President Kagame has made one thing clear on several occasions: no one in his administration is indispensable.

Mr Musoni has the respect of the employees of the ministry he heads and he has a reputation for delivering. Another reputation he has is of being good at identifying and nurturing talent, and delegating duties. Employees of the ministry I have interviewed have only praise for the minister.

This, plus the fact the post he occupies is hypersensitive, requiring someone of longstanding leadership, must have saved Mr Musoni.

In the past few years the he has gotten so involved in the politics of machinations and intrigues that it threatened to compromise his performance as a minister, and it has compromised the work of others who have to be constantly on the lookout to save their careers and reputations.

That the President has given him a second chance shows either the leadership still sees much potential in Mr Musoni, or the man has preternaturally well-honed survival skills. Or both.

How Mr Musoni performs from now could decide how long his career in the government will be.

President Kagame has made one thing clear on several occasions: no one in his administration is indispensable. From what we have seen ever since – the Sam Nkusis, the Theogene Rudasingwas and other formerly ‘untouchable’ heavyweights being confined to the political wilderness – there is no reason to doubt Mr Kagame’s words.

The reshuffle saw the introduction of three new ministries: the ministry of Cabinet Affairs, which has been handed to Dr Charles Murigande who has been the minister of foreign affairs and cooperation for a number of years; the ministry for the East African Community, handed to new entrant Monique Mukaruriza and the ministry of Youth, a position peeled off from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Protais Mitali, a survivor of the Genocide and the head of the PL party is at the helm of the new ministry.

Was it created just for him? That is the informed speculation. Mr Murigande is one of those people the reason of whose continued presence in the cabinet no one states openly.