The peacekeeping troops have the mission of fighting armed groups which have cemented their presence in eastern DRC.
Despite their presence for the past 20 years, the groups have been increasing where a large number of civilians continue to die in different attacks.
Congolese accuse MONUSCO of working in the interests of foreign countries instead of delivering on their mission.
In the morning of Monday 25th July 2022, protesters turned up in big crowds in Goma, blocked roads and stormed offices of MONUSCO and its logistical base where they looted different valuables including computers, furniture among others. They also set the organization’s vehicle on fire.
The protests organized by the youth from the ruling political party (UDPS) followed more demonstrations launched by women who had spent days at the entrance of MONUSCO’s premises demanding the troops to leave the country because they failed Congolese and are unable to fight M23 rebel group.
During the demonstrations; Police in DRC intervened to disperse the crowds with tear gas in the areas of Majengo, Mutinga-Katoyi, Kituku, Katindo, Ndosho, Quartier Office and Virunga.
One day before, the Mayor of Goma, Senior Police Commissioner Kabeya François Makosa announced that the protests are not allowed and urged relevant authorities to foil the plan.
The Spokesperson of DRC, Patrick Muyaya has via Twitter handle condemned the violent protests noting that those involved must be held accountable and face serious punishments.
Ahead of the protests, Congolese politicians criticized the UN peacekeeping troops for failure to deliver.
As he interacted with members of AFDC political part in Goma on 15th July 2022, the President of Senate, Modeste Bahati Lukwebo said that the UN troops need to leave DRC.
The former Congolese President, Joseph Kabila also used to accuse MONUSCO of failure to solve security issues in the country.
On 18th July 2018, MONUSCO wrote to Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula expressing concerns over hate speeches propagated by the country’s officials.
With the annual budget of US$1 billion, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC started in 1999.
Mushikiwabo was elected as the head of the world community of French-speaking countries during the 17th Summit of Heads of State from Francophonie held in Erevan, Armenia in October 2018.
Following her election, Mushikiwabo took office in January 2019.
Speaking to TV 5 Monde, Mushikiwabo has disclosed that she is ready to continue leading the organization where she has already expressed her commitment to Francophone countries.
Mushikiwabo said that her country (Rwanda) has already proposed her candidature where she is among contenders for the next term.
The next Secretary-General will be elected during the 18th Summit of Heads of State from Francophone countries expected to take place in Djerba, Tunisia between 19th and 20th November 2022.
As the submission of candidatures began, the Kingdom of Morocco proposed Mushikiwabo as the sole candidate to the leadership of OIF during the next term and called on other countries to support her candidature.
The country proposed Mushikiwabo for a new term in order to continue the reforms undertaken by OIF.
The organization comprises 88 member states and governments; of these, 54 states and governments are full members, 7 are associate members and 27 are observers.
He was speaking to members of the press on 22nd July 2022 after presenting achievements of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the fiscal year 2021/2022.
Commenting on spoiled relations between Rwanda and Burundi for seven years, Amb. Shingiro said that the only unsettled issue is the undecided deportation of suspects behind who attempted to overthrow Burundi’s leadership in 2015.
“That is the only remaining issue. Other problems have been solved,” he said.
According to Iwacu media house from Burundi, Minister Shingiro expressed hope that Rwanda will agree to hand over these individuals to Burundi.
“No country can allow cooperation with another, particularly a neighbouring one, to be spoilt by a group of gangs with no promising future in politics,” he said.
Once suspected individuals are deported and face justice, Minister Shingiro revealed that they might even receive the presidential prerogative of mercy.
“Once they are brought before Burundi’s justice, they can start serving their sentence but we cannot ignore that they might benefit from different resolutions including the presidential prerogative of mercy,” he noted.
When asked whether the international norm for protection of refugees might not be a barrier for the deportation, Minister Shingiro explained that there is no international law protecting individuals behind coup plots or other criminals.
The official said that they are special refugees and advised suspects to report themselves to face justice instead of staying in the refuge.
Despite the pending issue, Shingiro highlighted that efforts to mend relations with Rwanda are on good progress.
The Government of Rwanda and Burundi recently held discussions on the issue of suspected coup plot suspects who attempted to overthrow the then President Pierre Nkurunziza in 2015.
Discussions took place on 25th February 2022. They brought together Rwanda’s Minister of Justice and State Attorney General, Dr. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja and his counterpart of Burundi, Domine Banyankimbona and other officials.
