Tributes from friends and colleagues continue to trickle in, following the passing on of Capt. (rtd) Logan Ndahiro. The legislator passed away on Wednesday night at King Faisal Hospital Kigali. Ndahiro succumbed to leukemia aged 68.

Ndahiro will be remembered for his intriguing accounts of the 1990-1994 Liberation Struggle by Rwanda Patriotic Army, through his serialized liberation memoirs published in The New Times, and a book.

Member of Parliament John Ruku-Rwabyoma said that what he remembered most about his departed colleague was his great love for his country and "a great sense of humour.”

According to Rwabyoma, Ndahiro carried his sense of humour to his last days, despite the great pain he was going through.

"Ndahiro was in a lot of pain but he dealt with everything as a soldier that he was; without fear. He was cracking jokes and we seemed to be more scared for him that he was for himself. He was such a force of a man, it is a big loss,” he said.

Before he joined parliament, Ndahiro, worked with the Ministry of Local Government.

Speaking to The New Times, Bob Gakire, the Director General of the Directorate of Territorial Administration and Good Governance at the Ministry of Local Government, said that he would mostly remember Ndahiro for how patriotic he was.

Both men worked together in the ministry for about seven years.

"Ndahiro was a very good man. There are so many times when we would go to his house just to listen to interesting stories about our country’s history and the liberation war. He was quiet approachable and he was like a parent to many but the one thing that I will never forget about him is his patriotism,” he said.

The Governor of Eastern Province, Fred Mufulukye, where Ndahiro was born, told this paper that he will be mourned by many in his province.

"Ndahiro was a colleague, a friend, a citizen of Eastern Province, and he was one of the people who joined parliament representing this province. I was shocked and saddened to hear the sudden demise of my dear friend. I will miss him but his patriotic spirit will live in my heart forever,” he said.

Mufulukye also worked with Ndahiro in the local government ministry.

Liberation memoirs

Ndahiro’s series of articles published in The New Times between 2015 and 2017 chronicled the liberation struggle’s most memorable moments and elicited a lot of interest by the readers, especially the younger generation.

Among his articles included one on the attack on Ruhengeri Prison on January 22, 1991 by RPA and the subsequent freeing of the political prisoners there, some of whom chose to join the rebels.

He also extensively wrote about the rationale behind the change of strategy earlier in the struggle after now-President Paul Kagame took command and the dividends that came with the guerilla approach as opposed to a conventional open warfare.

Other articles touched on the establishment of the famous Mulindi area as the headquarters and high command of the liberation war and why this was specifically chosen, and the subsequent restructuring of the RPA units that brought about more efficiency.

He also wrote about the fierce battle for the RPA to retain what they called Agasentimita a small patch of area they captured inside Rwanda, which would later expand to a sizable territory. 

About Ndahiro

Ndahiro joined the RPA (now Rwanda Defence Force) on October 5, 1990 in the early days of the liberation struggle.

He retired from the military in 2001.

Since 1994 after the country was liberated, he served in different capacities in the military as well as other public institutions.

He was also an author, with a keen interest in documenting the history of the liberation struggle.

He was the author of the book, "Inzira y’inzitane yo kwibohora kw’ Abanyarwanda” (loosely translated ‘the challenging journey towards the liberation of Rwandans’) in which he gave a detailed account of the RPF-led campaign to liberate Rwanda.

Born in Nyagatare in Eastern Province in 1951, Ndahiro attended his primary education in Nyagatare before his family – along with hundreds of thousands of other Rwandans – fled from pogroms that targeted the Tutsi to Uganda. 

In Uganda, he attended his secondary education and went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.

He later went to the United States where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health. 

From 1994 to 2001, Ndahiro worked at the Ministry of Health where he was in charge of the mental health unit. From 2002-2003, he worked with the International Rescue Committee heading the HIV Unit.

Ndahiro was elected to the Chamber of Deputies last year on the ticket of the governing Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi).

He was the oldest member of the Lower Chamber of Parliament.

Ndahiro is survived by a wife and six children.

He will be laid to rest at Rusororo Cemetery this Sunday, according to family sources.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com