The murder suspect has explained that he was a minor aged 17 when he sired the son together with an elder woman who already had two more children.
As the suspect revealed, he was later married to another wife which triggered misunderstandings.
Speaking to IGIHE, the suspect said that the woman stressed him and spoke ill of him among friends and families.
“The situation lingered on until 2003 when he filed an accusation to community mediators. I never felt comfortable with the situation whenever I reflected on the circumstances under which I impregnated the woman who had already two children when I was still a minor. That is how I hated the son. When he grew up, the son joined her mother to follow up the case in 2019,” he said.
His son is currently aged 23. As the father continued to reject the son, the court ordered DNA test which confirmed that he is the biological son.
As the suspect narrated, he considered killing the son to be comfortable but ended up in vain.
“The problem was not solved. I am now regretting. I confess to God, apologize to siblings, neighbors and the Government of Rwanda being mindful of my offense and killing my child,” he said.
He advised people not to drug themselves into such criminal acts but rather seek assistance from concerned authorities and families to solve rampant disputes.
The Spokesperson of RIB, Dr. Murangira B. Thierry has told IGIHE that the suspect’s plan to murder his son was foiled.
“RIB has received tip off from residents that the man was planning to kill own son due to disputes lingering between parents. Rafiki was refusing to have fathered the son. He is accused of attempted murder,” he said.
Dr. Murangira explained that the suspect plotted the murder before his trial that was scheduled to resume on 11th January 2022.
“The man made payments after being informed that the son had died. RIB foiled the attempted murder and arrested the man in Kigali City after paying Rwf140, 000 to gangsters he had hired to kill his son. ,” he noted.
Dr. Murangira advised Rwandans against plotting murder to solve disputes but rather seek assistance from RIB.
His accomplices are at large to be brought to court.
After a few days of operations, the hotel’s magnificence, interior décor, offered services coupled with warm hospitality fascinate customers to extend their sojourn.
Riding to the hotel from Kigali International Airport takes approximately 15 minutes.
Located in Urugarama village, Gacuriro cell in Kinyinya sector of Gasabo district on Street 428, the hotel has seven rooms with ample spaces and interior designs giving a glimpse of what a relaxing setting should look like.
Six of the facility’s rooms have one bed each while the seventh called ‘Umusambi’ is equipped with a Twin Bed.
These rooms are also installed with Air Conditioners, Flat Televisions, and free internet, among others. Each room has a private sitting room and balcony.
The hotel has experienced chefs with prowess in culinary arts to prepare menu courses of customers’ choices giving another reason to stick to its services.
Besides, the hotel has a coffee shop and bar that offers a unique and comfortable setting for guests to quench their thirst.
François Rutayisire, the owner of the Hotel who lives in France has said that establishing the facility was inspired by the advice from President Paul Kagame to members of the diaspora reminding them of their responsibility to join other Rwandans to build the nation in respective capacities.
“Despite the fact that I was warmly welcomed and treated gently in foreign countries, I did not forget my country that my reflections were mainly about my contribution to the development of my motherland. I am proud to have achieved this milestone,” he said.
The hotel seeks, among other things, to introduce guests to Rwanda’s attractive beauty and touristic attractions. For instance, the hotel’s rooms carry the names of wild animals present in Rwanda’s forests with related drawings.
These include Inzovu room, Turaco room, Ingagi room, Imparage room, Twiga room, Impara room, and Umusambi room.
It is also adorned with other eye-catching paintings portraying the beauty of the Country of Thousand Hills including the topographical structure, plains, water bodies, and traditional culture among others.
Serge Rugwiro, the hotel’s Operations Manager has said that the underlying motive was to develop a unique approach of welcoming guests at the same time giving them an impression of what Rwanda’s touristic attractions offer.
“A foreigner might come to Rwanda for businesses without noticing that the country has parks with animal species attracting tourists. This was meant to market the visibility of the country and introduce wild species present in Rwanda through this approach,” he disclosed.
Customers booking rooms at the hotel are picked from the airport and enjoy a free breakfast.
In a first of its kind study, Science Daily reported, Professors Monica Uddin and Derek Wildman of the College of Public Health who worked with Rwandan researchers, looked at the entire genomes of women who were pregnant and living in Rwanda at the time of the genocide and their offspring and compared their DNA to other women pregnant at the same time and their offspring, who were living in other parts of the world.
