Close to 200 members of the Rwandan community in Mombasa, Kenya gathered at Royal Castle Hotel over the weekend in a meeting aimed at deliberating on ways of being more active in contributing to their country’s development.

Participants also had an opportunity to interact with members of parliament who were in Mombasa to partake in the East African Inter-Parliamentary games.

The meeting was officiated by the Rwandan High Commissioner to Kenya, James Kimonyo along with members of Parliament.

Ambassador Kimonyo thanked members of Rwandan community in Mombasa for their active participation in Rwanda’s development programmes even when away from home.

He picked an example of how Rwandans in Mombasa turned up in large numbers to vote in the last Constitutional referendum and in the twenty-second commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

He told the lawmakers of how Rwandan community in Mombasa is such responsible looking at how they have been active in different national events.

"We came here last December for constitutional electoral referendum and these people turned up in big numbers and voted like responsible citizens. We also held the event to mark the twenty-second commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi and again our people did not disappoint. I want to thank them,” Kimonyo remarked.

Deputy Senate president who led the delegation, Fatou Harelimana explained that the East African Inter-Parliamentary games aim to enhance interaction with the citizenry of the Partner States as a mode of sensitisation and popularisation of the integration process.

"When we heard that these games will take place here, we requested our High Commission in Nairobi to facilitate the meeting with you so that we can have your views on Rwanda’s social economic transformation,” Harelimana said.

Lawmaker Marie Clare Mukasine took participants through what Rwanda has been able to achieve in the last 22 years which she attributed to "visionary and transformational leadership and active participation of the people of Rwanda including those in the Diaspora.” Legislator Jean Marie Gatabazi did a presentation on Ndi Umunyarwanda programme, which is aimed at healing and unifying Rwandans beyond any ethnic differences.

Various issues were raised among them finding it difficult to obtain a work permit in Kenya, in which the High Commissioner Kimonyo and representatives of Rwanda at the East African Legislative Assembly promised to work on and come up with a definite solution.

Meanwhile, the lawmakers displayed their talent in the just concluded East African Inter-Parliamentary games, where women parliamentarians emerged the champion of the East African Inter-Parliamentary games in the Volleyball discipline, while the men category Rwanda lost to their Kenyan counterparts.