The Rwandans who arrived on Friday around 2p.m were evicted after spending days in the country’s detention facilities.
Upon arrival, the deportees were tested for COVID-19 and received emergency assistance.
Rwanda has received over 50 nationals deported from Uganda since December 2021.
Uganda accuses them of spying for Rwanda yet sources reveal that they are often detained and tortured after refusing to join RNC terror group intending to destabilize Rwanda’s security.
The recent deportation follows series of circumstances under which Uganda has been expelling Rwandans after enduring torture in its detention facilities accusing them of being spies yet they had traveled to the country to run businesses or visit relatives among other reasons.
Rwanda, Uganda relations worsened since 2017. Rwanda has been expressing concerns over Rwandans who travel to Uganda for business purposes but are abducted, imprisoned and tortured accused of being spies.
Rwanda also accuses Uganda of hosting dissidents posing threat to national security.
In March 2019, the Government of Rwanda officially advised citizens not to travel to Uganda for their security following testimonies of over 1000 Rwandans tortured and deported from Uganda.
In August 2019, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame signed memorandum of understanding ‘Luanda Agreement’ in a bid to solve conflicts between both countries.
Despite efforts to sign the agreement between both heads of state witnessed by mediators including the President of Angola, Joao Lourenço and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the situation is still worsening as Uganda continues with arbitrary detention of Rwandans who are subjected to torture in its facilities.
The revised measures feature no adjustments on curfew hours and requirements for incoming and departing passengers who must present negative COVID-19 PCR test results taken in 72 hours.
Among others, all arriving passengers must quarantine for 24 hours at a designated hotel at their own cost.
The statement also reads that schools will resume in line with the current school calendar. Public offices will continue with essential staff at no more than 15% capacity while private offices must not exceed 30% capacity.
Business owners have been also ordered to ensure that employees are fully vaccinated.
“The Ministry of Health may temporarily close private or public premises with identified clusters of people infected with COVID-19,” reads part of the communiqué.
Public bus operators have been urged to ensure that all passengers onboard are vaccinated. The same directive applies to motorcyclists and cyclists.
“Motorbike and bicycle taxis are permitted to carry passengers and must comply with COVID-19 preventive measures. Operators and passengers must be vaccinated. Penalties will be applied for non-compliance.”
All services held at places of worship must not exceed 30% of maximum occupancy in the City of Kigali and 50% in other parts of the country. All attendees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
These measures take effect from 10th January 2022.
Kalimba who breathed the last on 2nd January 2022 succumbing to natural cause at King Faysal Hospital was laid to rest on Thursday 6th January.
The ceremony to bid last farewell took place at his home in Gikondo, Kicukiro district followed by a requiem mass at Gikondo Parish before laying him to rest.
It was attended by relatives, friends and Government officials who reflected on virtues that characterized Kalimba and wished him Eternal Rest In Peace.
Eugenie Kantore, the wife of late Kalimba said that her husband will always be remembered as a brave man who always lived in harmony with relatives and neighbors.
She also revealed that Kalimba was a humble man who loved God and warmly welcomed all guests including children and the elderly.
Kalimba’s son also disclosed that his father was social interactive and would make possible efforts to live with everyone in peace.
“ I am convinced that he leaves a good legacy which we pledged to uphold. He did not only do good things for our family but also changed many people’s lives. My father’s legacy will continue to live on,” he said.
Kantore revealed that her husband fell sick when he was still serving the Senate.
“He was hospitalized for a long time but we are thankful that God extended his lifespan until the day he breathed the last,” she said.
Kalimba will also be membered as an activist who advocated for human rights, particularly, the rights of historically marginalized people.
The President of Senate, Dr. Augustin Iyamuremye said that Kalimba was a zealous man with outstanding contribution to national development.
“Here, I stand as one of officials who worked with him. I was lucky to meet him before working together at the Senate. I remember how truthful he was,” he noted.
“I would like to tell everyone gathered here that Kalimba used to share strong ideas at the Senate. We have made it a routine to note down individual’s ideas at the Senate. His speech will be remembered,” added Dr. Iyamuremye.
He revealed that the senate will make possible efforts to follow up his advocacy for people with vulnerable backgrounds.
