Liberian President pays tribute to Inyumba

The President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed sadness and shock over the untimely passing of Aloisea Inyumba, the former Minister of Gender and Family Promotion in the Prime Minister’s Office.In a condolence message read at the requiem mass held at Christian Life Assembly in Nyarutarama, Gasabo District, by Vivienne Wreh, the Liberian Ambassador to Ethiopia, President Sirleaf said that Africa has lost a daughter in the prime of her life.“It is with profound shock and sadness that I received the passing of eternity of my sister and friend Aloisea Inyumba,” President Sirleaf said.The Liberian Head of State added: “Your Excellency and Dear Brother (President Paul Kagame), please console the family on behalf of the government and people of Liberia and in particular the women of Liberia who she will continue to inspire for the generations to come”.“I would like to personally express my sympathy to you and through you, to the government and people of Rwanda for the loss of this great heroine. I believe you have lost a piece of the Rwandan soul as was that embodiment from you and your people, to us in Liberia”.President Sirleaf stated that Rwanda has lost a trusted and dedicated political leader and uncommon patriot. “The people of Liberia have a missing link in their bond of friendship with the resilient people of Rwanda”.“I am personally saddened, as we had spoken of so many things that we could plan to uplift women to follow Rwanda’s example to which she gave so much in enhancing political leadership on the continent,” eulogized Sirleaf.“In service of her life, women of the World yearning for a better place will mourn, but take courage from her life”.Inyumba succumbed to cancer from her home in Kigali, last Thursday, two weeks after returning from a hospital in Germany.After her first stint in Cabinet, Inyumba went on to serve as the Executive Secretary for the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (1999-2001), during which time the country was going through a critical phase of truth-telling, reconciliation and healing – from the Genocide and its after-effects.During that period, she actively spearheaded a national adoption campaign to place Genocide orphans in homes.Later, she was appointed the governor of the Kigali Ngali province before joining the country’s inaugural Senate in 2004, and in May 2011 reappointed to Cabinet.She spent her last days urging the public to adopt children from orphanages and to raise them as their own, with the view of phasing out orphanages.