Minister Ugireshebuja said that shared interests between Rwanda and Burundi exceed differences. He added that discussions held at different times would pave the way for a brighter future for citizens’ interests.
Ndayishimiye will take over from his Kenya counterpart, President Uhuru Kenyatta who assumed office in March 2021.
He was announced as new EAC leader, by the outgoing chairman, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta during the closure of the two-day summit held in Arusha.
Resolutions of the summit indicate that the summit received an update on the integration of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the council of ministers and EAC Secretariat will expedite and finalize the implementation of the roadmap of integration and report to the 23rd Meeting of the Summit.
During the summit, Rwanda was represented by Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente. DRC was also represented by Prime Minister, Sama Lukonde.
{{Security issues in DRC }}
Resolutions of the summit show that EAC appointed President Uhuru Kenyatta to oversee the implementation of Nairobi process as provided for in the modality for the establishment and functioning of the EAC panel on eminent persons and for the deployment of special envoys.
The summit also resolved that a special fund will be established to support the implementation of the process and decided to expeditiously deploy a joint regional force in eastern DRC.
{{Somali continues to push for admission into EAC}}
The summit noted that the verification exercise for the admission of the Federal Republic of Somalia into the East African Community had not been undertaken and directed the council of ministers to expeditiously fast track the verification exercise in accordance with the EAC procedure for admission of new members into the EAC and report to the 23rd Meeting of the Summit.
The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who was part of the meeting reiterated his country’s commitment to join the regional bloc.
The summit also noted that the council of ministers had concluded the roadmap for the integration of South Sudan into the community.
{{Inclusion of Kiswahili and French as official languages }}
The EAC Heads of State Summit also received an update on the inclusion of French and Kiswahili as official languages of the community, in addition to English and considered a roadmap on the implementation of Kiswahili and French as official languages.
The council of ministers was directed to expedite implementation of the roadmap.
{{New judges of EAC court}}
The summit appointed Cheborion Barishaki Bonny from Uganda as a judge of the East African Court of Justice in the appellate division wioth effect from 16th August 2022.
It also appointed Sauda Mjasiri as the Vice President of the East African Court of Justice and Dr. Charles O. Nyawelo as Deputy Principal Judge of the first Instance Division with effect from 22nd July 2022.
The summit also named Gacuko Leonard from Burundi as a Judge of the East African Court of Justice in the first instance division with effect from 22nd July 2022.
Among others, the summit also thanked judges Monica Mugenyi, Geoffrey W.M. Kiryabwire and Audace Ngiye for their dedicated service to the community and wished them well in their future endeavours.
{{Bazivamo ends tenure}}
The summit noted that the tenure of the Deputy Secretary General of EAC, Christophe Bazivamo will end in September 2022.
The summit commended him for dedicated service to the community and wished them well in their future endeavours.
Bazivamo held the position since 2016.
Prior to the appointment, he was a parliamentarian of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
He also held different duties in the Government of Rwanda between 2009 and 2011.
{{Ndayishimiye appointed Chairperson of EAC}}
The summit recalled its previous decision at its 21st meeting that the Republic of Burundi would take over the next chairmanship of the community. The summit decided that the Republic of South Sudan will be the rapporteur.
With this regard, the President of Burundi, Ndayishimiye will be serving the Chairperson of EAC replacing Uhuru Kenyatta.
The summit thanked Uhuru Kenyatta for having chaired the community and his stewardship of the affairs of the community during his tenure since 27th February 2021.
The leaders hosted at Urugwiro Village today include Mahamadou Issoufou, the former President of Niger; Hailemariam Desalegn, former Ethiopian Prime Minister; the CEO of African Wildlife Foundation, Kaddu Sebunya; the Deputy Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Stewart Maginnis; the Director General of World Wildlife Fund, Marco Lambertini and the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Shamila Nair Bedouelle.
Rwanda’s Presidency has announced the development via Twitter handle but did not mention topics of discussions.
The leaders were accompanied by Rwandan officials including the Minister of Environment, Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya and the CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Clare Akamanzi.
The congress which the leaders attended runs between 18th and 23rd July 2022. It is organized by African Wildlife Foundation, an international conservation organization focused exclusively on Africa’s wildlife and wild lands.
The first Africa Protected Area Congress underway in Kigali is intended to further enhance the status of conservation in Africa by engaging governments, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities, academia to shape Africa’s Protected and Conserved Areas Agenda to better deliver benefits for people and nature.
It brought together over 2000 participants from 52 African countries and beyond.