{{Brief history}}
Zéphyrin Kalimbawas born on 26th May 1959.
He held different positions before and after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Kalimba worked for gendarmerie, para-military policing unit during the pre-Genocide period and led the Rwandese Community of Potters.
Kalimba is among activists who advocated for the rights of historically marginalized people.
He headed the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests in 1997.
Kalimba was among eight senators appointed by President of the Republic in 2012 and held the position until his tenure ended in 2020.
He was born in Ruhango district in Southern Province where he studied and pursued secondary education at Karubanda Junior Seminary.
In 1978, he became a gendarme (paramilitary police officer) at the regime of President Juvenal Habyarima for four years and eight months and later worked in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Kalimba later founded associations that advocated for human rights, particularly, the historically marginalized people.
He also established different schools and organizations supporting people with vulnerable backgrounds particularly historically marginalized ones.
Zéphyrin Kalimba died at the age of 63. He leaves a woman, 10 children and 10 grand children.
The IGNITE Food Systems Challenge is a first-of-its-kind initiative to support Rwandan start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives to scale up their solutions, contributing to the economy while addressing different gaps in the food system. The call for applications opened on 5th January 2022 and will close on 4th February 2022.
The programme seeks innovative solutions that contribute to food security in areas such as resilience to shocks and stress, access to safe and nutritious food, improved food supply chains, the empowerment of smallholder farmers, and the advancement of food security for all. Selected ventures will have the opportunity to receive grant funding of up to US$50,000 as well as 6 months acceleration support, including connections to experts, mentors and partners, and other tailored support to address business gaps.
The IGNITE Food Systems Challenge will be simultaneously running in Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, and is being made possible with the support of US$2 million from USAID. The initiative comes at a time of worsening food insecurity in the region due to the effects of climate change, natural disasters like droughts, floods, locusts, and the COVID-19 pandemic among others.
Commenting on the development, Mr Jeremie Pigé, the head of the WFP IGNITE Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa said that the biggest challenge for many entrepreneurs in Eastern Africa is not only access to funding, but also technical support that furthers their concepts.
“Through this generous support by USAID, we are confident that we will be able to reach many bright and talented entrepreneurs in the region who might have been left behind,” he noted.
Piloting, implementing and scaling innovative ideas lies at the heart of WFP and Impact Hub Kigali’s work. This programme is expected to have an impact on promoting innovation in the food systems and advancing efforts towards achieving zero hunger in the world.
Mafer Betancourt, the Managing Director of Impact Hub Kigali also underscored that the IGNITE Food Systems Challenge will help to provide tailored support for local entrepreneurs to scale their impact in the Rwandan food system.
“Ventures will undergo diagnostics at the start of the programme and will be able to co-design their own acceleration journey, indicating the support they require, from coaching to peer and expert support such as legal or accounting services, among others,” he said.
The new measures have been put in place following the confirmation of COVID-19 Omicron variant identified through genomic sequencing of samples collected from travelers and their contacts.
The new directives released by the Ministry of Health read that all arriving travelers must present COVID-19 negative test results.
Only RT-PCR tests taken within 72 hours are allowed for arriving passengers.
“All travelers arriving in Rwanda must have a negative Covid-19 certificate. The only accepted test is a SARS-CoV 2 Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction [RT-PCR] performed within 72 hours prior to departure (meaning travelers must be tested and get results within 3 days of their first flight).
Other tests, such as Rapid Diagnostics Tests [RDTs], are not accepted. COVID-19 Test is not mandatory for accompanied children under 5 years. Incoming travelers eligible [aged 12 years and above] for Covid-19 vaccine are encouraged to be fully vaccinated before their travel,” reads part of the statement.
As per new directives, all arriving passengers must quarantine for 3 days at a designated hotel at their own cost. A Covid-19 PCR test will be taken upon arrival.
Testing on Day 3 will be both Antigen Rapid Test and PCR Test. People will be released from quarantine on Day 3 upon rapid test results as per the national guidelines while Rapid test will be free of charge.
{{Subsidized COVID-19 testing cost }}
The Government of Rwanda has announced that RT-PCR test at the airport will cost US$60 including US50 and US$10 for specific logistics instead of current cost of Rwf 57,200 for each test..
