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Haitians and 189 Rwanda National Police officers serving in United Nation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and Rwandans working in Haiti were Saturday joined by UN community for the 18th commemoration of genocide against the Tutsi.

In two separate events held concurrently in Jeremy and Port au Prince Rwanda Police officers gave testimonies of what happened during the 1994 genocide.

Jean Marie Rusimbuka, a Congolese National in charge of human rights in MINUSTAH congratulated Rwandans for their efforts in rebuilding their country after the 1994 genocide.

Rusimbuka noted that genocide begun in 1959 as he saw many Rwandans fleeing ethic clashes. The commemoration event was nationally broadcasted in Haiti.

On Thursday, April 12, 2012, the U.S. Mission Employees Association will pay tribute to Colleagues and former employees of the U.S. Embassy-Rwanda who lost their lives during the 1994 genocide.

The 1994 Genocide against Ethnic Tutsi claimed about a Million lives.

Ambassador Donald W. Koran and a representative of the survivors will lay of wreaths at the Memorial Plaque at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, built in remembrance of the 25 U.S. Mission employees who lost their lives during the 1994 Tutsi genocide.

Honorable Protais Mitali, Minister of Culture and Sports has been invited at the event.

Heavy rains destroyed many house roofs in Kigarama sector, Kirehe district in eastern province on 9th April.

In the afternoon at 1pm, it rained so heavily that nine house roofs, maize barn and the seventh day Adventist church were destroyed.

Murangira Celestin, executive secretary of Cyana sector says that it wasn’t due to the faulty houses but natural calamity.

“We are using quick ways to restore the roofs by using community works, and the remaining support will come from the government.”

Murangira Celestin said that shelters have been provided, while they restore the houses with the left undamaged iron sheets.

For the remaining house roofs, he said they would ask for support from the upward authorities.

Every Year during the Genocide commemoration week, Ngarambe Zenock a genocide survivor resident at Ngoma district has to come to terms with one of the worst torments.

Ngarambe told IGIHE that unknown people during this commemoration period, attack his home by smearing his house with urine and human faeces. This 6th April the same was done to his house again.

Ngarambe, whose children and family were killed during the 1994 Tutsis genocide, says that in 2010, he received a tract saying:” we will get you by whatever means, and we will burst that belly of yours”.

This is the third time Ngarambe is being terrorised with similar attacks. It once happened in 2011 where they carried baskets and calabash full of human faeces and also painted his house with urine and faeces.

Ngarambe says he is traumatised by such attacks. The attackers always perform similar acts at the beginning of the genocide commemoration week.
Ngarambe told IGIHE, “attackers must be from this neighborhood. I think they are more than one people because a single person cannot carry all those baskets and calabash full of faeces.”

Umwari Médiatrice another genocide survivor, a neighbour of Ngarambe had alo been encountering such attacks. Recently, she has been brutally attacked and injured that she was unable to speak.

The executive secretary of Cyasemakamba sector Kamanzi Lucien said: “We patrolled and safeguarded the house the whole night till the patrol shifted at 4:00 Am to another place, but at that shift moment, that’s when they attacked. We are now strengthening the security here, and once they get caught, they will be severely punished”.

The Acting Mayor of Ngoma District, Mupenzi George, said, “measures have been taken to strengthen the security.”

He also called upon Ngarambe’s neighbours to be supportive in ensuring genocide survivors’ security.

Police Spokesperson Supt. Theos Badege said that they are still carrying on the investigation to find out who are behind those acts.

Until now, no suspect has been identified.

Belgian Police in Brussels have arrested a Rwandan politician, Boniface Rutayisire, who on Saturday April 07, tried to protest against the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in the middle of a busy suburb of Brussels, Belgium.

Rwandans are currently honouring the 18th commemoration of the genocide against Tutsi. About a Million Ethnic Tutsis were killed during the 1994 Genocide.

Rutayisire was taken in on charges of disturbing public order, on the same day when more than 700 people took part in events organized by the Rwandan embassy in Brussels to commemorate the slaughter of Tutsis.

Reports say that Brussels police arrested him but there is no clear information on whether he was charged in court, released or is still in custody.

Rutayisire is accused by genocide survivors and campaigners of being a leading member of a vocal negationist lobby which denies the 1994 genocide against Tutsis.

He has a political grouping ‘Banyarwanda & Tubeho Twese’ which advances the notion that what happened in Rwanda was not genocide, but civil war.

The controversial exiled politician is said to have woke up in the morning and went to camp at Woluwe -Saint-Pierre stadium where he had planned to set up a parallel commemoration event apparently in honour of “all victims” of Rwanda’s conflicts.

Independent minds say that Rutayisire was out to commemorate the civil war and not the genocide against Tutsis.

Various Religious Denominations in the country have agreed that abortion is an act of killing nevertheless. This was mentioned during the interreligious press conference convened at Peace Plan.

Religious leaders insisted on the fact that aborting is killing an innocent child who would become a beneficial person to the society.

This comes in response to the new law on abortion which provides for abortion right in special instances.

Bishop Smargade Mbonyintege, of kabgayi diocese, said “we have no power to alter its legalization; however as Christians we will express our views and we will show how it is a crime nonetheless”.

Mbonyintege said that abortion is a sin punished by God, and intentional assisted abortion is punished by the medical codes.

