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Tag: Rwanda

  • Osinbajo jets to Rwanda for Kagame’s inauguration

    Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, will on Friday join other world leaders to witness the inauguration of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in the country’s capital, Kigali.

    His spokesman, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement.

    Akande said Osinbajo would return to the country immediately after the inauguration.

    The statement read, “Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, is attending the presidential inauguration of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, taking place today in Kigali, the country’s capital.

    “The inauguration ceremony which is expected to be witnessed by several African Heads of State and Government, follows President Kagame’s victory at the August 4 Rwandan presidential election.

    “Prof. Osinbajo who is accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama is expected back in Abuja later today.”

     

  • Rwanda 2017: Kagame sweeps presidential polls, gets third term in office

    Rwanda’s incumbent leader Paul Kagame has sealed a crushing victory in presidential elections that granted him a third term in office, extending his 17 years in power.

    Kagame has won international plaudits for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery in the Central African nation since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 people Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

    But he has also faced mounting censure for what critics and rights groups say are widespread human rights abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition.

    With 80 per cent of votes accounted for, the 59-year-old former guerrilla leader secured 98.66 percent, the National Electoral Commission’s Executive secretary Charles Munyaneza told a news conference.

    “We expect that even if we get 100 percent of votes, there will not be any change,” he said.

    The board expected turnout to top 90 per cent in the East African country of 12 million citizens once full details emerged, in elections that fielded only a single opposition candidate, Frank Habineza, and an independent.

    Kagame, who cast his vote in Kigali’s Rugunga polling station earlier on Friday, said he would work to sustain economic growth in the tiny nation.

    “This is another seven years to take care of issues that affect Rwandans and ensure that we become real Rwandans who are (economically) developing,” he said in a speech broadcast live on television.

    Under his rule, some dissidents were killed after they fled abroad, in cases that remain unsolved. The government denies any involvement.

    Kagame, a commander who led Tutsi rebel forces into Rwanda to end the 1994 genocide, banned the use of tribal terms after becoming president.

    He won the last election in 2010 with 93 per cent of the vote and during this campaign for a further seven-year term, said he expected an outright victory.

    Habineza, who has so far won 0.45 percent of the early count, had promised to set up a tribunal to retry dissidents whose convictions by Rwandan courts have been criticized as politically motivated.

    Another would-be opponent, Diane Rwigara, was disqualified by the election board despite her insistence that she met all the requirements to run.

    “To me I see this as a one-man race. I simply did not go to vote,” said one man in Kigali who asked not to be named.

     

     

    Reuters/NAN

     

  • MTN lands in fresh trouble, fined $8.5m

    MTN lands in fresh trouble, fined $8.5m

    Rwanda’s telecom industry regulator has fined MTN Rwanda, a division of South Africa’s MTN Group, 7 billion francs (8.5 million dollars) for running its IT services outside the country in breach of its licence.

    The regulator said in a ruling posted on its website in Kigali that MTN Rwanda was hosting its IT services hub in Uganda, which it had prohibited. “They are punished for relocating their IT services outside Rwanda, and this was deliberate,’’ Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority Spokesman Anthony Kulamba said.

    MTN Group said it had also received a notification about the fine. “MTN has been engaging with the regulator on this matter over the past four months.

    “MTN Rwanda is currently studying the official notification and will continue to engage with the regulator on this matter,” it said in a statement. In 2016, the company, which operates in 20 countries, set aside 600 million dollars to pay a fine imposed by the Nigerian government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.

    It paid N30 billion (95.24 million dollars) of the amount in March. Other telecoms companies operating in Rwanda are Tigo, a unit of Millicom and Airtel Rwanda, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel.

  • Nigeria seeks foreign investors for smart cities project

    Nigeria seeks foreign investors for smart cities project

    The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, says Nigeria is set to hold a smart cities summit in June as part of efforts by the Federal Government to develop the ICT sector in the country.

    Mr. Shittu disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sideline of the Transform Africa Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, an ICT conference focused on development of smart cities.

    The minister, who said the plan was to replicate the unparalleled ICT transformation of Rwanda in Nigeria, said the “Smart Cities Nigeria 2017 Summit” was scheduled for June 28 and 29.

    NAN reports that a smart city is an urban development vision to integrate in ICT and Internet of Things (IoT) technology in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets

    The initiative aims at leveraging technology solutions to improve efficiency of cities.

