Blog

  • Mushikiwabo Says Human Rights Watch is Ridiculous

    The Rwanda Minister of foreign Affairs and Cooperation H.E. Louise Mushikiwabo, has quashed the Human Rights Watch (HRW) for creating a rumour accusing Rwanda of involvement in the Easten DRC Crisis and passing on the rumour but also quoting HRW.

    “Its ricdiculous, ” she said.

    Mushikiwabo was responding to Press Questions at the United Nations headqarters in New York. “I am in New York for UN business and bilateral discusssions in washington aswell.”

    “Its important for those of us who want peace. Not to allow a war of words that is starting to harm innocent people in the region.”

    Mushikiwabo is accompanied by H.E. Eugène-Richard Gasana, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the UN; and Major Patrick Karuretwa, Security Adviser to the President.

    The minister urged whoever cares about the great lakes region to calm down, look at facts and context of DRCongo.

    She noted that these multiple reports that keep croping up, some of which have been retracted, have a dangerous impact on lives of people in DRC and Rwanda Citizens in the region. That is extremely dangerous.

    “I want to clear the air about some of the recent security situation in Eastern DRC . There seems to be quite a flarey of mis information and disinformation.” She added.

    Rwanda has been a subject of disingenious accusations related to a detoriorating security situation in DRC. This is not the first time Rwanda has been a scapegoat to problems in the region.

    Responding to a DRC letter recently sent to the United Nations , Mushikiwabo said, “the letter was actually sent while I was on a plane back to Kigali after the meeting with DRC authorities on the situation in Eastern DRCongo.”

    “We(Rwanda) are aware that DRC sent a letter to UN secutity council. We regrete this. Rwanda and DRC have been engaged in discussions and we will continue to meet . I was in DRC for talks on the Joint Verification Mechanism and operations against FDLR- rebels on the congolese side.”

    Minister mushikiwabo noted that given the gravity of the violence and fear about potential escalations, Rwanda has engaged different actors in the region and authorities in DRC that the situation doesn’t get aggravated.

    “Whatever happens, violence should end quickly in DRC. Refugees should be allowed to return home. There has been so much energy on rumours and allegations. We have seen violence against Rwandan citizens in DRC. Eleven young Rwandan men were captured in DRC near their own home in Rubavu on the Rwandan side, beaten and tortured.”

    She said that government of Rwanda was concerned as a with bigorty and rhetoric on a number of websites, “ Those who care to findout out will find out that even with some media close to DRC, this rhetoric is remniscent of period prior and during the Rwandan to genocide.”

    Some newspapers continue to ask all congolese worlwide to strike Rwandans .

  • Miss DRC 2012 Crowned

    Although DRC has always been in the press for reasons of war and minerals plundering, this time its in the news for beauty, fashion and glamour.

    The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a new beauty queen miss Christelle Mbeni.

    She was crowned Miss Congo 2012 during the closing ceremony the national beauty contest Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Grand Hotel in Kinshasa.

    Miss Mbeni 2012 hails from the province of Bandundu.
    Christelle Mbeni (Miss DRC 2012)
    kjghj.jpg
    Left to Right: Miss Congo Brazza, Miss cote d’ivoire and Miss Gabon attending Miss DRC 2012 at Grand Hôtel Kinshasa

  • Egypt To Reconsider Peace Deal With Israel

    Egypt’s Islamist President-elect, Mohamed Morsi, has said that he wants to “reconsider” the 1979 peace deal with Israel.

    “We will reconsider the Camp David Accord” that, in 1979, forged a peace between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than three decades, Morsi said in Cairo on Sunday, just before his election triumph was announced.

    Morsi noted today that he wants to build ties with Iran to “create a strategic balance” in the Middle East.

    “Part of my agenda is the development of ties between Iran and Egypt that will create a strategic balance in the region,” Morsi was quoted as saying.

    Iran’s foreign ministry on Sunday welcomed Morsi’s triumph.

    He said the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to homes their families abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the 1967 Six-Day War “is very important”.

    The islamist added though that “all these issues will be carried out through cabinet and governmental bodies because I will not take any decision on my own.”

