Jimmy Adams Mugabo is the CEO of the Rwanda Rugby Federation (RFF) and coach of league side Thousand Hills RFC. His career as Silverbacks centre was cut short due to a severe knee injury in 2011, but this did not stop him from continuing to build his life from the game. Since retiring as a player, Mugabo stayed involved in the sport in various capacities and is a good example of commitment to the sport, a quality that is welded by a few. In this issue of Saturday Sport, we take a look at his career journey and prospects.

Back ground

Mugabo was born May 30, 1986 in Nyakabiga, a suburb in the Burundian capital Bujumbura in a family of five to a Burundian father, Moussa Adam and Rwandan mother Beatrice Ndazaro.

He spent his early years in Bujumbura and studied his primary school at EPA Nyakabiga before returning to Rwanda with the family in 1996. This was after Mugabo’s father had disappeared and the Burundi’s political climate was ridden in conflict.

The family settled in Nyamirambo, a suburb of the City of Kigali and according to Mugabo, those were trying times as the country (Rwanda) was going through the after effects of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.

"After arriving in Rwanda, we came face to face with tough times. It was tough as everything was a total mess ", he recalls.

Having left Burundi with no school documents to facilitate his continuing of his education in Rwanda, the future looked bleak for the young man. But his life was to change for the better after a chance encounter with a Libyan director of Ecole Secondaire Scientifique Islamique (ESSI) popularly known as Kwa Quadaffi at the school mosque.

Mugabo was reciting the Quaran which he had learnt from Burundi and after a brief conversation in Arabic, he impressed the school director, who invited him into ESSI—he was later admitted at the school where studied up to senior five.

Taking up rugby

Mugabo was introduced to the game in 2003 by Jean de la Paix Hategekimana, the founder of league club Lion de Fer RFC, who recruited him along his colleagues some of whom include Silverbacks hooker Barnabas Ngizwenayo and prop Olivier Nikwigize.

The following year, Mugabo played his first game for ESSI in the national inter schools 7s against teams like Green Hills Academy, Apred Ndera, G.S Shyogwe and St Leon Kabgayi in Muhanga District.

He began training with Lion de Fer, who by then were using the ESSI play grounds for training and he effectively became one of the pioneers of the club, with which he went on to win the league title in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

He joined St. Joseph’s Kabgayi for S.6, on a rugby scholarship where he graduated in 2007 with a certificate in Bio-Chemistry.

He was impressive at second centre and during one Inter school 7s game he was spotted by then national team coach Phillip Kagiraje. This is the same year he joined the Remera Buffaloes.

Playing for Silverbacks

Mugabo was called up for the Silverbacks in 2005 for the then CAR Super 16 in Arusha (Tanzania), now the Africa Cup Division 2, "That was my first trip out of the country, it’s where I did my first interview on BBC, it was a fantastic feeling.”

Didier Kamanzi, who was then a tight-head prop for the Silverbacks, recalls of Mugabo as a quick and sharp center.

"He had the speed, the game reading and discipline, you would trust the backline to do their work with him on the team,” says Kamanzi.

Mugabo went on to represent the Silverbacks in the following edition of the CAR Super 16s in 2006 and 2007, the Tusker Safari 7s in Kenya in 2006.

After completing high school in 2007, it was time for Mugabo to start fending for himself, and with the help of then Remera Buffaloes president, Gerald Nsenga, he was introduced to the business of supplying Ugandan fish fillet to the Rwandan market.

Leaving the Buffaloes

Mugabo’s stint with Remera Buffaloes ended in 2012 after helping them win the league title in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 before joining the Kigali Sharks.

"All the best players were from Buffaloes, the national team was always full of the Buffaloes with nearly 11 starters out of the 15. In games we would win by big margins, there was no challenge. I got this idea to join another team so that we could make the league more competitive,” Mugabo explained.

This, as expected, didn’t go down well with some members of the team, as his departure inspired an exodus of young players who joined him in Kigali Sharks.

Mugabo says those days of one-team domination are over, noting that the score margins these days are always narrow and every team is wary of the other.

The Buffaloes, despite winning more league titles, have slowly lost their dominance, which Mugabo attributes to the club not developing young talent.

He says that, "The same players play for years and when they grow older they get other commitments they move on, and leave no replacement.”

Sustaining injury

In February 2012 during the Muhanga 7s tournament while playing for the Kigali Sharks, Mugabo twisted his knee and the shock aggravated an already existing (knee) injury. He was out of action for six months hence ending his playing career on the national team.   "I was bed-ridden for six months and nobody came to see me. Not even the federation who were present during the tournament at which I sustained the injury,” he laments with anger in his voice.  The initial injury was from a game in the Kenyan Nakuru 10s in 2010, in which Mugabo after presenting the ball in a rack tore a ligament after other players fell on him. The injury didn’t heal fully and he played on.

Forming Thousand Hills

Mugabo’s spell at the Kigali Sharks didn’t last more than eight months. There was a desire with the players, who had followed him from Remera Buffaloes to develop younger players, but Sharks was a "disorganized” team, which gave birth to idea to form a new club.

After recovering from the injury, Mugabo left for Dubai; again with the help of Dave Hughes, a one-time Silverbacks coach and the one responsible for the national team’s participation in the annual GFI Hong Kong 10s.

Sharks players Serge Shema and Yannick Sangwa and Jean d’Amour Ishimwe carried on the idea of streamlining the way the game was being managed by opening a Facebook page known as Rwanda Rugby Magazine and Thousand Hills Rugby Union. This was towards the end of 2013.

Mugabo adds that, "When I came back from Dubai I found it was a good idea, and I thought I could contribute something to make it work.”

The group rallied many youngsters together as they attempted to look for another playing space away from the APE Rugunga pitch, which is used by several clubs for training.

The venue of choice was Centre de Jeunes grounds in Gatenga, popularly known as Kwa Carlos but management of the centre wasn’t interested in the project.

However, their efforts were helped by the visit to Rwanda of the UK-based Penguins International RFC last year. With their help, Thousand Hills organized a Youth Academy workshop where over 100 youngsters attended.

The Penguins left behind playing equipment and the number of well wishers grew.  Thousand Hills were later able to convince management of Centre des Jeunes for access to the pitch, which remains the club’s training ground.

It is with the help of one of the Penguins Member that the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was formed in the RRF, and Mugabo was elected as the first bearer of the office.

Advice to young players

Mugabo advises local rugby players to get an education and to pass on their knowledge to others and for those hoping to start a club. He says, "You need to have passion for the sport, and much as you have different ideas, you need to have one goal in mind, and the rest will fall in place, don’t fear to fail.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw