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United Kingdom (UK) top prosecution Crown Prosecution services (CPS) has extended training support to Rwanda’s judicial system.

The prosecution service has begun a six day training exercise of 36 crime investigators and prosecutors on in-depth investigation and interviewing techniques.

Those trained include relevant personnel from Interpol-Rwanda, prosecutors from Public Prosecution Authority, judges from the Supreme and High courts, Lawyers from Rwanda’s BAR association, Immigration & Emigration Directorate officials, and Customs at the Rwanda Revenue Authority.

The Crown Prosecution Service is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales.

Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland.

The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for criminal cases beyond investigation involving giving advice to the police.

Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga notes that additionally the British Government had previously assisted Rwanda in setting up the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit (GFTU) that has produced tremendous results in tracking down the fugitives across the world.

Ben Llewellyn-Jones the British High Commissioner which supported the training that aims at supporting the growth of justice system in Rwanda.

He adds that the trainees will be equipped with skills on how to gather sufficient evidence that could raise a case to set standards and add ethical value to the country’s justice system.

The Rwanda’s first Mobile telephony network provider (MTN) has announced the winner of the Rwf 13 million grand prize in relation to concluded promo; MTN ‘Faranga Yello Yello.

The promo has been running for over the past 6 weeks where other 50 MTN subscribers went away with a million each.

The new millionaire Felicien Upfuyisoni from Huye District, Maraba, Shyanga cell works with the team that does statistics in Nyamagabe District.

In total the mobile telephony giant gave away Rwf 63M that were put by Faranga Y’ello Y’ello’s jackpot that was won by 51 customers.

Cheerfully speaking Upfuyisoni said, “The way I was surprised, it reached the time of giving me the cheque disbelieving this was true.”

“I was in the mountains together with my colleagues coming from work when I received a call that I have won Rwf 13M with MTN. I immediately stopped the driver to confirm, I and my colleague could not believe it,” Upfuyisoni said.

Upfuyisoni who came to receive his grand prize together with his wife said that he has got capital to set up a business that will provide employment opportunities to the people at his home area.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo the MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer said it has been an enthusiastic promotion setting new standards in demonstrating customer appreciation.

Alain Numa, MTN’s Officer in charge of sponsorship and coordination said that it was also MTN’s program to celebrate 13 years on market in Rwanda.
Numa added that MTN chose to celebrate 13 years with their clients in the sense of uplifting their standards of living.

The promotion was open to MTN prepaid and postpaid subscribers, excluding MTN employees and their families, MTN agents, and anyone else professionally connected with the promotion.

In related development, MTN also celebrated 13 years in Rwandan market by inaugurating 13th Service Center in Nyamirambo Sector, Nyarugenge district.
The service center has 8 employees and full range of services including data solutions; airtime and sim pack sales, sim swaps, and mobile money services among others.

It is the giant’s commitment to reach mobile telephone services to all customers.

In Rwanda, setting up a music production business is becoming as easy as starting a grocery shop, since with only a microphone and a computer plus freely available software one makes his own recording studio.

Findings have shown that lots of amateurs are running kiosk studios that are cheap but also lack professional background in music production.

However there are still a few professional who are trying to change the tide. Sherrif Karisa also called DJ Sherrif, the chief producer and founder of Rw Beat Productions, is one of the advocates.

He has 4 years of experience in music production and has so far worked with Nairobi’s Homeboyz studios also in the same town he has Deejayed in big discotheques such as Black-Diamond in Westland’s.

According to Karisa, he opened a studio in Nyamirambo’s avenue six to address the issue of poor quality music production by offering training to some of the local producers. He is currently looking for foreign investors to assist him expand the music academy.

However, even though training is fundamental for a good music producer, Karisa does not think that the situation in Rwanda is that alarming.

Having visited and worked for a few upcoming studios in the country while waiting for his studio to be fully equipped with professional machines, he says he would often spot talent in producers who work at the studio and lacked formal training in order to perfect in their work.

The Deejay also a producer says, his formed academy should not only teach producers about music, but also how they can collaborate with musicians to improve their songs.

For instance, he says that producers should be able to conduct post production sessions whereby, after mixing both the vocals and the beat, both the artist and producer evaluate the content of the song as well as the beat in order to develop the quality.