“Life is God given, and he is the only one to take it away. Man is not merely body, but consciousness also” adds bishop Mbonyintege.

He also referred to the penal codes of the approved article 165 by the parliament, but not yet signed on by the president of Rwanda, absolves that criminal liability for a woman who aborts and a medical doctor who assist a

woman in aborting should be in the following four conditions:

• When a woman is pregnant as a result of rape
• In case of forced marriage
• When there is Incest in the second degree
• When continuation of the pregnancy endangers the health of the unborn babyor that of the pregnant woman.

He says again that if they want to legalize it, a referendum should be the means to seek public opinion. For Christianity is 96% total population. He said that he doesn’t think they would vote for it.

Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, said that the annual 60.000 abortion cases should be pre-prevented, the same for rape, without necessarily legalizing abortion. He said on the contrary, it would increase the annual abortion.

“As Rwanda discarded the death penalty, abortion should also penalized’’ says archbishop Osphore.

In a letter by catholic Episcopal church in Rwanda to Christians in rwanda, it says, “we are strongly opposed to the so called Maputo treaty’’

It also says that they once wrote a letter to the president of the republic of Rwanda on 17 January 2007 showing their concerns once abortion is legalised.

Talking to the population, different people said that abortion in relation to the above mentioned conditions would benefit those who do not fit in the prescribed conditions.

After all it is almost impossible to know who aborted as a result of rape. Since many are used to sexual intercourse.

It will also cause psychological problems, since those who commit abortion do always have that guilt in their hearts.

Dr. Elie Nzabahimana a commemorative songs artist has launched a new song in remembrance of the genocide victims killed at Kabgayi Hospital coinciding with the 18th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

The song carries lyrics including…“The victims of the Tutsis’ genocide massacred in Kabgayi will never be forgotten. When we meet there in heaven where you dwell, we will keep on asking for what reason you were victimized.’’

These are some of the lyrics in a song by Dr Elie Nzabahimana, a commemorative songs artist.

Dr. Nzabahimana, told IGIHE that he was inspired by the doctors and nurses who were brutally killed at Kabgayi hospital, and as a way of honouring them, he made a song and titled it,’’ kabgayi.

In this song, names and Photos of the killed also appear in the song.
Nzabahimana has many songs, and many other upcoming songs.

Dr. Charles Murigande, the Ambassador of Rwanda to Japan has told the diplomatic community in Tokyo Japan that Rwandans were abandoned and betrayed by the international community in time of need.

“Rwandans are committed to play their modest but important role in ensuring that the “never again” is indeed a “never again” and we are ready to stand by those who are hurting, wherever they may be.”

The Ambassador made the remarks Monday April 9th during an event held for the 18th Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide against ethnic Tutsi. The Embassy of Rwanda in Tokyo organized the commemoration event.

It was also attended by Rwandans, members of the Diplomatic Community based in Tokyo, Japanese Government officials, Members of the UN Organizations based in Tokyo, members of Japanese private sector and civil society as well as friends of Rwanda.

Amb. Dr. Murigande highlighted the cycle of ethnic cleansing that started in 1959 that climaxed into the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

He said this was neither the result of historical antinomy between Hutu and Tutsi, nor a genetic precondition that the Rwandans have to live with but a product of decades of bad governance that started with colonial rule and was perpetuated by the post-independence regimes.

He indicated that in the wake of genocide, Rwanda took the face of a desolate and wasted land with more than a million of people killed in just 100 days, completely destroyed socio-economic infrastructure, and the entire surviving population living in internally displaced camps or in refugee camps in neighboring countries where genocidal forces were busy re-training and rearming in order to re-take power and finish the genocide, among other daunting challenges.

Amb. Dr. Murigande stated that Rwandans refused to be overwhelmed and paralysed by death, despair and hopelessness and in defiance, rather courageously embraced life and with determination resolved to rebuild a better country than that which was destroyed.

He noted that due to self-worth and determination of Rwandans, significant achievements in terms of Peace, Security and Stability; reconciling and unity among Rwandans has been attained.

The culture of good governance and democracy; and economic recovery and growth has given Rwandans the firm conviction that “we shall overcome the remaining challenges ahead of us.”

Cassava farmers in Ruhango District and entire Southern Province are expected to improve their yields following the inauguration of a Cassava Processing Plant in the area.

The Plant worth US$ 10Million funded by Rwanda Development Bank was Inaugurated last week.

Robert Runazi, the plant manager, said the factory has capacity to process 60 tons of cassava for 20 tons of flour per day according to the standards required.

“We envision that the remaining 40 tons are used in the manufacture of starch, animal feeds and in protecting the environment,” he added.

A kilo of cassava will be sold at Frw50 as factory price.

Jack Kayonga the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD), said that the factory had been promised by the president during his last visit to Kinazi.

“The factory cost US$10million funded by BRD. However, we plan to sell shares to the public in the next days,” said Kayonga.

The Mayor of Ruhango district said the factory has just solved the problem of cassava production in large quantities in the region.

BRD was established August 5, 1967. On April 26, 2011, the Rwanda Development Bank officially acquired the Housing Bank of Rwanda (BHR) at a ceremony organized by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa.

The objective of this acquisition is to achieve sustainable growth by making BRD stronger and better positioned to provide long-term loans, housing mortgages, refinancing and other financial services that will improve the access to financing in Rwanda.