John Bosco Nyemazi has been dismissed as Mayor of Kayonza District and members of his management team for allegedly preventing residents of Ndego Sector from fleeing their homes due to severe hunger caused by prolonged drought.
A district employee confirmed that Nyemazi and his colleagues had spent days blocking residents from moving to Kirehe District in search of food.
The source said that families had already begun relocating, but the mayor, supported by security organs and sector authorities, ordered them to stay put because their displacement would “look bad.”
The drought has scorched several sectors of Kayonza, including Ndego, Mwiri, Rwinkwavu, Kageyo, Nyamugari, and Kabare.
Its impact was particularly harsh in Ndego, where maize and beans—the population’s main food sources—were completely dried up.
As a result, many households had no food left and were heading toward the area of Umurindi wa Nasho in Kirehe to seek help from relatives.
A resident told Taarifa that people were simply trying to survive by going to stay with those who had food, but local leaders were turning them back to avoid the image of a mass exodus.
The same resident said that once the situation became public, district authorities quickly began distributing food—mainly maize and beans—to some villages in sectors such as Rwinkwavu and Mwiri.
Elsewhere, the hunger crisis has also affected families who rely on support from relatives.
Aline Uwingeneye, who lives in Kimironko in Kigali and whose parents reside in Cyabajwa Cell in Kabarondo, said her family frequently calls asking her to send even small amounts of food.
She explained that sometimes she herself is struggling and noted that her parents, who used to send her bananas from home, can no longer harvest anything.
Asked whether local trade could cushion residents, she said only those with substantial income or traders can survive.
District Council Chairperson, Doreen Basiime Kalimba, said the hunger crisis was among the key warning signs that the district’s leadership had serious weaknesses.
She added that the Executive Committee, led by Nyemazi, was suspended because of poor service delivery.
According to her, the committee repeatedly ignored guidance given in meetings and failed to act on information provided by various institutions that could have helped residents.
She said the main issues were lack of teamwork, poor coordination, and unnecessary delays in solving problems, all of which allowed new challenges to emerge.
She added that efforts are underway to restore proper leadership as soon as possible and that improving service delivery will be the district’s top priority.
As Kayonza deals with this crisis, Taarifa has also received reports that Bugesera District may face a similar threat of hunger due to a pest known locally as “umukondo w’inyana,” (an arthropod pest) which has been destroying crops.
