Venkaiah also serves as the chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament of India.
On twitter, Rwanda Parliament announced that both officials discussed relations of both countries.
“This meeting focused on relations between India and Rwanda. Both officials appreciated the existing political ties between the two countries and they committed to strengthen them as a basis for more economic and investment partnership,” a tweet reads.
At the meeting, both officials also signed cooperation documents between both countries’ senates.
“Makuza and Venkaiah also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the senate of Rwanda and the Rajya Sabha of India,” reads a tweet.
Makuza visits India when Rwanda expects India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi visit to Rwanda this month.
The Indian community in Rwanda is comprised of about 3,000 people.
In a press conference on Tuesday, NEC Chairperson, Prof. Kalisa Mbanda said that since June 13th independent candidates collected documents allowing them to seek signatures in support of their candidacies.
“We received sixteen independent candidates with the majority being youth; they are fifteen men and one woman. Currently, they are across districts seeking those signatures as the law obliges them to. The exercise is running well,” he explained.
The law requires individual candidates to submit a list of 600 signatures with 12 individuals from each district in the country.
Rwanda’s electoral law says that for individual candidate to secure a seat in parliament, they need to obtain 5% of the total votes.
However, different people claimed such percentage is high for individual candidates, suggesting that institutions in charge could consider revising the law.
For NEC Executive Secretary, Charles Munyaneza, the law could only be changed through constitution amendment.
“If the law was to change, it would only be possible through the constitution,…. So, we urge those who wish so, to go through legal procedures, they should have raised this in 2015 when the constitution was being amended,” he said.
It worthy to note that no independent candidate has ever managed to win a parliamentary seat since the law established in 2010.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to kick off on September 2nd with Rwandans living abroad casting their ballots first, and the following day on September 3rd the exercise will be carried out within the country.
There are 80 seats in the Lower Chamber that are up for grabs, 53 of which are for directly elected MPs belonging to different political organisations and individual aspirants.
CNLG made the call in a statement released yesterday while commending last week’s Paris Assize Court for upholding life sentence to Genocide convicts Tito Barahira and Octavien Ngenzi.
The two former bourgmestres who successively led former Kabarondo Commune were convicted of genocide crimes and killing of 2000 Tutsi in Kabarondo Parish and its surroundings.
CNLG said that Barahira and Ngenzi’s judgments followed 22 judgments that had been taken by courts in different countries including France, Sweden, Belgium, England, Norway, Canada and German.
The commission reminded that besides the judgments, eighteen people were extradited to Rwanda from different countries including USA, Canada, Uganda, The Netherlands, ICTR, Norway and German.
A statement signed by CNLG Executive Secretary, Jean Damascene Bizimana says that France still shields a total of 42 genocide fugitives.
The commission says that they filed different complaints but France turned a deaf ear.
“Considering the date of the complaints, CNLG draws a conclusion that French justice has taken too long to prosecute fugitives suspected of genocide and systematic refusal for political reasons to extradite them to Rwanda,” a statement notes.
CNLG also called on countries to take into consideration a total of 835 arrest warrants that were issued by Rwandan Judiciary.
RIB announced this Monday in a joint press conference they held with Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) in Kigali.
The conference was briefing the media on operations investigators and RAB officials carried out last week which was aimed at fighting against sell and use of counterfeit veterinary products in the country.
According to the officials, counterfeit and expired veterinary products seized during the operations include: Lava 200ws, Lava (100ml), Lava (500ml), Lava (1l), Fukkil, Amitix, Bolivita bolus, Oblet Gynecologique, Insecticide, Rapid gro, Carbesia, and Lick Malic bloc a Lecher.
The operation was conducted in nine districts on 52 pharmacies. 18 pharmacies were found selling products that were illegally imported, expired and counterfeit.
The Director of Veterinary Inspection Unit at RAB, Dr. Jean Claude Rukundo said that in recent past many livestock were dead due to Rift Valley Fever and pests while veterinary products dealers were cheating on people.
“Among seized products include those which were meant to fight such diseases, but contrary, it was established that they were counterfeited and others were imported illegally,” he explained.
“People need to be vigilant and know how to differentiate original products from counterfeited ones,” he added.
The Head of Investigation Unit at RIB, Peter Karake warned people involving in illegal dealership that tough punishment are waiting them.