    Morsi also said he was ready to improve ties with Iran. The Islamic republic broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1980, a year after Cairo signed the peace deal with the Jewish state.

    Although Morsi resigned from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to take the top job, Israel is wary of his election, fearing his Islamist record could jeopardise the chilly peace it has long enjoyed with its huge neighbour.

  • Rwanda to Host Corrections Secretariat For UN Member States

    Rwanda has been selected to host the Secretariat for the Group of UN Member States, UN entities, International Non-governmental Organizations and other friends of Corrections involved in international peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

    Rwanda’s Selection was made during the Fourth Annual International Corrections Conference held in Berlin.

    The Correctional Services in Rwanda will be at the forefront in implementation of the Secretariat objectives.

    The Secretariat will prepare and chair the Group’s annual meetings, act as the focal point for all communications with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and other United Nations entities.

    It will execute its functions in close collaboration with the UN Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Services (CLJAS), and participate in all Expert Level Forum meetings.

    In her acceptance speech on behalf of government of Rwanda, ambassador Christine Nkulikiyinka noted that following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and the rapid achievements in institution-building, including in the correctional services;

    “Rwanda is more than ever committed to share its success story with countries emerging from conflict, including in the area of security, Justice and corrections services”.

    The United Nations hailed Rwanda for the great strides and rapid achievements in institution-building that has led to active contribution of troop, police and corrections personnel to UN-led international peacekeeping operations.

    The hand-over and take-over ceremony between the out-going host – Sweden and the in-coming host – Rwanda, was witnessed by Dmitry Titov, Assistant Secretary General for the Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Deputy Commissioner General Mary Gahonzire, Rwanda Correctional Services.

    Also present were Ina Lepel, Deputy Director General for Global Affairs, Germany Foreign Office, Thomas Dittman, the Director General, Federal Germany Ministry of Justice and representatives of UN Member States as well as other International Organizations.

    At the Conference, Deputy Commissioner General Gahonzire, shared the Rwanda’s best practices in “Gender and Gender balance” including the role of Rwanda female Corrections Officers in peacekeeping Operations and achievements of Rwanda Corrections Services.

    Rwanda delegation also comprised Assistant Commissioner of Police Jimmy Hodari, the Police Attaché at the Rwanda Permanent Mission who also doubles as the Liaison for Corrections affairs at the United Nations in New York.

    The Secretariat is hosted on a rotational basis and at the end of its two years’ tenure of office Rwanda will host the International Corrections Conference.

  • President Kagame Pays Tribute to Kosiya Kyamuhangire

    kutsa.jpg
    President Paul Kagame honoured late Kosiya Kyamuhangire a pioneer of East Africa Revival Movement (EARM).

    The commemoration service was held at Church of Gahini on 24 June.

    Kyamuhangire reportedly died of meningitis during an Anglican missionary convention in 1952 at Gahini, Kayonza District in the eastern Province of Rwanda.

    President Kagame noted that “Today, on both sides of the border, we are united in honouring him and what he stood for. We, in Rwanda, particularly feel greatly honoured that Gahini, was found fitting to be his final resting place”.

    The President and his wife Jeannette Kagame laid a wreath and unveiled a tombstone in honour of the late Kyamuhangire.

    “The Christian revival that Kyamuhangire’s contemporaries spread across East Africa was in many ways the first real regional movement and places them among the first true East Africans. Their work personified our current EAC motto: “One people, one destiny” long before the organisation even existed,” the President observed.

    “It reminds us that for centuries we lived as one and that the border that divide us is not only artificial and superficial, but with increased integration, should in a sense become irrelevant.

    “And as we know, Late Kyamuhangire’s generation were not hostages of this border. They had a vision of the people of Rwanda and Uganda living as a family, feeling genuinely at home on both sides of the border because they sincerely believed that we shared a common destiny,” Kagame explained.

    The late Kyamuhangire born 1914 was the father to Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa. Kutesa was only four years when his father passed away.

    Kutesa remarked, “The peace and stability that the Rwanda Patriotic Front government has brought to this country is what has enabled us to come and join our brothers and sisters in Rwanda that to honour my father 60 years after his death.”