“In order to facilitate Rwandan citizens to test regularly for Covid-19 and to know their status, including Rwandans returning home for end of year holidays, the Government of Rwanda will subsidize the cost of Covid-19 tests,” adds the statement.
For the mandatory RT-PCR test taken on Day 7, Rwandan citizens will pay Rwf 30,000 or US$30 instead of current cost of Rwf 47,200 for each test.
Among others, all arriving travelers are required to pay the cost of both mandatory RT-PCR tests of arrival and of Day 3 of quarantine on arrivals at Kigali International Airport but sample collection for day 3 tests will be conducted at the designated hotel. PCR Test of Day 7 will be done from designated testing sites at own cost.
All travelers arriving or transiting in Rwanda must complete the passenger locator form and upload the Covid-19 PCR test certificate before heading to the airport.
All travelers transiting for more than 12 hours through Rwanda will be screened upon entry and take a second Covid-19 PCR test on arrival. Sample collection will be conducted at the airport upon arrival and passenger will wait for the results at the designated transit hotel. The Covid-19 Test Results for transiting passengers for more than 12 hours will be fast-tracked so that passengers can get the results before their next flight.
All transiting travelers who are not leaving the airport for less than 12 hours will be screened upon entry and not required to take a second test. However, the latter is not applicable for transiting passengers by land border. In that case, passengers will be tested using RT-PCR Test and waiting for the results from the designated transit hotels before proceeding.
{{Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination certificate for departing passengers}}
The new directives also read that all travelers departing from Rwanda must test negative for COVID-19. The only accepted test is a SARS-CoV 2 Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) performed within 72 hours before departure.
The PCR test must be performed by the Rwanda Biomedical Center/National Reference Laboratory, Provincial or District Hospitals. Other tests, such as Rapid Diagnostics Tests (RDTs), are not accepted while COVID-19 Test is not mandatory for accompanied children under 5 years.
Travelers have been encouraged to book and pay for their tests at least 2 days prior to departure.
Rwandans travelers eligible (aged 12 years and above) for Covid-19 vaccine departing from Rwanda must also be fully vaccinated while travelers are not allowed to go to the airport without negative COVID-19 PCR test results.
Latest statistics form the Ministry of Health show that over 116,000 people have caught COVID-19 while 1362 succumbed to the virus since it emerged in Rwanda in March 2020.
Citizens are reminded of the critical importance of adhering to instituted health guidelines namely; washing hands, proper wearing of face masks and keeping social distancing among others.
Former senator Zephyrin Kalimba breathed the last at King Faysal Hospital in the night of Sunday.
Senate President, Dr. Augustin Iyamuremye has condoled with the bereaved family and comforted them during these difficult times.
“He was a dedicated senator who also worked with organizations advocating for human rights and improved wellbeing of citizens particularly historically marginalized people,” he said.
“He was a zealous senator who performed his duties with diligence that everyone admired him,” added Dr. Iyamuremye.
{{Indelible memory to colleagues}}
The Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE), Dr. Jean Damascène Bizimana is among officials who sent condolences to stand in solidarity with the bereaved family.
He has via Twitter handle described Kalimba as an honest man who always shared constructive ideas.
“I remember the truthfulness that characterized you in Senate and sharing of ideas constructive to Rwanda. May your family stay strong during these times of sorrow. We stand in solidarity with you,” Dr. Bizimana said.
Tito Rutaremara also worked with late Kalimba for eight years.
They also worked together in the Senatorial Standing Committee on Political Affairs and Governance.
They were both part of RPF Inkotanyi environment protection committee since 2019.
Rutaremara described him as a zealous man who was keen on finding a solution for citizens’ concerns.
“He was a courageous and committed worker who sympathized with citizens. Kalimba was far sighted with wide experience to dig deeper into root causes of problems affecting communities, “he said.
Apollinaire Mushinzimana who also worked with Kalimba revealed that continuously advocating for citizens prompted the Senate to conduct thorough research to identify problems affecting historically marginalized people.
“He was much concerned about problems facing rural communities. Kalimba often drew attention on climate change effects that hinder farmers from increasing agricultural yields,” he stated.
Rutaremara further disclosed that some members of the public including those who could not afford Mutuelle de Santé would meet Kalimba at the parliament to file their concerns.
