Oliver Mukandanga made history in 2016 when she became Rwanda’s first female umpire in the national basketball league.

The 25-year-old has always been involved in basketball and athletics since High school.

Mukandanga started officiating basketball matches in 2016 and her career choice has inspired women to join the game. There are currently 5 women who are training to be umpires according to the National Basketball Federation.

She shared insights about her love for the game and her career.

Who is Mukandanga?

Mukandanga is a 25-year-old lady who hails from Nyagatare District in Eastern Province of Rwanda. I am the second born in a family of five.

Briefly tell us about your education background.

It’s funny how different people whether on the court and off-court ask the same question. To start with, I have always wanted to be a doctor or a physiotherapist. In fact, I used to talk to my late Dad about it and he would really support and encourage me.

I went to Kayonza modern secondary school where I studied sciences at Advanced level (A’level) but unfortunately, I didn’t get the cut off points to study medicine. I instead studied Physical and Sport Education. 

While at school, I loved and played basketball a lot sometimes I would play with the boys just.

Did you try to pursue a career as a basketball player? 

I played the game in High school and at University where I captained the team. I also played for the Hoops, a team in the national basketball league until I decided to pursue a career as an umpire.

Why did you abandon a playing career to become an umpire?

People think becoming an umpire is a result of failing to play in the league but that is not true. 

I felt more suited to officiating the game than playing. Two years down the line I can assure you that it is the best feeling I have.

Sometimes there are tense times when players are committing fouls. How do you handle such situations?

It is true that the game can become tense at times and as you say some moments can be nerve-wracking but umpires are protected by laws governing the sport.

However, umpires also get heated up and may at times cause chaos especially in clutch moments of a particular match. However, this has not been a threat to me and it should not be a threat to anyone as well.

I will give you an example, I can’t fight back a player because I know there are rules to handle such scenarios.

What’s your best feeling on the court?

Every time I am the chief of the crew and I end a match without any complications from both ends feels great.

In a basketball game, there are basically three umpires and the whole group is known as a crew so the centre is called a crew chief.

Any memorable games you have officiated?

Some of the memorable games I officiated as a centre referee include 2017 finals for women basketball league, 2018 men and women league playoffs and semi-finals and this year’s women basketball league finals, among others.

However, apart from the big matches, I feel relieved every time a match ends without any complaints from the players.

As a young professional what do you think inspires your career?

The zeal to become better and the ability to accept correction. Regardless of being a professional one needs to understand that there is always room for improvement. I accept corrections and I know that this is something that has kept me in line.

Besides being a basketball umpire, what else do you do?

I am an aspiring coach in the We-chair basketball league. This league is for people with disabilities.

We need more support in this field like competitions and other things because people with disabilities deserve a chance to have opportunities like the ones others have. 

What do you think should be improved to attract more basketball umpires especially females?

Personally I think there should be more recruitment policies. Other than just finding talent at higher institutions we need to extend it to secondary schools countrywide.

Conversely, I believe that there are less female teams with a total of six teams for women and that alone shows that even the number of players are still few.

Therefore as the government continues constructing sports infrastructures like the Kigali Arena, more efforts should be invested to attract young women to the sport.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com