Rwanda became the first African country to host the meeting which previously took place in Europe, USA and Asia.
The opening ceremony was graced by dignitaries including the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn and the former President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou.
The opening ceremony also coincided with the official inauguration of Nyandungu Eco-Park by Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente.
Today, protected areas cover 37.7% of Rwanda’s land.
At the time, 22 individuals who had been convicted of role in the Genocide were shot dead.
The capital punishment triggered mixed reactions among foreign countries which condemned the decision taken by the Government of Rwanda.
Among the executed individuals, is Virginie Mukankusi, the former School Inspector in Kigali City during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Reports do not provide deep details on the role of Mukankusi during the Genocide but indicate that he was convicted over persecuting Tutsi victims before killing them.
Mukankusi was also convicted of hunting and pointing out hideouts for Tutsi children to be killed by Interahamwe.
Mukankusi was handed life sentence on 28th February 1997 by Gitarama Primary Court. The convict and defence lawyers were not satisfied with the verdict and filed an appeal before Nyabisindu Intermediate Court which retained the punishment.
During trial proceedings that began in January 1997, Amnesty International revealed that Mukankusi made self-contradictory statements at different times which might have been considered by the court to pin her.
Mukankusi’s defence lawyer requested for lenient sentence of his client claiming that she was an ordinary citizen not familiar with political affairs.
However, the Prosecution said that it could not clear her of cruelty and severity of the committed crime.
The verdict was not welcomed by foreign countries and international organizations including Amnesty which considered the decision as a step backward in the judicial system.
“The public execution of 22 people in Rwanda on 24 April has further damaged hopes of peace and reconciliation in the country,” reads an extract from Amnesty’s report released on 24th April 1998.
Pope John Paul II also wrote a letter to the then President, Pasteur Bizimungu requesting the cancellation of the execution but the Government of Rwanda insisted that the decision of the court must be respected.
It also explained that the verdict served as a warning to people with intentions to abuse human rights.
On the day of execution, Mukankusi was along with a group of key masterminds in the preparation and execution of Genocide against the Tutsi including Frodouard Karamira, the former Vice President of MDR political party who played a major role in spreading Hutu Power ideology and mobilizing Hutus to exterminate Tutsis through the then national broadcaster, RTLM.
The death sentence was later abolished. The Government of Rwanda scrapped the death penalty from its penal code on 25th July 2007.
It is said that it had been handed to 600 individuals before its abolishment.
Today, the world is moving fast shifting from analogue to digital. It is against this background that Rwanda has also adapted to emerging technologies whereby oral traditions can be found in different books, online sources or kept through audio-visual records. The oral tradition was most common during the reign of Kings.
Long ago, during the reign of Kings, written literature was not popular. To keep record of all activities happening across kingdoms, oral tradition took center stage.
To this end, all poets rooting from Nyirarumaga said to be the matriarchy of all poets in Rwanda had their works memorized. The tales of then were also memorized and transmitted to generations up to date.
Following the mysterious tale of Nyiransibura, a mythical woman attributed to the creation of Lake Kivu published on IGIHE; today’s attention is drawn on the fairy-tale of Ndaba Rock.
Ndaba Rock is one of Rwanda’s captivating historical and cultural attractions.
Located in 20 kilometers from Karongi town along the road to Muhanga town, the rock bears the name of a man who was abandoned by colleagues over selfishness and gluttony for honey and died helpless at its bottom.
Ndaba Rock is one of Rwanda’s most-visited tourist sites, not just for its features but the mythical stories that surround it. Ndaba’s age remains unknown but one sure thing is that the rock existed long ago.
One day, Ndaba went to harvest honey in a forest accompanied by his friends, as a daily routine.
However, there existed a particular rock that had large quantities of honey and had drawn many people’s attention from the surrounding forest.
As Ndaba continued walking, he sighted a cracked rock that had big honey combs that were dripping with honey.
The man called out for his friends who had moved with him to come and observe what the rock had had for them on the day.
He continued moving closer to the rock trying to investigate what exactly was inside the rock but to his surprise, they were honey combs.
Before harvesting the honey, Ndaba’s friends fastened a long climbing rope around his waist and lowered him at the bottom.
When he got to the bottom of the rock, greed took over him and started filling his stomach with honey using both hands. Being in the midst of honey combs, Ndaba forgot his friends and was not bothered by the bees’ stings.
His friends tried to move their pots downwards for Ndaba to fill them with honey, and in return, he would be pulled out with the pots together. As greed wholly absorbed the man, he literally forgot of his friends and filled his stomach more than he put into the pots as suggested earlier.