PM Abiy landed in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara for a bilateral summit which was aimed at repairing relations between both countries.
Through his twitter handle, Kagame hailed both leaders for commitment in bringing about right things for the people of their countries.
“We salute the leaders, PM of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea for their courage and doing the right thing for their people of the two countries! We congratulate you and are with you….!” he said in a tweet.
Abiy’s visit to Eritrea came two months after he accepted a peace deal that ended a two-year border war between the two countries.
The Chief of Staff in Ethiopia’s Prime Minister’s Office, Fitsum Arega tweeted that the visit was aimed at deepening efforts to bring about lasting peace between the people of both countries.
“Our two nations share a history and bond like no other. We can now overcome two decades of mistrust and move in a new direction,” he said adding, “The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people.”
As a result of the visit, Fitsum said Sunday that for the first time after two decades, a direct international telephone connection between Ethiopia and Eritrea was restored.
He said that after discussions, Eritrea’s Isaias confirmed that the normalization of Ethiopia-Eritrea relations will start in earnest, flights will resume, utilization of the sea ports will start and the two countries will re-open embassies in each other’s capital.
Ethiopia-Eritrea war took place between 1998 and 2000 but left lasting conflicts on the border of two countries.
He had not been cleared of the said debt nor the court case by May 2018 when Ngoma Intermediate Court sentenced two officials who allegedly squandered the money through ‘ghost loans’; the former Ndego Sacco manager, Simon Pierre Habyarimana and loan officer Jean Paul Nzabonimpa to eight years in prison and a fine of Rwf9,767,420. They were found guilty of mismanaging the SACCO’s funds, forgery, using counterfeited documents and conning people. Musabyimana was a victim of the duo’s trickery.
The two have appealed the verdict. But 10 Sacco members who claimed indemnities of Rwf60 million also appealed the decision of compensating each with Rwf222,000 which they say doesn’t even cover their expenses including Rwf500,000 for the lawyer and over Rwf300,000 transport costs per each for attending the hearings from January to May 2018.
Musabyimana says, “I got loan of Rwf1.5 million in “words” not in cash in 2014. It started with the loan officer calling me to their offices over weekend and encouraged me to take loan which I accepted but he said I had to wait for Monday to collect the money.”
“They kept dodging me for about a month but they later decided to end the matter, filled the loan form and recorded the loan in my booklet, after which the manager called me in his office. He told me he had arranged with BDF (Business Development Fund) to pay 50% of my loan, therefore I had to repay Rwf750,000 only; adding as so, I had to give him Rwf500,000,” he tells IGIHE.
Musabyima says he refused and told the manager he had to repay that Rwf500,000 and required him to sign an agreement for that but the manager refused and Musabyimana grabbed his booklet. The manager remained with the filled loan form. The loan of Rwf1.5 million immediately went straight to the pockets of the manager who was sharing the cash with the loan officer. Musabyimana says he never got a penny.
“I didn’t sign on the form and he didn’t stamp in my booklet for the loan release. He phoned me the next day for a talk but we reached no agreement. I reported to the board president whom the manager told I had taken the money. I tried to take him to court but I could not afford legal wyer’s fees. I went home and relaxed, waiting for Sacco to sue me,” he says.
It later emerged that Musabyimana was sharing the problem with many Sacco members. They reported the two officers to police that arrested them. This prompted the inspection by Central Bank (BNR) and Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) in November 2017 which found the two men to have embezzled around Rwf8 million and giving out loans illegally. The case was filed to the court against the two.
Prior to their arrest, however, Ndego Sacco had filed a case to Nyarugenge Commercial Court against nine members including Musabyimana over not repaying the loans and court’s verdict is awaited since the closure of the hearings in March.
{{Over 50 victims cry foul}}
A male victim who preferred anonymity said the Sacco manager and loan officer tricked over 50 members with most of the victims handing cash to the officers from the victims’ homes, others finding loans recorded on their names yet they never asked for them nor did they receive any money and others whose deposits were withdrawn by the officers.
This victim repaid the balance of Rwf427,600 on the Rwf1 million loan he had received but the loan officer deposited Rwf100,000 only and pocketed Rwf327,600.
