Igihe

Blog

  • PS-Imberakuri Party Official Disappears

    Members of PS-Imberakuri opposition political party have expressed concerns over the sudden disappearance of a party official Jean Baptiste Icyitonderwa who has been in charge of awareness in the party.

    Some members of the party started speculating that the police had secretly detained Icyitonderwa however; Police Spokesman Supt Theos Badege says this is mere hearsay.

    “The police are aware of the case and we’re assisting concerned people to find the whereabouts of Icyitonderwa,” he further said. “To be honest we’re not keeping him in our cells.”

    A communiqué from PS-Imberakuri states that at around 4am on 3rd March this year, burglars broke into Icyitonderwa’s house who was not there at that time and stole several household items and injured a young boy who resides with Icyitonderwa.

    Concerned PS-Imberakuri members speculate that the attack on Icyitonderwa’s house is part of a wider plan from their enemies, who want to silence members assisting Ntaganda in his appeal case scheduled soon.

  • Bishop Augustin Misago Dead

    bishop_augustin_misago_passed_away_today_courtesy_photo_.jpg
    Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro Diocese passed away today morning while he was at work. His colleague said that early in the morning the late Bishop was well.

    In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Father Boniface Ntwali said, “Bishop Misago this morning was well with no problem. Misago also spoke to his colleague also this morning.”

    Archbishop Smaragde Mbonyitege confirmed the death of Bishop Misago, saying that he was very healthy that today he presided and preached at the Mass.

    In 2000, Misago was acquitted of genocide charges after a Rwandan court ruled he played no part in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
    Bishop Misago was born in 1943.

    He became the Bishop of Gikongoro Diocese in 1993.

    Bishop Misago will be burried Thursday.

  • Uganda’s Dancer Relocates to Kigali

    pok.jpg
    A Ugandan musician/dancer Sheebah Karungi has relocated her performance base to Kigali where she intends to help local upcoming artists develop their talent.

    “I’ve been listening to Rwandan music for a while and it’s amazing. However, music produced by emerging musicians is rarely played on radio. This has to change because I’m optimistic that my input will favour such musicians that lack a platform to showcase their talent.”

    Karungi’s entertainment team is expected to train upcoming local artists on how to perform electrifying shows. The training will include showing them how to utilize the stage, collaborating with the deejay, and better costumes.

    Through her experience with the obsessions group, Karungi wants Rwandan musicians to unite since it helps them to grow together, though she had a bad experience with the Obsessions group like poor organization, Karungi believes Rwandan musicians can work together.

    When she was 15, Sheebah Karungi joined Obsession dance group which was then popular in Kampala. The group comprised of musicians and dancers. After four years with the team, she pulled out and embarked on a solo career.

    Since her defection from the obsessions six years ago, Karungi now 22, has released several songs, some of her hits include Mwekumwe and Twekumwe.
    She has also boosted her popularity within the region through ‘collabos’ with renowned musicians like Jua Kali from Kenya.

    Karungi is born to a Rwandan father and a Ugandan mother, has decided to leave the busy-partying city of Kampala where her services are in high demand to Kigali where she’s little known. According to her, the shift is in line with her quest to nurture local upcoming musicians.

    During her stay in Kigali she will be conducting entertainment activities at the The Manor hotel located in Nyarutarama. she intends every weekend to invite at least three young musicians who will be perform alongside her team from Kampala entailing two professional dancers and a Deejay popularly known as Rovas.

    She insists on team work to facilitate improvement to those who are weak. Karungi further advises that good performances at the end of the day should earn the entertainer a reasonable income yet majority of Rwandan musicians either don’t see the need to market their produce or are not aware of how to sell their produce.

    “I will also try to train the musicians on the need to have a manager who will be assisting them to get good paying shows and to ensure that they get good publicity. Normally I advise musicians to copyright their music as an intellectual property to reduce risks of piracy,” she recommends.
    sseed.jpg
    Meanwhile, during her performances at The Manor Hotel, Karungi will also introduce unique events such as a culture night which will be held monthly, the show aims to promote African outfits which are rarely won in fancy places and night clubs.

    Most of the fashion will come from her cloth-line K-Shebah’s which consists of cloths with fashions made of both traditional and modern designs.

    Karungi will also proceed to form a band which will play her music live, such performances tend to attract a bigger crowd. Her idea is becoming innovative and that’s why she urge’s Rwandan musicians to think out of the box if they want to make a living out of their music talents.

    “I’m who I am today because I didn’t adhere to disapprovals. I believe it’s time for women to rise up from their inferiority complex. If you’re a lady out there and you have a singing talent or dancing, don’t hesitate, meet me at The Manor hotel and we will perform together,” she insists.

