Author: Publisher

{{Cassien Ntamuhanga above is a Journalist working with Amazing Grace Christian Radio . He disappeared on April 7 at about 7PM. Relatives and workmates tried calling his phone but no one would answer nor return calls.Police says its investigating the matter.}}

{{Amazing Grace Christian Radio is located at Makuza Building
The vehicle of the missing journalist is still packed outside the radio offices and by press time, IGIHE saw two Police officers guarding the car.}}

{{On April 7}}

Mr. Cassien Ntamuhanga left home at about 2PM. However, towards 7PM Ntamuhanga is said to have spoken on phone with a family member Ufitinema Straton. The two are workmates.

By the time of their conversation, Ufitinema Straton was attending the 20th Commemoration event at Amahoro Stadium and the two were to return home together.

However, Ntamuhanga later told Ufitinema that he had reached at Gishushu on his way home and wouldn’t wait for him.

Ufitinema later arrived home but found that Ntamuhanga had not yet reached. The family waited for Ntamuhanga till morning.

The following morning on April 8, family members contacted Kalinijabo Jean De Dieu a staff member at Amazing Grace Christian Radio to incquire about the whereabouts of Ntamuhanga.

Kalinijabo told the family that Ntamuhanga’s car was driven to the office by an un identified person who parked it and jumped onto a waiting motorcycle and sped off.

{Ntamuhanga’s Car parked outside the Radio offices without any damage}

{{Twenty years later, during April, Gatsibo District and surrounding areas formerly under Commune Murambi were a zone of silence, fear and death as bodies of murdered Tutsi’s dotted the entire area.}}

Gatsibo formerly part of the larger Commune Murambi was controlled by the notorious Bourgmestre Jean Baptiste Gatete, he is remembered for ordering and supervising the merciless murder of ethnic Tutsi’s in his area of control.

The mutilated bodies of babies, fathers and mothers of ethnic Tutsi’s were dumped in a large deep ditch and left to decompose.

It’s estimated that more than 14,686 Tutsi’s in Gatsibo alone were killed during the hundred days of intensive murder under the close supervision by {Bourgmestre} Gatete.

On April 7, 2014, the people of Gatsibo district joined the rest of Rwandans in honouring the victims of the genocide against ethnic Tutsi’s that claimed more than a million Tutsi mothers, fathers and babies in the whole country.

The 20th commemoration event was held at Bugarura Genocide Memorial site located in Rwarenga Cell, Remera Sector just 11Km off the Kagitumba-Kigali Highway in Eastern Province.

During the Genocide period, Bugarura Sector was part of Commune Muhura under the control of {Bourgmestre} Muramutsa who was later Killed accused of collaborating with Tutsi.

After the death of {Bourgmestre} Muramutsa, Muhura Commune control swiftly switched to the hands of notorious Bourgmestre Gatete that later worked in collaboration with {Conseiller} Claver Iyamuremye who headed Bugarura a sector in Muhura Commune.

Gatete and Iyamuremye closely identified Tutsi’s in Bugarura Sector and summarily executed them in their Hundreds. In Bugarura sector 122 Tutsi’s were killed in just three days.

Currently 252 Bodies of Genocide victims lay at Bugarura Memorial site. Several other bodies of Victims are laid to rest at Kizuguro Memorial site in Kiziguro sector.

{{Survivors Account }}

According to the testimony of Mr. Manuel Manuveri who survived the genocide in Bugarura sector; “Trouble began in 1990 with hatred and pinpointing of Tusti’s as ‘trouble causers’. Later some of our neighbors would tell us that we would be killed. The killings became frequent until it turned into a genocide”, said Manuveri.

Bonita Yamuragiye, who was four years says she lost 10 members of her family members including parents, brothers and sisters. “I only survived because I had gone to visit my uncle at Kiziguro who later sought protection from Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA).

At the 20th commemoration of Genocide, the current Mayor of Gatsibo District, Ambroise Ruboneza said, “During the commemoration period, I recall three things; the suffering Tutsis endured during the genocide, the power of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) to stop the genocide and the cause of the genocide”.

