Gasana once served as member of parliament and was later named the head of Internal Security in the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) prior to his new appointment.
The post has been vacant since Gen Patrick Nyamvumba was removed from office in April 2020.
The Ministry of Internal Security was once led by Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana for ten years before it was dissolved in 2016.
His predecessors include Jean de Dieu Ntiruhungwa from 2001 until 2005 when he was replaced by Christophe Bazivamo.
They are joining refugees and asylum seekers Rwanda has welcomed in the previous six batches.
Rwanda signed agreements to host refugees stranded in Libya on 10th September 2019 with the African Union (AU) and UNHCR.
Rwanda made the commitment to host refugees from Libya in 2017 following revelations that thousands of people from across Africa were stranded in the country after their failure to reach Europe and subjected to slavery.
Rwanda committed to receiving 500 refugees at the head first of whom a group of 66 African refugees and asylum-seekers from Libya arrived in Rwanda at the end of September 2019 in the first batch aboard the airplane of Buraq Air.
As of today, 648 individuals, excluding the latest batch, have been received and 462 among them were resettled to third countries.
Refugees and asylum seekers hosted at the camp hail from different countries including Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tchad and Cameroun.
All the previous batches were all accommodated at Gashora transit camp in Bugesera district which previously hosted thousands of Burundian refugees since 2015 before they were relocated to other sites.
Recently, The Government of Rwanda, the African Union and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency signed an Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) to continue evacuating refugees and asylum seekers from the State of Libya to the Republic of Rwanda.
The addendum, which extends the provision and legality of the ETM, will allow for vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom have been trafficked and experienced violence in Libya – including detention in dire conditions – to be assisted.
By extending the agreement with immediate effect, it ensures that the operation at the ETM Centre Gashora, Rwanda, will continue until 31 December 2023. The facility will also expand its capacity to evacuate and accommodate up to 700 people at any given time, an increase from the current maximum capacity of 500 persons.
Under this agreement, the Government of Rwanda will continue to receive and provide protection and assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers and other vulnerable people at risk in Libya. They will be evacuated to safety in Rwanda on a voluntary basis.
Upon arrival, UNHCR will pursue durable solutions for the evacuees. While some may benefit from resettlement to third countries, others will be facilitated to return to previous countries of asylum, or to return to their home countries if it is safe to do so. Some may be given permission to remain in Rwanda subject to agreement by the competent authorities.
The deportees who arrived on 9th December 2021 through Kagitumba border in Nyagatare district were tested for COVID-19 and received emergency assistance upon arrival.
On Monday 6th December 2021, Uganda expelled 35 more Rwandans who arrived through the same border.
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.
Kagame made the call on Thursday at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) held in Doha, Qatar.
The summit was organized by Education Above All (EAA), a global foundation protecting the rights of children and youth to quality education.
It brought together different participants including Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Dr. Valentine Uwamariya.
As he delivered key note address virtually, President Kagame told participants that education should be considered as a pathway to help children grow with positive mindsets.
“Access to education is critical. Education is not just about memorization. It is about equipping children with the positive mindsets,” he said.
“If we are to see tangible results and ensure that we are building an effective and productive workforce, quality should also be going hand in hand with our objectives. Our partnership with Education Above All will be a catalyst for this,” Kagame added.
The fourth pillar of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Kagame also stated that the world cannot achieve sustainable economy without promoting education.
“Having every child educated, will attract further investments to equip our citizens with the necessary skills to compete in a global economy,” he noted.
“The Sustainable Development Goals, among them goal 4 on education, cannot be limited to wealthy countries. Otherwise, it will not be inclusive and equitable. I encourage other countries to join our efforts to ensure no child is left behind,” Kagame added.
The Head of State observed that having 98% of Rwandan children attending primary school is a great milestone noting that the remaining 2% should not be ignored to reach 100%.
Rwanda is among countries that have promoted inclusive education where education in primary and secondary schools is free.
Latest figures show that literacy rate in Rwanda stands at 73%.
During the summit, EAA launched partnerships with different governments aimed at to securing universal primary education under ‘Educate a Child’ program.
Partner governments include Djibouti, Zanzibar, Rwanda and Gambia to attain Zero Out of School Primary Children (OOSC). The focus is set to be on the most invisible such as those working inside homes, children with disabilities, and refugees.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday 8th December 2021 between the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana and the Ambassador of Sweden in Rwanda, Johanna Teague on behalf of both countries.
It will support a project aimed at reducing vulnerability to climate change through community-based biodiversity restoration and conservation.
