Being a time to indulge, nothing spells decadence like a scrumptious Christmas brunch and the Kigali Marriott Hotel was surely able to deliver this to the best of everyone’s expectations.
Kigali Marriott Hotel went all out for the festive holidays with gourmet food, refreshing beverage stations, and fantastic live entertainment – as well as a giant, colorful sugar castle embellishing their lobby.
Descending to Soko Restaurant – where the Christmas Brunch was taking place, was a lavish experience on its own where thousands of twinkling lights and glitz were adorning the hotel’s magnificent lobby staircase.
An impressive buffet was set up to delight one’s culinary senses for the memorable occasion that was Christmas. After receiving your drink, you were welcomed to the buffet where expertly prepared meals from roasted lamb or turkey, stuffing, and much more awaited. On the dessert side, a variety of delicacies from pies, succulent pastries to Christmas pudding were some of the best highlights.
Kigali Marriott Hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Mohamed Merouiche, expressed his excitement at welcoming guests for the hotel’s Christmas brunch and noted that all the necessary health measures were undertaken to ensure that everyone experienced a fantastic, but safe Christmas brunch.
“A collection of distinctive dining and festive specials have been specially crafted by our culinary team in celebration of the festivities. This year’s celebration might be a little different than what we’re used to, but Christmas remains a time to celebrate together and we’re set to offer the best experience. We have taken all the necessary measures to ensure that everyone is practicing social distancing, and wearing their masks so as to ensure everyone’s safety.” He says.
The kids were not forgotten! Lively with Christmas cheer, Santa Claus was wishing the young a merry Christmas, as well as offering them wonderful gifts – a true testament to the hotel’s love for the festive season.
Kigali Marriott Hotel is part of the Marriott chain of hotels and is comprised of 256 elegant rooms and suites; three distinctive restaurants including Soko Restaurant, the hotel’s signature fine-dining restaurant; Saray Spa which offers a collection of sophisticated therapies integrated with the healing practices of the region; a swimming pools; meeting spaces with unmatched options and flexibility; as well as stylish lounging spaces designed for guests of all ages.
[Click here for more pictures of Kigali Marriott Hotel’s Christmas Brunch Festivities->https://flic.kr/s/aHsmTuAjqv]
The United Nations has revealed that these soldiers arrived in CAR on Christmas Eve on board two aircrafts from South Sudan where they had been deployed for United Nations Mission in South Sudan (MINUSS).
This reinforcement is part of the implementation of the integrated plan to secure the presidential and legislative elections due to take place on Sunday. It aims to reinforce MINUSCA to respond to security challenges currently facing the Central African Republic.
“These additional peacekeepers will strengthen MINUSCA Force’s to reinforce security systems during elections, which consists, in part, of deploying troops in the electoral districts in support of the Central African defense and security forces,” said the UN mission in a statement released on Friday.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in CAR, Mankeur Ndiaye, welcomed these additional peacekeepers and expressed optimism for their contribution highlighting that ‘the professionalism of Rwandan peacekeepers is known to all’.
Mr. Ndiaye, who is also the head of MINUSCA, thanked the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, for having requested and obtained the authorization of the United Nations Security Council to urgently strengthen the current system of the United Nations’ peace operation in CAR as armed groups try to disrupt Sunday’s elections.
He explained that it is further proof of the full commitment of the international community alongside the CAR people for elections scheduled on 27th December 2020.
The 300 peacekeepers deployed are additional to force protection troops that the Government of Rwanda deployed to CAR last week under an existing bilateral agreement on defense.
The Ministry of Defense revealed that the previous deployment was in response to the targeting of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) contingent under the UN Peacekeeping force by rebels supported by François Bozize who was president between 2003 and 2013.
During an interactive session with members of the press at the occasion of delivering ‘State of the Nation Address,’ Kagame said, the country already has forces in CAR for peace keeping mission but the situation is changing due to upcoming elections.
“We have forces serving under UN peacekeeping effort in CAR. The country is in the process of carrying out elections, scheduled on 27th December. This is a good thing since it legitimizes leaders. There have been many armed groups that recently came together and made pacts, some under the former president Bozize leadership, where they invaded the country from the outside. Their aim was to disrupt elections, but we also learned that some of those rebels wanted to attack our forces. All because we have been uncompromised and forceful in ensuring that citizens were well-protected,” he said.