    “It was not possible to do so before the advent of the RPF government in Rwanda. I also want to Thank God for the excellent and brotherly relations that exist between our two countries Uganda and Rwanda,” Kutesa said adding that he his father had commitment and passion for spiritual revival.

    Also the wife of Kyamuhangire late Elisabeth Kyozaire, William Nagenda and his wife, Rev. Musajaakawa, Yoweli Rutamwebwa, Abaishemwe, Mishakye Kikundo, Thomas Kabaho, Zabroni Rutafa Elimiya Kagyendagura, and Yeremiya Kagyendagura and others were honoured at the memorial event.

    The function was attended by senior Rwandan and Ugandan politicians.

  • Bashir Threatens to Crash ‘Alliens and Bubbles’

    Sudans President Omer Al-Bashir has warned protesters against his government saying they are ‘bubbles’ who will be dealt with”.

    Bashir was making his first reponce to protesters that have been pressuring Khartoum government for eight years.

    During a Sunday adress to students pro-ruling National Congress Party (NCP), President Bashir described the protesters as “aliens and bubbles” who failed to mobilize the streets.

    Sudanese authorities reported Sunday that they had detected participation of “foreign elements” in the protests that have been spreading across the country.

    The mayor of Khartoum locality, Lt-Gen Omer Ibrahim Nimir, told pro-government media Center (SMC), that foreigners from neighboring countries were seen participating in “the sabotage plot that is targeting the interests of citizens and the state.”

    Protests erupted on Sunday, 17 June, as Khartoum government moved to lift fuel subsidies as part of what officials say is an austerity package that includes downsizing of the government’s bureaucracy as well as cuts in the salaries and perks of senior state officials in order to make up for a budget deficit of 2 billion US dollars.

    The protests, which were initially started by students against worsening economic conditions, gained unprecedented momentum in the following days as demonstrations spread to several parts of the capital as well as other towns including Al-Obaiyd in north Kordofana, Madani in Al-Jazzera State, and Port Sudan in the east.

  • Legless Man Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro

    A Canadian man 31, who lost his legs as a child has pulled himself up to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro -Africa’s highest mountain, disproving doctors who said he would never be a functioning member of society.”

    Spencer West lost his legs after a genetic disorder — sacral agenesis — paralyzed the lower half of his body.

    However, he didn’t let that stop him from climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro.

    West is from Toronto Canada.He arrived at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, some 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level, on Tuesday, calling it an incredible personal feat.

    “Reaching the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro was the most mentally and physically challenging thing I have ever done, but in doing so, it reinforced the powerful message of believing in yourself, and believing in others,” West said.

    “Physically, it was challenging because I climbed the majority of the mountain on my hands, which put a lot of stress on my shoulders and arms,” he said, estimating he hoisted himself up 80% of the way.

    West was accompanied on the trek by his two best friends, David Johnson and Alex Meers.

    His goal was to raise money for Free the Children, an organization that supplies drinking water to hundreds of people in Kenya, which in 2011 experienced its worst drought in 60 years.

  • US Bill Pushes For Special waiver On African Garments

    In both the US senate and House of Representatives, a new bill has been introduced seeking to advance the extension of a special waiver aimed at allowing duty-free importation of African garments made using fabric from other countries.

    The Bill was tabled last week by a group of senior lawmakers from both houses raising hope for textile exporters including some East African countries where production of cotton remains insufficient.

    The rule popularly known as the Third-Country Rule of the preferential African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative is scheduled to lapse in September threatening to lock out the bulk of textile imports from eligible African states.

    “This is a win-win legislation that builds upon our nation’s goal of strengthening economic relations with Africa, while ensuring that our regional trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic continues to succeed,” Senator Orrin Hatch, an Utah Republican.

    The legislation seeks to renew the waiver until September 2015, when the entire AGOA will be up for renewal.

    Without the Third-Country Rule, countries that manufacture garments from imported fabric would be locked out of the lucrative US market.

    Though the Act originally covered the eight-year period from October 2000 to September 2008, amendments by then US President George Bush in July 2004 extended it to 2015.

    “This must-do legislation has strong bipartisan and broad industry support. It will benefit US global competitiveness, aid US employment and global development, and strengthen our ties with 55 US trading partners in Africa and the Western Hemisphere,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, said in a statement.