    Rwanda which is spearheading the initiative has rolled out a number of developments such as WiFi in public areas, including public transport vehicles, as well as cashless payment systems in public transport.

    Currently, the initiative is backed by 18 African countries while more nations including Nigeria are expected to join.

    While explaining further on the Smart Cities Summit, Mr. Shittu said Nigeria was starting late but steadily.

    “I will say that we have some delays within the government operations we ought to have unleashed some of these ideas in the Nigerian scene more than eight months ago.

    “In consonance with our desire to pursue all initiative in the ICT transformation including smart cities we have planned a summit.

    “The summit is with the theme `Smart Cities Nigeria 2017’ fixed for 28 and 29 of June, this year, is with a view to getting the buy in of stakeholders in the Nigeria projects.

    “From that point, we will kick off and there would not be any stoppage,” he said.

    Mr. Shittu said the Smart cities project would provide the opportunity to get a buy in of all stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

    According to him, Nigeria needs the buy-in of all stakeholders especially that of the state governments if the ICT transformation project is to work.

    “To transform Nigeria using ICT we need the buy-in of all states that must get it right from the onset that ICT is the way to go.

    “Of course, we would demand the patriotic participation of all states,” he said.

    He also said that government was seeking foreign investments into the country’s ICT sectors to fast-track the digital transformation agenda in the country.

    The minister said that he had spoken with some foreign investors to that effect.

    “I have had the privilege of speaking with a lot of foreign investors persuading them to come to Nigeria because Nigeria offers a lot of advantage in terms of the huge population.

    “On the West African sector of the African continent, Nigeria’s population is more than that of the other 14 countries. That means that there is a huge market and any investor who comes will never regret.

    “I have spoken with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Strive Masiyuwa, Chairman and founder of Econet Wireless, as well as Inmarsat, among others.

    “In fact, Inmarsat will be coming to Nigeria for a meeting in first week of June. I have spoken with Korean Telecommunications,” he said.

    Mr. Shittu said that when he went to Rwanda four months ago he spoke with them and put in application for them to bring in smart towers to Nigeria, adding that the process was still ongoing.

    “I have renewed our bid for them to come and invest in solar based tower stations and I am confident that once they come, it will be a leap jump towards our having enough infrastructure for the steady progress of ICT,” he said.

  • Rwanda genocide survivors urge Malawi deports suspect

    Rwanda genocide survivors urge Malawi deports suspect

    Survivors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide under their Umbrella association ‘Ibuka’ have called on the Malawian government to immediately deport genocide fugitive Vincent Murekezi to Rwanda to answer charges.

    Murekezi was arrested on Thursday in the southern African country by the Malawian authority following weeks of controversy surrounding his recent arrest and release under unclear circumstances.

    It was reported last month that Murekezi had managed to acquire a Malawian citizenship despite an outstanding indictment containing details of his role in the genocide, which killed close to 1 million Rwandans.

    Speaking to reporters on Friday, Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, president of Ibuka, called on the Malawian government to respect the genocide victims and survivors and deport Murekezi to Rwanda to face trial.

    “We have seen countries like Canada, Netherlands and the United States of America deporting genocide suspects and their cases have been fairly heard,” he emphasized.

    Dusingizemungu stated that survivors are urging the international community to compel countries harbouring genocide fugitives to send them to Rwanda to face trial, or at least try them in their countries of residence.

    According to Rwanda’s prosecution authority, Malawi has no extradition treaty with Rwanda but based on the gravity of the genocide charges in Rwanda and the use of fake documents presented while processing the citizenship, Murekezi stands a high chance of being deported to his country of origin.

    Some countries have taken this approach on other genocide fugitives, including Canada, the United States and Norway.

    Rwanda prosecution says about seven genocide fugitives who have been indicted are currently in hiding in Malawi.

    Murekezi, a naturalized citizen of Malawi, will also be charged with using forged documents including a fake Rwandan passport to acquire Malawian papers.

    Currently, 12 people accused of committing genocide have been extradited or deported from Uganda, DR Congo, Canada, United States, the Netherlands and ICTR to stand trial in Rwanda.

    Rwanda’s prosecution says Zimbabwe and DR Congo are among the countries still reluctant to surrender suspected genocide fugitives.