VENANT NKURUNZIZA

Venant Nkurunziza the founder of Venant Magazine was born on the 03 July 1983 in Nyamagabe District, Gikongoro Province. He is a young Rwandan politician who serves as Minister of Justice of the Rwandan people’s Government in Exile. He is one of the leaders of Ishema Party, described as a new generation political organization in which he holds the position of Executive Secretary.

Background and education

Venant Nkurunziza comes from a middle family. He was sent to School in 1990 and completed in 1997 to attend his secondary school (Tronc commun) and then the section of “Social sciences” at GS Mutura. He was awarded his Advanced General Certificate of Secondary Education in 2003.

Venant Nkurunziza studied Law at the National University of Rwanda from 2004 after which he was conferred his Bachelor Degree of Law (LLB) at the congregation held in Butare on the 27 March 2009.

Currently Venant Nkurunziza holds a Master’s Degree (LLM) in International and Human Rights Law from the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

Professional jobs

Venant Nkurunziza was employed by Supreme Court of Rwanda as a court Clerk at Nyarugenge Court before and after ending his university studies. He was also the Researcher Assistant in the African institute for Migrant Workers.

Later on he became a researcher, HR Assistant  and an expert consultant in Law.

Exile and political career

Having witnessed boundless injustice, vast of human rights violation, and seeing how political space has been closed under Paul Kagame’s regime, Venant Nkurunziza obviously decided to flee his mother country on 28 July 2009 to Malawi.

Ishema Party

On 28 January 2013, Venant Nkurunziza managed to overcome refuge situation in Africa and founded Ishema Party together with other young Rwandan activists and scholars. Particularly those are: Father Thomas Nahimana, Mme Claire Nadine Kasinge, Dr Basesayabo Déogratias, Mr Chaste Gahunde, Kabanda Jean Baptiste and Mr Ernest Tanvir Senga as they were met in Paris, France to launch it. The main vision set by the founders was and is still “promoting Democracy through the truth, intrepid and social justice”. From the beginning they proposed the non-violence and peaceful way based on the dialogue and consensus upon the constructive initiatives to be implemented in a manner evenly beneficial to all the citizens.

Up today Venant Nkurunziza holds the position of Executive Secretary in Ishema Party. He occupied also many other important positions in the Party including: The Legatus of Africa, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Legal Affairs and Conflict Management.

Landing in Rwanda to do politics

After one year the Party convened its first Congress on 08 February 2014 and decided that the time had come to go back home and realize the main society project named “Together to Modernise Rwanda”. That is why the congress nominated Reverend Father Thomas Nahimana as the presidential candidate for the party in the upcoming presidential elections of 2017. For the next extraordinary congress of 2015 held in Le Havre France, Venant Nkurunziza was nominated among others as Candidate Campaign Manager to accompany the presidential candidate for the party registration and campaign procedures. It was in that congress they decided that they should be in Rwanda on 28 January 2016.

However the following congress held in Brussels on 17 January 2016 determined the steps to be taken before going back to Rwanda. The major step was to finalize their main society project. Therefore, they decided to land in Rwanda on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 instead of 28 January the same year.

While Venant Nkurunziza and his colleagues Father Thomas Nahimana, Claire Nadine Kasinge with her baby Kejo Skyler were prepared to board Kenya Airways on Wednesday 23rd November 2016, the Government of Rwanda through a letter written to Kenya Airways and other connecting airline operating to Rwanda, warning them against allowing those Ishema Party’s leaders from boarding any flight en route to Kigali.

Seeing Rwanda Government categorically denied their rights to return home and found themselves blocked in transit at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. They decided to go on hunger strike, sleeping in transit for four days so that the regime should recognise their rights and open borders and political space as well. But it was in vain. After unsuccessful effort to return to Rwanda Ishema Party leaders were obliged to return where they were coming from.

On Monday 23 January 2017 Ishema Party leaders attempted again to realise their peaceful project and due to the convivial speech of the President Paul Kagame, the high and mighty of the regime, they believed to reach Rwanda-land on the stipulated date. But Paul Kagame was not a man of his words as those compatriots leaders, at the order of Kigali Government, were blocked again for second time.

 

GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA IN EXILE

By this time they decided to hold quick discussions with all other representatives of opposition political parties striving for Democracy in Rwanda, other members of civil society and individual activists by founding Government of Rwanda in Exile. After three days of an extraordinary retreat from 17-19 February 2017, the day after, they declared a separate official “GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA IN EXILE” led by the president of the Republic Rev Father Thomas Nahimana. And Venant Nkurunziza became Minister of Justice in this Government. Based on their declaration, they considered the Government of Kagame as illegitimate and undesirable by the people. It is “a Government that lost its legitimacy and legality in the eyes of Rwandan citizens because it does not work for their interests.” They declared. As they set up the Rwandan People Government in Exile, the main duty was “to stand ready to replace the illegitimate Government led by Paul Kagame” and work for their people.