The secret life of....Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini

The Most Rev. Emmanuel Mbona Kolini is Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and Bishop of Kigali. He was born in 1945 in Congo, ordained in 1969 and consecrated Assistant Bishop of Bukavu, Congo, formerly Zaire in 1980. His education was at Canon Warner Memorial College, Bishop Tucker College and Balya Bible College in Uganda. Archbishop. The first thing you do in the morning... I pray. Earliest childhood memory… Joining school in 1951. It was a new journey and a challenge to me. A certain guy bullied me, and for the first I had to defend myself. When were you happiest? In 1965, when I surrendered my life to God. Your greatest fear… Betrayal. Your favourite word… I have three: Jesus, Justice and truth. The closest you have come to death... Several times: When I suffered from pneumonia. A time in my youth when I took too much local beer (Urugwagwa) on an empty stomach. There is a time I suffered from low blood pressure and people thought that was the end of me. Another time I was almost killed by a group of bandits who had ambushed me. Again, there is a day I drowned in a river and was rescued by a friend. I have survived death very many times. From the scale from 1-10, where do you put yourself in terms of achievements? I don’t know how they measure such a scale, but for my case I may say that it’s 50-50. The most important lesson life has taught you… Never to lose hope in life. Your hero… Jesus and a person who fights for freedom and righteousness. What would you carry if you were to spend a weekend on an island? A Bible and any good book on the history and culture of my country Rwanda. Your favourite local artist... The late Cyprian Rugamba. How do you spend your leisure time? In my vocabulary I’ve nothing like leisure time, because I am in an emergency world. Probably the very little time I read my Bible and history books. Or sometimes drive my wife to our farm. How do you describe yourself? I love justice, hardworking, patriotic, and fatherly. What was your childhood dream? To become a freedom fighter. Tell us a secret? In 1985, I was introduced to the office of former Rwanda’s President Juvénal Habyarimana as a Congolese. My message was to tell him that there were people across the borders who wanted to return to their country. If it was to pay for any price, I was prepared for it. Contact: lindaonly2005@yahoo.com