“Sometimes I advise the artist to change the lyrics so that the meaning of the song is clear,” Karisa remarks.

The music academy will not only focus on producers but also artists’ development. This also involves training the musician in ethical aspects that allows him to stand as a respected figure the society.

“It involves advising the musician on the type of dressing which is appealing to fans, as well as advising him on matters which arouse media interests since some questions might intimidate the artist to use vulgar language which might destroy their reputation,” says Dj Sherrif.

Other aspects he will deal with are stage performance, managing their work as well as how to develop professional business plans which facilitates marketing activities.

In the meantime, another problem that Karisa is trying to help a few producers is how to use recording machines since those who have hi-tech studio equipments often lack knowledge to use them effectively.

For instance, he points out that the compressor, which is a machine used in mastering the song, is often wrongly used to raise the volume, yet its main task is balancing the sounds which, if done well, raises the power of the sound.

While waiting for the academy to be established, Rw Beat founder advises artists to improve the quality of their songs by seeking input from professionals, for example by holding a “listening party” before releasing their albums.

The party would bring together producers, musicians, promoters as well as the press to comment on the songs before releasing them.

The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have reviewed strategies to curb down the rate of violence against children in a meeting held at Serena Hotel.

The main strategies agreed include setting up a children commission, encouraging teachers to fight against child abuse and teaching children to break the silence in anything to do with violence.

While closing the conference Minister for Gender and Family Promotion Aloysia Inyumba said: ‘The recommendations reviewed will be implemented in form of ‘Imihigo’ performance- based which will speed up the initiative.

“The cabinet has also announced that starting next week the children commission will start operating mainly focusing on violence against children and fighting for their rights” Inyumba said.

The Rwandan government has been fighting child abuse in homes, schools and communities since 1994 after the genocide through projects like Imbuto foundation.

The children commission will enable leaders and parents to listen to voice of children through quarterly newsletters on child issues.
Ten percent of Rwanda’s children struggle to survive without one or both parents which increase the rate of child abuse.

It will also promote the culture of people protecting children living with disabilities like deaf and psychological problems from any violence against child rights.

The minister observed that in Rwanda the most problems encountered against children include rape, children working under age, children living with HIV AIDS and families which still allow keeping silence when some of the members violated children rights.

The conference was opened on September 3 by the first lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame who conveyed a clear message on how children should be protected right away from their homes and how the government has put more effort in punishing people that abuse children.

Rwanda’s exports have risen to US $ 305m estimated at over 43% that were generated from tea, minerals and pyrethrum, and also the rates on the international market as well.

According to the Minister of Trade and Industry Francois Kanimba the economy also grew by 7-8%, and Investments increasing by 22% as compared to the past years.

In the Joint Sector review meeting held at the Ministry’s offices, the minister recommended the achievements reached upon by the Private Sector clusters as one of the contributors to the Rwanda’s economic growth.

“The assessment today has been great to our economy and the total values have increased steadily,” Kanimba pointed out.

He said that private Sector Cluster has progressed to 85% towards the development since July this year.

The minister also pointed out that National Export Strategy (2011-15) was approved by the Cabinet in April and intended to prioritise high growth, export oriented sectors, and to provide cross cutting strategies that benefit all.

The report that were presented from RDB among other achievements had over 50 local exporters trained by the board on the exports, 1224 people in SME’s accessed business development services and Business Development Centers were set in all districts and staffed with 3 staff members per each.

Motorcycle taxi operators in Kigali city are calling upon the president’s intervention in halting the City authorities’ decision to evict them from operating within the city center.

According to information obtained from street interviews conducted by igihe.com, Motorcyle taxi operators say, “We are being accused on baseless grounds by the traffic police and Kigali City accusing us of lacking proper documents yet we have the entire necessary documents they ask,” one motorcyclist who declined to say his name said near Kigali City Tower.

He added that traffic police patrol cars commonly refered to as Pandagari arrest them with unknown mistakes and lie that the ride without permits in their reports.

“What have we done to deserve this kind of harassment by our own leaders yet we pay taxes like any other businessmen, where do they want us to go, We have tried to be good citizens by abiding to all regulations, Isn’t the government contradicting its self when it calls on us to be job creators actually the parliament should look into this matters after all it stands for all our interests as Rwandans.” Another motorcyclist complained.

