Bizimungu’s water tank and the tales of NUR
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Butare
The serene gardens of Rwanda National University's main campus are as beautiful as they are deceptive. In the lush green lawns are several insects which crawl on you if you stayed long, while the equally captivating old town buildings which make up the campus infrastructure are host many sad and dramatic tales-with many of the protagonists of these tales being historical figures in the evolution of Rwanda.
The gardens, according to students were an innovation of the reign Chrosologue Karangwa. The grey haired academician, Emmanuel Tushime a first year environment student says spent most of his time walking about in the campus, "he took care of the gardens, planted trees everywhere, and even ensured that we had benches, these wooden wonders have been a place of solace, love, ambition and relaxing for us."
Karangwa loved the students fraternity very much that while he was in charge, the famous genocide ideologies, (it has been reported in the media that at NUR, the simple identification of Anglo or Francophone has wider and deeper meanings not just limited to the language in which one is proficient.
The current Rector of the university Professor Silas Lwakabamba admits to these allegations, and he adds that they take on a radical spreading during student guild elections.) So during Karangwa’s reign, there was never a tolerance of students, teachers and administration staff identifying each other as "Franco or Anglophone."
Students state that their academic performance could be determined by which language they spoke or wrote class discourses in. There’s one particular incident where a lecturer was disappointed that Anglophone students got good grades in his class. It is said that the teacher was upset he had had ‘proved’ by the students.
The most dramatic and eloquent tale involves former president Pasteur Bizimungu, who was a student of NUR in the early 70s.
It is said that while the Bizimungu's reputation as a brilliant student of the science department, also possessed a character that would have taken critical interest of mental psychiatrists in the country at that time.
In the middle of the campus is a tall water tank with railings to help technicians to climb on top in case the tank needs repairing or cleaning . Built several decades back, the tank serves a total population of 10,000 (which the total population of the university).
Bizimungu according to several tales used to undress to his Adam's suit; he would then climb on top of the tank and throw up a free for all tantrums. One time he demanded that a recently elected University beauty queen say that she loved him. He demanded the belle to say she loved him or he would hurl himself to the ground!
That tale has been told so many times that today the place where the tank is situated is known as 'Kijega kya Bizimungu' loosely translated as Bizimungu's tank.
The award for the scariest tale at NUR goes Theoneste Bagosora, a student of NUR in the 70s also. Bagosora's time at the university is so rich in thriller material that people at Rwanda Cinema Centre will one day make into Oscar material. Considering Bagosora's record in the history of Rwanda, there's no surprise in Bagosora’s character during his formative years.
Apparently Bagosora was a genius of mobilization right from his early days at university. He led the fanatical cheer group of energetic boys which intimidated visiting teams during sports competitions between the Butare based NUR and several "catholic institutions across the country,"said one story teller.
After leading his cheer group during sport events, Bagosora and the boys would then head to the main auditorium-where during official university functions they terrorized every speaker they disagreed with. Their weapon? "They backed as wild animals, and it was always dark in there." stated the teller.
Positioned in the most dark end of the auditorium, it is here that Bagosora sat during official university ceremonies, he would then mobilize fellow students to terrorize everything they did not like or agree with at the university. I visited the corner at a few minutes after mid day on a bright Friday afternoon and at that time of day it still looked dark as midnight.
Today the cheer group is alive and has taken on a different name; it’s most popular during sports and political events.
The boys that have gone through Butare have definitely left an indelible mark on the campus and surrounding area in several ways. For example, the boys wing of the university resident halls are several well built hostels, many have very exotic yet practical names.
For example, Cambodia is highly considered as the Nyarutarama of NUR, the nearby White House needs no description. Outside the boys hostels are several women washing heaps of jeans and brown men's shoes.
The ladies are surrounded by a variety of children aged from two years to 10 running about the cloth lines.
It is said among Campus residents that some of these babies were in fact fathered by the male residents of the hostels. According to legend at NUR, some of these children have been told that their fathers are successful men in Kigali. The story goes that when you meet a street child in Butare town they tell you to give them money and then remind you "My father is a rich man in Kigali, he was a student of Butare, but he abandoned me here...... ..You could even be my father but you are ignoring me because you fathered me with a woman that washes clothes in the university hostels."
The walk around NUR's main campus is like walking through beauty, every walkway or path is carefully drawn to appear under a canopy of a tree, under these trees are several wonderful little gardens, and well maintained thickets of grass. There are also several wooden benches, where the social, academic, political and romantic lifestyle of the university plays itself out.
There is one particular story that runs through the 'Anglo'-'Franco' phone students. It is said that these two groups never socialize, there's limited interaction that when a Francophone students who resides the Francophone apartments is seen in the Anglophone end is found raises eyebrows.
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