{"id":2000115317,"date":"2026-06-11T08:16:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115317"},"modified":"2026-06-12T23:27:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T21:27:56","slug":"new-faces-in-cabinet-as-president-kagame-makes-key-state-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/new-faces-in-cabinet-as-president-kagame-makes-key-state-appointments\/","title":{"rendered":"President Kagame appoints new ministers and ambassadors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The appointments were announced in a communiqu\u00e9 issued by Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva on June 10, pursuant to Articles 111, 112 and 116 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Ministry of Infrastructure, Damien Murwanashyaka was appointed Minister, replacing Dr. Jimmy Gasore, who had served in the position since September 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Damien Murwanashyaka is set to take over as the Minister of Infrastructure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Murwanashyaka joins the government from the private sector, where he brings more than 15 years of experience in the construction industry. A Professional Civil Engineer and Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Murwanashyaka most recently served as the Managing Director of Preferred Contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that, his senior leadership career included roles as the CEO of UDL, Chief Quantity Surveyor at Real Contractors Ltd, and Projects Manager at ROKO Construction Ltd. He also held consultant leadership roles at Century Engineering and Contractors Ltd and Gasabo 3D Design Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He graduated with a First Class Honors Degree in Civil Engineering and later earned an MBA from Oklahoma Christian University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will be assisted by two Ministers of State, Armand Zingiro and Col. Claudien Bizimungu. Zingiro moves from the Rwanda Energy Group (REG), where he served as Chief Executive Officer, while Bizimungu previously held senior command responsibilities within the Rwanda Defence Force\u2019s engineering structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new structure also reflects a shift in the ministry\u2019s leadership arrangement, as Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye, who previously served as State Minister in charge of Infrastructure, is no longer in the lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Judith Uwizeye has been appointed as the Minister of Public Service and Labour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the Ministry of Public Service and Labour, Judith Uwizeye returns to Cabinet as Minister, replacing Christine Nkulikiyinka, who has been nominated as Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador to Spain. Uwizeye previously served as Minister in the Office of the President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Antoine-Marie Kajangwe has been promoted from Permanent Secretary to Minister, replacing Prudence Sebahizi, who had held the portfolio since August 2024. Kajangwe previously served in senior roles within the same ministry, including overseeing trade and investment functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Antoine-Marie Kajangwe has been appointed as the Minister of Trade and Industry, replacing Prudence Sebahizi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The President also made a series of diplomatic appointments, nominating retired Lt Gen Karenzi Karake as Rwanda\u2019s ambassador to China, Maj Gen Emmanuel Bayingana as ambassador to Israel, and retired Col Jeannot Ruhunga as ambassador to Poland, while Chantal Tuyishimire was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In state-owned institutions, Louise Kanyonga, who has been serving as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Zigama CSS. Kanyonga previously held several senior positions at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), including Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer and Registrar General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximilien Byilingiro was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Energy Group (REG), while Michelle Umurungi, who currently serves as Chief Investment Officer at the Rwanda Development Board, was named Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Investments at RSSB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest appointments come as the government continues efforts to strengthen leadership across strategic sectors including infrastructure, trade, energy, public service, and diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The appointments were announced in a communiqu\u00e9 issued by Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva on June 10, pursuant to Articles 111, 112 and 116 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Paul Kagame has appointed new ministers to lead key government portfolios in a Cabinet reshuffle that also saw the nomination of new ambassadors and the appointment of chief executives for major public institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115324,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":700,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741-300x210.jpg","width":300,"height":210},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741-768x538.jpg","width":768,"height":538},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741.jpg","width":1000,"height":700},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-08-43-AM-2741.jpg","width":1000,"height":700}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115317"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115511,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115317\/revisions\/2000115511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115317"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115317"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}