  • Rwanda Film Industry Growth Impressive

    The Rwanda film industry is gradually growing bigger and seductive to the outside world and this is evident to Philippe Van Leew (remember him in Avenir) ‘longing to come back this April to see if he could produce another film about reconciliation and justice of the perpetrators.

    Simon Iyarwema a young talented actor and dancer and the face behind lots of Rwanda films says there is something cooking.

    Simon Iyarwema is a Rwandan was born and raised in Kenya. He returned to Rwanda on 8th January 1998 and completed college at Lycee de Kigali. He is an actor and a contemporary dancer with Mashirika creative and performing Arts group.

    Besides that he has done film casting as an assistant director, including; sometimes in April, shooting dogs, shake hands with the devil, operation Turqouise, Avenir with Philippe Van Leew, Kinyarwanda, the last king of Scotland which portrays Ugandan’s former president Idi Amin and lots of more.

    According to Iyarwema, Rwanda’s film industry is something that grows day after day and they keep on getting more ideas to boast it to the outside world, “We even have a filming school set up by Eric Kabera.”

    I was so lucky to be trained by Lavra moreal the first French woman who came to participate in ‘sometimes in April’ the first movie.

    She inspired me so much into filming and acting and I took the whole idea passionately. Iyarwema is a drummer, actor, dancer and casts in movies.

    We are hoping to extend the movie industry, after home it will go international, he said where there is market is where we take the filming he added.

    The movies are acted in various languages namely English, French, Kinyarwanda and Swahili- among others. He says the sky is the limit in next ten years.

  • Traffic Police Urged to Improve Service Delivery

    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Emmanuel Butera, the Commissioner for Operations has urged the Traffic Police unit to uphold professionalism and improve customer care and service delivery.

    This is part of his ongoing tour of specialized police units.

    Addressing the Traffic Unit at the Kigali Metropolitan Police building, ACP Butera urged the unit to improve service delivery and be accountable for their actions.

    He noted that they should uphold the image of the institution through professionalism. “You must bear in mind that whatever you do reflects the image of Police and therefore being professional is paramount”.

    ACP Butera said that the force must avoid scandalous actions such as corruption and carelessness while on duty and encouraged them to be smart, offer best services and maintain discipline while undertaking their responsibilities.

    He also acknowledged their contributions in ensuring that people living in Rwanda are safe, involved and assured. He encouraged them to always strive for what can improve their performances.

    “It’s the responsibility and duty of traffic Police officers to curb traffic offences,” ACP Butera said.

    He warned that nobody is above the law and that Police officers caught committing traffic offenses must be punishment.

    He urged commanders to be closer to their forces and ensure that they are briefed before and after work and in return get the feedback from them.

  • ICT Conference to Focus on Africas e-Inclusion

    Uganda will from March 21-24th host an international conference on ICT for Africa at Makerere university business school under the theme; ‘Africa’s E-Inclusion: Defying the Odds and Leading the Way in Global ICT Innovation’.

    Digital technology has changed numerous activities in the world and continues to do so. The digital revolution has already matured in developed countries however, developing countries, especially in Africa, are yet to realize the full potential of the benefits of technology.

    It is true that Africa has in recent years made tremendous progress from being a technological desert to a growing technological forest.

    The adoption and diffusion of Information and Telecommunication Technology (ICT) in Africa is growing as evidenced by the upsurge in mobile markets and emerging innovative application in e-banking, e-business, telemedicine (e-health), e-learning, e-government, e-democracy, e-agriculture, e-procurement and more.

    As we entered the new millennium, Africa progressed from technological desert to emergent sustainable growth in ICT. Within the first decade of the millennium, several innovations emanated from African countries, such as, the continent is also joining the league of ICT producing countries and Africa is witnessing increased capacity for consumption.

    While the problems being reported on the development of ICT in Africa might have not completely disappeared, the current challenges are definitely different. For example, the problem is no longer about access to modern ICT devices but the continent is now being confronted with the effect of the adoption and utilization of ICT.

    Electronic payments system is taking root on the continent where public servants are paid salaries and pensioners receive their pension directly to their accounts.

    Mobile commerce through mobile/cell phone transactions without going through traditional banking systems has penetrated both rural and urban centres of some African nations. East African countries have embraced the M-Commerce.

    Automated teller machines (ATM) have spread across the continent but this technological adoption faces issues of security and identity theft. Teledensity is no longer an issue but the effect of the telecom on the environment is posing a serious threat.

    These concerns are now similar to the issues in the western world. It is time that the concept of digital divide be re-examined and the stock of innovation and technological advancement from Africa for Africans be taken and reported.

