Jean Bosco Kazura is a

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

n General, Chief of Defence Staff of the

Rwanda Defence Force french: Forces rwandaises de défense sw, Nguvu ya Ulinzi ya Watu wa Rwanda , image = Rwanda Defense Force emblem.png , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 ...

and former head of the Rwandan Football Federation. Kazura was born and educated in

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

. He got involved in the military campaign conducted by the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...

to end the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

. Later, he served as the deputy commander of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

peacekeeping force in the

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

region of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. He held various positions in the Rwandan military, including the Principal Staff Officer at the Rwandan Defence Force Headquarters in Kigali (2010-2013), brigade and division level commands (1998-2003), as well as the Deputy Force Commander and the Chief Military Observer of the African Mission in Sudan. Kazura was the unanimously elected president of the

Rwandese Association Football Federation The Rwanda Football Federation ( French: ''Fédération Rwandaise de Football Association'', FERWAFA; "Rwandan Association Football Federation"), is the official governing body of association football in Rwanda. It was founded in 1975 and affiliate ...

in February 2006. During his first term, Rwanda successfully hosted the

2009 African Youth Championship The 2009 African Youth Championship is a football tournament for under 20 players. It was held in Rwanda from 18 January until 1 February 2009. It also served as qualification for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Qualification Preliminary round ...

. Four years later, he was unopposed in an election for FERWAFA president, retaining the position. After a command reshuffle in April 2010, Kazura was given command of Rwandan army training and operations. In June 2010, he traveled to South Africa to attend the World Cup. He had failed to obtain permission for the trip, required for the army officers leaving the country; hence, he was later recalled and arrested. An army spokesman denied that the arrest had any connection with Kazura's contacting two former military officers living in exile in South Africa, former chief of staff Lieutenant General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa and former head of external military intelligence Patrick Karegeya. Kazura spent over a month in detention before being pardoned and released after making an apology. Kazura resigned as head of FERWAFA in September 2011. In June 2013, Major General Kazura was appointed as Force Commander of

MINUSMA The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise t ...

(United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali).

References

Living people Rwandan generals Year of birth missing (living people) {{africa-mil-bio-stub