As time went on, Ndaba’s friends started feeling unsafe and impatient. They then began calling him. Unfortunately, Ndaba ignored their call until the men filled with wrath pulled their pots and left him at the base of the rock but he did not even realize that his friends had left already. After filling his stomach, he tried to climb back to the top of the rock but its walls were very wet and slippery. The fact that he was very full and heavier than when he descended made his situation much worse.
Ndaba attempted to climb but all his efforts ended in vain and his friends did not come back to his rescue as a punishment for his selfishness and greed. As he attempted to climb the rock, Ndaba fell off the rock and died at the bottom of the rock beside the honeycombs.
From then to the present time, the place is named ‘Ndaba Rock’.
His story teaches local communities and tourists not to be greed as it can only bring trouble.
Apart from its spectacular view of the rock and waterfalls, the place is also suitable for rock climbing and other adventures.
Residents in its surroundings have been taking advantage of the rock to perform traditional songs related to the rock’s history to visitors.
The tension arose from reciprocal accusations that followed the resurgence of M23 rebel group. DRC accused Rwanda of supporting M23 in the fighting with Congolese Army (FARDC).
Meanwhile, Rwanda accused DRC of collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a terrorist group comprised of masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The collaboration led to provocations where FARDC and FDLR shelled rockets on Rwandan territory which injured civilians and destroyed houses.
Rwanda also accused DRC of kidnapping its soldiers in collaboration with FDLR but they were later released.
Since the fighting with M23 erupted, Rwanda has repeatedly rejected the allegations highlighting that it has no interests in destabilizing the neighbouring country.
The meeting of a Joint Permanent Commission between Rwanda and DRC started on Wednesday 20th July 2022 to seek a solution on the tension with the mediation of Angola.
Rwanda’s envoys are led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta while DRC is represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula.
Also part of Rwanda’s delegation is Colonel François-Régis Gatarayiha, the Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence and Director of Technology; Rwanda’s Ambassador to Angola, Wellars Gasamagera and the Director General for Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shakilla Umutoni.
Establishing the joint commission is part of resolutions of the recent tripartite summit which brought together the Heads of State of Rwanda, DRC and Angola held in Luanda on 6th July 2022.
The commission had to meet the following week but was postponed due to the mourning declared by Angola over the death of former President Eduardo Dos Santos.
Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Tete Antonio has expressed delight to see the meeting happening.
“Very happy to have my brothers Ministers Christophe Lutundula [DRC] and Vincent Biruta [Rwanda] who are in Luanda for Joint Permanent Commission DRC-Rwanda in the framework of the implementation of the Road Map, moving forward for the Africa we want,” he tweeted.
Recent discussions between both countries on the mediation of Angola also saw concerned parties setting a roadmap to accelerate efforts meant to achieve durable peace.
However, concerned countries have released contradictory statements following the summit. DRC’s Presidency initially released resolutions with clauses in favour of its allegations.
Later on, Rwanda and Angola released resolutions of the roadmap detailing responsibilities of each country concerned with the issues of DRC to promote peace in the region and eastern DRC.
At the time, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta requested the DRC to avoid distorting resolutions of the tripartite summit.
“The Luanda tripartite meeting outcome is a roadmap with clear objectives and activities to be implemented by various parties/partners. No agreement or ceasefire was signed. Misinformation/populism are undermining the overall objective of achieving peace in DRC and the region,” Minister Biruta tweeted.
DRC announced that immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of M23 from all captured areas were among resolutions of the summit.
Meanwhile, the issues that Rwanda indicated at the summit have been clearly pointed out for over 20 years. These include assurance of security at its borders and fighting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a terrorist group intending to threaten Rwanda.
Rwanda maintained that the terrorist group should not receive any form of support to attack Rwanda where DRC is urged not to allow FDLR to shell Rwandan territory.
The roadmap on activities to restore relations between Rwanda and DRC stresses the need to defeat FDLR and its splinter groups while more efforts have to be geared towards fighting hate speech and offensive language in the region by all parties.
The splinter groups include CNRD- FLN, RUD-Urunana, FPPH-Abajyarugamba believed to be at the origin of tensions between Rwanda and DRC and play a major role in the insecurity of the DRC.
Creating the necessary conditions for the return of refugees is among outlined priorities as per released roadmap. Rwanda, DRC, ICGLR and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be in charge of implementation.
