Late Brig. Gen. Dan Gapfizi who died in a car accident on Tuesday will be laid to rest tomorrow at the Kanombe Military Cemetery in Kigali.

Gapfizi, born in 1957 in Ruhango District, Southern Province, breathed his last on Tuesday along with four others in a fatal road accident along the Kagitumba-Kayonza road in the Eastern Province.

According to the Spokesperson of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), Brig. Gen. Joseph Nzabamwita, mourners will pay their last respects tomorrow at the deceased’s home in Kicukiro from 8a.m. to 11a.m. and Remera Seventh Day Adventist Church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. before proceeding to the cemetery.

Reacting to the sad news of the former commandant of the Reserve Force in the Southern Region, Brig. Gen. Nzabamwita said the entire army was saddened by the death of an officer who can simply be described with words of bravery.

"The RDF is saddened by the news of the passing of General Gapfizi, it is tragic, he was a gallant officer,” Nzabamwita said in a brief telephone interview with The New Times.

Who was late Brig. Gen. Gapfizi?

While those who knew the officer before he died -- especially those who worked with him in the army, in the communities around the country, as well as his family -- may struggle choosing the best words to describe him, Gen. Gapfizi was largely known by the nickname of "Kimasa cy’Amaboko”.

His last name, Gapfizi, means the small bull in Kinyarwanda but the deceased officer was largely called "Kimasa cy’Amaboko”, which can be loosely translated to mean "bull of strong arms”.

The nickname was coined to describe his endless courage at work even if some of his  friends had waited in vain to see if his long service in the army and ageing would reduce even a single inch of his energy.

Many of those who heard about his death couldn’t help but voice their surprises as a man who was known for always doing the best to help the community where he lived was declared ‘no more’.

One mourner described late Gapfizi  as a "father who did all he could to provide for his children, a husband that lived a fully loving life, a soldier who risked his life for his nation, and a leader who worked tirelessly for the good of the community.”

Since yesterday, family and friends, former collegues and government officials including the Defence Minister, Gen. James Kabarebe have been flocking late Gapfizi’s home to give their condolences to the bereaved family.

At his home in Kicukiro, Brig. Gapfizi is said to have once used his money to put up petty road lights to lighten the street in his neighbourhood and led efforts to build roads in the neighbourhood.

Freedom fighter

Late Brig. Gen. Dan Gapfizi was among the soldiers of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) who fought in the Liberation War that ended the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. After overthrowing the genocidal regime in 1994, the officer served in various capacities in the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) at the commandant level.

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Approximate dates of his various assignments:

1957: Gapfizi is born in Kabagari/Ruhango in Southern Province. Later his parents like other Rwandans fled to Uganda

1986: He joined National Resistance Army in Uganda where he was living as a refugee

October 1990: Late Brig. Gen. Dan Gapfizi started the Liberation War with other RPA soldiers

1995-1996: Gapfizi was commandant of the RDF’s 7 Battalion based in the former Camp Kigali, Kigali. He was a Major then

1997-1998: Brig. Gen. Gapfizi was commandant of the RDF’s 101 Battalion based in the Northern Province. The officer commanded operations against infiltrators of the defunct army of FAR who were still attacking the region. He was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel

1998-2002: Brig. Gen. Gapfizi was appointed commandant of the RDF’s 301 Brigade covering former Butare, Gikongoro, and Cyangugu prefectures. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel while leading the brigade

2004-2008: Brig. Gen. Gapfizi was appointed commandant of the RDF’s 204 Brigade covering former Kibungo Prefecture. He was then promoted to the rank of Brig. Gen.

2008-2011: Late Brig. Gen. Dan Gapfizi was appointed commandant of the RDF’s second Division in Kibungo, Eastern Province

2011:Brig. Gen. Gapfizi was appointed commandant of the RDF’s first division covering the City of Kigali and the Eastern Province where he replaced Lt. Gen. Fred Ibingira. The latter had been appointed the commandant of the Reserve Force

2012: Until his death, Brig. Gen. Gapfizi was appointed commandant of the Reserve Force in the Southern Region

25/6/2013: Brig. Gen. Gapfizi dies in car accident