The official commemoration – for the 25th time – of the Genocide against the Tutsi may be over, but commemoration activities continue through July 3, marking the 100 days (from April 7) during which over one million people were killed. The sports sector is one of the areas that was hugely devastated. Hundreds of sportsmen and women, and hundreds of thousands of fans across different disciplines are known to have lost their lives during the atrocities in 1994. In the post-1994 era, sport emerged as one of the major avenues that helped to re-unite society. To some survivors, a good number of them, sport is credited for giving them reasons to live again, and hope for the future, despite what they had to witness at tender ages. Mwiseneza was appointed as Espoir head coach in 2016 after four years as the club’s assistant coach. Sam Ngendahimana. In today’s issue of the Saturday Sport Magazine, former basketball player, and currently Espoir Basketball Club head coach, Maxime Mwiseneza talks to us about how the sport restored hope in him after being orphaned at the age of 10, two and a half decades ago. Born in Gisozi, in Gasabo District, in June 1983, Mwiseneza is the second-last born from a family of six children. Both his father Alexandre Hategekimana (RIP) and mother Adele Mukasangwa (RIP) did not survive the Genocide. “The Genocide erupted when I was 10-year-old. But I can say that for us in Bugesera it started earlier, around 1992. People fled, those who went to churches managed to survive, while others were, sadly, burnt from their houses. In 1994, however, things got worse, and there was nowhere to hide. Fleeing to churches only made it easier for the killers.” Mwiseneza and his family moved from Kigali to Bugesera in late 1980s to live nearer their grandparents. That is where his parents and a large number of his extended family members were killed. “All of my siblings managed to survive but our parents did not, sadly. I have a scanty memory of the details of what happened because I was young, but I remember that on the 11th of April, my mother was severely butchered, though she managed to survive that day.” “Because she was not able to hide anymore, killers eventually caught up with her. This was on the 28th, and they killed her. My father tried to comfort us, and we tried to be strong, while at the same time we all tried to stay alive.” He continues to narrate that, “my father died on 11th of May, this hurt us very much. We lost hope to the extent that we didn’t want to fight for our lives anymore, but with luck, the following day RPA came to our rescue.” However, Mwiseneza also says that the journey to recovery was not easy given that they had to grow up without parents, but he appreciates the Government for the support in their education, and with his passion – basketball, he was able to regain hope. “We first stayed at an orphanage, but, later one of our aunties came for us. Genocide Survivors Assistance Fund (FARG) paid for our school fees before I managed to get a bursary for university studies at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).” “I would say basketball helped me so much to deal with the fact that I was an orphan because life after the genocide was so rough. For us who were young, it was beyond painful. We had to interact with children whose parents had killed ours. I don’t think this would have been easy for anyone, and many failed to adapt, but with the help of playing basketball, I managed to complete my studies.” Mwiseneza first played karate but later started playing basketball when he joined high school, and today, he is a big name in local basketball. “When I had just started playing basketball, I was studying at ETI Save, it was the sport of choice for the school and all my close friends played it. I later moved to Bugesera, where I completed my secondary school studies, and I still played basketball.” From ETI Save, Mwiseneza switched to GS Rwankuba from 1999 up to 2002. During the three years, he was the captain of the school’s basketball team. While at university, he played for KIST for two years and KIE (Kigali Institute of Education) for another two years, in the national basketball league, before calling it quits in 2009. Maxime says he stopped playing at a young age of 29, because he hardly got time for training. He hence thought it was better if he ventured into the coaching career. He started as Espoir’s assistant coach, to Jean Bahufite, in 2012, before being appointed head coach in 2016. Currently, he also serves as assistant coach of the national team since 2017. As assistant coach at Espoir, the Nyamirambo-based side won five consecutive league titles and the 2012 FIBA Africa Zone V Championship, in Uganda, among several other titles. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
