Kigali — Some people read the front pages of the newspapers while looking for prominent names in the print media and that is all they may see for a certain period of time until they cross faces with the scribes who actually make this news.
James Munyaneza is among the few Rwandan journalists that have proved a thing in the post-genocide period. Born on 25th September, 1981 to Johnson Munyaneza (RIP) and Jane Nyirabagande, Munyaneza is a very humble, simple young man whom I personally picked special interest in after attending the second TNT New Year's party at which the best employees of TNT were awarded for their good work during the past year.
What makes Munyaneza, the journalist, who has been awarded as the New Times' Best Journalist for 2004 and 2005 and probably one of the most promising journalists in Rwanda?
Munyaneza, who is today the Head of TNT's Political Desk, started his writing career while he was a S.3 student at Lyceè de Kigali. In 1998 he wrote his first piece ('Have the goals really been achieved?') as a contributor to The New Times. This article was a reflection on the post-genocide achievements by Rwandans, he says, which inspired his writing the piece.
"I was trying to reflect on four years after the genocide tragedy in Rwanda and some of the issues I raised were on rehabilitation, sense of belonging to a nation, management of post genocide challenges (like unity and reconciliation)," Munyaneza reflects frankly while revealing that he was born in Uganda and such issues were very vital for a returnee from the diaspora.
"My father loved to read newspapers; and I think that is where I started to have interest in newspapers," he recalls.
This spirit of writing could have emerged as a natural talent that Munyaneza didn't realize until 2001during his S.6 vacation, when he coined his talent with the Rwanda New Agency's online edition, and a year later joined the TNT staff- just adjacent to the RNA offices on Petit Meridien building in Kacyiru.
This was the start of his career in journalism despite the fact that he is currently a student of marketing at the School of Finance and Banking following his faculty's transfer from KIST last month. At TNT, Munyaneza found fertile soil to hit the heights in the local press. He actually pays glowing tribute to several former and current editors and managing directors like Gaspard Safari, Marcel Museminari, Julius Mwesigye, John Bosco Sanyu, Christophe Kayumba and Edward Rwema (current MD), all of whom he says have shaped him.
"The final piece of the news article is out of teamwork and the kind of guidance and support from my editors have got me to this stage. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed a lot support from my colleagues both at the desk level and in the newsroom, and I believe that it's out of teamwork that one can enjoy and succeed in journalism," Munyaneza suggests.
Though he did not undergo formal journalism lectures, Munyaneza is widely believed to be commanding good journalistic practices. He says hard work, teamwork and objectivity are his magic.
"You have to separate your sentiments and feelings from news. We (journalists) are news reporters not news makers," he says.
Asked to comment on the difficulty attached to reporting investigative stories, he insists that a journalist has always to keep one thing supreme--objectivity. "Such factors as time and resources are essential in this important part of journalism."
"I remember investigating a particular story, and when I was almost through I got into a situation when among those accused included people close to our family, or should I say distant relatives. It's risky but I believe journalism is a calling and that journalists' inherent responsibility is to be part and parcel of the struggle for the truth to reign. They are supposed to be the light and not be put off even in the darkest times," he said.
Munyaneza, son He believes investigative journalists have not yet fully found its way to Rwanda, but is optimistic that the dawn has come and that local journalists should be ready to take the bull by horns. "Yes labour pains might be there but great success lies ahead."
Apparently hardships in journalism are more or less the same as in other job fields if the level of commitment is the same, he says. He believes that hurdles and challenges have to be met. Munyaneza, who normally likes to put on casual attire, at times is forced to wear suits and neckties depending on his work schedules. "I don't like putting on suits or neckties but because of the nature of my assignment I am compelled to dress smartly so that I can win the attention of those I am looking for," he shared a field joke.
Munyaneza likes to be in the field of politics and the first piece he wrote confirms this desire for justice for all. "My first Front Page story (in TNT) was on the parliamentary adoption of the new Constitution three years ago. I am particularly interested in this area (politics) because the people who command it have a big stake in the direction of the country."
Being in the field of politics, there is an assumption of risk for one's life depending on the articles that one writes. For Munyaneza, it is true that in this field he has received some phone calls from politicians involved in some reported scandals. "Of course they call but you always have what to say to them; maybe they can even give you more news."
Asked his best story so far, he said, "I think all the stories that have carried my by-line are good because I think they are at least unbiased."
But he says he was impressed most by a story he wrote early 2004 regarding the massacres targeting genocide survivors and witnesses particularly in the then Kaduha district in Gikongoro province, now in the Southern province. "I saw the government and other groups moving in to take action. Yes, violent attacks on survivors have not been wholly contained but at least I am proud that that story contributed in bringing the problem to the limelight."
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Munyaneza also spends part of his time off political arenas and discussion and goes to church mostly at Miracle Centre in Remera, a city suburb. "I enjoy going to church and I know God is enabling me in whatever I am doing. I pray, read the Bible and endeavour to correct myself by the day." He is also a member of the church choir--The Petros (Hebrew to mean Rock).
He says he does not find any big problem in his job alongside studies. "It's all about managing your time, and getting serious with whatever you are doing at any particular time."
Munyaneza believes there are opportunities for Rwandan journalists to get to greater heights. However, he says that the effectiveness of Rwanda's journalism would be realised faster with the due cooperation of all stakeholders. "Journalists should not be stigmatised; they need everybody's assistance. They need to be tipped and its officials from the public, private sector, the civil society and everybody else that make journalists what they are. Minus sources, there would be no credible journalism. There really should be trust between journalists and the general public."
