Habineza proud of success

THE embattled former Sports Minister Joseph Habineza is proud of what the country has achieved during his six and a half years in office. Addressing the press yesterday, Habineza said that the country had enjoyed success in several sporting disciplines. “We not only hosted several continental tournaments, but also put in a series of good performances,” he said. In the last twelve months, Rwanda scored high in volleyball, basketball, football and cycling. Rwanda finished fourth in the Africa junior volleyball championship, the national men and women sides won the Zone 5 basketball championship while the junior wasps qualified for the Fifa U-18 World Cup in Mexico. In cycling, Adrien Niyonshuti defied the odds to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games after a fourth spot finish in the African mountain bike championship. Habineza also stressed that commitments he made to federations would be fulfilled by his successor. “There should be no cause for alarm because all the commitments I made as Sports Minister will be accomplished by my successor,” he promised. The minister resigned on Tuesday following mass circulation of pictures on the internet, depicting indiscretion on his part. According to Habineza, the photos were taken three years ago during a house party and that the motive is to destroy his image and that of the country. “It is unfortunate that these photos are being used to tarnish the image of our institutions and country so I have decided to resign because I don’t want people to use this as a scapegoat to attack the country,” he explained. Ends