On Saturday 19th December 2020, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra accused former president of the country, François Bozize of planning a coup-plot to dethrone the Government in collaboration with armed rebels. However, the ex-president of the Central African Republic has denied the allegation.
Tensions rose after Mr Bozizé’s candidacy for this week’s national elections was rejected by the country’s highest court. The UN said on Friday it had deployed peacekeeping forces to the country. President Faustin Archange Touadéra has insisted the poll will go ahead, saying the presence of the army and UN peacekeepers means people have nothing to fear.
But opposition parties, including that of Mr Bozizé, have called for the vote to be postponed “until the re-establishment of peace and security”.
President Kagame said, there had been no confrontations to Rwanda’s forces in CAR peacekeeping mission amidst their mandate to protect civilians.
As he explained, the rules of engagement for recently sent forces are forcibly different from other forces’ rules due to being sent under a different mandate.
“In this particular case, we’ve had an agreement with the CAR government, in which the rules of engagement are different. Our additional forces will be able to protect citizens and our existing force already there, without being limited by other rules of engagement [UN],” said Kagame.
The President also underscored that there are police troops protecting civilians camps in CAR that are attacked sometimes. He said that forces sent under different mandate will reinforce security to ensure smooth elections and protect Rwanda’s forces against any attacks.
Rwanda has been a main contributor to United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since it first deployed in 2014. MINUSCA’s Rwandan contingent is notably in charge of the security of Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera and the presidential palace.
The new facility employs RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction), an advanced laboratory technique for testing for diseases by detecting the presence of their genetic material in the body.
Such testing methods are considered as the ‘gold standard’ for the detection of some viruses and is characterised by high sensitivity and specificity.
Rwanda is among few countries to set up such a COVID19 PCR lab within an international airport.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije has said that the development aligns with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Setting up a laboratory at the airport is meant to help us continue delivering better services to incoming passengers. We have observed that incoming passengers have increased nowadays yet quite a number of them are COVID-19 positive. Doing tests from hotels and taking them to national laboratory would take time. With the facility, we wanted to take tests here making it easier for us to follow up everyone’s results,” he said.
Dr Ngamije explained that the laboratory is equipped with technology helping to identify who have not yet got results and update them on reasons for the delay.
“We sometimes use ‘pooling system’ making it necessary to attend to every sample test. The result for such person might be delayed,” he noted.
Rwanda already had National Referral Laboratory used for different tests including COVID-19.
Uwinkindi was a pastor at a Pentecostal church in the former Rural Kigali Prefecture (now Bugesera District) during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
He had appealed against the verdict of the High Court claiming that he was not given enough resources to hire private investigators for his defence, and that he was not given the defence lawyers he wanted.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the verdict after finding no reasonable evidences for his appeal.
Uwinkindi was convicted of murder as crime of genocide and extermination as crime against humanity.
The court said he committed the crimes between April and May in 1994.
According to the prosecution, between 100 and 150 Tutsi had sought refuge at Kayenzi Pentecostal church where Uwinkindi was a pastor.
Uwinkindi was arrested on June 30, 2010, in Kampala, Uganda. On July 2, 2010, he was transferred to the UN Detention Facility in Arusha.
In November 2010, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda requested his referral to Rwanda. On June 29, 2011, ICTR Referral Chamber ruled in favour of extradition, marking the first time in the Tribunal’s history to do so.
Uwinkindi was born in former commune Rwamatamu in Kibuye Prefecture currently in Rutsiro district.
GroFin clients in Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Ghana are also benefitting from €5,2 million in funding from the Investing for Employment (IFE) facility. GroFin is partnering with IFE, which is a subsidiary of the German Development Bank (KfW) and forms an integral part of the German Government’s Special Initiative on Training and Employment (“Invest for Jobs”).
Under the Invest for Jobs brand, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) offers a package of measures to support investment activities that have a high impact on employment in Africa, of which IFE is one key pillar
GroFin is a multinational, private developmental finance institution committed to the successful development of SMEs to create sustainable wealth, employment, and economic growth. It provides funding to the underserved market of small and growing businesses that often struggle to access funding from traditional financiers.
