Sports competitions on hold as Rwanda commemorates

Effective today, April 7, all sporting competitions will be put on hold for a week until April 13, as the sports fraternity joins the rest of the country to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This year’s commemoration marks the 28th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Ahead of the commemoration week, Minister of Sports Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju called on the sports fraternity to build on the Rwandan choice of unity towards building as the country free of any sort of hatred and discrimination. As we begin the 28th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, let us be mindful of our responsibilities as sportsmen and women and also of our choices as Rwandans, to be united and build the Rwanda we want, a nation free of all aspects of hatred and discrimination, Munyangaju said in her message to the Sports Fraternity. The commemoration week comes at a time when different sports competitions were taking shape after a green light was given to them to continue earlier this year after a significant drop in coronavirus cases. Kiyovu so far lead the Rwanda premier league table with 50 points and have a two-point lead over reigning champions and second-placed APR. The commemoration break starts two days after teams played the first leg of the last 16 of the Peace Cup which has produced surprising results. Rayon Sports whose hopes to represent the country in next season’s African club competitions were on Monday held to a goalless draw against in-form side Musanze FC while AS Kigali also slipped to a 2-2 draw against Etincelles in Rubavu. APR and Kiyovu have one leg in the quarter finals after grabbing 1-0 wins away at Amagaju FC and Marine respectively. The Basketball league was also suspended on April 6. Members of the sports community have been urged to lead by example and be part of commemoration activities that will be held at the grassroots level. During the commemoration week, public lectures and meetings will be conducted at the village level and no form of sports and entertainment will take place. Flags in the country will also fly at half-mast during the commemoration period. Theogene Uwayo, the President of Rwanda National Olympic Committee (RNOSC) emphasized that the fact that the current generation involved in sports is young should be a wakeup call to use the commemoration week to learn the country’s past from which they can contribute for a better future. “As we join the rest of the nation to commemorate, the majority of athletes of this generation were born after the Genocide against the Tutsi and might, as a result, know little about it,” Uwayo said. “I think it [the commemoration] is an important occasion to explain to them what the country went through, the consequences as well as encourage them to take the lead in fighting the genocide ideology and instead focus on building the nation for a better future,” he added. Sports federations will start Genocide memorial competitions (GMT) in May instead of June as previously scheduled as the country is set host the commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The tournaments are organised in memory of sports personalities killed during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Some of the federations that normally organize such events include cycling, volleyball, football, basketball, karate, taekwondo, and cricket among others. However, the likes of the Swimming Federation announced that they chose to organize their competition this month just a few days after the commemoration week. More than a million lives were lost in just 100 days during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which affected all facets of society. Sports was no exception. Football and volleyball are two of the sporting disciplines that were hugely affected by the Genocide, losing over 70 and 50 players, respectively.