The 13 researchers include Clarisse Musanabaganwa, Agaz H Wani, Janelle Donglasan , Segun Fatumo , Stefan Jansen , Jean Mutabaruka , Eugene Rutembesa , Annette Uwineza , Erno J Hermans , Benno Roozendaal , Derek E Wildman , Leon Mutesa and Monica Uddin.
In the study published in Epigenomics, they found that the terror of genocide was associated with chemically modifications to the DNA of genocide-exposed women and their offspring. Many of these modifications occurred in genes previously implicated in risk for mental disorders such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. These findings suggest that, unlike gene mutations, these chemical “epigenetic” modifications can have a rapid response to trauma across generations.
“Epigenetics refers to stable, but reversible, chemical modifications made to DNA that help to control a gene’s function,” Uddin said. “These can happen in a shorter time frame than is needed for changes to the underlying DNA sequence of genes. Our study found that prenatal genocide exposure was associated with an epigenetic pattern suggestive of reduced gene function in offspring.”
The team, which includes Clarisse Musanabaganwa, a visiting scholar from the University of Rwanda and her colleagues, came to their conclusion following the review of DNA from blood samples from 59 individuals — about half exposed personally or exposed in utero to the genocide. Exposure is defined as being impacted by genocide-related trauma, such as rape or evading capture, witnessing murder or serious attack with a weapon and seeing dead and mutilated bodies.
The novel study is part of a larger consortium, the Human, Heredity & Health in Africa (H3), which is funded by the National Institutes of Health. It’s an effort to empower scientists in Africa in genomics, increasing their independence and ability to build the infrastructure needed to enhance genetic studies across the continent, and ultimately better capture data on the human genome across the world.
“The Rwandan people who are in this study and community as a whole really want to know what happened to them because there’s a lot of PTSD and other mental health disorders in Rwanda and people want answers as to why they’re experiencing these feelings and having these issues,” Wildman said.
While this study looks specifically at the impact of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, it supports previous studies that show what occurs during pregnancy when one in fetus can have long-term impacts — many symptoms not appearing until later in life. Such evidence proves the need to enhance efforts to protect the safety and emotional and psychological wellbeing of pregnant women.
Researchers point out that individuals who were in utero during the genocide are starting to have children of their own and they hope to soon look at whether or not that trauma has had an epigenetic impact on the third generation. They’re now awaiting a new, larger batch of DNA samples to find out how trauma can impact risk for specific mental health disorders, like PTSD.
Kagame hosted Nibigira on Monday 10th January 2022 with whom they held discussions on strengthening bilateral relations.
The discussions were attended by different officials including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta; the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Head of Military Intelligence, Brig Gen Vincent Nyakarundi.
The discussions are considered a step further towards revitalized bilateral relations.
In 2015, a group of Burundian soldiers attempted to overthrow the then President Pierre Nkurunziza but the plan was nullified. Since then, Burundi accused Rwanda of accommodating suspects behind the failed coup plot. Rwanda has however been insisting that the individuals are considered as refugees who must be protected against deportation by international laws.
The political mishap later halted cooperation and free movements between both countries.
Despite misunderstandings that have characterized both countries, both countries are promising to bring the situation back to normal for mutual benefits.
There has been commendable progress to bring the situation back to normal since Ndayishimiye was installed in 2020.
Towards the end of August 2020, both countries’ heads of military intelligence met at Nemba One stop border post to discuss issues of security along their common border.
The discussions were held under the auspices of the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), a regional military framework under the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and was aimed at finding solutions on security incidents along the common border that have strained the relations between the two countries.
The Heads of both the Rwandan and Burundian delegation said the meeting was a good opportunity for exchange on the existing security problems and finding solutions and will contribute to bring trust between the two countries.
In October 2020, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dr. Vincent Biruta met with his Burundian counterpart Amb. Albert Shingiro and his delegation at at Nemba where they expressed willingness on restoring bilateral ties.
Last year in October 2021, Governors from Rwanda and Burundi held discussions aimed at enhancing cooperation between both countries.
During the same year, Burundi handed over to Rwanda, 11 combatants of the National Liberation Front (FLN) apprehended on its land.
