According to Daniel Ruziga, the Media Officer of the Rwanda Table Tennis Federation, proceedings were organised in the presence of Alexis Sharangabo, a member of the Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee.

Eight clubs participated in the voting; those being, as Innocent Bahati, the outgoing Secretary General explained, were required to have a Certification from Rwanda Governance Broad in order to participate.

The clubs who participated were: Vision, Gasabo, Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle, Rafiki, Kibogora Club, De La Salle, Ubumwe and Rilima.

Major strides

Notably Alexis Sharangabo acknowledged the giant strides made by the John Bosco Birungi led board in the last four years in their bid to promote and develop the sport across the country. Since he assumed office, the Rwanda Table Tennis Federation has organised a national league and several competitions in addition to opening negotiations to attract corporate and civil servants to the sport.

“I would like to thank the committee for all the support they have given me since becoming President in 2017. Thank you to all the clubs for their confidence in me to continue as President. I promise to keep giving my best to push the sport to new heights and achieve all my goals as stated in our plans.

We have set up a five year strategic plan, to try and make sure that Rwanda becomes ranked among the five top countries on the continent; to achieve this we must make sure we at least have two top players among the best 10 rankings.” John Bosco Birungi,

Forward thinking

Jean Maurice Burasa of De la Salle was elected as Deputy President with seven votes, defeating Jean Rutihunza of Rilima. Paul Ntanganda was returned unopposed as the Secretary-General while Fontiane Mukamuhizi retained the position of Treasurer.

Forward thinking, the newly elected executive committee set the following targets: player development, facilities development, training of coaches and umpires, equipment acquisition, para table tennis, organisation of local tournaments, participation in continental and international tournaments.

Executive committee

The Executive Committee for 2019-2023: John Bosco Birungi (President), Maurice Burasa (Deputy President), Paul Ntaganda (Secretary-General), Fontaine Mukamuhizi (Treasurer), Nyiraziraje Appollinaire (Women’s Co-ordinator), Rukeratabaro Cynthia (Province Clubs Co-ordinator) ; Muhama Alphonse (Schools Programme Co-ordinator); Iriza Claire (Para Table Tennis Co-ordinator) and Regis François (Players Representative).