Mo-Mamo Karerwa

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Mo-Mamo Karerwa is a Burundian educator, school administrator, and politician. A trained teacher, she founded the Magarama II Peace Primary School in 1993 during ethnic violence. The school taught the government curriculum in the mornings and peace education in the afternoons, focusing on children’s rights and Burundi’s history and culture to build a peaceful future. Her program expanded to 16 schools in Gitega Province, and in 2003 she became the primary school teacher representative on the Provincial Education Council.

In 2010 Karerwa was elected to Burundi’s National Assembly as a member of the NCDD-FDD party and was unanimously chosen as first vice president of the lower chamber. She was re-elected in 2015 but resigned in 2017 to serve as Burundi’s representative in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the regional parliament for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. She served on the EALA Commission, the assembly’s administrative body, and was re-elected in 2022 for a second term.

Karerwa, a Hutu from Gitega, began her peace work after the 1993 genocide, realizing that reconciliation between communities was essential. She sought support from Swedish Quakers in 1995, with whom she expanded Magarama II Peace Primary School to teach peaceful living. The school grew to about 700 students from ages two through sixth grade, combining government curricula with lessons on children’s rights and peaceful coexistence. She visited displaced people in camps and orphanages to spread peace education and encouraged students to perform songs and dramas for those in need.

She also represented Burundi in regional forums. In 2014 she led Burundi’s delegation at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Mauritius, focusing on regional integration, transport, digital connectivity, human rights, and women’s and children’s protection. She has spoken on women’s issues and land use, and she participated in efforts to improve Burundi–Rwanda relations.