It is 6 AM; we take the road Kigali-Huye-Nyaruguru in a few hundred Kms we arrive in Nyaruguru District, one of the Rwandan highland regions but also with Tea plantations and other plants like banana on the hills, etc…

But, recently we had heard and read many articles and information on the social media indicating that Nyaruguru which is bordering with Burundi is purely insecure and had been seized by the rebel soldiers of Sankara Callixte.

Sankara is known among Rwandans and even some joke on his rhetoric and blame game war which has the overall mission of dirtying Rwanda’s image on International scene as well as trying to meat hook citizens so they can turn against the country’s leadership.

Sankara has even gone public and claimed that his “armed forces” has almost captured Nyaruguru and are controlling the whole Nyungwe National Park. A pure lie!

Are the Sankara’s Rebels or Bandits?

The question can be answered by the inhabitants of the District themselves, their authorities and even the development partners of the District aspiring to see this district arriving at its pure socio-economic transformation in all sectors including culture, tourism and agriculture.

For those who don’t know Nyaruguru is a district in Southern Province of Rwanda. Its capital is Kibeho, a pilgrimage site of the Catholic Church.

The district is the most southerly in Rwanda, lying between the historically known cities of Butare and Cyangugu and along the Burundian border.

It is mountainous, containing part of the Nyungwe forest where the recently publicized “Sankara dissenting” said to have captured the whole region with the propaganda images showing Rwandan Soldiers wounded by the so self-proclaimed to be Force De Libération National (“FLN de Sankara”).

According to political analysts the FLN actions are not different from the ideology of FDLR which, the U.S Government has blacklisted as a Top terrorist Group.

Coming back to the real Nyaruguru District; the District is known as the source of cooking charcoal for much of the Southern region and even the Capital city of Rwanda.

Nyaruguru charcoals partly come from the Nyungwe trees with other momentous cases of poaching, tree cutting and mining, cited among many other illegal activities.

However the Rwandan Government through the Rwanda Development Board has moved to curb such malpractices and introduced other income generating activities to prevent citizens from poaching and illegal cutting of trees which could have negative impacts on nature and its biodiversity.

Nyungwe is one of the last remaining forest areas of Rwanda and home to chimpanzees and many other species of primate.

The number of tourists visiting the Nyungwe has been increasing considerably in recent years, though the recent publicized and exaggerated uprising in the area may have probably impacted people’s perceptions on this tourism destination.

However the District’s Mayor Habitegeko Francis told this website that “Despite those social media tracts spread by the so called Sankara, the number of pilgrims coming to Nyaruguru has kept steady and we are expecting more visitors in future.”

Nyaruguru is Safe

The purpose of this article is not to conclude that Rwanda has no enemies that always want to damage its territorial integrity and undermine the country’s progress but the main objective is to clarify that there is no deteriorating situation in Nyaruguru and the District’s main war is not to focusing on the Sankara propagandas rather it should focus on citizen’s wellbeing and the District’s development in General.

Nyaruguru District owns various tourism destinations which include the Holly land of Kibeho, Nyungwe Forests, Mountainous region, cultural troops, Eco-tourism, Shari stone, the Historical Ibigabiro de Rwabugiri, among many others.

The Mayor said “This region is well-known for its historical background and how the site was used by the King’s troops to defeat the enemies.”

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Mayor Habitegeko said “The fact that thousands of International and local pilgrims have celebrated Assumption Day in Kibeho Holy Land, It is a proof that Nyaruguru District is peaceful destination for pilgrimage and business activities. However, various social media have recently reported this place to be the siege for intruders; the core business here is to work more closely with private sector and other partners to promote tourism industry here”

Nyaruguru residents do not expect war

Our reporter traveled to various areas in Nyaruguru speaking to various people and got in-depth image of security in Nyaruguru.”

The reporter has even nose round on some security organs to hear whether there is a fearful situation in the region subsequently he learnt that there are some cases of bad boys that always try to act against their local leaders.

“We have recently listened to radio that our District was attacked by belligerents. Truly I am not threatened by that. Our leaders have explained all about what happened in one of the sectors and we are safe from any outside threat.” One of residents of Munini told this website’s reporter.

Mayor Habitegeko Francis clarified that “The District is safe and those blame game of Mr. Sankara spreads on the social media will not have nothing to do on the Development path of Nyaruguru”

We are very fond of the tarmac road

A big number of Nyaruguru residents and even visitors are much awaiting for the tarmac road promised by Rwandan President Paul Kagame last year.

The 66 kilometre road will stretch from Huye District to Kibeho-Munini and Ngoma in Nyaruguru District in Southern Province.

Habitegeko added that “Soon Nyaruguru will have a model hospital in Munini Sector.”

“A tarmac road soon under construction will connect the District to the main road Akanyaru-Huye to Kigali,

The number of feeder roads will increase; new infrastructures will be constructed like schools, water infrastructures, and electrification of almost the whole District etc.” Habitegeko noted

High appetite of Nyaruguru Development partners

Habitegeko revealed to this website that many development partners are showing appetite to invest in Nyaruguru.

With the example of partners appetite, the construction of Nyaruguru tarmac road is the result of fifteen bilateral memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements signed by the governments of Rwanda and China.

Also partners are focusing on areas like agriculture, marshlands exploitation, and schools construction among many others.

“For instance we have recently inaugurated the Nyaruguru Agriculture community Centre in partnership with our Korean friends through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA),

“We have so many partners and I am grateful to their continuous support” Habitegeko added.

Invest in Nyaruguru Guesthouses and accommodations opportunities

Nyaruguru presents many opportunities for Investors who want to construct accommodation infrastructures.

The main challenge is that tourists wish to spend more time, however they are obliged to go back home as they don’t have where to stay.

The District has availed land for investors and necessary infrastructure such as water and electricity to encourage investors to start investing in the area.

The construction of Huye- Kibeho road is good news for residents and those who want to travel to Nyaruguru which has also the impressive historical background.

READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Thousands of pilgrims convene at Kibeho Holy land for Assumption Day

Nyaruguru farmers to benefit from the launched Agriculture Community Centre