Eng. Deo Muvuyi is a Chairperson EREA EXCO and Acting Director – General, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA)
When most of us hear of Eng. Deo Muvuyi, the first line of thought is Rwanda’s utility and energy sector. For others, it is this tall, well-built gentleman who walks with his wife and four children during Rwanda’s car-free Saturdays. Or the gentleman who plays football with the children in his backyard.
By Dear Jeanne
“I love walking and so does my wife, who jogs occasionally,” he shares.“Back in the day, before work was very demanding, we used to walk home together every evening. That was our most prized bonding time,” Eng. Muvuyi reminisces with a chuckle. In the last few months, since being appointed the Acting Director General Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA), duty has been calling hard – making the evening walks elusive. He takes it in stride though.
The engineer walks into his office at 7am and delves into reports, checks the systems in the different utility sectors i.e. energy, transport, water, radiation protection, telecom among others. A day hardly ever goes without stakeholders from the different sectors seeking a meeting to explain their cases. It is these different meet ups that run his day past his official sign out time –5pm. Going out for lunch is barely a guarantee.”I can’t complain, the job is fulfilling, and I still have alot to learn since some of the things in energy are new to me,” explains Eng. Deo Muvuyi had been the Rwanda’s transport for around 16 years.
Two years in the energy sector, the work never gets monotonous for Eng. Deo, he says. The technological advancements and innovation keep him busy learning a new thing after the other, heads that.”When I was in the transport sector, there was always something new. And now that I oversee all utilities, there is alot to learn. I don’t have the time to get used to the work and find it monotonous,” he says repositioning himself in the office chair, in a ‘I-enjoy-talking-serious-business’ kind of way.
It is on weekends that Mrs. Muvuyi gets her powers to dictate healthy meals to the otherwise full-scheduled husband. Who to better keep the busy engineer’s health than the woman that was first just a good friend, then his best friend?
“I love community. I love people. When I am not at the office I am with my family – including the extended one, or at church. Making life comfortable for people – including the ones I serve through RURA, gives me satisfaction,” he prides. Born and raised in Uganda, Deo Muvuyi’s father instilled in him the family-man character from an earlier age. “His motto was ‘every man is supposed to serve and look after his family / community’. It is a line I took to heart and now following in his footsteps,” he narrates – admitting he has found himself sharing the same with his children.
Interesting, our interview with Eng. Deo Muvuyi was on World Women’s Day this year at 7pm. Going beyond his energy assignments, he walks to a corner and pulls out a red parcel. It has a special Women’s Day gift for his wife. “Balancing work and family is not easy, but I try,” he smiles.“Like today I had to make a call for this gift to be delivered. It’s getting late and I may reach home when my wife is in bed, but I have to give her the gift. She deserves it and more,” he asserts. If I had laser eyes, I would not have hesitated to see what was in the package.
The obviously driven and articulate engineer says he is generally quiet and shy. The good flow and the impressive detail he availed during the interview is simply because he prepared, he laughs.
Deo Muvuyi is a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, now University of Rwanda. He also has a master’s degree from University of Technology, Malaysia.