Igihe

Category: Information Center

  • Gambia Says Sentence For Coup Plotters ‘Reasonable’

    Gambia’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentences passed on seven top brass for plotting a coup in 2009, including former army and intelligence chiefs and the ex-deputy police chief.

    The five-member panel of judges of the Supreme Court, chaired by Nigerian-born Chief Justice of The Gambia, Emmanuel Agim, ruled that the appeal grounds were “insufficient and the testimonies of both witnesses corroborated.”

    Judges also ruled that the death sentence passed by the high court was “reasonable.”

    This was the last chance of appeal for the convicts after the court of appeal in April last year also upheld the death sentences.

    The High Court in Banjul in July 2010 sentenced the eight to death. They include former army chief Langtombong Tamba, former intelligence chief Lamin Badjie and former deputy police chief Modou Gaye as well as two businessmen and three senior military officers.

    However, one of the convicts, Lebanese businessman Youssef Ezziden was last seen in court a few weeks after they filed their appeal.

    They were found guilty of procuring arms in neighbouring Guinea as well as on two counts of conspiracy for an alleged bid to overthrow the government of President Yahya Jammeh, who himself seized power through a bloodless coup in 1994.

    Mr Jammeh, an outspoken military officer and former wrestler

  • Strategic Plans for Vocational Schools to be Changed

    Heads and teachers of technical and vocational schools in Southern province have been urged to change their strategic plans from one year to five years strategic plans.

    The move comes as a result of workshops organized by Workforce Development Authority through IPRC-South (WDA-IPRC-South) and Belgium Development Cooperation (BTC) training them on elaboration of strategic plans for technical and vocational schools

    “The program was the formation of elaboration of strategic plans of technical and Vocational schools with the WDA and the program will be implemented in IPRC-South for further pedagogical competencies” Said Xavier Rosy, Technical Assistant in the Belgian Program of Support to Technical and Professional Training.

    The principal of the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC-South), Rudahunga Gédéon has said 11 pilot vocational centres were trained and the training will help them to design programmes responding to their needs while at the same time improving the quality of Education in technical and vocational centres.

    “The programme will help them identify their needs. With information in place, means in place, there is a half of activities that can be implemented” noted Rudahunga

    Speaking on the gaps of pedagogical materials, Mr. Xavier Rosy said that some of the schools are still facing the problem of infrastructure development, facilities to reduce the size of the pupils in a class among others adding that Belgium will fund professional schools in Rwanda using over 6 million Euros in a period of 4 years.

    Mpigiye Norbert of Mugusa Vocational Training centres has said most challenging problems are teachers who leave the jobs looking for better payment elsewhere pointing out the low salary for Vocational Trainers.

    “Taking example of a student that we have trained, when finished courses in our schools you cannot employ him due to the fact that he cannot agree our salary which is low comparing to what he is going to do outside” Mpigiye said.

    “Another problem is that we struggle to teach pupils who have different level of studies; some with primary school level while others are secondary schools” He explained adding that all of these can affect the quality of education.

    However, Ndahiro Andre in charge of the quality of Education in WDA said as far as the quality of education is concerned; the government is working closely with WDA to solve those problems.

  • Kagame Takes African Peace Personality of the Year Award

    President Paul Kagame has emerged winner of the African Peace personality of the Year award.

    Kagame was short listed with three other African personalities for the Africa Peace personality Award which was by an online voting system via the website of Miss University Africahttp://www.missuniversityafrica.org/).

    His Excellency, Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of
    Sierra Leone, for his approach and support to unite his people and
    heal the wounds of trauma, displacements, deaths and war in
    Sierra Leone.

    His Excellency Paul Kagame President of the Republic of Rwanda,
    for his ingenuity and style of leadership to unite the people of
    Rwanda and seek peaceful means to stabilize his country after the
    genocide.

    Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of the Republic of
    Liberia, for encouraging investment and unanimously elected for
    the second time as president of Liberia having led her country out
    of the ashes of a brutal civil war.

    His Excellency, Chief Olesugun Obasanjo Former President,
    Federal Republic of Nigeria, for his efforts to restore peace in
    Africa most especially the West African Sub region

    The vote which lasted 41 days had His Excellency President Paul
    Kagame with a total vote of 817,201 (eight hundred and seventeen
    thousand two hundred and one) as the highest score of the four
    shortlisted.

    The countries that voted his Excellency the most were: Rwanda, Ghana,
    Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Uganda. most of the comments
    posted were “the manner in which President Kagame handled the Hutus and Tutsis crisis in Rwanda demands the loudest applause
    worldwide”

    According to Mr. Taylor who is one of the managers of Miss University
    Africa, He personally remember during a visit to Liberia when they met
    with president Ellen Johnson of Liberia, after He told her about the
    votes and award she said “What President Kagame has done in Rwanda
    is very commendable, Rwanda is like a mentor to Liberia as we have a
    lot to learn from them especially coming out of a civil war” to him, for
    an African leader to speak in such volume about Rwandan President
    clearly states why he won this award from the rest of Africa”.

