{"id":55103,"date":"2025-08-03T16:42:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/popular-mukura-vs-fan-mukanemeye-dies-aged-103\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T16:30:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:30:01","slug":"popular-mukura-vs-fan-mukanemeye-dies-aged-103","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/popular-mukura-vs-fan-mukanemeye-dies-aged-103\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Mukura VS fan Mukanemeye dies aged 103"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mama Mukura, whose loyalty to the sport spanned over six decades, died at her home after battling illness. According to club officials, she had recently been discharged from hospital and passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We were shocked to receive the news. She had gone to bed as usual, but this morning she was found lifeless,&#8221; said Gatera Edmond, spokesperson for Mukura VS. <\/p>\n<p>Mukura VS, in collaboration with her family and members of the local football community, is now preparing to give her a fitting farewell. <\/p>\n<p>Club officials described her as a \u201cgrandmother to all football lovers,\u201d and said she would be remembered not only for her unwavering support but for the values she stood for: resilience, unity, and passion for the game.<\/p>\n<p>Born in 1922 in Kabitoki Village, Save Sector, Gisagara District, Mukanemeye was the youngest of eight children. She left school early and worked as a cook for Catholic sisters in Kibeho. At 43, she got married but never had children; instead, she became a mother figure to generations of football fans.<\/p>\n<p>Her love affair with football began in her school years and continued through adulthood. She often joined local boys in village matches and once attended a royal football match graced by King Mutara III Rudahigwa.<\/p>\n<p>When Mukura Victory Sports was founded in 1963, she became one of its earliest and most loyal fans. Over the decades, she rarely missed a game in Huye and proudly wore the club\u2019s colours, often cheering from the stands with unmatched enthusiasm. Her presence became synonymous with Mukura home games, earning her the nickname \u201cMama Mukura.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite her allegiance to Mukura, Mukanemeye was also a devoted follower of Amavubi, Rwanda\u2019s national team. In a 2022 interview with IGIHE, she recalled the joy football brought to her life and encouraged young people to embrace sports not just as entertainment, but as a source of unity and identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe considered her the grandmother of all football fans, not just because she loved Mukura VS, but also because she deeply supported the national team. She was a role model to many, and it\u2019s only right that we give her a respectful farewell and continue her legacy,\u201d said Gatera.<\/p>\n<p>Funeral arrangements are underway, with Mukura VS pledging to honour her with the respect befitting a club icon.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91908 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_2_-2f005_1_.jpg\" alt=\"Mukanemeye Madeleine, affectionately known as &quot;Mama Mukura,&quot; a legendary fan of Mukura Victory Sports et Loisir and Rwanda&#039;s national team Amavubi, passed away on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at the age of 103.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91917 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_4_-d7b60.jpg\" alt=\"Mama Mukura&#039;s loyalty to the sport spanned over six decades.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91910 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_9_-68cdb.jpg\" alt=\"Mukanemeye was also a devoted follower of Amavubi, Rwanda\u2019s national team.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91911 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_10_-a17dd.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91912 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_8_-bc90a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91913 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_6_-b537a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91914 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_7_-cba7a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91915 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_3_-3b458.jpg\" alt=\"Mukanemeye participating in a campaign event for President Kagame during the 2024 presidential elections as the FPR Inkotanyi party candidate.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91909 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-08-03_at_13.00_02_2_-2f005.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwandan football has lost one of its most passionate and enduring supporters. Mukanemeye Madeleine, affectionately known as &#8220;Mama Mukura,&#8221; a legendary fan of Mukura Victory Sports et Loisir and Rwanda&#8217;s national team Amavubi, passed away on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at the age of 103.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000091907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000091907,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/mixcollage-03-aug-2025-04-22-pm-931.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55103","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=55103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000091907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55103"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55103"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}