    There are numerous cases of African championed initiatives for Africa which are worth showcasing. From launching of submarine fibre optics cable linking Africa to Europe to Financial Switching backbone. Such success stories abound.

    With this background, Africa is ready to position itself for the three foremost interrelated technological advances namely; the mobile platform, cloud computing and software as a service. All these will be examined in the context of green computing or green ICT.

    The conference will bring together some of Africa’s leaders in this area to discuss creation of culturally sensitive applications that are applicable in the African context.

  • Fight Interupts Students Lesson

    This weekend senior five students of samuduha integrated college SICO spent their Sunday afternoon studying.

    One absent minded student identified as kwezira who was staring outside the classroom, noticed a policeman in the nearby bush area beating a man brutally.

    kwezira alerted fellow classmates that later stared at the brutal drama between a policeman and a civilian just in the neighborhood of the school premises which disorganized their Physics lessons.

    The secondary school is located along Remera-Kabeza.

    According to Kimenyi Julien, a small crowd had gathered around the scene witnessing the beating, “we could get a good view from our class windows since our class is in a storied building,” he said adding that the policeman kicked the man thrice in the chest, punched his face with a fist and as that was not enough he got a hoe handle and hit his head hard.

  • Suspected Conman Arrested

    Police in Kicukiro district has arrested Patrick Semuhoza 32 was suspected of fraudulently soliciting Frw 120,000 from Damascene Sinamenye 23 after convincing him that as a Rwanda Defense Forces Captain, he would facilitate him go for United Nations Mission in Darfur.

    By the time of his arrest, he had already received Frw 45,000 advance payment. Investigations are still ongoing.

    Police continues to urge the public to avoid being victimized by swindlers who promise easy access to quick riches such as money, work, and sponsorship among other opportunities.

    Superintendent Theos Badege, the Rwanda National Police spokesperson said, “People should also seek more information about such promises and try to find advice before committing themselves”.

    He noted that the recruitments and selections of UN missions are clear, transparent and that the administration procedures are done by competent authorities.

    Badege also urged the public to report such con incidences so that culprits are arrested and brought to book.

    If convicted, Semuhoza is likely to be charged with swindling, a crime that is punishable by a jail sentence between six months and five years according to article 428 of the Rwandan penal code.

  • Rwanda Hailed On Reconciliation

    Rwanda has been cited as an example of true reconciliation between man and man. This was noted by Ronel Geldenhuys, of Ellel ministries South Africa during a training workshop termed ‘school of reconciliation’.

    The 6-week-long training workshop on healing and reconciliation was attended by Church Leaders from 12 countries.

    The training was organised by a Christian ministry Mercy Ministries International.

    Pastor Joseph Nyamutera, regional director of Mercy Ministries International said that participants underwent lessons on forgiveness and repentance and in politics, how Gacaca jurisdiction can be applied in other countries under conflict or emerging from war.

    Participants came from Burundi, DR. Congo, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Germany, Finland, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Rwanda which hosted the workshop.

    Mercy Ministries exist to provide opportunities for young women to experience God’s unconditional love; forgiveness and life transforming power in partnership with their local church.

  • Rwanda to Close Orphanage Homes

    Rwanda plans to be an orphanage free country. There are over 3, 153 children aged between 0 to 30 years living in 34 orphanage homes.

    A survey conducted by the National Commission for Children has revealed that 72% of children in the orphanages actually have parents.

    It’s against this back drop that Representatives of institutions with children affairs in their docket, are converging in Kigali to brainstorming on ways children can be placed in families.

    The children in orphanages have been categorised according to age and those with parents.

    According to national children commission, the big number of children have both or either parent, accounting for 72%, and there are 1,000 children totally orphans. 22% are aged between 18 and 30 years.

    The commission officials say the children above 18 years should be integrated into Rwandan society, to render their contribution to nation building, while children below 18 years old will be placed in safe families.

    Zayina Nyiramatama, the executive secretary of the National Commission for Children, emphasised that Rwandan children don’t deserve to live in orphanages.

    “Orphanages will be closed gradually. It will be done with the help of health experts such as psychiatrists, and social workers. We will take time to analyse each children individually, get to know their background and place in appropriate families. We will also monitor them whether they are staying in those families”.

    Claudine Nyinawagaga, the country director of hope and homes for children, said that the first phase of placement will be according to their status, that is those with parents or either parent and those without parents.

    The last alternative will be adoption when deemed necessary.

    “There is what we call international adoption. It comes as a second option, but the first step to have children brought up in families. We have seen that 72% of the children in orphanages have parents or at least one parent, that’s where we are putting our efforts”.

    In a move to have ‘orphanage-free’ Rwanda close to 200 children have been placed in Guardian Angels or Malayika murinzi families.