In a country where a tragic past means genocide victims now stand side-by-side with perpetrators, sport is viewed as a unifying force for social cohesion.
It is considered rude – and potentially even deemed criminally ‘divisionist’ – to use the terms Hutu and Tutsi in the country. Instead, everyone is viewed simply as Rwandan.
“It’s amazed me how you play with so many people from different areas and no-one ever has an issue with where you’re from because we’re all so focused on cricket,” says Rubagumya, who was born the year after the genocide.
“I was very young so don’t have a judgement on how the tensions were in the country, but one thing I know for sure is when it comes to sport, those things are not there.”
Growing the sport from scratch, the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) has always ensured a women’s tournament takes place whenever possible to coincide with any men’s tournament.
The results of that broad equality have been astonishing. While the men’s team sit 62nd in the world T20I rankings, the women are a remarkable 25th.
Earlier this year, at the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup – the first time the nation had ever made a major ICC tournament at any level – the Rwandan debutants made headlines with spectacular victories over West Indies and Zimbabwe.
“The RCA always knew it would be much harder to get their men’s team way up the rankings, whereas there was an opportunity with the women,” explains men’s team head coach Lee Booth.
“And they just happened to find some astonishingly talented players. It’s amazing how it’s snowballed from there. Numbers have exploded.”
Booth, who hails from the small village of Thurstonland just outside Huddersfield, first travelled to Rwanda through the Cricket Without Boundaries charity in 2010. After multiple coaching trips to the country over the following dozen years, he was offered the head coach role on a short-term basis in June 2023.
Having arrived when the cricket structure was basic at best, Booth has first-hand experience of the huge turnaround. “When I was first here they had a national team but it was essentially expat Asian guys and a couple of Rwandans who they took along because they knew the national anthem,” he says.
“Now the team is entirely young, local Rwandan lads. The development of the game out here has been astonishing.”
Booth’s task now lies somewhere between the improbable and impossible. After defying expectations to reach the final stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, over the next few days Rwanda will challenge some of the continent’s best players for one of two spots available at next year’s tournament.
The Rwandan amateurs – none of whom are yet make any money from cricket – will take on continental heavyweights Zimbabwe (ranked 11th in the world), plus hosts Namibia (12th), Uganda (23rd), Kenya (30th), Tanzania (32th) and Nigeria (38th).
“For us, the main challenge really was to get there,” says Rubagumya. “We’ll be playing against guys we’ve only ever watched on TV.
“We know realistically it’s not easy for us to qualify. However, we do feel there is something for us to play for. We may not have a lot to lose but we do have a lot to gain.”
And the dream? “It’s reaching the World Cup, my friend,” he adds, laughing. “Rwanda and Zimbabwe – the two nations qualifying.”
That would prove a fairytale ending to an already extraordinary story. Regardless, Rwanda’s cricketing journey is really only beginning.