    Also the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says President Barack Obama’s administration favours extension of the trade rule that has helped to improve trade with Africa under the AGOA initiative.

    The apparel firms accounted for 80.3% of the 32,251 employees at the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) by end of 2011, the Economic Survey 2012 shows.

    For example, to make cotton-based garments, textile firms in Kenya have to obtain 90% of cotton from regional markets such as Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and Egypt.

  • Trial of FDLR Chiefs to Resume

    German media has reported that war crimes trial of Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, President and 1 Vice President of FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), could reportedly continue.

    The challenge for bias against the defense of the senate at the German based Stuttgart Higher Regional Court in connection with the handing over of evidence to the UN, which had caused a disruption of the hearing had been denied and the trial may resume.

    Musoni’s passport though long since expired – should be introduced as evidence, as the exhibit of rough diamonds from Musoni.

    Concerns of rough diamond have been found during the search warrant for Musoni’s arrest in November 2009.

    Its alleged Musoni in 2000, was at the time of founding of the FDLR in DR-Congo and in Zambia. The envelopes found with rough diamonds would come from Zambia, not from the DR-Congo.

    German based media reported Straton Musoni, accused before the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, worked from 2005 to July 2008 as a computer expert in the Ministry of Justice of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

    He was noticed in security checks only when the FDLR militia became a topic in German media. A year later, on 12 July 2009, he boasted himself to have used the office service telephone for FDLR activities.

    “I’m a real daredevil,” says Musoni on 12 June 2009 during a conversation with another exiled Rwandan. The intercepted telephone conversation was submitted as evidence in the ongoing trial against FDLR President Ignace Musoni and Murwanashyaka before the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart on 13 June.

    “You know, it is difficult to use mobile phone,” says Musoni to his friend. “But then why do I have the service telephone? I have used it for two hours … I called on the expensive satellite phone, and the bill was 800 €. How the government pays the bill, I do not know.”

    “If one asks about the phone calls, I’ll say: Forgive me. But no one has told me that until I left there, and I know they will not know that, because I know that phone numbers don’t appear in the bills were. You see, a ministry has a bill of 2,000 € and you alone have called for 1,000 €. ”

    But don’t play the same game in the next job, advises Musoni’s friend. “It was suicide,” admits Musoni. “Yes, it was suicide,” warns his friend, adding: “If your wife finds out, you divorce …”

  • One Dead in Kenyan Explosion

    Injured patients being attended to by medical personnel at Coast General Hospital in Mombasa
    Just a Day after the US embassy in Nairobi had cautioned Kenyans about an ‘imminent threat’ of a terrorist attack, One person was later killed in an deadly explosion in Mombasa.

    A police source said the blast happened inside Jericho Beer Garden Bar in Kisauni locality at about 10:00 local time where several were reportedly injured.

    Sources said the bar was busy with people watching the quarter-final match between England and Italy in the Euro 2012 football tournament.

    A witness told local media that he saw two men and a woman arrive in a car and walk towards the bar and shortly afterwards the blasts occurred as the car sped off.

    “At first I thought it was electric transformer nearby which had blown up because it has been having problems. But a few minutes later I heard a second blast and then a third one and realised these were bomb explosions,” he said.

    The Kenyan police had earlier arrested two Iranian nationals over suspected links to a terror network that was reportedly planning attacks in Mombasa.

    Police also recovered suspected bomb-making material in the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday.

    Kenyan security authorities including the US, France’s missions in Nairobi had also warned kenyans to be “extremely vigilant.

    US officials had also been told to avoid the area until 1 July.

    Meanwhile, people involved in terrorist activities on Kenyan soil risk being jailed for life and their properties seized if a proposed new law is passed.

    The new law also provides compensation for terrorist victims. The proposed Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Fund would be funded from disposal of property seized from terrorists as well as fines imposed on those convicted.

    However, some Kenyan Legistilators have vowed to reject the proposed law once it is taken to Parliament, but a section of Muslim religious leaders and professionals have supported the proposed law and called for some amendments.

    The MPs claim that the Bill is sponsored by western governments. The latest developments come as the American embassy in Nairobi issued a warning of an imminent terrorist attack in Mombasa.