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  • Two suspected Rwandan militia leaders to face German court

    The trial of two Rwandans charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes for violence carried out against civilians in Congo has opened in southern Germany.

    The trial is the first in Germany to be carried out under the principle of universal jurisdiction that allows states to pursue foreigners for crimes carried out abroad.

    German prosecutors have charged Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni with leading a mostly ethnic Hutu militia to kill more than 200 people, carry out numerous rapes and force children to serve as soldiers in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

    It was not immediately clear if the men would address the court at the opening on Wednesday.

    Both men were living in Germany at the time of their November 2009 arrest.

  • Rwandan neighbour: Kobagaya not at ethnic killings

    A former neighbour of a Rwandan accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide testified Tuesday that he never saw the man at any of the ethnic killings in the area where they lived.

    Jean-Marie Byiringiro took the stand during the third day of testimony in the U.S. immigration trial of Lazare Kobagaya. Byiringiro, who admitted killing a 12-year-old Tutsi boy in exchange for a goat as part of the genocide, said he was at nearly all of the ethnic killings in the area where he and Kobagaya lived.

    Kobagaya, 84, is in a federal courtroom in Kansas, USA, fighting charges of unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship in 2006 with fraud and misuse of an alien registration card. The government, which is seeking to revoke his citizenship, contends he lied to U.S. immigration authorities about his involvement in the genocide. Kobagaya contends he is innocent.

    The arsons and killings related to Kobagaya’s case allegedly occurred in a rural community known as Birambo, where Kobagaya and his family lived at the time, as well as at Mount Nyakizu, where thousands of Tutsis had sought refuge.

    The government contends Kobagaya was a wealthy and influential leader who incited the arsons and killings in his community, along with Francois Bazaramba, a former Rwandan pastor who was sentenced last year to life imprisonment by a Finnish court for committing genocide against the Tutsi minority in 1994.

    Most of Byiringiro’s testimony implicated Bazaramba, not Kobagaya. In fact, Byiringiro, who served seven years in prison for his role in the genocide, told jurors that Kobagaya, a Hutu born in neighboring Burundi, didn’t have any power in the community because he was a refugee in Rwanda.

    When a mob gathered at Bazaramba’s house before the homes of Tutsis were set on fire on April 15, 1994, Byiringiro said, Kobagaya came out of his house only because people were in front of it. It was Bazaramba who spoke to the crowd, Byiringiro said. During the speech, Bazaramba called on Kobagaya to explain to the crowd that the Tutsis were bad people.

    Byiringiro said through a translator that Kobagaya did tell people that “we did not know the badness of the Tutsis” and that if they didn’t kill them, the Tutsis would kill the Hutus. However, Byiringiro told the jury he didn’t see Kobagaya join the rest of the crowd of more than 100 people in the arsons.

    His testimony came a day after another neighbor, Valens Murindangabo, testified that Kobagaya told the mob to burn down the houses of Tutsis so they wouldn’t return and ordered the killings of others.

    On Tuesday, defense attorney Kurt Kerns questioned Murindangabo, a former teacher who has served more than 10 years in prison for his role in the genocide, about an eight-page government form he had filled out as part of his own confession. The form asked him to list all witnesses and accomplices, but it didn’t have Kobagaya’s name.

    Murindangabo insisted an attachment had been lost that listed Kobagaya as participating in the genocide.

    The defense also hammered on the money he was receiving for his testimony — $96 a day while he is in the United States and $274 when he was in Rwanda for meeting with investigators. The defense team noted that is a lot of money in Rwanda, where the per capita annual income is $490 a year.

  • Rwanda projects lower farm output this year

    Growth in Rwanda’s agricultural output is seen slowing to 6 percent in 2011 from 7.1 percent last year due to a drought late in 2010, agriculture minister Agnes Kalibata has said.

    The country has invested in new agricultural production to raise food and export output, with agriculture a mainstay of recent economic growth.

    “Agriculture growth this year will not be as good as the previous year’s because of a drought at the end of last year, so we expect around 6 percent growth,” Kalibata said during a rural poverty conference.

    “Next year we go back to our original plan, 8 percent growth,” she added.

    Kalibata said increased agriculture investment would pave the way for Rwanda to reduce its dependence on two of its main imported crops — rice and wheat.

