Computer engineer and robot developer Janvier Nsengiyumva, 35, is contesting for a parliamentary seat as the only independent candidate, after 26 others fell short of the requirements.

He started his three-week long electoral campaign in Muhanga District, Southern Province, on June 22, and is set to cover all the 30 districts of the country.

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It is the second time Nsengiyumva is attempting to get a parliamentary position after an unsuccessful bid in the previous elections held in 2018.

That time, there were four parliamentary candidates, but none of them even got one per cent of the total votes cast. An independent candidate must obtain at least 5% of votes cast to secure a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, according to an organic law governing elections in Rwanda.

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Nsengiyumva was born in Nyanza District, Southern Province, in 1989. He is married with two children.

He is an ICT entrepreneur, including developing ICT systems, computer and phone programmes, as well as robots.

He holds a bachelors’ degree in computer engineering, but he told The New Times he is also studying specialisation courses in artificial intelligence.

From 2009 to 2012, he was an entrepreneur in supporting the growth of musicians and singers.

From 2012 to 2023, he had a career in IT that includes being a secondary school teacher of computer application and software development, youth inventor and innovator, an ICT systems developer, including a system that helps schools to manage students who drop out, and dairy produce management.

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Robot making

Nsengiyumva developed his first robot and called it Mukamana that he launched in 2019, which he said reflects the fact that it is made in Rwanda, and shows that Rwanda has got talent.

Mukamana, he said, has the ability to speak different languages – including English and Kinyarwanda - offer customer care, it is like a person designed in the form of a machine. It can work as a teacher whereby you can ask it something and it replies, based on the knowledge it has in its database. It is also equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) which enables it to acquire more knowledge.

It can drive a car on an asphalt road that has a road with relevant markings, among others, he added.

The idea to come up with the robot originated from Nsengiyumva’s observation that he was a guitar instructor and was needed by many people who wanted guitar playing skills in different parts, a demand he could not satisfy alone.

He realised that a robot could help him teach many people how to play guitar.

Meanwhile, he said that his intention to develop robots has an overall aim to find something that can improve life for people in this period when they are overwhelmed by many circumstances.

Later, he said, he got support from people who appreciated his initial robot and produced three more robots that are customised.

The quest to be a member of Parliament

On why he decided to campaign again for a parliamentary position, Nsengiyumva said that he wants to contribute to the country’s development.

His contribution would be in the form of representing the people in the legislature by advocating for issues affecting the communities so that they get addressed.

Among the promises he made during his campaign in the 2018 elections, Nsengiyumva advocated for raising teachers’ salary, and setting up teachers’ shop or duty-free market for them so that they buy basic items including foodstuffs at lower prices to lower the cost of living for them and improve their welfare.

He appreciated the fact that teachers’ salary was subsequently increased (in 2022) , which he described as an indirect realisation of his proposal.

He said that there are issues he observed that must be addressed.

Among the pledges in his manifesto for the July 2024 elections, he said he wants to push for the establishment of a teachers' shop which is not yet done.

He said that he realised a teacher contributes to the development of the country through education, but the salary he/she gets is small compared to the prices on the market.

Others are lowering value-added tax (VAT) to 12 per cent, from the current 18 per cent, which he said would ease the tax burden on consumers, reduce the cost of living, and enable the country to collect more revenues through increased consumer spending and taxbase.

VAT is a tax on the consumption of goods and services. It is paid by the final consumer of the taxable goods or services – at every stage of product production (every time a product is sold) from the sale of the raw materials to its final purchase by a consumer.