When I first met Professor Martin Shem Ndabikunze, he had flown in that morning to attend my wedding back in March 2011. A busy man with limited time, he made sure to precede over each of his family's events and since he was a leader among the larger Rwandan community from Tanzania and those who are still based there, he was regarded with much honor and respect. He and my mother-in-law, Professor Bernadette Ndabikunze, welcomed me into the family with hugs and loving gazes as their brand-new daughter in law. Fifty hectares from the vast land he and his wife possessed in Tanzania was a wedding gift that would last a lifetime, not to mention the kind words of reassurance and pride that beamed from his speech. With the birth of each of his three grandsons, he would come to visit loaded with gifts and hold them gleefully assuring us that we would have a daughter next time. In recognition of his love and influence on us, we named our first two sons after him. Professor Shem would assign his close friend, Dr. John Musemakweli to follow up on every matter that needed his attention in his absence with the same weight he would have given it, because he was a man of responsibility. I had been gifted with a father-in-law that mirrored my own father, who had been a great family man, loved by the society due to his honorable character, love and responsibility towards each Rwandan that knew him back in Uganda. I knew I had to nurture this relationship. Alas! It was with great sorrow that on the night of 13th February, we received the sad news of Professor Shem's demise. He fought bravely with covid related complications taking him to India, but when the doctors had done all they could, they repatriated him back to Tanzania where he lived, to spend his last days with his family. I was personally shocked to hear the news of the passing of such a legend. My heart went to his wife, Professor Bernadette Ndabikunze. She was very fond of her husband and accepted him with all the family responsibilities he carried from his youth. My husband, a nephew to Professor Shem, along with his siblings and their cousins have always been under his care. I was particularly touched when one day I had a talk with Professor Shem, regarding the repatriation of my late mother-in-law, his elder sister, who was getting frail and living with him, to Rwanda and he laughed off the idea with one reason. My daughter, I regret that I can't provide milk for my grandsons from my farm in Tanzania. How can I add you the burden of caring for your old mother-in-law? Please focus on my grandsons! Professor Shem was a renowned agriculture enthusiast. He had PhD in Animal Nutrition from the University of Guelph, Canada and the University of Aberdeen UK respectively. He will be greatly missed by his students at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Morogoro Tanzania where he was a professor since 1982. He had a lot of experience in farmer organization techniques and was the founding Chairman of the Tanzania Milk Producers Association (TAMPRODA), an apex farmers association with branches in all districts of Tanzania since 2002. He was a member of the Tanzania Dairy Farmers General Assembly and the Tanzania Dairy Board for the past 6 years (June 2002 to June 2008). The Professor was an Interim Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Dairy Board for one year (2003) and oversaw the enactment of the Dairy Industry Act (2004) which governs dairy development in Tanzania. From June, 2005 to June 2007, Prof. Shem worked as a Senior Scientist at the Institut des Sciences Agronomies du Rwanda (ISAR), under the Rural Support Sector Project (RSSP) supported Senior Scientist program. From June 2007 to November 2008, he was on a long-term consultancy in Livestock for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and later became the Director General of Rwanda Agricultural Board, RAB from 2011 to 2013. He was the founder and Managing Director of a regional agro-consulting firm known as Wakala East Africa Consulting Services Ltd based in Kigali Rwanda. He trained his nephew- my husband and other colleagues with whom he spent nights working on large scale projects and always delivered a top notch job worth of his caliber. He presided over his late cousin and friend, Steven Barinda's burial in 2022. Despite the sorrow, he lightened the mood with his broken Kinyarwanda, having lived and worked his whole life in the diaspora. However, he was well known for his patriotism, pride and love for his motherland, Rwanda. His wife, children, and Tanzanian in-laws had learnt the culture and Kinyarwanda language that Professor Shem was fond of speaking at home. Professor Martin Shem Ndabikunze has left a legacy of good memories, a strong foundation for his children (both biological and adopted) and grandchildren. He built a wealth of knowledge and expertise that many countries benefitted and will continue to benefit from. He has published more than 100 scientific papers in international, journals and workshop proceedings, professional reports and has written three book manuscripts. He has supervised many successful MSc and PhD theses. He was a symbol of love and unity for his family, as long as you were under his care you lacked nothing, and this was not limited to his children but spanned across the extended family and the society at large. He has left a great void in his family and the society at large but he lived a life worth emulating. Rest in glory, Professor Shem, may your good works never be forgotten.