Rwandan entrepreneurs have received 40% of the total €5,2 million in funding and these local beneficiaries have commended GroFin for its support in aiding their recovery, enabling them to sustain their operations, and to protect employment.
Wilson Gafurama, managing director of GroFin client RGL Security, explained that some of its business activities were halted due to COVID-19, while some of its clients failed to pay their debts to the company. He thanked GroFin for interventions that helped the company to return to normalcy. RGL has over 3000 employees.
“Some clients halted their operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We used to work with 400 institutions, including gaming companies. Some suspended their activities without clearing payments,” he said.
GroFin assisted RGL by conducting an assessment to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on the business and enabled it to access IFE grant funding to pay its employees for two months.
“It is in this context that GroFin came to us and analysed our business. In November, they provided two-month salaries for our employees,” Gafurama noted.
“It was the first time we received grant funding since the establishment of the company. We were overwhelmed to see a financial institution willing to provide over Rwf 200 million in funding to us. This made an immense contribution to the company’s smooth operations and wellbeing of RGL employees,” added Gafurama.
Dr Ubarijoro Sowaf, managing director of Ubuzima Polyclinic, says his business has enjoyed a good partnership with GroFin for the past eight years and benefitted from deepened support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have received funding to mitigate the effect of COVID-19, which helped me to pay employees and clear outstanding debt. The ongoing partnership I experienced with GroFin is highly commendable. We used the Rwf 173 million in funding to mitigate effect of the pandemic by repaying an Rwf 100 million loan, to buy hospital equipment needed on daily basis and to pay employees for six months,” he said.
Wenceslas Habamungu, managing director and owner of Ecoplastic, a recycling business producing plastic bags in Mageragere in Nyarugenge district, says GroFin has helped the company in the areas of business advisory and training.
“Working with GroFin has tangible and mutual benefits. Unlike some banks, GroFin never abandons its clients and continues equipping you with soft skills and tangible support until your business is successful and sustainable,” he said.
“GroFin provides loans and then further assists in managing these funds for free. This is something that would normally be a paid-for service. This shows how advantageous it is to with work with GroFin as they provide all necessary support for business growth,” added Habamungu.
Christian Bugabo, the Investment Executive who heads up GroFin Rwanda, says the funding provided through GroFin’s partnership with KfW is aligned with national efforts to support economic recovery amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The funding is aimed at supporting recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic which has shaken businesses across the board, including entrepreneurs. You must find the right partner in difficult times. The funding was greatly needed to prevent these entrepreneurs from halting their activities and to help their businesses to regain strength to create more job opportunities as the pandemic slows down,” he said.
Bugabo says GroFin will continue to walk with beneficiaries on their journey to regain growth. “We are optimistic that their operations will progress further. GroFin will sustain closer collaboration with beneficiary companies and provide all the necessary support for their businesses to thrive,” he reiterated.
Headquartered in Mauritius, GroFin offers financing and support to SMEs in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It is supported by 34 international finance institutions, development organisations, and private funders who have committed nearly $535 million in capital.
GroFin has been operating in Rwanda for 13 years – since 2007. To date, it has invested $24 million to support 56 entrepreneurs in the country. This paved the way for the creation of 4033 jobs, of 32% of which are held by women and 75% of which are held by unskilled or semi-skilled workers.
GroFin provides loans ranging between $100,000 (over Rwf 98 million) and $1,5 million (over Rwf 1,4 billion) to help them increase profitability, create jobs, and contribute to national economic development.
The Deputy Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety department, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gerald Mpayimana highlighted that 90% of road accidents are caused by pedestrians and motorcyclists violating traffic rules.
Severe accidents inflicting injuries also reduced to 600 from 800 of 2019.
ACP Mpayimana cited distracted driving and over speeding among other major causes of road accidents.
He encourages motorists and pedestrians to be cautious especially during these festive seasons when curfew hours have been extended pushing drivers to over speed when they are late to return home.
“We remind passengers to be vigilant, avoid crossing the road before observing moving vehicles from all sides for own security,” said ACP Mpayimana.
Kagame conveyed the message via his Twitter handle last night. “Belatedly but heartily wishing President of France Emmanuel Macron speedy recovery into healthy Festive Season and beyond,” he said.
