IN THE NAME OF MY AFRICANITY  

In 2005 at the age of 46, Professor Pacifique Malonga, a Rwandan citizen with a vast cosmopolitan background left his job of Director for Research and development in the Rwanda Human Rights Commission to start his BECOS /Kiswahili Promotion Network.

Having observed the Rwanda Government vision to join the East African Community by then comprising KENYA, TANZANIA and UGANDA, Malonga opened his personal office BECOS to promote Kiswahili in response to art 137 of the law establishing the Community and in regard to new members.

The multilingual University lecturer and researcher, Malonga signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the then Rwanda Office of Information (ORINFOR) to conduct an awareness campaign to promote the Development and Use of Kiswahili in Rwanda and started a three hours’ weekly program Kiswahili lessons on Radio and TV.

This voluntary program that lasted for ten years earned Professor Malonga high respect among his compatriots and an ORINFOR” Award of APPRECIATION in recognition of being the best Press Friendly Intellectual of the year 2010″.

With his tireless efforts, he published many Kiswahili books for beginners including a Trilingual dictionary:  Kiswahili -Ikinyarwanda-English” co-authored with his Kenyan Friend Professor Ken. W Walibora in 2019.

Among the many books he published include: “Three in one: Ikinyarwanda -Kiswahili and English recommended and supported by the East African Community Secretariat, approved by Rwanda Education Board REB to be used in Rwandan Schools as a reference book. It was later reviewed and translated to become ” Wesomese Oluswahili n’Olungereza” in Uganda coauthored with James Wasula.

When the Rwanda Government adopted Kiswahili as its 4th Official language after Ikinyarwanda, English and French, OL 02/ 20th April 2017, with no teaching/ learning materials, Professor Pacifique Malonga came up with an ambitious mission to set up a Kiswahili section and signed an MOU with the Kigali Public Library KPL and called it ” Kiswahili Corner”. Taking off with only five copies of his own publications, the corner now has nearly five hundred Kiswahili books in its shelves.

As a patriot and benevolent, African Union Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Kiswahili Commissioner for Rwanda, the ever smiling jovial Professor, he celebrated the first ” WORLD KISWAHILI DAY” on the Invitation of Tanzania High Commission in Rwanda to present a paper on Kiswahili situation in Rwanda, on 7th July 2022.

This year, the 2nd World Kiswahili Day was no event at all in Rwanda but Professor Malonga used it to donate Kiswahili Dictionaries ” Kamusi Kuu ” he received from the High Commission to various Stakeholders including Rwanda Association of Journalists (ARJ), Rwanda Media Council (RMC), Rwanda Society of Authors (RSAU), Genocide Memorial, Rwanda Education Board (REB) and the above-mentioned Kiswahili corner.

A lutta continua, Professor Malonga argues that for such struggle, one can kill two birds with one stone, hence adding Ikinyarwanda to Kiswahili Corner and develop both Cross border vehicular African bantu languages together.  He aims at introducing his “IBISAKUZO” riddles ” book 1-5 in the Corner starting July 17th with an ultimate strong desire and objective to set up RWANDA CENTER FOR COMMUNICATION SKILLS in Kigali,a project and dream he has cherished for so long.

The challenge is real but Professor Malonga is more than determined and strongly believe in the Julius Kambarage Nyerere “Nia tunayo, sababu tunayo na Uwezo tunao ” and where there is a will there is a way!  He says “In God and good people, friends of African Languages, he trusts.” 

Contact Professor Pacifique MALONGA writer and Independent Journalist becos1@yahoo.fr Tel: +250 784058500 Kigali Rwanda

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