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Kinyarwanda
The Rwanda National Police Handball Club has started preparations ahead of the upcoming Genocide Memorial Cup slated for June 6 and 7 in Kigali.
The defending champions bolstered their camp this season with six new signings including prolific strikers, Jean Paul Muhawenayo and goalkeeper Samuel Bananimana.
Police won the tournament last year after beating Muzinga of Burundi 35-34 in the finals.
The National Handball Federation (FERWAHAND) has invited clubs from Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and DR Congo to join local clubs in the two-day tournament organized in memory of the 23 members of the handball fraternity, who include players, coaches, administrators and fans, killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
According to Paul Ngarambe, the Secretary General of FERWAHAND, the invitation of regional clubs will make the tournament more competitive, but it's also a moment for teams on other countries to have and learn first-hand information about what befell Rwanda 21 years ago when more than one million innocent lives including sportsmen and women, were massacred.
Police Head Coach, Assistant Inspector of Police Antoine Ntabanganyimana, said the club is "well prepared to retain the title."
"It will be an honor for us to be part of this tournament in this 21st Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Remembering players and sports fans killed is important in ensuring that the memory of what happened remains untainted, but also to promote unity, reconciliation and the idea of 'Never Again'" he said.
"The team players are in good shape to perform well in the tournament. We won all the seven tournaments we participated in, last year, including the Genocide Memorial Cup, currently we sit on top of the national league and are playing very well; so we are ready for the cup and the players are motivated."
The 21st Genocide commemoration week kicked off last week on Tuesday and ends April 13. Commemoration events will continue for 100 days until July 4, with a focus on extinguishing genocide ideologies.
Rwanda National Police strongly engages in sports activities as one of the means to connect with the public in community policing and crime prevention, as well as promoting sports development in the country.
