It was all joy and excitement over the weekend as the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda celebrated the National Harvest Day (Umuganura), the first of its kind to happen in Uganda.

Umuganura is a traditional festival for all Rwandans through acts of sharing their harvest at the family level, the village or at the national level.

The celebrations took place over the weekend at the residence of Donat Kananura, the Chairperson of the Banyarwanda community in Munyonyo, Kampala.

Clad in Rwandan traditional attire imikyenyero and imishanana, Rwandans from different parts of Uganda were served Rwandan traditional staple foods like maize, milk, sorghum and finger millet as they danced to traditional songs.

Many people, especially the youth, were visibly eager to know what Umuganura was all about, as they keenly followed a play performed by Ingyenzi troupe.

In his speech, Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Frank Mugambage, said that the Umuganura tradition helps to view the past with the positive cultural values that can be used to build unity and consolidate the achievements of Rwandans.

He called on the community to preserve the Rwandan culture, attributing the celebrations to efforts by the RPF leadership that has ensured peace in Rwanda.

"You cannot do any harvests in the garden without peace prevailing. That is why we must be thankful to the visionary RPF leadership,” he said.

Peter Claver Gasasira, a youthful member of the Ndi Umunyarwanda social media platform, said he was happy to participate in the ceremony for the first time, adding that he had learnt more about his culture.

"What I have learnt is that Umuganura is a form of preserving Rwandan culture. The celebration educates the young generation on the need to preserve our legacy,” he said.

In his remarks, Kananura thanked the Rwandan leadership for reviving the Umuganura tradition, adding that it is one sure way of unifying Rwandans all over the world.

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