Despite a noticeable decline in the last few years, volleyball remains one of the most popular and most performing sporting disciplines in the country.
And, over the years, the sport is hailed for building on the foundation of homegrown talents.
Some of the most renowned volleyball legends in Rwanda also went on to hold big positions in the country’s leadership such as Prof. Alexandre Lyambabaje – a former minister and current Vice Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, and Jean-Pierre Karabaranga, Rwanda’s ambassador to Senegal.
Former Prime Minister and President of the Senate, Bernard Makuza, also played volleyball during his youthful years, and this speaks to the impact the game has had for generations.
In today’s issue of Weekend Sport, we take a closer look at a legend from a different generation – Vincent ‘Gasongo’ Dusabimana. The 34-year-old, who plays for local side Rwanda Energy Group, has been one of the best middle blockers in the country for the last 15 years.
Early days
Born on July 2, 1986 in Muyenzi, Tanzania, Dusabimana did not discover his volleyball talent until he was 17, in 2004, when he joined GS St Aloys Rwamagana, one of the secondary schools known for producing the best volleyball players in the country.
Thanks to his height, he stood out for the school principle, Camille Rudasingwa, who assigned him a volleyball coach, Dominic Ntawangundi, to closely follow him up.
“When I joined St Aloys, volleyball was very popular at the school. So it was easy to fall in love with the sport,” he told this publication in an exclusive interview.
After a year of hard work and representing the school in youth championships, Dusabimana made his topflight league debut in 2005 with Blue Tigers. He featured for the now-defunct side for two seasons before joining the University of Rwanda on a sports scholarship in 2007.
Going Pro
Three years later, he was a key member of the national junior team that finished fourth at the 2010 African Championships in Libya. His stellar performance landed him a contract at Libyan outfit Tersana but his stay with the club was cut short following the civil war and coup that killed President Muammar Gaddafi.
After going club-less for a few months, Dusabimana secured a deal with Algerian side Etoile Sportif de Sétif for the 2011/12 season, before signing for Al Gharafa in Qatar for the 2012/13 campaign.
However, his spell in Qatar was ruined by a knee injury.
Winning titles at home
The injury at Al Gharafa eventually forced the club to terminate Dusabimana’s contract and he had to return to Rwanda for recovery, after which he joined local side University of Kibungo (UNIK) – now-defunct.
The celebrated middle blocked inspired the Ngoma-based outfit to five titles, including two championships, in a spell of four years between 2013 and 2017.
After winning it all with UNIK, he crossed to rivals Gisagara volleyball club and led them to another two league titles in three years.
Since late 2019, the Rwanda international features for Rwanda Energy Group. In total; Dusabimana has won 15 trophies, including three with the national team.
The future
He holds a Level 1 coaching license that he earned in 2019, and plays for the men’s senior national volleyball team since 2010.
After retirement, he eyes to venture into coaching in a bit to continue contributing to the development of volleyball in the country.
“The future of Rwanda volleyball is bright and I want to contribute to it.”
pkamasa@newtimesrwanda.com
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