New sports minister Nelly Mukazayire officially assumed office on Tuesday, December 24, during a handover ceremony held at the Ministry of Sports. Mukazayire, who had been the permanent secretary in the same ministry, took over from Richard Nyirishema.

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The ministry also welcomed new minister of state Rwego Ngarambe and Permanent Secretary Regis Uwayezu "as they join the leadership team to drive sports development forward.”

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"We express gratitude to Hon. Nyirishema for his service and warmly welcome Hon. Mukazayire to lead the next chapter of sports development in Rwanda!” the ministry posted on X. Mukazayire was replaced by François-Régis Uwayezu as permanent secretary in the ministry which also got youthful Ngarambe, a lawyer who has specialised in sports, as its new state minister.

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While officiating the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed members of cabinet, earlier on Monday, President Paul Kagame urged them to prioritise more resource mobilisation to facilitate the fulfilment of their responsibilities instead of focusing on the limited available funds in the national treasury.

The president also told the new cabinet members to find ways to generate resources from sports, which he described as a business based on talent.

"Currently, sports is a business based on talent, among Rwandans, or others [people] elsewhere. There is a way that talent is traded and generates resources. That is our goal,” Kagame said.

The Prime Minister on December 20 announced new changes in cabinet and in the country’s foreign service.