The Élysée Palace said yesterday that French President Emmanuel Macron’s health is showing signs of improvement after he tested positive for Covid-19 on December 17.
Macron tested positive for the virus on Thursday, showing symptoms of fatigue, coughing and muscle aches.
The president, who self-confined in an official residence near Paris from where he is running meetings remotely, had promised daily updates on his health.
He is now “showing signs of improvement”, the Élysée Palace said, without giving details.
All previous daily updates had said that the 43-year old president was in a “stable” condition.
According to France 24 news medium, the French authorities are concerned that the holiday period could see a new spike in infections, after the country’s total Covid-19 death toll went above 60,000 last week.
Authorities said late Tuesday that nearly 12,000 new cases had been reported in the previous 24 hours, and 386 deaths.
A vaccination campaign is to start on Sunday, with health workers and older people among the first to get Covid-19 shots, the government said.
The EU gave the green light for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, paving the way for the first inoculations to start across 27 countries soon after Christmas.
Many countries have closed borders for people coming from England while a number of airlines have suspended flights to the country as part of efforts to curb the spread of new Coronavirus variant. Turkish Airlines has suspended flights to countries including England, Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa where the new virus has been reported.
A new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified across the South East of England. The variant has been named ‘VUI – 202012/01’ (the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020).
The country is acting quickly and decisively and shutting down the businesses to avoid the spread of the strain which is known to be highly contagious.
As of 13 December, 1,108 cases with this variant had been identified, predominantly in the South and East of England.
The new virus strains is said to spread 70% faster with similar lethal effect as per cases reported in South Africa, Australia, Italy, Spain and parts of Europe.
At least 50 countries from five continents worldwide have suspended air flights to and from England. People from England are banned from these countries.
President Kagame has said that Rwanda is set to assess the situation to make the right decision.
“It is an emerging virus stemming from the existing one. People are following up to get enough information about it. Concerning suspended flights, we are also going to assess the situation and make decision. We cannot disregard the reason pushing others to suspend flights. We will do situational analysis to find out if we can suspend or reduce [flights] but more information about the virus will be clearer during the process,” he said.
The UK has issued harsher restrictions to tackle the emergence of a new, more infectious strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in southeast England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new strain was up to 70% more transmissible than other variants, with it already accounting for over 62% of COVID-19 infections in London.
Researchers have not yet confirmed if produced COVID-19 vaccines can be effective for the new variant of the virus.
On Sunday night, the Government of Rwanda announced that it has deployed force protection troops to the Central African Republic, under an existing bilateral agreement on defense. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, the deployment is in response to the targeting of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) contingent under the UN Peacekeeping force by rebels supported by François Bozize who was president between 2003 and 2013.
During an interactive session with members of the press yesterday at the occasion of delivering ‘State of the Nation Address,’ Kagame said, the country already has forces in CAR for peace keeping mission but the situation is changing due to upcoming elections.
“We have forces serving under UN peacekeeping effort in CAR. The country is in the process of carrying out elections, scheduled on 27th December. This is a good thing since it legitimizes leaders. There have been many armed groups that recently came together and made pacts, some under the former president Bozize leadership, where they invaded the country from the outside. Their aim was to disrupt elections, but we also learned that some of those rebels wanted to attack our forces. All because we have been uncompromised and forceful in ensuring that citizens were well-protected,” he said.
On Saturday 19th December 2020, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra accused former president of the country, François Bozize of planning a coup-plot to dethrone the Government in collaboration with armed rebels. However, the ex-president of the Central African Republic has denied the allegation.
Tensions rose after Mr Bozizé’s candidacy for this week’s national elections was rejected by the country’s highest court. The UN said on Friday it had deployed peacekeeping forces to the country. President Faustin Archange Touadéra has insisted the poll will go ahead, saying the presence of the army and UN peacekeepers means people have nothing to fear.
But opposition parties, including that of Mr Bozizé, have called for the vote to be postponed “until the re-establishment of peace and security”.
President Kagame said, there had been no confrontations to Rwanda’s forces in CAR peacekeeping mission amidst their mandate to protect civilians.
As he explained, the rules of engagement for recently sent forces are forcibly different from other forces’ rules due to being sent under a different mandate.