Through the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) also handed over 19 combatants of RED-Tabara to Burundi. RED-Tabara is an armed group hostile to the Burundian government.
The agreement was signed on Monday 10th January 2022 following a joint security and defence meeting held at RDF Headquarters, Kimihurura, Kigali.
It concludes series of discussions that were held since Sunday 9th January 2022 between Mozambique and Rwanda defence and security delegations to review the security situation in the fight against insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique.
While speaking to Media after the meeting held at RDF Headquarters, Brigadier Chongo Vidigal, the Army Chief of Staff of Mozambique Defence Forces said the main issue discussed was how to strengthen the cooperation between the two nations security forces as well as to review joint operations against insurgents in Cabo Delgado.
This includes adopting new strategies to deal with challenges met in the last six months.
Col Ronald Rwivanga, the RDF Spokesperson, said among the decisions that were made include expanding the spheres of cooperation in terms of capacity building of the Mozambique Security Forces as well as improving the modus operandi of the joint forces in the theatre.
He made the revelation on Saturday 8th January 2022 during a mass to commemorate the death of Father Ubald Rugirangonga held at Agasozi k’Ibanga ry’Amahoro (Hill of Secrete to Peace) located in Kamatita cell, Gihundwe sector, Rusizi district of Western Province.
The hill of 25 hectares is located in Nkanka Parish, Cyangugu Diocese. It was conceived by Father Rugirangoga who sought to establish a center where people will gather for to pray for a peaceful world and forgive each other.
Cardinal Kambanda said that Rugirangoga endured suffering from which the values of forgiveness stemmed.
“Father Ubald endured suffering. Forgiveness has linkages to suffering. Forgiveness is the fruit from the tree of suffering which is the cross. To be able to forgive, empathy with the person who is suffering is needed,” Cardinal Kambanda said.
Throughout his suffering, Cardinal Kambanda said, Rugirangoga took care of the needy and empathized with them which he considered a great legacy.
He explained that the fruit of forgiveness has been helpful to tough problems Rwanda went through emanating from the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
Father Rugirangoga died in the United States in January 2021 from respiratory complications stemming from Covid-19.
He is renowned for divine healing prayers, psychiatric as well as unity and reconciliation initiatives.
Sister Valerie Mukandeze from the congregation founded by Rugirangoga said that he always advised them to love one another and strive to live in harmony.
The commemoration of Father Rugirangoga was held from 2nd to 8th January 2022.
Throughout the weeklong event, he was praised for his contribution to rebuild Rwandan society after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
Father Ubald Rugiranoga was born in February 1955 in former Rwabidege sector, Mwezi parish in Commune Karengera, Prefecture Cyangugu currently in Rusizi district. He was ordained priest in 1984 at the age of 29. Rugirangoga used to organize different gospel crusades in which many people healed from different diseases.
In 2015, Father Rugirangoga was selected Protector of Friendship Pact ‘Umurinzi w’Igihango’ for outstanding contribution to unity and reconciliation initiatives that started in Mushaka Parish and extended countrywide.
Among others, Father Rugirangoga encouraged Genocide perpetrators to seek forgiveness and survivors to forgive offenders as a healing process from the wounds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In 2019, Father Rugirangoga wrote a book dubbed “Forgiveness Makes You Free” aimed at consolidating Rwandans unity and reconciliation efforts.
Prior to his death early January 2021, Ubald was the head priest at Mushaka Parish and had requested his Bishop to be assigned in a parish where he could easily pray for mass public and help them along unity and reconciliation journey.
He served as a priest for over 32 years and died at the age of 62.
Primary and secondary schools are expected to open respectively on 10th and 13th January 2021.
The second term is opening few weeks after Rwanda confirmed the new Coronavirus variant dubbed ‘omicron’ which prompted the country to tighten preventive measures.
Appearing in RBA talk show, Dr. Uwamariya has said that the situation is controllable because many head teachers are aware of recommended health guidelines to contain the spread of the virus at schools.
She however stressed the need to take more strict measures to ensure enhanced protection against the new variant which spreads faster.
“We are lucky that head teachers know how to react when a new case is confirmed at their schools but we still need to be more vigilant and design new strategies to contain the spread of the virus in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Center,” Dr. Uwamariya said.
