Rwanda’s media and sports activities fraternity is mourning the loss of life of Fidèle Kajugiro Sebarinda, a pioneering sports activities journalist and lengthy‑serving broadcaster with Radio Rwanda, who handed away on Saturday, June 13, after a protracted sickness.
His passing marks the tip of an period in Rwandan broadcasting, taking with it the voice and expertise of a person who helped form sports activities journalism at a time when the occupation relied extra on ardour and ingenuity than know-how.
A pioneer of sports activities broadcasting
Sebarinda was among the many founders of the long-lasting Radio Rwanda sports activities programme Urubuga rw’Imikino, launched underneath the previous Workplace Rwandais d’Data (ORINFOR), now the Rwanda Broadcasting Company (RBA).
At a time when the programme aired for simply quarter-hour, Sebarinda and his colleagues — Yves Bucyana, Marcel Rutagarama, Titien Mbangukila, Eddy Rwema, and the late Jean Lambert Gatare and Gaspard Rwakana — laid the foundations {of professional} sports activities journalism in Rwanda.
Regardless of restricted assets and rudimentary gear, the group delivered insightful, disciplined, and credible sports activities reporting that resonated with listeners throughout the nation.
Inside the newsroom, Sebarinda was recognized by the pseudonym “SKAF.” He earned deep respect for his professionalism, sobriety, and technical mastery.
Ardour past know-how
In an period with out the web, Sebarinda’s dedication to staying knowledgeable was outstanding. At his personal expense, he subscribed to worldwide sports activities publications, together with the French journal Le Onze.
Every month, he would go to the submit workplace to gather the magazines, which grew to become important reference materials for his broadcasts. True to his beneficiant nature, he shared them freely with colleagues — gently reminding them, in his calm however agency method: “Don’t tear it. Convey it again if you’re achieved.”
A mannequin of objectivity
On air, Sebarinda was famend for his articulate and composed commentary in Kinyarwanda, significantly in soccer and basketball. His sports activities data, nonetheless, prolonged far past the microphone.
A passionate volleyball fanatic, he served at numerous instances as a referee, coach, and proprietor of the ladies’s volleyball membership Les Colombes. After leaving ORINFOR, he continued his service to sport on the Rwanda Nationwide Olympic and Sports activities Committee (CNOSR), the place he labored till not too long ago.
Although he was a recognized supporter of Mukura Victory Sports activities and a volleyball membership supervisor, Sebarinda by no means allowed private loyalties to affect his work.
“On air, nobody ever heard him categorical help for his favorite group,” recalled Marcel Rutagarama, a former colleague. “His objectivity and neutrality had been absolute.”
A lifetime of self-discipline and religion
Away from journalism, Sebarinda lived a quiet and disciplined life. A religious Catholic and longtime resident of Nyamirambo, he hardly ever missed the 5 p.m. Sunday Mass, whether or not at Saint Michael’s Parish close to his office or Saint Charles Lwanga Parish close to his house.
A lot of his free time was dedicated to studying, following sports activities information, and watching matches — a routine that regularly sharpened his experience and enriched his broadcasts.
Tributes from colleagues and group
Tributes have poured in from journalists, sports activities directors and former neighbours, all remembering a person outlined by humility, rigour and integrity.
Jean Butoyi, a former colleague, described him as an expert whose self-discipline was matched solely by his discretion.
“We’ve got misplaced a fantastic journalist, a brother, and a person of obligation. Calm, form and at all times smiling, he taught extra by motion than phrases. He spoke little, however achieved a lot,” Butoyi mentioned.
Others within the sports activities world echoed comparable sentiments, calling him certainly one of Rwanda’s most interesting sports activities commentators.
A former neighbour from Kigarama, close to the present Stade Pelé, recalled Sebarinda as “a dignified man who lived merely and honourably.”