“In this particular case, we’ve had an agreement with the CAR government, in which the rules of engagement are different. Our additional forces will be able to protect citizens and our existing force already there, without being limited by other rules of engagement [UN],” said Kagame.
The President also underscored that there are police troops protecting civilians camps in CAR that are attacked sometimes. He said that forces sent under different mandate will reinforce security to ensure smooth elections and protect Rwanda’s forces against any attacks.
Rwanda has been a main contributor to United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since it first deployed in 2014. MINUSCA’s Rwandan contingent is notably in charge of the security of Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera and the presidential palace.
The President revealed this today during an interactive session with members of the press and citizens, responding to a journalist who sought his comments on voices calling on him to release terror suspect, Paul Rusesabagina being tried in Rwanda.
“People think differently, act differently, but the difference is going to be ourselves. The rule of law and how this is applied to settle this problem in favor of justice. So, it is not unexpected. All kinds of letters will be written and more appeals will be made, but for us we are steadfast on pursuing justice whichever way justice leads us into. Then, we will see what comes out,” he said.
“We will simply pursue justice. And I hope that those raising voices wrongly will listen to what we are saying,” added Kagame.
Recently, in her letter dated 14th December 2020, Carolyn B. Maloney, a Member of the US Congress wrote to President Paul Kagame requesting him to release and return a terror suspect, Rusesabagina Paul to the United States.
He said that on August 27, 2020, Mr. Rusesabagina boarded a plane in Dubai believing he was headed to Burundi. In her letter, Carolyn, also said that ‘Rwanda utilized clandestine methods to lure and arrest Mr. Rusesabagina, that the Government ignored the legal avenues available via US deportation laws’.
The Minister of Justice and State’s Attorney General, Johnston Busingye has replied the letter the letter of Carolyn B. Maloney, a Member of the US Congress informing her that Rwanda’s justice system is independent that Paul Rusesabagina’s arrest and ongoing trial are based on key facts.
Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) and National public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) have clarified in court and to the media that Paul Rusesabagina was neither kidnapped nor extradited.
He explained that Rusesabagina departed Dubai voluntarily by private jet and when his plane landed in Rwanda and he voluntarily alighted, ‘he was placed under arrest pursuant to a 2018 NPPA arrest warrant’.
NPPA has charged Rusesabagina alongside 18 other suspects with over nine serious charges including formation of an irregular amred group, membership of a terrorist group, financing terrorism, murder as an act of terrorism, attempted murder as an act of terrorism, arson as an act of terrorism, attempted murder as an act of terrorism and assault and battery as an act of terrorism.
The court has scheduled their trial to begin on the 26th of January 2021 where they will be tried by Rwanda’s High Court Chamber for International and Cross-Border crimes located in Nyanza district, Southern Province.
As Busingye Busingye explained recently in a reply letter to the US Congresswoman ‘the NPPA further asserts that Mr. Rusesabagina has been neither secretive nor silent about his criminal intent, and that the fact, for example, that in December 2018 as President of MRCD-Ubumwe and its armed wing, the FLN /NLF Force de Liberation Nationale/ National Liberation Forces), he posted a video new year message on YouTube pledging his full support to the youth of the National liberation Forces, and openly called for war on Rwanda.
Among others, the NPPA asserts that this same group (MRCD/FLN), thereafter, led and claimed responsibility for several terror attacks in Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru and Nyungwe Forest, Southern Rwanda in 2018, killing 9 people and leaving many others wounded.
It has set fire and destroyed local population’s property and infrastructure including a local cooperative building, cars, motorbikes among others.
According to Busingye, Rusesabagina has been subject of an NPPA International Arrest Warrant since 2010 following evidence of funding he provided to the FDLR in activities to destabilize Rwanda’s security.
As he commented on the issue, Kagame explained that the matter should be understood well because facts around the case are clear. He said that complaints will always be there but Rwanda will consider the rule of law to render justice and do what is right.
“It is not only going to be done in favor of Rusesabagina, justice will also be done in favor of those who are grieving; those who lost their loved ones at the hands of an organization Rusesabagina belonged to and was a leader of. These are facts. These people who defend Rusesabagina either don’t have facts, know them and ignore them, or think that, it doesn’t matter the facts, this person is more important than the persons whose lives were lost or the families of those who lost lives,” he noted.
