Hundreds bid farewell to Turatsinze

Hundreds of mourners, including top government officials and business leaders, yesterday, gathered at Regina Pacis Catholic Church in Remera, Kigali, to bid farewell to former director general of the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD), Theogene Turatsinze, who was later laid to rest at Rusororo Cemetery in Kigali.He was found dead last week in Maputo, Mozambique, days after he went missing.Turatsinze’s brown and gold coated casket left his home in Kagugu at around 10a.m to the Remera-based church, where a requiem mass was held.Born in the Northern part of the country, Turatsinze, 42, studied in Rwanda until he completed his undergraduate studies.He later relocated to Mozambique, where he worked for several years before going for his Masters Degree in Australia.Upon completion, he returned to Rwanda where he served as BRD director general between 2005 and 2009, before returning to Mozambique.Eulogising the deceased, a family member, Susan Abera, said: “Turatsinze was a family man, a guardian and a man who loved everyone. We are grieving today but we thank God for the good work Turatsinze did for his country. We still needed him as a friend and relative”.Turatsinze was last week found murdered in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, two days after he went missing. Kigali has demanded a probe into his death but it is understood Mozambican authorities are yet to launch a probe or make arrests.Turatsinze’s Mozambican friend and colleague, Jean François, said that the deceased will be remembered as a saint.“For all those who knew him, you can attest that he was a very extra-ordinary man. For someone who knew him, there is so much to say about him. His priorities were, God, his wife, Ruth Turatsinze, his country and his friends,” he spoke of the fallen academic.“He was a man who was ardently committed to the vision of President Paul Kagame. We will remember him by his smile. I could always ask him what made him smile, but the truth is, he was living a complete life,” said François.He described Turatsinze as a social entrepreneur who knew how to passionately put his intelligence to good use.BRD employees were among those who turned up for burial.The Director of Credit Administration Department at BRD, Emmanuel Karuranga, who spoke on behalf of the institution’s management and the late Turatsinze’s former colleagues, described the deceased as an honest man.“He was a man who believed in teamwork and he changed the bank so much some of his innovations are still in place. He was a perfectionist and introduced social life at the bank,” said Karuranga.He added that Turatsinze was a man who kept friends.Senate vice president, Bernard Makuza, who played football with Turatsinze in Vision 2020 (leaders) team, also spoke fondly of the former deceased.“We have lost a man of integrity, a man committed to everything he did. He was a patriot and loved his country and countrymen,” Makuza said.Turatsinze is among Rwandans who used their personal resources to accompany the national team to the country’s maiden appearance at the African Cup of Nations – in 2004 in Tunisia.He also accompanied the U-17 national team to the 2011 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, and host the Rwandan volleyball team to a dinner gala during an international engagement away to Mozambique.Makuza also said Turatsinze loved his wife. “They were like twins,” he said.“He was a kind man who helped people he didn’t know and sometimes never wanted people to know he was the one who had helped them,” the former prime minister said his eulogy.Turatsinze’s father-in-law, Augusto Jean Aimé, told the congregation that he first met Turatsinze in 2004, two years before he married his daughter.“We treated him as family member, as our son, and my daughter found much comfort in him. I am sure no one will miss him more than his wife, Ruth,” said Jean Aimé.Turatsinze is survived by a widow.

National

Hundreds bid farewell to Turatsinze