The Minister reminded teachers that they must have received the booster dose before returning to school as it was recommended by the Ministry of Education recently.
“We have recently urged eligible teachers to have received the third dose before the opening of the second school term. We are hopeful that no teacher will return to school without doing the necessary,” she affirmed.
MINEDUC shows that over 90% of eligible students have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Kigali City.
Among others, students from 14 districts received the first dose in the first school term expected to receive the second dose as they return to school before the program is rolled out to students in the remaining 16 district countrywide.
The meeting was attended by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Jean Bosco Kazura, Chief of General Staff (CGS) for Mozambique Armed Defense Forces (FADM), Admiral Joacquim Rivas Mangrasse, Inspector General of RNP, Dan Munyuza, his visiting counterpart, General Commander Bernardino Rafael and the Secretary General of Rwanda’s NISS, Maj. Gen. Joseph Nzabamwita.
The Mozambican defence and security officials are in Rwanda for a three-day official visit.
During the meeting, Defence and security chiefs reviewed the security situation in Cabo Delgado province and devised measures to succeed in ongoing operations in the province.
Exactly six months ago, on July 9,Rwandan troops were deployed to support the Mozambican security organs in counterterrorism operations in Cabo Delgado province. The operations have so far been able to restore state authority in the province, flush out the Ansar Al Sunna terrorists, and forces are now engaged in stabilisation and security reforms including repatriating the affected civilians from internally displaced camps to their respective homes.
The complete recovery of Cabo Delgado has also seen the resumption of economic activities in the region as Rwanda and Mozambique remain committed to reform the security sector through training and capacity development of Mozambican security forces.
While speaking during the meeting, Gen. Admiral Joacquim Rivas Mangrasse said that the visit is aimed at thanking the Government of Rwanda in general and its security organs in particular, for helping to fight Islamic State linked terrorits and restoring security in Cabo Delgado Province.
He recognized the impact of the RDF and RNP in supporting Mozambican security forces.
“We came here to thank the Government of Rwanda but also to discuss further security arrangements to support Mozambican forces in their journey to improve their capacity through training, on one hand and fighting the insurgents wherever they may be,” Admiral said.
The insurgents, he added, were significantly weakened and that these joint efforts will continue to build from these results.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed to establish joint security teams to design new strategies to improve the stabilisation and security sector reform process, a critical stage in realizing sustainable peace and progress in the Cabo Delgado province and beyond.
Mayaka breathed the last on Friday 7th January 2022 succumbing to natural cause.
The Manager of Cine Elmay, Rabbini Hamin Karambizi has told IGIHE that Mayaka died in Kigali.
“He has been sick for some days. We heard such sad news around 9:30p.m. He recently returned to Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo for medical attention,” he said.
Many sports and film enthusiasts in Kigali used to watch movies and live matches from Europe at his movie house known as ‘Kwa Mayaka’ in Biryogo.
Established in 1980, Cine Elmay was the first cycling team in Rwanda.
The program’s interventions draw emphasis on mass tests and helping HIV positive patients to prevent further transmission of new infections among others.
Speaking to IGIHE, the coordinator of PEPFAR in Rwanda, Alexandra Hoagland has reflected on the program’s achievements and commended Rwanda’s efforts to implement policies aimed at fighting against HIV/AIDS.
“More recently, PEPFAR has been investing in a lot of systems in Rwanda, specifically in all countries of intervention. When I say systems, I mean data collection systems, laboratory systems and how we purchase drugs that are used to treat HIV/AIDS,” she said.
“There has been a lot of successes but I will just highlight a couple. First, HIV positive patients were helped to access medication. For many people who were diagnosed in the 1999 and 2000, it was a stressful time because they didn’t know how they were going to survive. People were getting sick quickly but with the introduction, patients got relief. When they take medication as prescribed, they live long and lead healthy life,” added Hoagland.
She explained that PEPFAR has supported that through the clinical services provision and other interventions including the prevention of mother to child transmission for HIV positive pregnant mothers.
Considering Rwanda’s remarkable progress towards HIV/AIDS response, Hoagland expressed optimism that with proper diagnosis and treatment, the risk of transmission can be minimized.
“Now, Rwanda has a huge success story. 98.4% of HIV positive pregnant mothers do not pass on HIV to their children. It is a tremendous success which other countries should learn from,” added Hoagland.
