Deceased former senator Zephyrin Kalimba has been eulogised as a man who devoted his life to defending human rights. The 62-year-old passed on Sunday night, January 2, at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali where he had been admitted for some days due to an undisclosed illness. Kalimba served as a senator for eight years from 2012 to 2020. During his tenure in the senate, he sat on the Committee of Political Affairs and Governance, which is responsible for monitoring the application of fundamental principles of equitable power-sharing, pluralism and equality, among others. Speaking about Kalimba’s life, Augustine Iyamuremye, the President of the Senate described him as a person dedicated his life to defend human rights. “Before he joined the senate, he served in organisations defending human rights and welfare, especially for the historically marginalised. When he came to the senate, he maintained the cause. It is something that he did with a sense of humility. All people loved him,” he noted. Vincent Bavakure, the president of the Association of Rwandan Artisans (COPORWA), an organisation that Kalimba used to lead before he joined the senate, told The New Times that the deceased was a considerate person who always made decisions after taking time to think about them. “We worked together since 2007 when I had just finished my studies. He is the one who gave me the job at COPORWA, where I have worked until now. He was kind to all people, especially his employees. We never saw him disrespecting anyone at work,” he said. “Even after he left, he still supported us. As the president of COPORWA, I used to reach out to him for assistance, for example, sometimes we used to invite him to participate in our radio shows, and he would turn up,” he added. Bavakure specially points out Kalimba’s contribution to uplift the historically marginalized communities, where he among other things built houses for them, as well as advocating for them to get scholarships. “He advocated for a number of students from these communities to get university scholarships from the Ministry of Local Government. I was one of those students,” he said. “He built homes for people in Bugesera, Nyaruguru among other areas. He donated animals to them, and also sensitized them about how to live better lives,” he added. Jean Damascene Bizimana, the Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement said he remembers him for his truth and good ideas. “Rest in peace Honourable Zephyrin Kalimba. I remember your truth in the senate, and how you always contributed ideas for building Rwanda,” Bizimana posted on his Twitter page. Bizimana also served with the deceased in senate. Kalimba leaves behind a wife and nine children. He was born in Ruhango District in Southern Rwanda. He has served in various positions both in the pre and post genocide Rwanda. Here, among others, from 1978, he worked in the former Gendarmerie (Police) for 4 years and 8 months, before joining the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Later on, he started his journey of working in the civil society, where he established several human rights organisations. In 1997, he served as the regional coordinator of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests. He also conducted research on behalf of Africa Human Rights Commission, particularly on indigenous communities in Africa.