“He used to give attention to citizens with different concerns every morning. These include people seeking support, women failing to cater for school fees or spouses mired in disputes. Kalimba would follow up on these issues despite other heavy duties he had to perform at the Senate.
There are citizens who used to seek financial support from him, some of whom had children in need of medical attention while others had expiring community based health insurance. He would often use his money to support them because he was a Good Samaritan,” he said.
{{Brief history}}
Zephyrin Kalimba held different positions before and after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He worked for gendarmerie, para-military policing unit during the pre-Genocide period and led the Rwandese Community of Potters.
Kalimba is among activists who advocated for the rights of historically marginalized people.
He headed the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests in 1997.
Kalimba was among eight senators appointed by President of the Republic in 2012 and held the position until his tenure ended in 2020.
Kalimba died at the age of 63. He leaves a woman and nine children.
He was born in Ruhango district in Southern Province where he studied and pursued secondary education at Karubanda Junior Seminary.
In 1978, he became a gendarme (paramilitary police officer) at the regime of President Juvenal Habyarima for four years and eight months and later worked in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Kalimba later founded associations that advocated for human rights, particularly, the historically marginalized people.
He also established different schools and organizations supporting people with vulnerable backgrounds particularly historically marginalized ones.
Kalimba will be laid to rest on Thursday 6th January 2021.
The laptops were handed over on Tuesday 4th January 2022 to all cells executive secretaries of Bugesera district during an event graced by the Governor of Eastern Province, Emmanuel Gasana.
After receiving laptops, the grass root leaders revealed that the lack of laptops would delay or hamper services like civil registration, classification of residents in Ubudehe social class categories among others.
“Received laptop will help me place residents in social classes and provide work report on time,” said Leatitie Murebwanayo, the executive secretary of Kabeza cell in Rilima sector.
The executive secretary of Cyintambwe cell located in Rweru sector, Jean Marie Vianney Hategekimana said that received laptop will help improve service delivery and commended President of the Republic for his visionary leadership.
The Governor of Eastern Province, Emmanuel Gasana has underscored that these laptops will help beneficiaries to save documents electronically.
“The world is going digital that we need to adapt to emerging technologies to improve services. These laptops will be helpful to efficiently keep identification related data electronically and enhance services in daily assignments,” he said.
These laptops will be mainly used in civil registration and finalization of court cases electronically among others.
The men were convicted of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and had completed their sentences or were acquitted.
The ex-convicts are Protais Zigiranyirazo, Francois Nzuwonemeye, Innocent Sagahutu, Alphonse Nteziryayo, Tharcisse Muvunyi, André Ntagerura, Anatole Nsengiyumva and Prosper Mugiraneza.
Niger’s government had announced the expulsions towards the end of December 2021, one month after the Rwandans were welcomed in Niamey, the capital of Niger citing “diplomatic reasons”.
Following the decision, a judge with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals on Friday ordered Niger “stay” the removals as they may be in violation of earlier UN agreements.
Speaking to AFP on Monday, a UN spokesperson in New York confirmed the official publication of the court order.
Of the eight people in the group, four were convicted of crimes during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and have served their sentences.
The other four were acquitted by the ICTR.
Zigiranyirazo is the brother-in-law of former President Juvenal Habyarimana and was a very influential member of ‘Akazu’ group. He was acquitted in 2009.
Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu were the commander and second-In-command of Reconnaissance Battalion respectively, were both accused of genocide charges and crime against humanity including the murder of the then Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Nzuwonemeye was acquitted while Sagahutu’s sentence was downgraded from 20 to 15 years.
Nteziryayo, the former Prefect of Butare was accused of training, and arming the militia, and mobilizing the population in his prefecture to murder the Tutsi. His sentence was as well reduced to 25 years in prison after an appeal.
Muvunyi, in 2010, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide and other inhumane acts.
Ntagerura, the former transport minister, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity was also acquitted in 2004.
Nsengiyumva, the former army commander in Gisenyi in April 1994, whose sentence was downgraded to 15 years in 2011 when he was 61 years old, walked out freely as deemed to have already served the necessary time in prison.
