The cabinet yesterday appointed Claude Nikobisanzwe as the new Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, replacing Jeannine Kambanda, who had served in the same position for more than two years. 

Nikobisanzwe previously served as the First Secretary at the Rwandan High Commission in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Kambanda, according to a statement on the decisions of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting that was chaired by President Paul Kagame, was named the new clerk of Parliament.

She replaces Immaculee Mukarurangwa, who was moved to the National Electoral Commission as the deputy executive secretary.

At the time she was appointed PS in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in April 2014, Kambanda was the country’s ambassador to Singapore.

The cabinet meeting also appointed Colette Ruhamya the new director general of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), a position she had been serving in on an interim basis since the arrest of her former boss Dr Rose Mukankomeje on corruption related charges in March.

Ruhamya is a former state minister for energy and water.

The cabinet also appointed Faith Rugema as the new director general in charge of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, while Diane Gitera and Col. Gerald Butera were also appointed as the director general in charge of Multilateral Relations, and Chief of State Protocol at the same ministry, respectively.

Four ambassadors-designate were also approved to represent their countries in Rwanda. They include Dr Peter Woeste, of Federal Republic of Germany, with residence in Kigali; Jenny Ohlsson of the Republic of Sweden, with residence in Kigali; Pekka Juhani Hukka, of Finland, with residence in Dar es salaam, Tanzania; and Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Al-Takkawi, of the United Arab Emirates, with residence in Kampala, Uganda.

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