Ex–footballer’s memories live on

Gaspard Zingiro is among the thousands of local football players, who perished during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis and as the nation remember her dead for the 15th time, Times Sport looks at, who Zingiro was. Born 1956 in Kagugu in Gisozi in current Gasabo district, Zingiro is not only remembered for his talent in football but also his love for children, especially the suffering ones. Before he met his death as a 38-year-old, Zingiro had played for the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), SC Kiyovu and the national team, the Amavubi Stars in the 1980s. Again, not only was he a footballer, he was also a trained medical practitioner and he used to treat his neighbors children for free, something that endeared him with his community—according to his neighbors, his home compound was a famous playground for the area children. In an exclusive interview with Sunday Times earlier in the week, Zingiro’s widow, Goreth Mukamuhizi, herself a genocide survivor talked of how her late husband used to be the area role model not only for the young ones but even for fellow men and they used to run to him for manly advice. “People remember him most for his bravery even in the worst possible conditions; he used to tell people not to worry about life because to him, good life, just like love, is in the hands of the owner (beholder),” Mukamuhizi narrated. According to Mukamuhizi, her late husband was the most hardworking person she has ever met, and he made sure he transcends the norm of that time where people found working a burden. She said, “He hated lazy people. For him, every minute spent doing nothing was a waste of precious time. He always urged his friends, relatives and children to desist from laziness and instead work hard.” As a footballer, Zingiro was hard trainer and a very enthusiastic fellow, no wonder his name used to be the first on the coaches’ list, be it for club or national team. Despite being a trained medical doctor, Zingiro never had the chance to do what he loved to do (treat people) because the politics of that time never made it possible for people like him (Tutsis) to do such jobs, that’s why he devoted most of his time to football. But because he was a man who loved working and making a difference in other people’s lives, Zingiro after being denied the opportunity to work in his field as a medical doctor by the politics of the time which was based on ethnic lines, he went for further studies but this time in the areas of mathematics and accounts. Immediately after completing his course in the new field, he got a job in the National Bank of Rwanda where he worked until the time of his death. He left behind a wife (Mukamuhizi) with whom they had four children, unfortunately, one of them (children), the first born, Pamela Mumporeze was also killed on the same as the father. The surviving three children include, Sylvie Wihogora, Marie Nicole Ihogoza and Yannick Munezero. Ends