    “We are investing very strongly in irrigation systems that will see (rice) imports going down in the next three years,” she said.

    “We will probably be importing about 10 percent from 40 percent now by 2014. In wheat we also have investments coming in that indicate… we could produce in the next two-to-three years about 50 percent of what we consume in the country,” Kalibata added.

    Rwanda currently produces 60 percent of the rice it consumes, importing the shortfall, while it imports about 60 percent of its wheat needs.

    She said the country of about 11 million people did not have any food security fears, although the rising global cost of fuel and food prices could impact domestic inflation.

    “Inflation is going up because some imported commodities are going up because fuel is influencing them,” Kalibata said.

  • 2011/2012 budget estimates hit FrwI trillion mark

    For the first time in the country’s history, estimates show that the budget will total Frw 1.116 trillion compared to Frw 984 billion during the previous year.

    Finance minister John Rwangombwa made the announcement yesterday when he read the first budget estimates for the year 2011/2012 before Parliament. The presentation was meant to seek opinions from parliamentarians before the final reading on June 8, this year. 

    “We have resources, we increased domestic revenues and this budget reflects the collective determination of the government to mobilise resources,” Rwangombwa said in an interview after the presentation.

    Rwangombwa said that the priority areas include agriculture, trade and financial services. Revenues invested in productive capacities will increase from Rwf137.4bn to Rwf 199.7 billion in the upcoming budget, representing a 17.9 percent of the total budget. Other areas that recorded an increase in budget allocation include the human development and social sectors.

    The minister said that the ministry is increasing resources to support the budget but there has also been consistency in terms of the support received from development partners at 41 percent of the total budget.

    He attributed this to the country’s accountability on the funds donated by development partners. Development projects account for Rwf503 billion representing 40.9 percent of the budget compared to Rwf394b in the last financial year.

    Development projects account for Rwf503 billion representing 40.9 percent of the budget compared to Rwf394b in the last financial year.

    Rwangombwa further pointed out that tax revenues are projected to climb from 13 percent to 14.6 percent, while donor funding would decrease from 12.8 percent to 10.1 percent.

  • Ready, Set, Wibro!

    Forget your wireless network at home, office or Wi-Fi hot spots around the city. Kigali is now itself a wireless hot spot , thanks to the newly-built fibre optics infrastructure and base stations installed around the capital supplying the city with the latest wireless broadband technology known as Wibro, developed by Korean Telecom, a South Korea firm.

    In an age where technology is gathering staggering pace, Rwanda has had a head start with an astonishing 4G technology that provides high speed connectivity superior to the conventional 3G.

    The Wibro project, which had taken a whole year to complete, has an approximate coverage of 80 percent of the city making it accessible to almost everyone.

    “It is now awaiting the final processes of commercialisation before it can reach the market,” says the Division Manager, Mark Karomba at the Wibro Centre in Telecom House, a process estimated to be complete before the third quarter of the year.

    On inquiry about its advantages says. “This wireless broadband will provide users with a faster connection enabling them to enjoy the internet experience at a much higher level, be it on smart phones or even on the go with your laptop.”

    The interesting feature of mobility is a trademark of the Wibro technology that makes it even more convenient and flexible in terms of use, compared to other powerful technologies such as WIMAX.

    The project will operate in the public sector for a while before switching to the private sector. It will be under government control offering the service at an undisclosed tariff that is projected to be even lower than what other internet service providers are presently charging. “The goal of this is to widen the Rwandan market in terms of access to internet. By offering a cheap and accessible service, the penetration rate of internet within the population, which is approximately 2 percent, is bound to increase,” observes Karomba.

    Even though Kigali will be the hub of this broadband technology, a nationwide expansion is anticipated with areas such as Rwamagana, Huye , Rusizi, Rubavu already covered through the fibre optic networks.

    In addition to WIBRO, other service providers such as MTN and TIGO would continue to be operational. “Implementation of the project is not aimed at competition, but rather a much bigger and far-reaching goal that is expanding the Rwandan internet market. Few players will always keep the prices high but with the new addition of Wibro, prices will be cheaper for the service, making it accessible to more people thus fulfilling our aim of increased penetration,” says Karomba.

