BUJUMBURA, 2 Apr (ABP) – The Minister for East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sport and Culture, Gervais Abayeho, inaugurated a national dojo (martial arts hall) for the Burundi Karate Federation (FEBUKA) in Bujumbura Mayorship on Tuesday 1 April 2025. That project was financed by the French Embassy in Burundi, in collaboration with the Burundi National Olympic Committee (NOC).
The ceremonies were attended by the French Ambassador to Burundi, the Chairperson of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), the Mayor of Bujumbura and the President of FEBUKA.
In her speech, Lydia Nsekera, the NOC Chairperson, indicated that the inauguration of that karate dojo was much more than a simple event: it was a symbol of a shared vision and fruitful cooperation between several players involved in promoting sport.
She commended the Burundi government’s commitment to sport, notably by granting FEBUKA that half-hectare field. She took the opportunity to call for the budget allocated to sporting activities to be maintained.
According to Nsekera, the active participation of young people in achieving the objectives of Burundi’s vision 2040-2060 requires the country to have young people who are healthy, disciplined and courageous, and who possess values such as friendship, respect, excellence and fair play. She stressed that all those values flourish in sport.
For the French ambassador to Burundi, Sébastien Minot, the inauguration of that dojo is the fruit of cooperation between France and Burundi. He added that Burundi now has a space capable of hosting international competitions in various combat sports, as well as in other disciplines such as badminton, volleyball and table tennis.
He pointed out that this infrastructure was built as part of the Project for the Emergence and Promotion of Sportsmen and Sportswomen in Burundi (PEPS) run by the French Embassy in Burundi. The PEPS aims to boost the presence of Burundian athletes in international sporting competitions by 2026, thanks to international expertise.
Minot praised FEBUKA commitment, which is working tirelessly to structure and develop that discipline in Burundi. According to Minot, that dojo will also be the scene of many victories and moments of sporting passion, inspiring the current and future generations to aspire to excellence and to make Burundian sport shine beyond its borders.
Speaking at the ceremony, Abayeho said that the building was the fruit of exemplary cooperation between several partners sharing the same objective: the development of sport in Burundi.
“It is thanks to that spirit of cooperation, combined with our desire to unite our efforts for the development of sport in Burundi, that the project to build a large dojo presented by the President of the Karate Federation has been received with enthusiasm”, he said.
He indicated that his ministry had allocated a plot of land of half a hectare to show its commitment to making that project a reality. He went on to point out that a chain of partnerships had been formed between the karate federation, the ministry in charge of sports, the national Olympic committee and the French embassy in Burundi.
He congratulated FEBUKA on that great vision, thanked the National Olympic Committee for its driving role in the development of sport in Burundi and expressed his gratitude to the French Embassy in Burundi, whose involvement in the development of sport in Burundi is increasingly visible and appreciated. He also urged the French embassy to continue and extend that type of support to other sporting disciplines and other sectors of development, as Burundi suffers from a crying lack of sports infrastructure.
Abayeho also called on other sports federations to follow in the footsteps of the karate federation and continue that good example in order to help promote sport in Burundi.
Those inauguration ceremonies were enlivened by demonstration activities in the disciplines of Judo, Taekwondo, Badminton, Table Tennis and Boxing.
The dojo was built with a budget of 100,000 euros.