations accredited to Rwanda.
The excursion that kicked off yesterday saw the group of head of missions accredited to Rwanda with Rwanda’s delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Richard Sezibera departing from Kigali heading for Western Province to Nyungwe National Park.
After a fun walk to the Canopy in the park, members of the Diplomatic Corps discovered the magnificence of Kamiranzovu waterfalls.
The visit to Nyungwe National Park comes as an opportunity to demystify rumors from foreign countries that the area is not safe.
Recently some countries are said to have advised their citizens to be watchful when visiting Rwanda and warning them against visits to some parts of the country like Nyungwe National Park and some areas in the neighborhood borders for their security.
Rwanda Minister of Foreign Affairs, Richard Sezibera responded by calling on people to ignore alarmists issuing travel advisories against Rwanda through online publications.
“Friendly advice…ignore alarmist reporting from online publications from a neighboring country on travel advisories. They are incorrect. Example, Canada made no significant change to her advisory for several weeks…. Same risk level as France and the UK,” Dr. Sezibera said in a tweet.