    The Wibro technology is a big step technological step that will not only provide the population with a much better internet experience but also allow institutions and businesses to operate efficiently. This would significantly contribute to other areas of the country’s development.

  • Should Rwandans participate in the Big Brother Africa Reality Show?

    This year’s edition of Big Brother Africa (BBA), the television reality show, is underway in South Africa without Rwandan contestants yet again. Surprisingly, countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, which are in the same region as Rwanda, continue to send contestants to the show. This raises many questions on why Rwanda continues to miss out on the show despite its buoyant local entertainment industry. IGIHE.com interviewed some prominent Rwandan artists to gauge their opinions. Below are their comments :

    Alpha Rwirangira, the winner of 2009 Tusker Project Fame (TPF).
    “Rwandans cannot participate in the BBA because there is no privacy in that house. According to the Rwandan culture, it is unacceptable to expose one’s privacy. People’s privacy is very important in Rwanda ; one cannot feel content when they see their daughters and sons exposing themselves in the name of gaining fame. ”

    Former Miss Kigali now Miss East Africa, Cynthia Akazuba
    “I cannot participate in the show because contestants are exposed to cameras everywhere in the house. Besides, Rwanda has its own culture. If other cultures allow nudity, it does not mean that we will do the same. We have our own culture which represents who we are ; it does not mean that we have to ape all the western influence.”

    Mani Martin, Singer
    “I would wish to see Rwandans take part in the BBA. I believe Rwanda has people who qualify to be in the show and I do not think that it is against the Rwandan culture. This is not true that BBA exposes housemates’ nudity. The exposure is among those caught in nasty acts. If you don’t do funny things in the house, when will the cameras capture you ?”

    Edward Bamporiki, film producer and scriptwriter.
    “Rwandans should take part in the BBA as long as they qualify. I believe that housemates’ nudity is exposed because they want it that way. BBA is like acting in a movie where you are asked to do things that do not reflect your real life experience.”

    Fred Kalisa, Movie Actor
    “BBA is against our culture and I can never do what is against our culture”.

    Dickson Rwiyamirira, Contact FM Radio Presenter and a Tusker Project Fame judge during last year’s auditions in Kigali.

    “Rwandans cannot take part in BBA because they are too shy and respect their culture. ”

     

  • Kobayaga trial resumes in US

    A teacher who admitted burning his neighbours’ homes during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide has told a Kansas jury he was like an animal without humanity.

    The testimony came Monday in the federal trial of 84-year-old Lazare Kobagaya. The Topeka resident is charged with lying to U.S. immigration officials about his role in Rwanda’s ethnic mass killings. Kobagaya has denied the charges.

    One of his former neighbours, Valens Murindangabo, returned to the stand to testify about the events of April 1994.

    He testified that Kobagaya told a mob of ethnic Hutus to burn the homes of Tutsi neighbours so they would not return.

    The defendant shook his head as Murindangabo testified that Kobagaya’s work was to make sure the houses were destroyed.

    Kobagaya, who lives in Topeka, is charged with unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship in 2006 and with fraud and misuse of an alien registration card. Kobagaya denies committing acts of genocide, and defense attorneys say they plan to call more than 20 witnesses from around the world, along with family members, to testify on his behalf.

    Prosecutors contend Kobagaya concealed that he had lived in Rwanda during the genocide and participated in the attacks and slaughter of hundreds of Tutsis. They say he lied during immigration proceedings in Wichita when he said he lived in Burundi from 1993 to 1995.

    If convicted, Kobagaya faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of the charges. But the indictment also seeks to revoke Kobagaya’s U.S. citizenship, a move that would subject him to deportation. Family members have said they fear that could lead to his death.

    The Justice Department alleges that in April 1994 Kobagaya directed a gathering of Hutus to burn down houses belonging to the Tutsis. Prosecutors also contend he mobilized attackers and ordered and coerced them to kill hundreds of Tutsis.

    Prosecutors allege Kobagaya worked with Francois Bazaramba, a former Rwandan pastor who was sentenced last year to life imprisonment for committing genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.

