“Rastafarianism is a philosophy of life”—Lion Imanzi

The relaxed and soft spoken Lion Imanzi is a Rastafarian. He embraced this culture after experiencing unpleasant scenarios of life most especially during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Originally, Lion Imanzi was Rene Maurice Habamenshi but he changed his name. He wants to create his own legacy. “I attained the Lion name in 2003 from a street child who asked me for coins. He said ‘Lion wamaye ibikeli’ literally meaning ‘Lion give me some coins’. I think he called me so because of my dreadlocks,” Imanzi recalls. Born in the Northern district of Rubavu, the 39-year- old Imanzi is a Musician, the Production Manager of Contact FM and a renowned Master of Ceremony at several events. “Although we travelled a lot when I was young, my educational background is very simple. I attended the Beligian School of Kigali (Ecole Belge) where I completed my primary school before moving to St. Andre Nyamirambo for my Secondary school education,” Imanzi narrates. He recalls that science subjects were the required fields to specialize in at the time, thus he was forced to do what he didn’t love. “I was more interested in art so I didn’t pay much attention to my studies. My teachers always said that I’m capable of doing better but Sciences were not my passion. It was around that time that I took on music as a career,” he explains. In 1991 he joined Galax Band and they played music ranging from Soul, Zouk and R’n’B. “However, together with my family, we moved to Burundi during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It’s from Burundi that I went to Europe then to Canada,” he recalls. One of Imanzi’s most popular songs, ‘We remember’ is about the Genocide. “The song has a Rastafarian perspective of the Genocide. It says that as we commemorate, we share the pain,” Imanzi solemnly explains. As an artist, he says there is development in the music industry. “It’s good to see that there are many studios and radio stations that have made it easier for more products on the market to get channelled to the public. “It is good to see that Rwandans currently enjoy local music more than international music, in different events the crowds respond positively to our young stars,” he discloses. Karim Habimana, a renowned Drummer, said that he met Imanzi in 1992 during his time at Galax when they where still students. “He is one of the most determined people I have known. Although we separated during the genocide, when we met again, he was as friendly as he was before,” says Habimana. He further adds that Imanzi is so passionate about music and promotes whenever he can. Imanzi came back to Rwanda in 2005 and started working with Contact FM as a producer before becoming a Production Manager. Dixon Gahima, Imanzi’s colleague at Contact FM, said that imanzi is open-minded and aims for the best. “Besides being social, he is a good adviser. I have never found him on the wrong foot. I think it’s because he is a Rasta,” Gahima adds. His first ever role as an Emcee was in 1992 at a Miss Rwanda pageant. “The first time I emceed everything seemed fine because I hadn’t given it a lot of thought. However, the next time I stepped on stage I was a bit nervous and it happens all the time. In most cases you know the programme lineup but you don’t know what to say in an instant,” Lion discloses. He believes in the Rastafarian culture. “I’m a Rastafarian. It’s my philosophy of life. I don’t approach it as a religion and I think other people shouldn’t take it as one.” His family is of a Catholic background. He wears a Rosary (a string with catholic prayer beads) on his left hand which shows that he didn’t forget his roots. “Basically the catholic background gave me a foundation of spiritually but it didn’t really answer all the questions I had. After going through a couple of ordeals in life, especially the 1994 Genocide, it’s a history that changed a lot of people and me,” says Imanzi. He adds that 1994 incidents were a wake up call for him to rethink about his spirituality with God. “Looking around I didn’t find the answers that I sought in most traditional religions so I found myself being drawn to Rastafari. It answered the way I felt as a human being in society,” he said. In most cases, the dreadlocks hairstyle is associated with Rastafarianism but Imanzi refuted the connection. “For anyone living in Rwanda now, knows that dreadlocks is becoming fashionable (he laughs). I even think people would resent it if one called them a Rastafarian because of their hairstyle. Not everyone who has dreadlocks is Rasta and equally not every Rasta has dreadlocks,” he clarifies. He says that dreadlocks are a natural hairdo that makes a strong statement; usually someone with dreadlocks is portrayed as a free spirit. Since most Rastafarians are associated with Marijuana (the Herb), Imanzi says that he is surprised why there is a lot of fuss about it yet there are products on the market which are more harmful to one’s health. “I don’t take the herb; in fact I understand the reason why the Rastafarian movement is linked with the herb. It’s traced back to the people of Jamaica and those of the Caribbean island. The Rastafarians in these islands transformed what was the culture of the place into their new found belief. They even found a way of describing the herb as holy,” Imanzi explains. He said that he doesn’t want to dispute whether it’s holy or not, but he just doesn’t want to imitate anything contrary to his beliefs. Lion Imanzi, is a Rastafarian man married to Josiane Madoudou and they are blessed with two daughters and two sons. His favourites Dish: - Pilau Colour: - Green Music: - ReggaeArtist: - Michael Jackson, and Ben Ngabo.Sports: - Gymnastics Quote: - ‘When you judge people you have no time to love them’—Mother Theresa. Dorau20@yahoo.co.uk