    The Organizers of Miss University Africa intend to fly to Rwanda with
    this award which will have His Excellency name engraved on crystal.
    Congratulations to our President and Congratulations to All Rwandans.

  • Human Rights Watch Angry at Rwanda

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) has protested against the election of Rwanda to the Security Council of the UN as non-permanent member.

    Ida Sawyer, a researcher with the international NGO, said, October 18, that “Rwanda’s presence in the seat have a negative impact on the Congolese war victims in eastern DRC.”

    “We were very disappointed after the election of Rwanda as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Rwanda will now be able to block sanctions involving Rwandan officials and other initiatives in the search for peace in the DRC. We think it will be a serious situation that can have negative consequences on the population in eastern DRC, “she argued.

    For Human Rights Watch, “Rwanda is not credible now occupy this seat because of his support for the rebels of the Movement of March 23

  • Uganda to Respond to UN Accusations “Word by Word”

    Uganda has announced that its preparing a formal response to the United Nations leaked report that accuses Uganda and Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels, who have been fighting to overthrow DR Congo government.

    Foreign Affairs state minister, Mr Okello Oryem said on Saturday, “We do not know when the final report will be out, but we are going to respond formally to the UN Security because we think this report is malicious.”

    He said on Saturday that Uganda is waiting for the release of the final report by the UN Security Council experts to respond “word by word”.

    Oryem said,“As long as the leaders in the Great Lakes region have confidence in us, we will continue.”

    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni,- the chairman of International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), has chaired three heads of state summits in Kampala since June to help mediate between Kinshasa government and M23 to peacefully end the conflict in Eastern DRC.

  • Rwanda, Ethiopian Police Sign Cooperation Pact

    Rwanda and Ethiopia police forces on October 19, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will see the two forces cooperate in various policing areas.

    The cooperation pact was signed between the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana and his Ethiopian counterpart Commissioner General Workeney Gabeyehu.

    The agreement was signed at the sideline of the ongoing 14th Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) meeting in Kampala, Uganda as it entered its fifth day.

    According to the pact, the two forces will cooperate mainly in “capacity building of different forms, exchange of Police information and best practices, and close collaboration in other areas that have relevance to security.”

  • Kagame: Don’t wait For Others to Solve Your Problems

    President Paul Kagame urged Rwandan students to not wait for others to solve their problems noting that those who claim to speak for Rwandans are the ones who rob them of their right to decide for themselves.

    He was addressing over 2,500 university students during Meet-the-President event held October 19, at Petit Stade in Kigali.

    He added that in order to go forward students must challenge themselves to use what they learn to move the country forward.

    “We have our own imperfections; we cannot accept imperfections from other people to double our problems” Kagame said

    “Every day I see people who have never been to Rwanda who want to decide what is good for Rwanda. Do you want to accept this?” President Kagame asked.

  • Ugandan Doctor Heads World Medical Association

    Dr. Margaret Mungherera a Ugandan National has been elected to head the World Medical Association.

    Dr Mungherera, 54, has been a doctor for 30 years and a psychiatrist for 20 years with forensic psychiatry as her special area of interest.

    “My focus will be on urging national medical associations of poor countries to join and to participate in the activities of the WMA,”said Dr Mungherera.

    A statement from the World Medical Association says Dr Mungherera was elected unopposed during WMA’S annual general assembly held in Bangkok, Thailand.

  • Oil Production To Resume Immidiately in South Sudan

    South Sudan issued an order October 18, instructing foreign and national companies involved in oil industry to immediately resume production and exports through the territory of neigbouring Sudan.

    Stephen Dhieu Dau, South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum and Mining on Thursday said the government had completed assessing all oil infrastructures located in the world’s youngest nation and was technically ready to recommence operations within three months.

    Production was halted at the beginning of the year over a transit fee disputed between the two countries. South Sudan split from Sudan in July 2011 without bilateral agreements on oil and other issues leading to a conflict over a disputed border area in April this year.

  • SOPECAF Coffee Factory Destroyed by Heavy Rain

    Heavy rains have reportedly caused heavy damage to SOPECAF coffee factory in Rubavu district.

    Nyabihu and Rubavu districts located in the volcanoe region have in the past experienced heavy rains which has caused tremendous damage to valuable property.

    Ntawukiruwabo Ramadhan the deputy Director of SOPECAF factory says, the damage caused to the factory is valued at over Frw670Million.

    Mr. Ntawukiruwabo explained that the damage will affect production.

    He calls upon government to help because the factory was in the process if paying a bank loan.

    It is also alleged that 5 houses built in the vicinity of SOPECAF factory have also been destroyed leaving families homeless.

    The most affected areas include, Rubona, Rushubi villages in Nyamyumba sector of Rubavu district.

    Residents of these areas complained that the Factory was built in the water path.