On the issue of M23, the summit resolved that all activities on the rebel group must be based on Nairobi Process.
It was also resolved that an ad-hoc verification mechanism led by an Officer General of the Republic of Angola has to be created to verify the reciprocal accusations of the DRC and Rwanda concerning the support to M23 and the collaboration with the FDLR.
The team is to be supported by the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) while ICGLR will seek MONUSCO’s support in security and logistical matters.
The EJVM is a mechanism of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) composed of military officers from the 12 member countries that is charged with monitoring and verification of border violations between DRC and neighbouring countries.
The commission meets ahead of the 22nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State from the East African Community (EAC) expected on 22nd July 2022 in Tanzania for discussions on issues including security in eastern DRC.
The regional bloc is also under the process of deploying joint troops to fight armed groups in DRC.
The documents include one written by the former British High Commissioner to Rwanda, Jo Lomas expressing concerns that the migrants might be recruited to conduct armed operations in neighbouring countries once they arrive in Rwanda.
The documents were submitted to court by lawyers from charities overseeing interests of individual asylum seekers from countries including Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Albania.
Their first flight to Rwanda was expected on 14th June 2022 but was cancelled at last minute after an intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
The documents presented to the UK High Court feature concerns of different people about the partnership to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
An extract from the documents indicate that on 10th February 2021, the former UK High Commissioner to Rwanda, Jo Lomas said ‘the UK should not do a deal with Rwanda because the African country had been accused of recruiting refugees to conduct armed operations in neighbouring countries’.
Eight days after the disclosures, more extracts read, Rwanda was identified as one of 14 countries assessed as presenting substantial issues in relation to asylum systems and human rights and received an amber/red rating from the government owing to significant human rights concerns.
Among others; a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office memo dated 20th May 2021, urged the Prime Minister not to get involved with the Rwanda deal ‘owing to significant human rights concerns’.
Another document submitted to the court is a detailed internal memo that appears to be dated 12th April 2022, the day before a memorandum of understanding was signed between UK and Rwanda. The latter stated that the “fraud risk is very high” in the deal because UK was paying so much money upfront to Rwanda.
A document from the day the memorandum was signed stated that the first group of asylum seekers due to be flown to Rwanda could “test” Rwanda’s refugee determination processes.
When the UK government conducted an independent assessment of Rwanda’s human rights record, extracts from the documents indicate, the Home Office showed it to Rwanda to comment on the final draft and allowed officials to suggest amendments.
The names of officials who made the comments were not mentioned in the documents. This created confusion among some people who attributed the concerns of UK High Commissioner to Rwanda to the current envoy, Omar Daair representing his country to Rwanda.
Omar Daair has via Twitter handle provided clarifications that he had not yet been appointed to Rwanda by the time concerns attributed to the UK High Commissioner were raised.
“There have been media stories regarding our partnership with Rwanda and documents written in February and May 2021. I became High Commissioner in July 2021. Regardless, it is normal for UK officials to brief Ministers during the course of policy development,” he tweeted.
“Ministers have repeatedly stated that Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. The UK government remains committed to delivering this policy to break the business model of criminal gangs and save lives,” added Omar.
It is expected that the next move will be informed by court’s decision.
Kagame posted the message on Twitter along with a photo of his granddaughter holding the newly born baby.
Ange Kagame was married to Ndengeyingoma in July 2019. The couple was blessed with the first child born on 19th July 2020.
Last year, Ange Kagame joined the ‘Parenting Month’ campaign in Rwanda by sharing tips for parents on how to boost their babies’ brain development through play.
The month-long campaign was launched on 1st June 2021, by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Rwanda, and other partners to promote positive parenting.
In the video released last year by UNICEF Rwanda; Ange Kagame, talked about how a baby’s brain develops most in the first 1,000 days at a pace never repeated again.
The video explains the various techniques such as ‘serve and return’ that parents can use to strengthen their bond with their babies while ensuring their holistic development.
At the time, Ange Kagame highlighted the role of both parents, male and female in the overall development of their baby.
In the earliest years of life, a child’s brain develops at an astounding speed of more than 1 million new neural connections every second.
This period offers once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape a child’s ability to learn, grow, form healthy relationships, and contribute fully to society in adulthood.
Parents are the key providers of health, nutrition, stimulation, opportunities for early learning, and protection that babies need for healthy brain development. Another area where parents can contribute significantly to a child’s development is by playing with the baby.
This helps babies learn and build crucial life skills – from problem-solving to expressing ideas – and strengthening the bond between child and parent.