The project, known as COMBIO, is a joint effort led by the Ministry of Environment with implementation support from the Rwanda Forestry Authority, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency, institutions that implement the Transforming Eastern Province Through Adaptation (TREPA) Project to build synergy impact.
Commenting on the development, Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya highlighted that the country can only achieve its Vision 2050 goal of being carbon neutral and climate resilient if communities have the knowledge, skills and tools to adapt to a changing climate.
She revealed that this new initiative will not only restore and promote biodiversity in Rwanda’s Eastern Province, but also provide incentives for farmers to be part of the solution by harnessing the power of nature.
“We are grateful for the support of Swedish government and other partners, and look forward to working with communities in areas of intervention impacted by climate change such as droughts, to make the project a success,” Dr. Mujawamariya said.
The project aims to restore and sustain the biodiversity in protected natural forests and establish new biodiversity sanctuaries.
It will also integrate diverse native species into productive crop lands and forests to enhance ecosystem’s biodiversity.
The project is also expected to support farmer’s to develop viable nature-based value chains and enterprises, and establish community-based payment for ecosystem services to reward farmers for promoting biodiversity and native species on their lands.
The unique and innovative initiative will also mainstream biodiversity conservation in institutional and community development strategies, programmes and action plans.
“This collaboration has high potential with its focus on biodiversity and climate change. I am pleased to enter unchartered terrain with key partners, not least to explore long term financing solutions for biodiversity and strengthening of livelihoods of local communities together. The initiative builds on a local knowledge base and aims to benefit people living in the Eastern Province, and set standards on national level,” said the Ambassador of Sweden to Rwanda, Johanna Teague
The 8,723,277.90 Euros project include 10.8% of co-finance by the implementing partner.
The project will be implemented in the districts of Kayonza, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kirehe, Ngoma, Bugesera and Rwamagana of whole Eastern Province. The project will be implemented for six years from December 2021 to December 2027.
Early August this year, Tanzania’s President Suluhu, 61, came to Rwanda for two-day working visit.
He was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta upon arrival before meeting with her counterpart of Rwanda at Village Urugwiro where they held bilateral talks and witnessed the signing of four agreements in the areas of information and communication technology, immigration, education and regulation of medical products.
Suluhu who was in Rwanda for her maiden visit after assuming office in March 2021, also visited Kigali Genocide Memorial where she paid tribute to over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi laid there.
In the evening, Kagame hosted her counterpart to the State Banquet at Kigali Convention Center. On the last day of her stay in Rwanda, Suluhu and Kagamevisited Special Economic Zone.
Rwanda and Tanzania enjoy cordial relations and cooperation in the areas of politics, infrastructure, economy and security.
Tanzania is considered a major development partner where over 70% of Rwanda’s imports and exports are transited through.
{{What to know about Tanzania’s Independence }}
Tanzania Independence Day is celebrated on December 9 every year. 2021 marks the 60th year of the country’s independence from Britain, which governed Tanzania till 1961 under the name of Tanganyika.
Tanzania’s independence movement started in 1954 led by Julius Nyerere, who co-founded the “Tanganyika African National Union (TANU)”.
Nyerere was educated in Uganda and Scotland and began voicing his anti-colonial, Africanist political agenda as he returned to his country.
His ideology was inspired by the non-violent independence movement waged by Mahatma Gandhi in India and advocated for a similar resistance in Tanganyika.
Nyerere was instrumental in uniting several tribal factions over the region to launch a united front against the British.
Elected to the General Council in the national elections of 1958–59, Nyerere, known as teacher or ‘Mwalimu’ in Swahili because of his teaching career, became the first President of an independent Tanganyika in 1961.
The latter became a Republic the next year and merged with Zanzibar in 1964 after Sultan of Zanzibar was overthrown. This is when the name of the country changed to Tanzania.
Among others, Nyerere was also a socialist who laid down state-ownership policies for services and community ownership for farms.
When his plans failed to make Tanzania self-reliant, he became the first African leader to voluntarily resign from office. He remains a respected figure in the region because of his ethical principles.
The development was announced by the Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije on Wednesday 8th December 2021 via Twitter handle.
“Today, Rwanda achieves its Covid-19 vaccination target of covering 30% of the total population with 2 doses by the end of 2021. The objective is 70% by December 2022 (Latest!). This milestone is highly attributed to Leadership, Partnership, Coordination and Community engagement,” he revealed.
Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente recently told parliamentarians that Rwanda has so far administered COVID-19 vaccine doses to 6,065,691 (46%) of the total population including recipients of one dose.