    One of Kobagaya’s sons, Andre Kandy, said in April 2009 that his father was in Rwanda during the time in question as a Burundi refugee. His family also said Kobagaya was mostly bedridden while in a refugee camp. Kandy said his father speaks little English and probably misunderstood what was being asked during the U.S. immigration proceedings.

  • Erlinder might face law in Rwanda

    Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga has insisted that genocide denier, Peter Erlinder, might be summoned soon to answer cases related to both genocide denial and ideology.

    The American lawyer was recently declared unprofessional by the International Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha (ICTR), and his views as a defense lawyer at the tribunal were considered hoax.

    According to Ngoga, the latest developments add more credence to Rwanda’s efforts to summon the embattled lawyer. However, the chief prosecutor did not give a specific timeline for the summons but observed that there was progress.

    He further pointed out that due to Erlinder’s habit of ignoring court summons, Rwanda might use the Interpol to apprehend him, “We believe we have concrete evidence which makes it hard for him to escape justice.”

    Reacting to critics who argue that Victoire Ingabire’s case is lingering, Ngoga was quick to blame foreign countries like Switzerland and Belgium for delaying to handover some of the essential evidence. Even though there are less interests from concerned nations, Ingabire will still appear in court on 16 May 2011. “We believe we have enough evidence to start the case but in the meantime, we’re still finding ways of how evidence obtained by Switzerland and Belgium would be released soon.”

    He however pointed out that other countries like D.R Congo, Burundi and Holland have been cooperative. “Netherlands, for instance, has handed out evidence obtained from both witnesses and frequent searches in her house.

  • Rwanda expects to fetch U.S.$60 million in tea exports

    Rwanda
    expects to fetch at least $60 million from its tea this year buoyed by
    increased international commodity prices.

    Tea
    has become one of Rwanda’s main exports by value with its revenue increasing
    from $48.2 million in 2009 to $58 million in 2010. According to Rwanda Tea
    Development Authority, the value of tea has increased largely due to recovery
    of global prices while the volume has fallen slightly due to harsh weather
    conditions experienced from July to October last year.

    “The
    rains were so scarce during those months : The yields are expected to be less
    than those we experienced in the previous year. But because of slightly better
    prices we many get around $60 million this year,” the tea agency’s
    director general Anthony Butera said. Mr Butera noted that in the first three
    months of this year, tea earnings hit a record high of $8 million signaling
    higher revenue for the rest of the year.

    “If
    we can get that in the April, May June quarter, we may exceed the $60 million
    mark. Currently prices are at an average of $2.7 – $2.8 per kilogramme,”
    he said. Last year’s prices were $2.5-$2.6 per kilogramme.

    Mr
    Butera warned that productivity is still low with the output generally lower
    than elsewhere in the region.

    “Currently
    our average harvest is 7,000-8,000 kilogrammes of green leaf per hectare per
    annum compared with Kenya which can go up to 17,000 per hectare per
    annum,” he said. To boost productivity, Rwanda Tea Development Authority
    has set up a fertiliser fund mainly funded by tea factories and farmers to
    facilitate purchasing and distribution of fertilisers at subsidised prices. The
    authority’s target is to increase tea plantation yields to 9,000kg by the end
    of June. In addition, it is investing in encouraging tea growers to practice
    better farming methods.

    Currently, tea plantations cover 17,000 hectares. According to the 2008 Rwanda Tea
    Strategy, government intends to generate wealth by selling a high quality range
    of branded Rwandan teas with some added value through partnerships with new and
    existing buyers in Europe, US and the Middle East.

    Currently,
    Rwanda sells its standard teas in bulk form at auction, mostly to Asian buyers
    and a small but growing number of European and Middle Eastern buyers.

  • Hotel Rwanda

    “You can take the door off if you like, you’ll get better photographs.” Before I’ve even nodded my consent, pilot Jean de Dieu already has the door of the bright blue chopper in his hands. “Let’s hope it doesn’t rain,” I venture feebly as I assess the seat-belt situation.

    I’m on the tarmac at Kigali airport in Rwanda, about to get a lift to the Volcanoes National Park, home to the endangered mountain gorillas, in a Robinson R44 helicopter. “We get a lot of tourists who want us to drop them off there,” says de Dieu, as though he is running a taxi service.

