President Paul Kagame on Thursday, July 24, appointed a slightly changed new cabinet, retaining a large number of incumbent ministers, while introducing a few new faces.

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The establishment of the new cabinet followed the appointment of Justin Nsengiyumva as the new Prime Minister by President Paul Kagame, on Wednesday, July 23.

According to the constitution, when a new Prime Minister is appointed, it leads to the establishment of a new Cabinet.

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As part of the new cabinet four new ministers were appointed: Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye as the new Minister of Environment, Dominique Habimana as Minister of Local Government, Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye as Minister of State for Infrastructure, and Telesphore Ndabamenye as Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources.

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Arakwiye was, until her appointment, leading Land Restoration Programs in Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI). There, she oversaw a team advancing initiatives like Restore Local across the continent.

She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University in Massachusetts and was a recipient of the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship for her research on forest cover change in western Rwanda.

Until Thursday, Habimana was Secretary General of the Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA), a position he had held since June 2024.

Uwihanganye, who returns to the infrastructure docket, previously held the same position from August 2017 to July 2019. Before this latest appointment, he was Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Ndabamenye most recently served as Director General of the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) since March 2023.