“Let the government look at all sides involved in the business (the passengers, motorcyclists, the police, and banks) rather than being one sided.
Kigali City Authority are hardening life. They should seriously rethink the decision,” he said.

The traffic police chief C/Supt. Celestine Twahirwa told Igihe.com that the enforced regulations were compiled in 2006 in an effort to reduce the then escalating road accidents caused by motorcycles.

Bruno Rangira the Kigali City’s Director of Communication told igihe.com that the claims of the motorcyclists that regulations governing their operations are new was a negligence adding that that the regulations were published in the official gazette in 2008.

“Those regulations they call new, were discussed with them in 2006 when we had stopped them from working in the city, but they have been not abided yet 70% of the accidents are cureently caused by motorcyclists or happen on them,” Rangira said in a telephone interview.

Uganda’s Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki has signed a cooperation pact with his Rwandan Counterpart Aloysia Cyanzayire aimed at developing the justice sectors of the two countries that will lead to harmonisation of the East African Community judicial systems.

The two Chief Justices appended their signatures onto the cooperation agreement at the Supreme Court premises in Kimihurura.

Under this cooperation judicial experts from both countries shall share experiences aimed at development of their justice sectors.

Justice Odoki’s visit follows President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to Rwanda two months ago that was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.

This also follows a meeting between Chief Justices of all five EAC member states hosted by Rwanda in March last year, where they agreed to have judicial collaboration.

According to the pact, the two parties shall carry out training programmes for judges, registrars and court staff from both countries and share experiences concerning commercial court systems, inspection of courts and backlog management.

The agreement also concerns the exchange of information and expertise on ICT development in order to improve the performance and quality of administration of justice.

After the signing of the pact, Rwandan Chief Justice Cyanzayire welcomed the initiative saying that the country’s judicial sector like other government organs cannot prosper in isolation.

“To administer natural justice to our citizens, we must promote the judicial system through the regional frameworks and continue to develop. We need to share experiences and harmonise our operations for the benefit of our people,” she said.

She revealed that the technical team will immediately draw a plan of action for the implementation of the pact.

This will also lead to formation of strategies meant to enhance autonomy of both judicial systems.

The two countries will also share information on matters concerning the respect of rule of law, court procedures, as well as the professional ethics of judges and other court personnel.

Uganda’s Justice Benjamin Odoki said that apart from strengthening the judiciaries for both countries, the agreement also cements the relationship between the two countries.

Justice Odoki also pointed that the pact would play a significant role in developing and making the judicial sectors of the two countries independent and modernised through ICT as well as producing competent judges.

He also reiterated his commitment to speed up the technical part of the agreement for its implementation.

The bilateral pact attracted dignitaries from the two countries including Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama, Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga and Uganda’s High Commissioner Richard Kabonero.

A police patrol car commonly known as Panda gali (get on a car) has crashed a commuter van at Buranga Hill in Gakenke District at Kigali-Rubavu Northern highway approximately 25km to Musanze District.

The patrol car (pickup land cruiser) which was over speeding came from uphill crushing a head-on a minibus number RAA 060H passengers sustaining severe injuries and immediately taken to Kigali Central Hospital (CHUK).

The surviving driver Rashid Sibomana(below) reported to igihe.com that by the blink of an eye he saw the police car coming towards him as he was driving up while the police patrol car was driving downwards.

“I was coming from Kigali and when I reached in this corner, a police patrol car which was over speeding failed to control the speed and immediately hit mine at the front side body.” Sibomana said.

By the time igihe.com reached at the scene, the police patrol car had been transported a way by a breakdown, only the taxi was still there.

The Police spokesperson Supt. Theos Badege said that the police was assessing the nature of the accident so as to ascertain whether the driver of the patrol car was not on a mission which would permit him for over speeding.

Badege said that if it found contrary the police drive will face punitive measures.

The president of the Africa’s 3rd largest economy Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is in Rwanda for what has been termed as the usual strengthening of bilateral relationships between the two countries .

However, there is more ingredients beyond strengthening the outside garment of strengthening bilateral relationships.

Of course whatever will emerge will have to be a result of the inter-relational matters cultivated by the bilateral relationships developed between the two countries.

The economy of Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy emerging market with well-developed financial, legal, communications, transport, and entertainment sectors.

