Following the country’s admission to the East African Community, Mwalimu Pacifique Malonga has been on the forefront in supporting the learning of Swahili in the country.

Pacifique Malonga. (photo Abraham Rumanzi)

Moreover, the renowned teacher has written several books on the issue, his latest being Twige Igiswahili, as well as a dictionary known as Kamusi. “I hope those book encourage people to learn the language,” he notes.

And knowing Swahili is a big advantage these days, the pioneer of the language points out. It is used by over 70% of the population in the region, yet only a minority Rwandans speak the language.

What is more, he says, the borrowed Arabic language mixed with Bantu (Swahili) unites people due to its popularity and because it transcends ethnicity. “One can easily communicate without being identified with a certain tribe,” he remarks.

Despite few Rwandans being familiar with the language, Malonga is optimistic that many more will soon be able to learn it if only teaching of the language was widespread in schools. He suggest, for instance, that if the language was introduced as a subject in primary schools, the young would be in a position to easily acquire basic Swahili communication skills.

What is more, some of Malonga’s viewers and listeners on both TV and radio have proposed for the formation of a Swahili cultural center which will not only create a venue where Swahili speakers can mingle but also learn more about the culture. “We lack places where we can practice the language through speaking it,” complains Omar, a listener striving to learn the language.

Though the language is being taught in some private language schools, many teachers still lack proper teaching skills – a fact that makes Malonga call on the government to hire experts to teach the language in higher learning institutions. Improvement might be on its way, though, since the Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) does have a special Swahili course that teachers in training undergo.

The ultimate satisfaction for Mwalimu Malongo would be to see Swahili promoted to official language, as is already the case in Tanzania and Kenya. Meanwhile, he has taken advantage of the government’s decision make English one of the country’s official languages and the first language of education, to come to the rescue of French speakers. To this end, he has written a book English made simple targeting francophone Rwandans “The book exposes French speakers to better English,” Malonga comments.

The next step, obviously, will be to introduce them to Swahili.

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