Parliament has postponed all activities that had been scheduled for Thursday, July 30, following the death of Senator and former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Donatille Mukabalisa.
The postponement was confirmed by Maurice Kabandana, Director of the Communication Unit at Parliament, and affects both chambers of Parliament.
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In the Senate, Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva was expected to appear before the plenary to answer questions on measures to remove bottlenecks delaying the delivery of infrastructure to industrial zones.
The Senate Committee on Economy and Finance had also scheduled oversight visits to Gasabo and Nyarugenge districts to assess government efforts to expand electricity access.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies was due to receive a report from the Committee on Economy and Trade on its analysis of a special audit by the Office of the Auditor General of State Finances into the service responsible for issuing quality certification marks for products.
ALSO READ: Who was Senator Donatille Mukabalisa?
Senate President François-Xavier Kalinda announced Mukabalisa’s death on Thursday, July 30. She had been receiving treatment at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. She was 66.
Mukabalisa had a distinguished career in politics spanning more than two decades.
ALSO READ: Fighting injustice inspired me to join politics, says Speaker Mukabalisa
She began her parliamentary career in 2000 as a member of the National Transitional Assembly before serving in the Chamber of Deputies from 2003 to 2011. She was then appointed to the Senate in 2011.
In October 2013, she was elected Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, a position she held until 2024. She returned to the Senate following her designation by the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations in September 2024, where she served until her passing.
Born in Nyamata, Bugesera District, in July 1960, Mukabalisa held a bachelor's degree in law.
Before her political career, she lectured law at Kigali Independent University (ULK). She previously worked for both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), serving the two UN agencies for a combined 16 years.