Gatsinzi new minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs

A new defence minister Gen. James Kabarebe has sworn in for his new office along with other three senior army officials. In the Parliament this Tuesday afternoon April 13, 2010, the four newly appointed government officials confessed their oath before the rest of the senior government officials in a ceremony presided over by Paul Kagame the president of the republic of Rwanda. The senior army officials sworn in include Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga now chief of defence staff who is being replaced by Maj. General Caesar Kayizari as Army Chief of Staff of land forces. Also was Lt.Gen. Charles Muhire former Air Force Chief of Staff now the commander of reserve forces while former defence Minister General Marcel Gatsinzi who had been said to be dropped has been made a new minister of the new created ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs.
It was a ceremony followed by the ending of the 1994 Genocide commemoration week that was held at Mount Rebero in a city suburb. While addressing all government officials mainly including the executive and the judiciary, Kagame reminded government officials that they had a prime role of protecting Rwanda and its citizens. “I am happy for these new officials who have sworn in to day and I am not going to repeat their responsibilities of which I am sure they know very well because they have been entirely, actively involved in activities pertaining their respective offices,” Kagame said after the officials took their oath. “Most of you, you were entirely active in the liberation war that stopped the atrocities and overthrown the bad leadership that had taken up this country, so you know very well your responsibilities,” he added. “Protecting the nation and its citizens is the mandate for all but especially you leaders” Kagame challenged government officials to learn from the history and the present to become better citizens in the country. “Look back from the first day after the 1994 Genocide how we have been struggling to make this country better up to now in this commemoration period, we should learn that there is hope,” Kagame who seemed not happy with lack of many government officials’ resilience said. “We fought inside and outside wars to give identity to this nation; I don’t see how you can allow people to manipulate your citizens you protect with rumours” The president was reacting to the recent rumours that some of the newly promoted army officers had been arrested and detained due to the possible coup de etat. He asked the government officials who had gathered in the parliamentary building to play their prime role of giving hope and security to Rwandan citizens they lead. Kagame challenged the officials to lead people with a sober mind with no rumours which eventually destabilise the country’s security. “There are some people that survive by selling rumours and you also buy them,” he noted. There are has been several rumours of coup and internal fighting in the ruling party RPF reported by some media houses like two popular vernacular independent papers in Rwanda some Ugandan based papers. The two Kinyarwanda tabloids Umuvugizi and Umuseso have also been banned today for six though but there is no evidence connecting to the effect. The two tabloids and Ugandan papers reportedly indicated that the inside fighting in the ruling party or attempts of the coups were the cause of the two dissident army generals to have self-imposed exile in South Africa. It is official; The South African president who visited Uganda recently said that his country had granted asylum to Col. Patrick Karegeya, former director of Rwanda’s external intelligence office, and temporary asylum to Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa former envoy to India.