IOC boss makes historical visit

THE International Olympic Committee President Jacque Rogge arrives in the country for a one-day official visit. Rogge arrives here after attending the 13th World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Rwanda National Olympic Committee secretary general Parfait Busabizwa confirmed to Times Sport yesterday that Rogge arrives at Kigali international airport at 9.00am aboard Kenya airways. Rogge, who is making his maiden visit to Rwanda, is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to President Kagame. He is also expected to visit Kigali memorial centre. “He will also visit the sports ministry, give out a donation to federations before closing the two-day Peace in Sport seminar which started yesterday at Lemigo hotel,” said Busabizwa. Rogge will then proceed to Burundi aboard a RwandAir chartered plane tomorrow were he is expected to visit the new ITF regional development center managed by Rwanda’s Thierry Ntwali. Peace through sports The Peace in sport seminar which began yesterday at Lemigo hotel has attracted all Cecafa members, national Olympic committees and local federations. The seminar is exploring ways to use sport, particularly football, to promote peace in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Speakers at the seminar include; IOC Director Tommy Ganda Sithole, ANOCA President General Lassana Palenfo and Rwanda’s Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture, Protais Mitali. Cecafa region has been engulfed in war for many years and one of the hot spots include Somalia, Eritrea v Ethiopia conflict, North and South Sudan conflict, the chaos in Great Lakes region involving DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda and the 2008 chaos in Kenya after the disputed 2007 elections. The experience gained from the 1994 Tutsi genocide which claimed over a million innocent will be one of the topics that will be discussed. Other topics included on the agenda will be the post-election chaos in Kenya, the Somalia conflict and the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict. Ends