MINUSCA pays tribute to fallen peacekeeper

24 Dec 2019

MINUSCA pays tribute to fallen peacekeeper

MINUSCA today held a memorial service for Sergeant Claver Kayumba, who passed away following a road accident on 11 December 2019.

Sergeant Kayumba joined MINUSCA on 13 May 2019 and was deployed to Bria.

Born in 1974 in Rwanda’s Gicumbi District, he joined the Rwanda Defence Forces in 1994. He had previously served with two UN peacekeeping missions – in Darfur with UNAMID in 2007 and 2013 and in South Sudan with UNMISS.

Speaking on behalf of the United Nations Special Representative in the Central African Republic, the MINUSCA Force Commander Bella Keita paid tribute to the fallen peacekeeper: “Sergeant Kayumba will be remembered as a gallant soldier. He offered the ultimate sacrifice – his life – for the purpose of protecting lives in the name of peace in the Central African Republic. I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to Rwanda.”

The Rwanda Contingent Commander Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Ntazinda praised the late sergeant for his patriotism and sense of duty. “We shall always remember the service he rendered to various nations under the United Nations umbrella. He put his life to the service of his country and the entire world,” he said.

Sergeant Claver Kayumba is survived by a wife and five children.

A4P