Category: Information Center

The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana has appealed to female police officers who are set to go on mission to continue to raise Rwanda’s flag high by providing quality services during their foreign mission.

“Cooperate with others, provide quality services and Agaciro (dignity) as we bring peace to the rest of the world,” the IGP said.

IGP Gasana made the call Friday during a pre-deployment briefing of 100 female police officers at the Rwanda National Police (RNP) General Headquarters in Kacyiru, who are set to be deployed in Sudan under the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The female officers will be replacing the same number which returned home late last month after 23 months of service in Darfur. The contingent will be headed by Inspector of Police, Agnes Mutumwinka.

President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame October 5,welcome President Bongo Ondimba and First Lady Sylvia Bongo.

Earlier this week, media reported that President Ali Bongo will visit Rwanda from Friday to Saturday to study at first hand its experience with bilingualism.

Gabon is considering switching to the use of English language following Rwanda’s success.

Bongo’s visit takes place a week before the Francophonie summit in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo on October 12, which French President Francois Hollande will attend.

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo wants to boost the use of English in his country, a former colony of France where French is widely spoken.

Earlier this week Gabon spokesperson Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nzesai told media that “Gabon wants to look closely at Rwanda’s experience with the introduction of bilingualism.”

The vast majority of Gabon’s 1.5 million people speak French.

People living with disabilities in Gicumbi District have warned that they have great walking difficulties due to the mountainous area adding that district should support them to deal with the problem.

Ruremeza Jean Nepomscene who is a representative of disabled people in Rushaki sector said that most of them cannot afford the journey from home to the nearby tarmac roads to access different services.

They prefer to remain home due to the fact that going the upward and downward the mountains are not easy tasks for them.

People living with disabilities added that their cooperatives are not well managed noting that in some areas cooperative funds are embezzled.
However, they have managed to buy a goat for each member of the cooperative.

Mujawamariya Therese, the vice Mayor in charge of social affairs in Gicumbi District has said that with support from other institutions; the district will find solutions to their challenges.

She encouraged disabled to join hands and start their income generation project and show them to the district level for funding.

The London High court in the UK has given a go ahead to Mau Mau’s compensation case against British Government despite a 50 year time lapse. Case now to go to full trial.

The Guardian reported three elderly Kenyans have won an historic legal victory over the British government after the high court gave them permission to claim damages for the grave abuses they suffered when imprisoned during the Mau Mau rebellion.

The three suffered what their lawyers describe as “unspeakable acts of brutality”, including castration, beatings and severe sexual assaults.

The British government’s lawyers have accepted that all three were tortured by the colonial authorities, so even though the case now has to go to a full trial, it is expected to be settled promptly with the payment of damages.

However, an estimated 2,000 other Kenyans – the survivors of more than 70,000 Mau Mau suspects who were imprisoned during the seven-year insurgency in the 1950s — are now expected to come forward to sue the British government.

Judy Cheng-Hopkins the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Peace building Support is currently in Rwanda where she has come to personally acquaint herself with the progress made by the Rwanda Defence Forces.

She also wants to see how the RDF has developed into a proffessional force since stopping the 1994 Genocide against the Ethnic Tutsi.

Cheng-Hopkins told IGIHE that she is in Rwanda to see for herself the progress made by RDF in Peace building. She added that RDF’s Achievements can maybe emulated by other countries.

The East African Community has received a US$15 Million grant from the government of Sweden which will be used in infrastructural development projects such as ports, improvement in the bloc’s border crossings and support growth of the region’s private sector.

A Swedish diplomat Björn Häggmark, said, “This additional core investment underlines Sweden’s commitment to East African integration.”

He added that East Africa’s potential has never been greater; “East Africa is an increasingly important and vibrant player in the world economy. It must also be remembered that integration is not only about economics; integration does also enhance peace and stability.”

This was said during after the signing of a contribution agreement between the government of Sweden and TradeMark East Africa.

Swedish government pledged continued support to the East African Community to realise its agenda.

The Republic of Burundi has officially expressed interest in becoming a member of the Commonwealth.

When the previous Common Wealth Summit was held in Uganda, Burundi’s first vice-president, Dr. Yves Sahinguvu noted that his government intended to officially forward its application to join the Commonwealth nations as soon as possible.

Burundi was an observer country at the meeting.

We are in a period of reconstruction and consolidation of peace in our country. We need to be part of an extended partnership.

Burundi is currently a member of the Francophonie, an organisation of French-speaking countries.

“I do not mind belonging to the French-speaking world and the Commonwealth. We are not alone. There is Cameroon, Mauritius and Canada, which belong to the two worlds,” Sahinguvu said.

Burundi’s official announcement of its intentions come at a time when francophonie countries are expected to meet at a summit in Kinshasa DRC from October 12-14.

Gabon President who announced plans for his country to switch to English is expected in Rwanda to acquaint himself with how Rwanda has adopted the English language.

Police is holding a former manager of a Chinese construction firm to help in the investigations into the death of a Chinese national who was gruesomely killed by a caterpillar on site.

Munyentwari Ignace a manager of China Road and Bridge Company was arrested October 3, while attempting to bribe a policeman with Frw100,000 to manipulate the case.

On September 29, David Mbarushimana the driver of a caterpillar constructing Nyamasheke-Karongi road, crashed dead Yuan Jing a Chinese national working in the same company on the site.

The Identification documents of Yuan were immediately plucked out of his pockets and the driver fled.

Munyentwari thus attempted to bribe AIP Aphrodice Mutangana with Frw100,000 to tamper with the case file of Yuan and reframe it to say that the Chinese death was caused by one Christophe Nyabyenda who was nolonger working with Road and Bridge Company.

The Insurance Company would not execute any compensation if there were no identification documents of the driver that caused the accident thus it was Munyentwari’s plan to bribe the Police officer to alter the case file to replace Mbarushimana’s name with that of Nyabyenda.

Currently Munyentwari is detained at Ruharambuga police station in Nyamagabe district. Mbarushimana has since fled and his whereabouts are still unknown.

Police is questioning three women arrested for allegedly dealing in smuggling illegal liquor into the country.

The trio was seized October 2, at Kabuga Cell, Mukura Sector in Gicumbi District found in posession of about 250 bottles of various types of liquor.

The suspects were identified as Francine Murerwa, 32, Chantal Uwamariya and Violette Ugirumurera, 34, all detained at Byumba Police Station.

The three suspects are said to smuggle goods from Uganda through illegal entries.

Supt Francis Gahima, the Gicumbi District Police Commander (DPC), who confirmed the arrest, said the trio, who were headed to Kigali, had travelled in a transit vehicle to beat security along the Gatuna-Kigali highway.

“They were traveling in a transit vehicle, but it got involved in an accident along the way. When we arrived at the accident scene, out of suspicion, we checked their luggage and discovered the liquor,” said Supt Gahima.

According to Gahima, smugglers have some specific places in Gicumbi where they sit and send some people to bring them goods – one-by-one – through illegal borders, until they get the required amount of the merchandise they need.