Rwanda names new envoy to United States

Government has nominated Prof. Mathilde Mukantabana as new envoy to Washington

A renowned academic and campaigner Prof. Mathilde Mukantabana has been named as Rwanda’s envoy to the United States – replacing long serving James Kimonyo, who has not been posted anywhere.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi on Thursday announced in its final communiqué that it has “nominated” Prof Mukantabana to be ambassador to Washington. The little-known academic is not a common face in Rwanda but is a household name among Rwandans in the U.S.

According to available information, Prof Mathilde Mukantabana was born and raised in Rwanda before she moved to the United States to pursue her studies. She is a professor of history at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, California

Prof Mukantabana is also the President of Friends of Rwanda Association (FORA), a non-profit American relief association created in the wake of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.

Under the aegis of FORA, she has organized numerous workshops and international conferences dealing with the Rwandan experience.