The council of the City of Kigali has appointed Parfait Busabizwa as the acting City Mayor, pending the by-election through which a substantive mayor will be elected. Busabizwa, who doubles as the Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, temporarily succeeds outgoing city Mayor Marie-Chantal Rwakazina who was recently appointed as Rwanda’s ambassador to Switzerland. Rwakazina, who was recently cleared by the senator to assume her diplomatic duties, will replace François-Xavier Ngarambe, who was redeployed to France. Rwakazina, who bade farewell to colleagues at City Hall on Monday, handed over to Busabizwa. She has been in the office for over a year since May 2018, replacing Pascal Nyamurinda, who had resigned a month before. Athanase Rutabingwa, the Chairperson of the City Council told The New Times that, “he [Busabizwa] will be acting as the City Mayor until the new City Mayor is elected as we are in the process of organizing elections. “We cannot specify the date at the moment I am sure it will be communicated soon,” he added. The by-election is organised by the National Electoral Commission (NEC). editor@newtimesrwanda.com
