Aloisea Inyumba (28 December 1964 – 6 December 2012) was a Rwandan politician, who was the country's Minister for Gender and Family Promotion and as executive secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.[1]
The eulogy at her funeral was given by President Paul Kagame.[1]
Early life
Aloisea Inyumba was born on 28 December 1964 in Uganda, to Rwandan born parents.[1] She was born in the aftermath of the 1959 Rwandan Revolution, which saw the creation of a republic dominated by the majority Hutu, and persecution of the minority Tutsi.[2] While her parents were still living in Rwanda, and before she was born, her father was killed in a massacre of Tutsi; her mother escaped with her five siblings and the family fled to the safety of Uganda.[1]
Inyumba lived her childhood in Uganda, completing her schooling there, and then proceeded to Makerere University in Kampala, to study for a degree in social work and social administration.[1] In 1985, she had her first meeting with Paul Kagame,[3] another Rwandan refugee who was at the time serving in the rebel army of Yoweri Museveni.[4] One year later, Museveni took control of the country and promoted Kagame and fellow Rwandan Fred Rwigyema to officers in the country's national army.[5] Kagame and Rwigyema took these positions, but their ultimate goal was to return with force to their own country, in order to facilitate the return of the refugees.[6] Kagame and Rwigyema joined and took over the Rwandan Patriotic Front,[7] a Rwandan liberation organisation, and Inyumba joined as well.[1]
Political career
After the RPF military victory in July 1994, Inyumba was appointed into the newly formed transitional government.[1] This government was headed by President Pasteur Bizimungu, but the country was de facto led by Paul Kagame.[8] She was appointed to the post of Minister of Gender and Family Promotion,[1] and began a concerted programme to involve women in the rebuilding of Rwanda.[1]
In 2011, she was re-appointed to her previous role of Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, a role she held until her death in 2012.[1]
Inyumba died on 6 December 2012 at her home in Kigali.[10] She had been suffering from throat cancer,[11] and had recently returned home after seeking treatment in Germany.[3] Inyumba was granted a state funeral at the Parliament of Rwanda building in Kigali and her eulogy was delivered by the country's president, Paul Kagame.[3] Kagame described her as a selfless leader who was "a very good cadre and ideologically clear".[3] Other speakers at the funeral included Cabinet Affairs minister Protais Musoni and the vice-governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, Monique Nsanzabaganwa.[3]
