By line: East African Report Staff
Date: 9 November 2026
Kigali, Rwanda —
For nearly 50 years, Mukandekezi has lived with a pain that has never faded.
In 1977, when she returned to Rwanda from Uganda, she was forced to leave behind her children. She has not seen them since. She does not know how they grew up, whether they married, or whether they now have children and grandchildren of their own.
Today, at nearly 90 years old, she is asking for one thing before it is too late: to see her children again.
Mukandekezi’s story was brought to public attention after her family members, Nkundirinfura and Xavier Nsengiyumva, spoke to Radio Agasaro Kaburaga, appealing for help to trace the family.
Now, her family is extending that appeal to the wider East African public, to Ugandans, Rwandans, and all people of goodwill who may know the family.
The Children She Is Searching For
According to the family, the children Mukandekezi left in Uganda are:
1. Musabyimana
2. Bagirabate
3. Nturanyenabo, also known as Rugendo
4. Bonabana
The family believes they were living in Biyoro, Uganda, near an area then known as Kasure.
That is the last place Mukandekezi knew them to be. Almost five decades have passed since then. Names of villages may have changed. People may have moved. But the family believes the children, now adults, may still be in Uganda, or their descendants may still know the story of a mother who left in 1977.
A Mother’s Last Wish
At 90, Mukandekezi is no longer asking for wealth or support. She is asking for reunion.
She wants to see her children, to embrace her grandchildren, and to meet her great-grandchildren. She wants to know that the family she was separated from is alive and well.
Family members say she still speaks about them often, remembers their childhood names, and still hopes that one day, a phone call or a visitor will bring news that they have been found.
> “She has waited for almost 50 years. She does not want to die without seeing them again.”
Why This Search Matters Now
Stories of families separated by migration, conflict, and borders are common across East Africa. In the 1970s, many Rwandans lived in Uganda, and many families were divided when people returned home, fled, or were forced to move without their loved ones.
For decades, there was no internet, no mobile phones, and no easy way to trace a family across a border. Many mothers and children simply lost each other.
Today, with radio, social media, and community networks, there is still hope that such families can be reunited — even after 50 years.
Mukandekezi’s case is urgent because of her age. Her family says time is no longer on their side.
How You Can Help
East African Report is joining the family’s appeal and asking readers in Rwanda and Uganda, especially in Biyoro, Kasure, and surrounding areas in southwestern Uganda, to help.
If you know this family, or have any information that could help reunite them, please:
– Contact the family through Nkundirinfura and Xavier Nsengiyumva
– Contact Radio Agasaro Kaburaga
– Contact East African Report
– Share this story with community leaders, LC1 chairpersons, churches, and elders in Biyoro and neighbouring villages
Even a small detail — a name, a village, a memory of a family that arrived from Rwanda, a neighbour who knows Rugendo or Bonabana — could be the key that reunites this family.
Editor’s Note
If you have information, please reach out to East African Report. We will connect you directly to the family and treat all information with confidentiality and respect.
Contact: [+254112502220 / Email eastafricanreport@gmail.com]
