Members of the local cycling governing body (Ferwacy) have voted Samson Ndayishimiye to lead the federation in the next two years.
The elections were held during the federation extraordinary assembly on Sunday to fill the positions which have been vacant following a series of events of resignation by some top officials which unfolded at the cycling house over the past two months.
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Ndayishimiye, who was run unopposed for the top position, won the elections after collecting 8 votes from 12 members who were eligible voted. He had to pass the elections in the second round after he could only get 6 votes in the first round, which were not enough to win the elections.
He now succeeds Abdallah Murenzi who resigned from the position in August.
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Ndayishimiye’s name has attracted the attention of cycling enthusiasts since they found him on the provisional list of candidates vying various positions in the federation’s Executive committee considering that he has never served the sport before.
Meanwhile, Valentin Bigango was voted as first vice president while Arlette Ruyonza was voted as Secretary General replacing Benoit Munyankindi who left the position in August following his arrest on charges of favouritism and forgery. Daniel Katabarwa was voted as treasurer of the federation.
Who is Samson Ndayishimiye?
With over 23 years of diverse experience spanning various sectors in both Rwanda and the United Kingdom, Ndayishimiye has cultivated a versatile skill set that includes production, care homes, warehouse management, transport and project management across sectors such as construction, television, sales, marketing and self-employment.
He lived in the UK for 20 years where he studied business studies before coming to Rwanda. He is now a businessman.
Ndayishimiye, 43, has experience in the world of sports in both Swimming and Motorpsort. He representedRwanda in the men's 50 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He received a ticket from FINA, now World Aquatics, under a Universality program, without meeting an entry time.
In 2022, he was the manager of Rwanda’s first female Driver Queen Kalimpinya in 2022 before he started professionally competing as a Rally Driver in 2023 where he competed in two races namely Nyirangarama Rally.