MP Shamakokera laid to rest

The late Member of Parliament, Tharcisse Shamakokera, who succumbed to a prolonged illness early this week, was laid to rest at Rusororo Cemetery, in Gasabo District yesterday afternoon.Family, friends and national leaders paid their last respects in a ceremony held at Parliament buildings where he lay in state, followed later by a funeral service at Regina Pacis church in Remera.At Parliament, Rwandan leaders, including President Paul Kagame who sent a condolence message through a cabinet minister, comforted the deceased’s family. The President’s message delivered by Venantie Tugireyezu, the Minister in the President’s Office, hailed the departed MP as a man of honor and dignity who served his country with full commitment and dignity. The President noted that: “Rwandans in general, as well as the RPF-Inkotayi, all of us, have lost a friend.”Kagame informed the deceased’s family that he stood with them during the trying moments of their loss.The late lawmaker was a member of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotayi), which considered him as a brave patriot. Noting that the deceased demonstrated selflessness and great courage in all his undertakings, RPF Secretary General, François Ngarambe, said Shamakokera worked for the party, with all his might, right from during the liberation struggle to his last days.“We shall remember him for the many constructive ideas and guidance he regularly provided. On a special note, we shall remember him for his dependability and the good deed, for the party, which he put in order, in Ngoma district, in the Eastern Province,” Ngarambe said.“The Rwanda Patriotic Front has lost a cadre with integrity. His family, and even the country, still needed him.”Delivering the House’s condolences to the bereaved family and the nation, Speaker Rose Mukantabana, noted that Shamakokera never failed to set a good example. “It is true Shamakokera was a man of honor in his life. He was exemplary in this Parliament and we will always remember him for that. We still needed him. We needed his ideas. He exhibited competence, determination and selflessness in all he did,” Mukantabana said.The 68-year old former secondary school teacher previously worked as an officer in charge of social affairs in the President’s Office, worked at the General Secretariat of RPF-Inkotanyi as well as Deputy Secretary General in the Office of the Prime Minister in charge of Cabinet Affairs.He once also represented the Rwandan Parliament in the Pan African Parliament (PAP).“I wish to inform you that even outside the country where the Parliament had sent him, in the African legislative assembly, they appreciated him as much as we do and have also been saddened by his departure.” Mukantabana saidPremier Pierre Damien Habumuremyi’s message of condolences read by MP Dr. Ezechias Rwabuhihi, was addressed to the late lawmaker’s family and the Parliament. “On behalf of the government, and on my own behalf, we wish to inform you that we stand together with you, and the family of the deceased, during these sad times. May God rest his soul in peace.” read part of the Premier’s message.Patrick Byabagamba, the deceased’s brother, told The New Times that the late Shamakokera was distinguished by four major qualities: “One, he was very honest, two, a very determined man; Three, he loved his children. Four, he loved his country,” Byabagamba said.Born in 1944, in Gahini, the late Shamakokera partly studied at the National University of Rwanda but completed his university education in Lubumbashi, in the then Zaire.He held a Bachelors Degree in Linguistics. In the past, he taught in secondary schools in Uganda (Ntare School) and Burundi (Lycee de Nyabiharage), and was at one time a curricula development officer in Rwanda and Burundi.While in Uganda, in 1973, he married Florida Mukankusi, with whom they had four children, two sons and two daughters. At the time of his death, he had four grand children. It was after completing his university education that he moved to Burundi, and from there, in 1993, joined the RPF-Inkotanyi movement as it organized to liberate Rwanda. “While in Burundi, he was known for two good things. This is the time he went to join RPF-Inkotanyi so that he can liberate the country. This is a man who sold almost all his property in Burundi, and the proceeds, I believe, were given to the RPF for the liberation war effort,” Byabagamba said of his late brother.