Group photo of the officials from the Turkish embassy, UNCHR, and community leaders on the donation site. Photo Benjamin Takpiny/Anadolu Agency

The Turkish Red Crescent extended a helping hand on Wednesday to 4,800 needy people in South Sudan during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The aid group has distributed more than 3,000 kilograms of meat for the holiday to thousands of needy people in South Sudan.

The three-day holiday commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son at God's command before the last-minute divine substitute of a ram. During the holiday, sacrificed meat is distributed to the needy.

“We’ve provided Eid meat to 4,800 families. If it is estimated that every family consists of at least six persons,” said Akniyet Turganali, country representative for the Turkish Red Crescent in South Sudan.

“It’s a pleasure to be here to support these people. The Turkish Red Crescent provided food items during Ramadan and meat on Eid al-Adha,” he said while distributing packages to residents at the Jebel area in the capital, Juba.

Turkish Deputy Head of Mission for Political and Economic Affairs, Mustafa Kemal Akbulut, said that since Tuesday, Turkish aid and developmental agencies have been distributing food to vulnerable people for Eid al-Adha.

He said Turkey will continue supporting the government and people of South Sudan in their efforts to achieve peace and prosperity.

Akbulut said 2021 is the tenth anniversary of South Sudan and the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Sudan and Turkey.

He said Turkish aid and development agencies have been implementing projects in South Sudan in different fields including, education, health, livestock, and fisheries, among others.

Gaetano Thomas, a local community leader who received meat, appreciated the support of the Turkish Red Crescent.

He urged the Turkish government to provide training that will create jobs. - Benjamin Takpiny, Anadolu Agency

Carine Kanimba speaks at a TEDx confrence in Portland, September 19, 2019. (YouTube screenshot)

KIGALI, Rwanda (AFP) — The daughter of detained “Hotel Rwanda” hero and outspoken government critic Paul Rusesabagina lashed out Tuesday after a media probe found indications she had been spied on using the Israeli malware Pegasus.

Governments used the NSO Group’s phone spyware to monitor journalists, lawyers, and politicians in a number of countries, according to an investigation by The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde, and other outlets, based on a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers.

Numbers of more than 3,500 Rwandans appeared on the leaked records, “indicating that they were potential targets of the software,” the inquiry said. 

Among them was a cellphone belonging to Rusesabagina’s daughter, Carine Kanimba, “which was forensically confirmed to have been compromised multiple times,” it said.

Kanimba, a US-Belgian dual national, has been campaigning to free her father, who faces life in prison on a string of charges including terrorism.

The Guardian said forensic analysis by Amnesty International found that 28-year-old Kanimba’s phone had been infiltrated since at least January.

Activist ‘targets’

“It was bad enough that they kidnapped my father, tortured him, and robbed him of his legal rights,” Kanimba said in a statement from the Paul Rusesabagina Foundation.

“Now we find out that they have listened to my conversations with the US State Department, Belgium Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, and our attorneys. This adds insult to injury.”

The Rwandan government denied the allegations.

“Rwanda does not use this software system, as previously confirmed in November 2019, and does not possess this technical capability in any form,” the government spokesperson’s office said.

“These false accusations are part of an ongoing campaign to cause tensions between Rwanda and other countries, and to sow disinformation about Rwanda domestically and internationally.

NSO insists the software is intended for use in fighting terrorism and other crimes, and that any other use is the work of “rogue” operators — claims rejected by Amnesty.

“NSO Group must immediately stop selling its equipment to countries with a track record of putting human right defenders and journalists under unlawful surveillance,” Amnesty secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, said in a statement.

Rwandan opposition figures abroad may also have been targeted, according to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project website where details of the investigation were published.

Evidence suggests Rwanda also sought to spy on high-ranking political figures and diplomats in neighboring countries, as well as lawyers and journalists, it said.

Rusesabagina, the 67-year-old former manager of Kigali’s Hotel des Mille Collines, inspired the 2004 Hollywood film “Hotel Rwanda” starring John Cheadle.

It told how he saved more than 1,000 people who sheltered in his hotel during the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 died, most of them ethnic Tutsis.

‘Lack of evidence’

Rusesabagina, a Hutu, subsequently became a prominent and outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame and has lived in exile in the US and Belgium since 1996.

He was arrested when a plane he believed was bound for Burundi landed in Kigali instead, a move his supporters describe as a kidnapping.

He faces nine charges, including terrorism, and prosecutors last month sought the maximum sentence of life in prison.

“Countries that hold fair trials and prosecute strong cases don’t resort to tapping attorney-client conversations or seizing attorney-client documents,” Rusesabaninga’s US-based lawyer Peter Choharis said.

“This shows that the Rwandan government knows that it lacks the evidence to convict Paul in a fair trial.”

Kagame’s government accuses Rusesabagina of supporting the National Liberation Front rebel group, which is blamed for attacks in 2018 and 2019 that killed nine people.

Rusesabagina has denied any involvement in the attacks, but was a founder of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, an opposition group of which the FLN is seen as the armed wing. - IVAN RUSH MUGISHA/TANYA WILLMER, AFP/Times of Israel 

Salvo Grima CEO Karl Aquilina, centre, general manager East Africa Clyde Micallef and general manager distribution, Keith Spiteri, first and third from left, together with Anco Millena representatives and Salvo Grima team members in Rwanda. Photo via Times of Malta

Salvo Grima Group of Companies has been appointed the new national distribu­tor for British American Tobacco (BAT), responsible for Rwanda. BAT is the market leader in the country’s tobacco sector.

On October 1, Salvo Grima Group successfully launched a fully-fledged distribution system selling directly to wholesalers and retailers throughout Rwanda. Its operations are based in the DP World Logistics Platform in Rwanda’s capital city Kigali, and are being run in collaboration with logistics partner Anco Millena, with a network of nine depots, including four in Kigali and five others in Muhanga, Huye, Kayonza, Musanze and Rubavu.

“This exciting new project is part of our group’s strategy to establish itself as a leading distribution company for fast moving consumer goods on an international level, enabling major global brands to reach new or existing markets more effectively,” said Karl Aquilina, chief executive officer of Salvo Grima Group.

“We would like to thank BAT for placing their trust in us and we would also like to recognise our excellent distribution team, logistics partner and new staff in Rwanda for setting up this operation within an extremely tight schedule.”

 General manager Donat Nsengayire has been appointed to oversee the group’s operations in Rwanda, along with a team of 14 full-time staff members.

Salvo Grima Group is currently opera­ting in eight countries – Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus, Tunisia, Libya, Djibouti and Rwanda – specialising in distribution, travel,retail and ship supply. This year marks the group’s 160th anniversary. - Times of Malta