The Mr Rwanda contest’s boot camp has been put on hold until further notice to pave way for the establishment of a comprehensive collaboration between organisers and the government. The new development follows the temporary suspension of Miss Rwanda pending ongoing investigation of the pageant organiser Dieudonne Ishimwe Prince Kid who was arrested last month over sexual abuse towards contestants on different occasions. A total of 18 finalists were selected during a pre-selection event held on April 30 and were expected to start the boot camp which was scheduled for May 7-13 before the grand finale takes place on May 14. Organisers were, however, forced to put the boot camp on hold until further notice as they wait to agree with (Rwanda Culture Heritage Academy (RCHA), which is in charge of regulating pageants among other responsibilities, on the content that will be lectured during the boot camp. “The boot camp and grand finale were delayed because, based on our new partnership with Rwanda Culture Heritage Academy, we had to take some time to agree on which content is supposed to be lectured to the contestants during the boot camp,” said Moses Byiringiro, the CEO of Imanzi Ltd that organises Mister Rwanda pageant, in an interview with The New Times. “As our new partners, we presented to them [RCHA] how the contest is organised and the contents that will be lectured during the boot camp before we were advised to improve it. We are working on the final draft of the content and we hope to announce new dates for the remaining stages of the contest by the end of this week,” he added. Byiringiro revealed RCHA requested them to revise the content for the benefit of their pageant in terms of building a good reputation in the public by drawing lessons from the recent scandal that escalated from in the Miss Rwanda beauty pageant. All pageants suspended Though the Mr Rwanda organisers are hoping to resume their contest soon, the Ministry of Youth and Culture has announced that all pageants, including Mr Rwanda and other local and international beauty contests that involve Rwanda, are temporarily suspended effectively until further notice. Youth and Culture Minister Rose Mary Mbabazi told The New Times that the temporary suspension of the pageants is enforced as the Ministry is “trying to ensure that these contests are conducted in a safe environment” “...Yes, the Mr Rwanda contestants will not go for the boot camp as previously announced. It shall also be on halt until further communication,” she told this publication. Asked when the pageants will resume, Mbabazi said, “The question should not be when we resume but how best we can make it safe.” A number of measures concerning pageants were taken following recent chaos reported behind the scenes of the Miss Rwanda. Like other pageants, Miss Rwanda itself has been suspended pending completion of investigations on pageant organiser Prince Kid for the charges of rape, soliciting or offering sexual favours, and sexual harassment.