    That Rwanda attracts the kind of tourist who prefers to charter a helicopter than make the long journey by road is testimony to the remarkable transformation the country has undergone since the 1994 genocide destroyed its infrastructure and its reputation. This is just the kind of tourist President Paul Kagame was hoping to attract when he began promoting travel to the region in 2003. By focusing on high-value, low environmental-impact tourism, Rwanda has attracted considerable foreign investment over the past few years, with a host of new openings aimed at the discerning tourist.

    The trend began in 2007, when Kenyan hotel group Serena, part of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, took over the management of two properties and turned one into a five-star hotel in the capital Kigali and the other into a four-star property on the lakeside resort of Gisenyi. Then, in 2008, Governors’ Camp opened Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, right at the foot of the Virunga volcano chain and very close to the entrance of the Volcanoes National Park, prompting Virunga, the area’s original lodge, to undertake an extensive refurbishment. Last year a new lakeside lodge opened in Kibuye and a five-star property began to draw tourists to Nyungwe Forest, one of the largest remaining cloud forests in Africa. Visitors already seem to be taking note : revenue from international tourism rose 14 per cent last year.

    Rounding a corner, a collection of stilted bamboo cottages come into view, jutting out of the steep banks of the lakeshore. “That’s Cormoron lodge,” the driver tells me. “It opened last October, and is owned by a Belgian woman who used to be a racing driver.” I get them to pull up at the little jetty and climb up along mint-lined paths to the reception. Rwanda was a Belgian colony from the 1920s until independence in 1962, and owner Nathalie Cox has spent most of her life here. Deciding to stay the night, I get my own wooden cabin, which is spacious and comfortable and has a balcony from which I can see the red glow of Democratic Republic of Congo’s live Nyiragongo volcano. In the morning, the lake looks so inviting I can’t resist taking a dive off the jetty and then borrow a kayak to spend a couple of hours paddling around the islets off the coast, and shouting the occasional amakuru, or good morning, to fishermen in their wooden dugout canoes.

    Finally it’s time to hit the road and my driver turns up in a classic Toyota Land Cruiser to take me to Nyungwe Forest—an area of nearly 1,000 sq km teeming with wildlife, including colobus monkeys and chimpanzees. There may be potholes and endless twisting bends along the dirt road, but it is a stunning drive with the road snaking around the cliffs and the lake providing a dramatic backdrop. With the window down, the smell of eucalyptus wafts in, and the cries of local children who rush to the roadside to call “Muzungo, muzungo” (the regional term for tourist, from the Swahili word to wander aimlessly) and occasionally ask for pens or francs, but more often just wave and smile.

    Acres of tea plantations herald our arrival at Nyungwe Forest Lodge, which was built with a substantial investment from Dubai World Africa (a subsidiary of the Dubai’s state investment company). “That’s the helipad,” says my driver signaling a clearing up ahead. It seems that every lodge worth its salt has one. And then the building appears, an imposing structure of dark wood and stone walls. Staff are awaiting our arrival with cold towels and juice and we are escorted into a spacious lounge with stylish modern furniture, arty coffee-table books and a blazing log fire—the sort of place you might find in South Africa. I am then taken to my private chalet, one of many scattered widely among the tea plantations, with a private deck overlooking the forest beyond. The rooms are huge with kingly bathrooms and I can well believe that each one cost the rumored $1m to build and furnish.

    The lodge isn’t the only new opening in the forest : there is also a canopy walk, the first of its kind in the region, and I am keen to get there before it closes for the day.

    It’s a leisurely 20-minute stroll into the forest from the Uwinka Visitor Centre to the start of the walk. My guide points out epiphytic orchids, high on the trunk of a mahogany tree, and the blood-red leaves of the “welcome” tree. “When they fall, they create a red carpet,” he explains.

    The canopy walk itself doesn’t look too daunting from the ground. It is 90m long at its main section and 50m off the ground. I begin with cocky confidence, but as I get halfway across the main section, the vertigo kicks in. Below me, clouds are wisping up through the trees like smoke and from this height the canopy below resembles hundreds of heads of broccoli. I hold on tightly to the metal wire at chest height and try to look out at the horizon, rather than down. After all, if I can fly in a helicopter with no doors, this should be easy.

    This article originally appeared in Financial Times