OBITUARY: Tribute to my friend Sana

I am so sorry that I cant be with you today to celebrate Sanas life. I know that at the moment you will be overcome with grief and sadness at his passing. But I hope that in the years ahead you will be able to look back on Sanas life with fondness, and that the kind words which everyone has for him will be some comfort. It was a privilege for me to share a few years of friendship with Sana. He was one of the most effective diplomats and one of the kindest people I have ever met. You have so much to be proud of: Sana Maboneza. I remember the first time I met Sana in a negotiation. He was a formidable opponent: tirelessly pursuing his countrys and Africas objectives. He spoke with such eloquence, passion and conviction. We quickly formed a strong team: plotting together how we would both get what we needed for the negotiation ahead. And one thing we did immediately: we always sat next to each other: I remember a couple of occasions when Sana was late (which actually happened a lot!) I had to tell other diplomats not to sit next to me - that seat was always for Sana. And there was a very simple reason we sat next to each other. I needed to know what he thought. Because - and this is no exaggeration - what Sana thought - was what Africa thought. If he was ok, then an entire continent would agree with him. And when you stop and think about that for a minute you start to understand the kind of remarkable person Sana was. Such was his reputation with his peers across Africa and beyond that an entire continents diplomats would trust his judgement and advice. I look back on my time on the Security Council - where Sana and I worked together on Somalia - as some of the happiest days of my life. And we achieved a lot - helping some of the worlds least fortunate people have a brighter future. But anything that we achieved would not have been possible without Sanas determination. He was so committed to making a difference: to making sure that everything we did in New York was with one objective in my mind: making peoples lives better. But Sana was more than just a world class diplomat. He was my friend. Over the years we became very close. We would spend hours plotting our careers. We would spend hours talking about our families. He was so proud of his daughter. He would always tell me about their latest adventures, whether here in the States or back in Kigali. His love for his family shone through everything that he did. But there was one topic that we spent even more time discussing than either work or family. Football. And on this subject, we would never agree! For all Sanas qualities, he had one major fault: Sana was a mad Arsenal fan. If they were ever losing, I would always send him a text message to check that he had seen the score. When they were winning - he would text me - just to make sure that I had seen it! We would then spend hours discussing the future of Arsenal: whether or not the Arsenal trainer - Arsene Wenger - should carry on being the manager; why Arsenal hadnt won the league for over a decade; or why President Kagame continued to stick with the team. This was the only time we disagreed on things! I shall miss Sana very much. It is difficult for me to understand that he has gone. I keep expecting my phone to light up with a message from him on a match day. It is true to say that the world will be a lesser place without Sana, of that there is no doubt. But times like these make it easier for me to think how much better the world is for having had Sana in it, even for a short time. The impact he has had on so many peoples lives is incredible: - Whether it is the people in Somalia and beyond he worked so hard for in the Security Council; - Whether it is the people of Rwanda, whom he so ably represented for years; - Or his friends and family whose lives he enriched through his kindness. If any of us achieve even half of what Sana achieved in his short life in our entire lives then we would have done well. I shall miss Sana terribly. Neil McKillop, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the UN 2012-2016Editor’s note: Sana Maboneza, the First Councilor at the Rwandan Permanent Mission to the UN, died on December 1 in an accident in the United States. His burial is due today (December 17).

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OBITUARY: Tribute to my friend Sana