It is ranked 31st in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2009, and its emergent, though currently underperforming manufacturing sector is the second-largest on the continent, producing a large proportion of goods and services for the West African region.

Previously hindered by years of mismanagement, economic reforms of the past decade have pushed Nigeria back making it fail to realize its full economic potentials.

The country’s GDP per capita doubled from $1200 per person in 2005 to an estimation of $2,500 in 2009 now estimated to be $3,500 with inclusion of the informal sector hence becoming the largest economy in the West Africa compared to Rwanda’s GDP of $ 1100 person which has also grown in the shortest period ever.

Nonetheless, a majority of Rwandans said to be still living below the poverty line of 250 Rwandan francs per day about US$0.43.

Because of her political will, Rwanda has managed to retrieve almost the lost pillars to put her on the world economy.

Policies of public accountability, transparency, zero tolerance to corruption and sustaining national security, judicial reforms, education reforms and other national matters that intends to make Rwanda information based economy that can also make it become an middle income economy.

With Nigeria’s unrest in the Niger delta due wealth of petroleum products have put the country on the international scrutiny.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo once declared all-out war with the Nigerian state as well as the oil corporations and threatened to disrupt oil production activities through attacks on wells and pipelines.

This quickly caused a major crisis the as Shell evacuated 235 non-essential personnel from two oil fields, cutting oil production by 30,000 barrels per day (4,800 m3/d).

In 2008 Crackdown the Nigerian government launched a massive military crackdown on militants in Niger delta.

They patrolled waters and hunted for militants, searched all civilian boats for weapons, and raided numerous militant hideouts.

In 2009 a military operation undertaken by a Joint Task Force (JTF) began against militants operating in the Niger Delta region.

It came in response to the kidnapping of Nigerian soldiers and foreign sailors in the Delta region.

Thousands of Nigerians have fled their villages and hundreds of people may be dead because of the offensive.

This was followed by the Nigerian Government announcing ed that it would grant Amnesty and an unconditional pardon to Militants in the Niger Delta which would last for 60 days leading to militants to surrender their weapons.

A retired Professor Onigu Otite of Sociology, University of Ibadan published a paper on Niger delta crisis titled ‘The Complexity Behind Nigeria’s Niger Delta Crisis’ and said that militants have to be positive and not skeptical when the federal government of Nigeria rendered amnesty.

Ibadan University is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles (8 kilometres) from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria.

The professor argued that the crisis cannot be resolved by the criminalizing local patriotism of militants and the military reactions of the Joint Task Force on behalf of the Federal Government.

In his conclusion he wondered how successfully the use dialogue to get the militants to surrender their arms and stop the induced criminal tendencies without the activities of the military.

He says the crisis grew from an unresolved legitimate struggle and demand for an equitable development of the Niger Delta, the main current source of Nigeria’s wealth.

According to him problem was inherited from the past Government regimes. It required a political solution, a firm committed political will which has been working making things work back here in Rwanda.

Some Nigerians have some sort of in born hatred that cross from one state to another basing on the distinguished wealth of each state.

In response to professor Otite’s paper some Nigerian said “I think its high time the people of the Niger delta realize that the oil belongs to the whole nation and not them alone. This greed has been going on for years. If they don’t want to share OUR oil with us then they should leave”.

Another one replied; “It is not OUR oil, just as the Cocoa in the West was not OUR cocoa, or tin in Plateau was not OUR tin, or Coal in Enugu was not our coal, etc. Nigeria is a federation and the resources found in an area should belong to the natural owners of the area as is the practice alsewhere,”

“The people of the Niger Delta are simply asking for a fair share of the revenue from oil – 50% for them and 50% for the federation – as was the case before independence and enshrined in the 1963 Constutition when cocoa (West), groundnuts (nut), etc where the money spinners,” the respondent in anonymous said to the professor’s paper .

President Goodluck’s visit to Rwanda can benefit a lot from his counterpart President Paul Kagame on how conflicts can have sustainable resolutions.

The 14th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Goodluck E. Jonathan was the 3rd civilian president which ended military rule in 1999.

At his inauguration President Jonathan promised to fight corruption and defend democracy across Africa.

Born in 1957 in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, Jonathan is a Christian from the Ijaw ethnic group.

A zoology graduate, Goodluck, worked as an education inspector, lecturer and environmental protection officer before going into politics in 1998.