“I accept this trust too, and remembering what was broken will help me protect the trust I have now. With these hands, I will do good and make you both proud.”
Former Rwandan minister Édouard Bamporiki has pledged to protect the trust placed in him after being appointed executive secretary of Unity Club Intwararumuri, two years after President Paul Kagame pardoned him following a corruption conviction.
In a message posted on X on Tuesday, 27 October, Bamporiki acknowledged that trust had been damaged in the past and said the experience would guide how he handled his new responsibilities.
“This trust has come at a time when I remember the trust that was broken in the past,” he wrote. “I accept this trust too, and remembering what was broken will help me protect the trust I have now. With these hands, I will do good and make you both proud.”
Read Bamporiki’s message on X.
His appointment was announced in a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, signed by Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva on behalf of the president. Bamporiki replaces Julienne Uwacu, who has been appointed Minister of Public Service and Labour. <em> </emThe appointment returns Bamporiki to a formal public role after his removal from government in 2022, when he was investigated and later convicted in a corruption case.
Bamporiki, an actor and author, served as a member of parliament before becoming chairperson of the National Itorero Commission. In 2019, he was appointed Minister of State in charge of Culture.
He was suspended from his ministerial duties in May 2022 amid a corruption investigation. In September that year, the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court sentenced him to four years in prison and fined him Rwf60 million.
In January 2023, the High Court increased the prison sentence to five years but reduced the fine to Rwf30 million. The court found him guilty of offences including fraudulently acquiring another person’s property and abusing authority granted by law. He was among 32 convicts pardoned by Kagame in October 2024.
Since then, Bamporiki has used his public messages to express gratitude towards the president. In another post on X, he described Kagame as a saviour, defender and protector of Rwanda, and wished him a happy birthday.
Read Bamporiki’s birthday message to Kagame on X.
The appointment places Bamporiki at the head of Unity Club Intwararumuri, an organisation that brings together current and former Rwandan leaders and their spouses. The organisation promotes unity and reconciliation.
