Valence Rwamukwaya is an extraordinary journalist with a career stretching over three decades in electronic media.

Tall, huge, dark and with an imposing stature, he is a very jovial man who has savored the best and worst of electronic media in Rwanda and Burundi.

Meet Rwanda Broadcasting Agency’s fatherly cameraman as he shares his experience, highs and lows and his near retirement.

Joining Media

Rwamukwaya was born in October 1956 in Butare, commune Nyakizu in present day Nyaruguru District. He fled the country as youth to Burundi; to escape persecution of the Tutsi by the regime in power then.While in exile, he enrolled at the national university to study education.

One day, in 1982, while he was listening to Radio Burundi, he heard an announcement that there were vacancies with the government-owned station and he decided to apply, well knowing that he may not be eligible.

"I applied for a job, even though I was a foreigner,” he said with his signature broad smile.

As usual, things always workout for those who try and Rwamukwaya’s bold move earn him a place on the shortlist of 54 candidates to be interviewed for various positions with Burundi’s national broadcaster.

It turns out that out of the 54 people shortlisted for interviews, the radio station wanted only five; and Rwamukwaya was lucky to be one of them. "Only five of us were selected and that’s how my journey in the media started,” he says.

His journey in the profession that is now approaching the end, started as a radio producer, mainly of talk shows that were broadcast in French.

However, his career on radio ended after only two years when in 1984 Burundi opened its national television station and Rwamukwaya formed part of the pioneer staff.

"Eighteen of us [from Radio Burundi] were transferred and taken for intensive training.” The training included getting news transcripts that were to be read abruptly as the machines recorded. "Then on 1st December 1984, Burundi Television started broadcasting and I was among the pioneers,” he says, with memories of visible on his beaming face.

Joining RBA

The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda found Rwamukwaya in Bujumbura as a television journalist. The 59-year-old returned to Rwanda in July 1994 and his first job in his motherland was with Radio Rwanda as a producer of talk shows.

Just like it was in Burundi, his stay on radio was short-lived – only that it was much shorter this time. "After only four months, Rwanda Television resumed broadcasting and I was transferred there,” he recollects.

That was soon after the war and there was everything and nothing to be done. Everything because of lack of enough qualified staff and nothing because everything had to start from scratch. Some of the staff had either been killed in the Genocide while those who took part in the killings had fled the country.

Inspiration

Back in 1982 when he joined Radio Burundi, Rwamukwaya had no idea that broadcast media will be his life-long career until he approached his retirement age.

Not many people can afford to be in one career for over 30 years. Fewer still cannot spend 20 years of their career serving one employer. So what drives him? "Passion,” he said.

"You don’t easily quit something that you’re passionate about. If you love something, it becomes everything to you,” says the father of six.

He adds that today’s generation has an attitude towards whatever job they hold. He agrees that though it’s good to look for greener pastures, what matters in the end is how much one enjoys their job. "If you don’t, then you will keep moving. Sometimes it’s not about the money but the thrill that comes with what you do,” he observes.

Typical day

Rwamukwaya is always up by 5.00am and immediately tunes to Radio Rwanda for 30 minutes before switching to Voice Of America (VOA). "From 5:30am to 6:30 am, I’m listening to VOA. I enjoy Dusangire Ijambo programme so much. Finally, I tune to BBC (French) at 6:30am. By 7:10am, I’m normally preparing to take children to school,” he says.

Though he has six children of his own, he looks after four others. Unfortunately (or fortunately), none of them is following in his footsteps.

"Three of my children are into management and the rest are still young. They all have the liberty to study courses of their choice.”

Highs and lows

Journalists are also human and sometimes emotions betray us as we cover stories. For Rwamukwaya, one such event was in April 1995. "I covered the event where leaders killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were being accorded a decent burial,” he recalls, shaking his head in grief.

He adds: "Some things are not worth talking about,” as he turns the other side, fighting back tears. Sure, some things aren’t worth recalling but we can hear what can be heard. "Then in 1996, I covered the war in DR Congo. That, too, was a sad moment.”

But it isn’t always about sad stories. Sometimes the excitement is overwhelming so much so that he can’t help but join in merrymaking. "For instance, the 2003 presidential campaigns drove me wild. I was even an electoral official in Nyarutarama!” he recollects, beaming.

Retirement

As it’s said, every journey has an end, just as it has a beginning. Rwamukwaya’s retirement is about three years away. He intends to spend more time with his children and start a private business.

"What kind of business? That will depend on the amount of cash available on my account,” he says, adding that priority will be to take care of his family.

"It’s now even smaller compared to 1994 when I had 14 children.” Back then, his biological children were only two and in nursery school. "There is a way God always takes care,” he says.

To his fellow journalists and those younger one who aspire to be, he reminds them that their line of duty calls for soberness. "If you love alcohol, then you can’t manage. A camera needs passion and care. It also needs perseverance because it is a heavy gadget.”

He notes that it’s not a tool for the lazy. Finally, he cautions to always be alert because you never know at what time your next assignment will be and to where.