Before 2016, a patient tested positive for HIV had to wait for some time to start receiving treatment but the situation has changed as patients start receiving medication soon after testing positive to strengthen his/her body’s immunity.
Hoagland who has been working in the health sector for the past 12 years has told IGIHE that men circumcision was among other programs that helped Rwanda to fight against HIV/AIDS.
Health experts show that circumcising men reduces HIV transmission by 60%.
Figures from PEPFAR Rwanda indicate that a total of 1,227,295 men had undergone voluntary circumcision in Rwanda by September 2021.
“It is a great investment because it is a one-time procedure that gives lifetime protection. Circumcision does not mean you can go freely but one sure thing is that it offers certain level of protection,” Hoagland observed.
{{Rwanda’s promising efforts}}
As of today, Rwanda registers 220,000 HIV positive patients equivalent to 3% of the population while the African continent has about 23.8 million.
Overall, the research carried out by Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) in November 2020 indicated that new HIV positive cases reduced by half between 2015 and 2019 while transmission of the virus from mother to child was cut to less than 2 percent in the past four years.
The research also highlighted that 5400 people catch HIV every year in Rwanda where the majority are from urban areas.
Through PEPFAR; a total of 125,789 HIV/AIDS patients receive antiretroviral therapy while 246,716 HIV/AIDS orphans and underprivileged children also receive different kinds of support.
PEPFAR helps them through provision of screening for sexually transmitted infections and training helping to reach other segments of the population in need of support.
Hoagland has also attributed Rwanda’s success to collaboration with different institutions.
“What is interesting to see in Rwanda, is that the Ministry of Health makes decisions that are in the best interests of the people of Rwanda,” she said.
Rwanda has ambitious targets to achieve zero new HIV infections by 2030.
The milestone will complement the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goal to achieve universal access to HIV treatment by 2020.
The goal (90-90-90) read that 90% of all people living with HIV would know their HIV status, 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection would receive sustained antiretroviral therapy while 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy would have had the viral suppression by 2020.
“Rwanda has achieved the target. We are now working towards 95-95-95 goal. To achieve an AIDS free generation, we have to work in parallel working with people who don’t know their HIV status ensuring that they are tested and those who tested positive to receive treatment,” Hoagland said.
In Rwanda, at least 98% of the population was tested for HIV. PEPFAR continues to work with relevant institutions to test groups of people vulnerable to new infections including sex workers to be tested.
“I am confident that Rwanda will be one of the first countries to achieve these targets. The country has been expending much effort to achieve envisaged goals and ensure citizens receive needed services,” Hoagland underscored.
{{Dr. Nkengasong’s anticipated contribution}}
In September 2021, the United States President Joe Biden made official his intent to nominate Dr. John Nkengasong as the head of PEPFAR.
His nomination is good news for Rwanda and African continent in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Hailing from Cameroun, Dr John Nkengasong currently serves as the first Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). He is a leading virologist with nearly 30 years of work experience in public health.
Prior to his appointment with Africa CDC, he was the Deputy Principal Director (acting) of the Centre for Global Health at the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and Associate Director of Laboratory Science and Chief of the International Laboratory Branch at the Division of Global HIV/AIDS and TB.
Hoagland said that Dr. Nkengasong has a lot to offer along the journey to combat HIV.
“We look forward to working with him as someone coming with a very interesting background. He worked in different African countries and now as the head of CDC that he has great experience. Besides, being from Cameroun helps giving him some context. As PEPFAR Rwanda, we are excited to work with him and see how he wants to put the program forward,” she noted.
Figures released by WHO in November 2021 show that HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed 36.3 million lives so far.
There is no cure for HIV infection. However, with increasing access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, including for opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.
PEPFAR is regarded as one of the most effective and efficient U.S. foreign assistance programs. By focusing its efforts on where the AIDS epidemic is the largest and the need is the highest, PEPFAR hastens progress towards ending the epidemic, and reduces the future costs required to sustain the HIV/AIDS response.
Through PEPFAR, the U.S. government has invested nearly $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history, saving 21 million lives, preventing millions of HIV infections, and accelerating progress toward controlling the global HIV/AIDS epidemic in more than 50 countries.
