Mount Kenya College Rwanda on Friday graduated 1,480 college students with bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in Kigali, marking the establishment’s closing commencement beneath that identify because it completes its transition to Mount Kigali College.
Of the 1,480 graduates, 1,248 earned bachelor’s levels, 225 accomplished grasp’s programmes and 7 acquired postgraduate {qualifications}.
ALSO READ: Mount Kenya College Rwanda modifications identify to Mount Kigali College
The twenty ninth commencement ceremony, held on August 7, celebrated the Class of 2026 and marked a brand new chapter for Mount Kigali College, which has operated as an independently accredited establishment in Rwanda since 2023.
Addressing the graduates, Chancellor Prof. Egara Kabaji described the Class of 2026 as a technology linking the establishment’s previous with its future.
“This twenty ninth Commencement Ceremony carries particular historic significance. You, the Class of 2026, are the ultimate cohort graduating beneath the shared tutorial journey connecting Mount Kigali College with Mount Kenya College,” he mentioned.
“You might be, in each sense, a bridge technology,” he added.
Drawing from the commencement theme, “Youth as Architects of Social Change, Moral Governance and Inclusivity,” Kabaji challenged the graduates to change into builders of higher societies fairly than passive observers.
“An architect doesn’t merely settle for the world as it’s. An architect research the inspiration, understands the pressures a construction should stand up to, imagines what is feasible, and builds for the long run,” he mentioned.
He urged them to uphold integrity all through their skilled lives.
“Competence might earn you duty, however character determines how responsibly you train it,” he mentioned, including that graduates ought to let integrity information their choices “even when nobody is watching.”
Kabaji additionally referred to as for inclusive management.
“Construct bridges fairly than boundaries. Create alternatives fairly than shield privilege. True management isn’t merely securing your personal seat on the desk; it’s serving to create area for others to contribute meaningfully,” he mentioned.
Vice Chancellor Dr. Martin Kimemia Gathiru mentioned the ceremony marked the closing of 1 chapter and the start of one other for the establishment.
“You’re the closing cohort graduating as a part of our shared tutorial journey with Mount Kenya College at Mount Kigali College,” he mentioned.
“As Mount Kigali College strikes ahead beneath its personal accreditation in Rwanda, your commencement closes an necessary chapter whereas opening one other, each for you and for our college because it strengthens its impartial identification and contribution to Rwanda, the area and past,” he mentioned.
Mix competence with moral duty
Kimemia mentioned the graduates had overcome challenges to achieve the milestone.
“Behind each robe immediately is a narrative of sacrifice, self-discipline, resilience, and willpower,” he mentioned.
He urged them to mix skilled competence with moral duty.
“The world doesn’t merely want extra certified individuals; it wants reliable professionals who mix innovation with integrity, ambition with humility and excellence with compassion,” he mentioned.
He additionally challenged them to outline success by the influence they make.
“Don’t measure success solely by the positions you attain, the titles you purchase or the earnings you earn. Measure it additionally by the issues you clear up, the alternatives you create, the establishments you strengthen and the lives you positively affect,” he mentioned.
Talking through the commencement, Mount Kigali College's Governing Physique Chairman, Dr Harmless Mugisha, challenged the graduates to make use of the data and expertise that they had acquired to rework the nation, describing them because the architects of tomorrow.
He urged them to stay dedicated to creating constructive change in society, stressing that, past the levels that they had earned, they might finally be remembered for the influence they made of their communities.
“Your schooling equips you with data, but it surely additionally offers you the duty to steer with integrity, to innovate with braveness, however above all, with humility,” he advised the graduates.
High graduate urges Class of 2026 to show data into influence
Talking on behalf of the graduating class, prime graduate Sosthene Iradukunda described the event as a celebration of resilience.
“In the present day is greater than the tip of our research, it’s the celebration of our resilience,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the graduates have been leaving with greater than tutorial {qualifications}.
“We go away with data, confidence, resilience, lifelong friendships, and the duty to make a constructive distinction wherever life takes us,” he mentioned.
Iradukunda urged his fellow graduates to embrace the ceremony’s theme and change into answer suppliers.
“Allow us to change into graduates who create alternatives as a substitute of ready for them. Allow us to clear up issues as a substitute of merely pointing them out. Allow us to construct bridges as a substitute of boundaries,” he mentioned.
“Individuals might not keep in mind the grades we earned. However they may keep in mind the lives we touched. They may keep in mind the issues we solved. They may keep in mind the integrity with which we led,” he added.
A college of influence
Delivering the alumni handle, James Mugume, Founder and Government Director of Well being Alert Group, hailed the college for producing graduates who contribute to society and inspired them to place their schooling into service.
“Training turns into highly effective when data is reworked into service,” he mentioned.
Reflecting on his personal journey, Mugume credited the college with shaping his profession.
“Mount Kigali College gave me greater than tutorial {qualifications}; it gave me a basis, a mind-set and a dedication to enhancing human lives,” he mentioned.
The commencement closes the Mount Kenya College chapter in Rwanda, with Mount Kigali College persevering with beneath its personal accreditation and identification.