Prosper Mugiraneza, ex-public service minister, was initially convicted for conspiracy to commit genocide and given a 30-year sentence until he was acquitted in 2013.
Towards the end of December 2021, Rwanda announced that it had vaccinated 41% of its population against COVID-19 surpassing the 40% target set by WHO.
Rwanda also surpassed the target set by WHO to fully vaccinate the 10% of all countries’ population by September last year. At the time, Rwanda had reached 13% of vaccination coverage.
Figures from WHO show that 8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since inoculation programs began globally. Of these vaccine doses, only 3% were delivered to Africa which slowed down the vaccination pace on the continent.
So far, over 102 million Africans corresponding to 8% have been fully vaccinated while 70% of developed countries have vaccinated 60% of their population.
As of today, Rwanda has administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 7,707,304 people. Among others, a total of 5,504,040 have been fully vaccinated while 196,636 received the third dose (booster dose) since the countrywide inoculation program began on 5th March 2021.
The Ministry of Health says that Rwanda has enough supply that will be used to administer the second and booster dose of COVID-19 while more doses are expected to be delivered gradually in the near future.
{{Secret behind speedy vaccination drive}}
In consideration of the aforementioned statistics, it is evident that Rwanda is among countries on the right track to meet global vaccination targets despite the fact that wealthy countries have been hoarding vaccines.
Rwanda’s commendable pace in rolling out vaccines is among topics discussed during a televised talk show aired on Sunday which revolved around the status of the pandemic.
As he appeared in the RTV talk show, Dr. Hassan Sibomana, the Head of Vaccination Program unit at Rwanda Biomedical center (RBC) said that Rwanda was initially among other countries worried over insufficiency of vaccines that would stall inoculation efforts.
He stressed that having the country securing enough vaccines resulted from different factors including political will.
“It is a very important aspect because there are requirements that should be met to roll out the inoculation program. These include the availability of vaccine doses. We are lucky enough to have visionary leadership very much concerned about the situation starting with President of the Republic who owned the issue. Considering the severity of the pandemic, it was apparent that the vaccine was the only solution to lean on,” he said.
Apart from vaccine doses received through bilateral agreements, Dr. Sibomana revealed that Rwanda also bought four million doses.
“A lot has been done. The vaccines were secured through discussions with different partners, commendable relations with wealthy nations and direct purchase. The country had purchased at least four million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of year. This has enabled us to secure a large number of vaccine doses,’’ he said.
{{70 percent target to be hit before June}}
Apart from the country’s political will; Dr. Rosette Nahimana in charge of Expanded Program on Immunization at WHO in Rwanda revealed that the country’s speedy vaccination efforts were driven by unique approach to roll out mass vaccination program countrywide.
As she explained, efficient management of vaccine doses also won donors’ trust and motivated them to continue supporting Rwanda’s vaccination drive.
“This also positioned Rwanda among first countries receiving a large number of vaccine doses because the country was committed to have them administered efficiently in the right time. So, Rwanda proved its prowess to administer vaccine doses to a large number of its population in a short time span,” she said.
“This motivated COVAX facility to distribute as many as possible vaccine doses to Rwanda. We are hopeful that all vaccines will be utilized efficiently in due course,” Dr. Nahimana added.
In May 2021, WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, set the global target of 10% of the populations of all countries to be inoculated by the end of September; 40% by the end of December; and 70% by mid-2022.
Dr. Sibomana has said that the current situation is promising that Rwanda will have vaccinated 70% of its population before June 2022.
The incident took place on Monday 3rd January 2022 around 13:30.
Destroyed houses are from Rebero village, Rusura cell of Busasamana sector in Rubavu district, Western Province.
The Executive Secretary of Busasamana sector, Etienne Mvano told IGIHE by press time, that the value of damages was still being assessed as it was still raining.
“The hailstorm occasioned disasters and blew off the roofing of four classes at Rebero Primary School leaving six residents who sought shelter at the school injured as the roof fell on them,” he said.
Injured residents have been taken to Busasamana Health Center for medical attention.
Located in the neighborhood of DRC plain, Nyirangongo and Karisimbi volcanoes; Bugeshi, Busasamana and Cyanzarwe sectors in Rubavu district often experience strong wind known as ‘Isata’.
