Ex-Amavubi player and coach Jean Marie Ntagwabira was laid to rest yesterday at Kanombe military cemetery amidst pledges of support to his surviving family.  Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa) pledged to pay for  the education  of  the late Ntagwabira’s children.

"We will pay for the education of the orphans until they are able to fend for themselves,” Ferwafa president Vincent Nzamwita told mourners during the burial which was graced by hundreds of mourners including football players, fans, senior army officers and coaches.

Ntagwabira, 41, who was a member of the Reserve Force at the rank of Captain, is survived by a widow and two children, both boys, aged 13 and six years respectively. He died on Monday after losing the battle to lung complications at Rwanda military hospital-Kanombe

The Rwanda Defense Forces also pledged to assist the family of the deceased.

Before the burial, Pastor Pacifique Karangwa of Christian Family Church led a requiem mass at the deceased’s home in Kagugu.

Meanwhile, all national football league clubs will observe a minute of silence before kickoff of league matches this weekend and players will wear black armbands, as a mark of respect for the fallen sportsman.

 editorial@newtimes.co.rw