He said that 25 victims reported to police but only 10 afforded the court’s fees while over 25 more were deceived by the two men in jail for not reporting as they promised to defeat those who reported and come back home to repay those who remained loyal to them. He said, from the prison, the two men were phoning some victims very often during the court’s hearings and convinced them on not appearing in court.
Daniel Nkangura, a resident of Karambi Cell in Ndego Sector who was loaned Rwf100,000 in January 2013 and repaid it in one year, was surprised to hear in August 2017 that he received Rwf450,000 and was charged with Rwf1.86 million as delay penalties but he was recently cleared of this debt by the court verdict.
Nkangura says his male neighbour had a ghost debt of Rwf320,000 and was told to repay Rwf1,983,000 for allegedly delaying to repay for over four years. He added another man had repaid Rwf200,000 loan and recovered his mortgage from Sacco but found himself in court with a huge debt of Rwf9.46 million.
{{Efforts to restore trust}}
Ndego Sacco members who lost their funds into staff pockets have told IGIHE that the trust in this cooperative is at peril in the community and recommended for the overhaul of the staff in order to recover trust.
“That robbery by the staff decimated our trust in Sacco. We have tangible reasons. For instance, they are currently giving loans not exceeding Rwf100,000 yet they were formerly giving up to Rwf2 million,” said a member who preferred anonymity, adding that members who want to withdraw big amounts of money are currently being put on hold as the cooperative has run short of funds.
Musabyamana also said he and fellow members have lost trust in their Sacco, citing examples of milk suppliers to the sector’s milk collection centre and workers in Bramin project, a joint maize venture between Bralirwa and Minimex Corporate Company, who have recently refused to keep receiving payments through Sacco.
“We cannot have trust in our Sacco as long as the cashiers who worked with those men (jailed manager and loan officer) are still there. For example, there is still a cashier who once recorded Rwf20,000 for my neighbour who deposited Rwf200,000 and fooled him when he complained. We have now opted to save our money in our community saving groups,” said Musabyimana.
Ndego Sacco Manager, Alphonsine Uwamariya, says members should have trust in their cooperative since the criminals have faced justice, adding that the remaining staffs have nothing to do with the former managers’ acts.
“We are telling members that there isn’t any problem now. The inspection was conducted and nobody else was found guilty of any crime apart from those two men. It is true there are un-recovered loans as the case in court indicated. It happened that the loan officer did not deposit in Sacco the money he was receiving from loan receivers but no funds they picked from Sacco coffers; it is the cash from outside,” she said, admitting that they have lost some members especially the victims of the former managers’ acts.
Prof. Jean Bosco Harelimana, the Director General of RCA, told IGIHE recently that Umurenge Saccos have lost a total of Rwf1,731,188,647 mainly in embezzlement and mismanagement since the opening of one outlet in each of the 416 administrative sectors in 2009 but Rwf1 billion has so far been recovered while 100 cases about Sacco malpractices are pending in courts.
He said that in a bid to curb the malpractices, RCA has started the process of computerising Sacco’s operations and opening a cooperative bank to oversee the outlets’ operations around the country by 2020.
Harelimana assured Umurenge Sacco’s members of the security of their funds because all financial institutions are insured and cautioned those trying to embezzle the cooperative’s funds, saying that they will face justice.
With 535 outlets, Rwf66 billion savings and Rwf12 billion share capital currently, Umurenge Sacco employs 3,029 people countrywide.
Kagame was speaking yesterday in Kigali at the members of the party’s political bureau which had convened to approve the list of flag bearers for the September Parliamentary Elections.
The bureau approved a list of 70 candidates representing RPF and will be joined by ten candidates from coalition parties. Meanwhile, RPF will send a list of 80 candidates at National Electoral Commission.
Kagame reminded that the RPF representatives will not represent the party alone, but will represent Rwandans in general.
He said that the parliament is not made of RPF, hence it has other parties, a reason why they should work together to take the country where it wants to be.
“Working together is key. We must embrace unity irrespective of differences in political ideologies based on our party affiliation. The transformation journey of our country is shaped by unity among political actors,” he said.
Kagame said that parliament plays an oversight role of government activities, a reason why parliamentarians must ensure that the obligations of members of the government will be implemented.
“We must comprehend our task at hand to be able to achieve what we set out to do. It’s not just about continuing from where your predecessors will stop. You must increase the momentum,” he urged.
