JIMMY TUYIRINGIRE has built a career writing Rwandan folklore and other Kinyarwanda stories.

For the 27-year-old, Rwandan folklore helps him to learn the country’s history because he researches on every topic before he writes about it.

"It is easier to be creative when writing those kinds of stories because not so many are writing them. Through reading them, I think people will learn what those folklores meant to our ancestors,” he said.

In 2017, his story, Umuhigi W’Inkuba (The Thunder Hunter) was among the stories that won a competition organised by Huza press which was later published as a pocket book in a project called RadioBookRwanda.

Tuyiringire said that while writing the story, he wanted to explore the myth of the traditions of Rwandan ancestors used to do and how people considered them as satanic while they had significant values.

The story is an exploration into Rwanda’s folklore. It follows Karemera as he tries to teach his western friend, Deon, about his family and his nation’s myths and traditional figures as well as seeking to uncover his own role in the thunder hunter’s story.

Tuyiringire said that the story’s publication gave him confidence that he could write great stories, adding that it exposed him because the book was launched in the UK, Kenya and Rwanda.

He added that it also connected him with many literary enthusiasts and made him participate in more competitions.

Currently a civil engineer, he started writing in 2012 when he finished high school and was writing teenage love stories in Kinyarwanda and posting them on Facebook.

He advanced in 2015 and has since gained an audience who love his work. His other  notable stories are Umutima Wa Mushiki W’umuntu and Amaraso Yasizwe Icyashya loosely translated as The heart of One’s Sister and The Mortified Blood, respectively. He has also created 250stories.com, a website where he shares his short stories.

He declared that Rwandans love stories written in Kinyarwanda though a Kinyarwanda writer has less chance to be published compared to those who write in English.

The challenges he faces include difficulty in making a living directly from writing which can discourage writers.

He plans to boost his website by uploading many stories for his readers and explore cinema, Tv and radio shows as well as storytelling where he can boost his stories to a large audience.

He shared that he has drafted other Rwandan folklore stories that he is planning to finalise.

You can find him on Twitter: @JimmyAcelux and Instagram: jimmyacelux.