The late Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, was the best man at Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s wedding in 1989.
Aronda passed away this Saturday morning in transit in Dubai as he was returning from state duties in South Korea.
Kagame’s wedding to his wife Jeannette took place in June 1989. Aronda who was born in 1959 was 30 years old then and Kagame was 32.
Kagame was then serving in the National Resistance Army (NRA) that later became the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), as the head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence.
At that time there were no swanky nightclubs like Guvnor and the kasiki took place at the Kasisira, a joint that was at Crested Towers.
The reception was held at Sharing Hall in Nsambya and there was an after-party at Colline Hotel in Mukono.
Nyakairima married his wife Linda in 1990, when Kagame had left Uganda as the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) staged a rebellion in their home country. The RPA leader Maj. Fred Rwigema was killed on the second day of their attack leading to Kagame taking over as leader. RPA took power in July 1994,with Kagame assuming the Vice President’s office. Kagame became president in 2000 when Bizimungu resigned.
