Roland Rugero

One of Rugero's career goals has been to promote literary culture in Burundi. In 2011, he co-founded Samandari, a literary workshop that meets weekly in Bujumbura. He also helped launch the French-language short-story competition Prix Michel Kayoya and the English-language Andika Prize.

Following his education, Rugero began his career as a journalist. From early on, he worked against his own criticisms of Burundian journalism, claiming that "Burundian journalism today suffers doubly: first, as journalism does throughout the world...from predatory powers, and second, for not properly demonstrating and giving full justice to the formidable space of expression taking place in Burundi." Shortly after starting this work, he began writing stories and publishing his first novel Les Onriques in 2008. Rather than explicitly choosing to broaden his writing beyond journalism, Rugero claims that he merely realized his ability to tell stories. In general, he claims a deep love for writing and a self-proclaimed importance to do so for the present time. According to an interview in 2013, he feels an urgency to write and to be a witness to this time.

Rugero was born near Bujumbura, Burundi as the eldest of six children. At the age of seven, Rugero and his family fled to Rwanda in September 1993, following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye and the resulting Tutsi genocide. In December, he and his family returned to Burundi for only a short time before fleeing to Tanzania at the time President Cyprien Ntaryamira was assassinated. Rugero returned to Burundi as a young adult and pursued a career in writing, becoming a journalist in 2008.

Roland Rugero (born February 22, 1986) is a Burundian author, journalist, and director. His second work Baho! is the first Burundian novel to be translated to English. His work on promoting Burundian culture has led him to be recognized internationally in such programs as the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.