‘One-eyed man among the blind is the King’, goes the old adage. So, when you try putting it in our local sports perspective, you’ll be disturbed to find that indeed Ignace Beraho, the president of the Rwanda National Olympics Committee fits that bill perfectly or at least, that’s how he wants people to believe. 

Do you agree? Certainly I for one it’s a very big NO. But as you scratch your head trying to make up your mind, I have another question for you. Does the voting block [the federations] have an alternative or are we going to have to deal with the same man and his cohorts who’ve done virtually nothing in eight oddly years at the helm of Rwandan sports?

During his eight years as head of the National Olympics Committee, the highest office that governs sports in the country from 2001 to date, Beraho has done so much to make himself a loaded chap and very little to help Rwandan sports take any forward step.

Actually, those in the know-how and very many close to the NOC believe that things are still very much the same as he [Beraho] found them eight years ago while critics say so much has deteriorated that it will take a lot of effort [probably an intervention of the President of the Republic] to sort out the bad blood that he has created between the NOC, the Sports ministry and the individual federations.

It’s this bad blood or indeed non existing working relationship between three organs mentioned above that has taken local sports miles down the trench for so long. And the reason I’m suggesting that the President should probably intervene is because it’s only him that the so called big wigs in this country including Beraho and Sports Minister Joseph Habineza listen to or fear for that matter.

It’s absurd that people should to resort to the President to sort out every thing [that isn’t going well] even such petty issues as incompetent leaders in sports as he already as so much load on his desk, but do they have a choice? Your guess is as good as mine.

The sooner the President interceded before Beraho manipulated the National Olympics Committee statute to meet his selfish interest the better or else we should brace ourselves to see him in office for an unprecedented third term.

According to the statute, the NOC head only serves for two terms of four years each and Beraho has already exhausted them despite there being very little or nothing to show for all the eight years he’s been in that office apart from swindling millions of francs meant to go towards developing sports in the country and making endless enemies than friends.

Further more, NOC statute stipulates that new elections are supposed to be held three months after the Olympic Games but trust Beraho—he’s already started planning for a third term in office by suggesting that the elections will be held six months later! Does anyone else sense danger as I do?

Ideally, elections for new office bearers are supposed to take place in November, the earliest or December, the latest but sensing that that time isn’t enough for him to maneuver the statute; Mr. Beraho is not just suggesting but arranging that the elections be held next March!

The National Olympics Committee is the highest office dealing with the running and development of sports, sportsmen and women in any given country.

It’s is independent of any outside influence including the Sports Ministry but here, apart from enjoying the luxury of being independent from outside influence, little has been done during Beraho’s regime as far as the former are concerned. Strange but true.

Taking into account the good and dreadful things that Beraho and his cronies have done in eight years, it leaves the federations with an easy choice, which is not to allow the man influence them to further his selfish interest but considering the past, the seemingly easy choice could turn out to be the hardest for them.

Beraho is not the cleverest when it comes to the smooth running of that office in terms of developing local sports or sportsmen and women but when it comes to stage-manage the election, no one does it better.

He’ll intimidate, corrupt very many of those small federations, create ghost federations [to make numbers], promise heaven on earth among others things aimed at making his ‘own ends meet’—these are some of the tools he has used in the past to ‘win elections’ and my gut feeling tells he’s determined to do it again.

However, let’s just hope that people [the federations] have had enough of his dishonest, egoism and double standards and are now ready and resolute to turn down his overtures—that’s if he tries to…..

Frankly, there are not very many people but at least there a few  who could take over from him since he’s done his part and should leave other to try theirs—after all, he isn’t a one-eyed man among the blind, is he?

As for who are the fitting candidates to replace Beraho and most of his sidekicks, that’s the debate for next week but in the meantime, the federations including that of swimming [this one is Beraho’s handbag federation], badminton, cricket, athletics [his favourite], chess, karate and many other small ones should resist his ploy at the very first huddle or else we’re going to have a state of affairs where the NOC constitution is distorted to gratify the interests of one man, who presupposes that he can run the show until he drops dead. Just my opinion.

Contact: nku78@yahoo.com