Among others, he revealed that the country has received 12,900,760 COVID-19 vaccine doses since the inoculation program was rolled out countrywide in March 2021.
Premier Ngirente said that the number of COVID-19 vaccine recipients are expected to reach 9,063,245 next year, following the country’s commitment to start administering vaccines to people in the age bracket between 12 and 17.
“All these people will have been vaccinated by December 2022 but we might hit the number before in consideration of expended efforts,” he revealed.
In Kigali City alone, more than 869,000 dwellers (89.2%) aged 12 and above have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine while 1,032,499 have received the first dose.
The vaccination efforts in the remaining parts of the country have seen 2,755,727 (34%) people fully vaccinated while 62% have received the first dose of COVID-19.
Rwanda has been administering eight types of COVID-19 vaccines. As at 2nd December 2021, the country had received 12,900,760 doses that can be used to vaccinate 6,736,220 people excluding the booster dose.
Rwanda received the doses through COVAX, a global initiative aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines, direct purchases while others were donated by partner countries.
His suspension was announced through a communiqué released by the Office of Prime Minister on Tuesday 7th December 2021.
The communiqué reads that Dr. Nsanzimana was suspended due to ‘matters of accountability under investigation’.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Spokesperson of RIB, Dr. Thierry B. Murangira has confirmed to that investigation has started but declined to comment on alleged crimes lest it tampers with evidences.
Dr. Nsanzimana was appointed to the position in July 2019 replacing Dr. Jeanne Condo.
It is said that Dr. Nsanzimana is probed over crimes related to the management of the institution’s resources.
RBC is the nation’s central health implementation agency established in 2011 through a merger of fourteen key health institutions.
It is comprised of 13 divisions mandated to improve the health of the Rwandan population by providing high quality, affordable and sustainable health care services.
RBC conducts scientific research, provides diagnostics services, and implements innovative health interventions to protect the nation against diseases and other health threats.
Figures show that RBC spends annual budget of up to Rwf15 billion including funds raised from donors and other international organizations.
These include USAID, Global Fund, Clinton Foundation, Enabel, World Bank and UNICEF among others.
This agreement will play an instrumental role in promoting bilateral trade and investment between both countries, by removing the burden of double taxation on investors from both countries
“This agreement marks an important milestone in our quest to position Rwanda as a financial hub. Rwanda is in process on increasing its DTAA network to attract investment to Rwanda and from Rwanda to the region and beyond,” Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said.
“The signing of the agreement and its affiliated protocol will effectively reduce the tax burden of taxpayers investing in any either country and further facilitate bilateral economic and trade cooperation and personnel exchange. It will also make a good beginning of the countries’ future cooperation in different fields including improving the capability of tax administration, strengthening the prevention system of tax evasion and avoidance, safeguarding bilateral tax interests and the international tax order,” Rao Hongwei, the Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda said.
“Rwanda and China have a half a century long-standing relationship that extends across multiple disciplines. The DTAA signing today marks another important step towards further strengthening this relationship to better support the expansion of Chinese businesses through Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC),” Nick Barigye, CEO of Rwanda Finance Limited said.
Key factors that led Rwanda to conclude the DTAA with the Peoples Republic of China include but not limited to, large numbers of investors coming from China, the robust cross border trade, growing appetite for Rwandans to invest in China, sound tax system and good economic relationship between the two countries.
Currently, more than twelve (12) DTAAs have been signed and several others are under negotiation. The Government’s target is to conclude more DTAAs in FY2021/22 in a bid to widen the DTAA network and improve the ease of doing business in Rwanda.
The existing DTAAs already in place have shown a big impact in terms of boosting the inflow of investment and trade from treaty partners. There is a pattern in terms of investors origins and countries that Rwanda has already secured a DTAA with. For instance, there has been a rise in numbers of investors coming from Turkey, Qatar, UAE, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, and Singapore which already have DTTA agreement with Rwanda.
His suspension has been announced through a Communiqué released by Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday 7th December 2021.
“Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana has been suspended from the position of Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center owing to matters of accountability under investigation,” reads the statement in part.
Dr. Nsanzimana had been appointed to the position in July 2019 replacing Dr. Condo Jeannine.
Dr. Nsanzimana has extensive experience in HIV program design, strategic planning, implementation, and operational research with a focus on global care and treatment of people living with HIV.
He holds a Medical Degree (MD) and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the National University of Rwanda; a PhD in Epidemiology from Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute,University of Basel, Switzerland.
Dr. Nsanzimana also served as Assistant Professor of Global Health at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) and taught Epidemiology and Research Methodology at the University of Rwanda among others.