“It should not be ‘business as usual’. That is not how RPF operates. You must represent the people in the true sense of it,” he added.
Kagame told aspirants to always think about the consequences of their job because when it is poorly implemented, it affects people.
He said that Rwanda being entrusted and tasked to conduct the reforms of the African Union (AU), is the potential that has been observed in them.
“We should not disappoint people who put their trusted in us,” he said.
Kagame conveyed the message Saturday while delivering a lecture to 38 graduating students of the African Leadership University, pioneers of the Master of Business Administration program of the Rwanda based University.
Speaking on determination during the lecture, Kagame narrated a tale of Rwanda’s struggle where a family lost three sons in the struggle and when news came, the father announced to his son that his brothers had died before sending his last son to the battlefield.
“This commitment, is something you cannot teach anyone. You have leaders who are attached to the cause of delivering and others who will choose to say as long as am ok, everyone will be ok. That is what makes a difference in leadership,” he said.
Sharing his leadership experience with the graduates, the Head of State said when they set out initially during the liberation, few had adequate management experience but were forced to learn quickly on the job and using experiences and failures as lesson.
“The lesson here was that there will always be challenges along the way but what matters is to confront them head on in order to make progress,” Kagame noted.
Speaking at the graduation, Kagame said the positive developments on the African continent provided immense scope for graduates with entrepreneurial talent and skills.
“You have such a major stake and we hope that you will get involved at all levels and in all sectors to drive Africa’s transformation agenda,” he said.
At the ceremony, Kagame commended the African University of Leadership for proving that it is possible for the continent to provide world-class education that is relevant globally.
Among officers who were retired yesterday are 372 senior officers and 395 officers while 49 were sent to retirement over health complications.
Retired senior officers include Maj. Gen. Jérôme Ngendahimana who had been the Vice-Commandant of Reserve Force, Brig. Gen. Rugumya Gacinya, Brig. Gen. Augustin Kashaija, Col. Geoffrey Kabagambe and Col. Zuberi Muvunyi.
Others are Lt. Col. Francis Munyankindi, Lt. Col. Edmond Mukimbiri, Lt. Col. Ernest Habimana, Lt. Col. Athanase Kalisa, Lt. Col. Sam Rutayisire, Lt. Col. Alexis Ibambasi and Lt. Col. Karuranga Gatete.
Defence Minister, Gen. James Kabarebe hailed them for commitment in serving the country.
“On behalf of the President of the Republic and RDF Commandant in Chief, let me first thank generals who are going to retirement on the 6th edition for commitment and courageous service during the execution of their duties, it makes us proud of living in Rwanda,” he said.
“You helped our army in working professionally and you contributed enough in development programmes of the country. For your hardworking, I thank you,” he expressed.
Kabarebe said that for the army to continue working professionally and efficiently, it was necessary to discharge those who need retirement and go to serve the nation in other services and give space to new generation.
He said that the programme is in line with Rwanda’s constitution and promised that everyone will receive their passion benefits as stipulated by the law.
He urged them to maintain discipline acquired from the RDF.
Speaking on behalf of others, Maj. Gen. Ngendahimana hailed professionalism in RDF and said that skills acquired during services will help them in life.
“It is the army that liberated our country, stopped the genocide that was being perpetrated against the Tutsi, the genocide that was planned and executed by the government which underestimated the citizens,” he said.
Over two months hearing the appeal trial, on Friday, the court ruled that Barahira and Ngenzi perpetrated crimes against humanity and committed Genocide crimes.
Both men were convicted on role in murder of Tutsi who had fled in Kabarondo Parish in former Kabarondo Commune which they both successively led between 1977 and 1994.
Ngenzi, 60 and Barahira, 67 had been convicted and handed life sentence by Paris Primary Court in 2016. During the hearing process, they had denied the charges.
In July 4th hearing, prosecutor Frederic Bernardo said that Barahira ordered and supervised people to kill Tutsi and he (Barahira) himself killed.
The prosecutor said that Ngenzi did not kill but supervised implementers.
It is the second genocide trial to be heard in France after the 2014 Capt. Pascal Simbikangwa trial who was handed 25 years in prison.
Ngenzi was arrested in 2010 while Barahira was arrested in 2013 in France.