Mayor Ruboneza emphasized reconciliation and participation in all elements of development.
{Below is a Pictorial from Gatsibo on the 20th Commemoration of Genocide against Ethnic Tutsi’s.}

{Mayor Ruboneza (center) and vice mayors Lay a wreth of flowers in honour of Genocide Victims}

{Event to recieve the flame of Rememberance at Kiziguro sector. Present were Minister Protais Mitali}

{{Gatsibo District Mayor Ruboneza Ambroise speaking at the 20th Commemoration of Genocide against Tutsi’s. }}

{Silvestre Misingo a genocide survivor}

{{On April 7th 2014, the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva jointly with the Rwandan community in Switzerland organized a Walk to Remember and the 20th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi.}}

The Walk to Remember began at Jardin Botanique and ended at Maison de la Paix where the 20th Commemoration took place.

Participants included the diplomatic community, Rwandans living in Switzerland, Friends of Rwanda, University students and the local community. In tribute and solidarity with the victims, all participants wore a grey scarf.

The commemoration began with a choir performance of the song ‘Isomo twasigiwe na Jenoside yakorewe Abatutsi’ and was followed by the Kwibuka flame held by two Rwandan youth.

The event was moderated by Mrs. Jeanine Munyeshuli Barbé and attended by Heads of International Organizations and other Senior United Nations officials, Ambassadors, members of the diplomatic community and international civil servants in Geneva, as well as the Rwandan community and Friends of Rwanda living in Switzerland.

Mrs. Esther Mujawayo delivered a powerful and poignant testimony to the importance of remembering and keeping the memories alive through Kwibuka, to ensure that the last word is not ‘genocide’ but life -Renew.

She called on the audience to remember that the victims of the genocide were not numbers but mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends. Mrs. Mujawayo shared that through pain and suffering, Rwanda has managed to rebuild itself stronger.

Dr. Michel Gakuba, President of Ibuka – Swiss section, emphasized that negationism is intrinsically integrated in the crime of genocide. ‘Denial is an offense to survivors and to inhumanity’ he stated.

Dr. Gakuba called upon the International community to fight against this evil as a conscious effort to honor the victims of this crime against humanity.

Mr. Georges Martin, Assistant Secretary of State, delivered a statement on behalf of the President of Switzerland.

Mr. Martin stated that ‘Kwibuka is a duty to the victims and an obligation to present and future generation to ensure that genocide will never again be possible’.

Switzerland encouraged Rwandans and the Government of Rwanda to continue in its efforts towards reconciliation and development.

He added that no society is immune against atrocities. ‘Preventing crimes and genocide is a continued responsibility which is shared by all nations.’

Mr. Moses Rugema, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Rwanda, in line with the theme of the 20th Commemoration stated that ‘Over the past twenty years the people and government of Rwanda have resolved to place unity- Unite- at the heart of their renewal- Renew’.

He went on to add that ‘Remembering and memory comes with responsibility, a responsibility to be faithful to what you remember and a responsibility to the truth and historical clarity.’

{{I join you today, pleased to be here but bearing a heavy heart in remembering the terrible events that got underway this day, twenty years ago.

The people of Kenya reach out to their Rwandan brothers and sisters; we mourn with you, and join you in our determination that genocide will never find space in our region again.}}

For a hundred days, Rwanda suffered grievously while the world watched without daring to step in and fulfil the famous pledge of “never again” made after the Jewish Holocaust.

Almost a million Rwandans were lost in an escalation of violence that had plagued Rwanda for decades with its roots in colonialism’s racist ideology and a post-colonial state that practised the politics of division and terror.

These beautiful hills were deluged with pain and death. The world’s refusal to act against the killers exposed the gulf between high-minded avocations of humanity, and the calculating approach that judges ‘interests’ against human lives.

Our region also stood aside, and for that we owe the most profound apology to the people of Rwanda. We have learned that no one from far away can be relied on to come to our aid; we must build an independent capability and will to protect the lives of our children and their futures.

This is why as the chairman of the East African Community I believe that we must ensure that our region is as strong on security and mutual aid, as it is in trade and economic integration.Building an EAC in this second decade of the 21st century that would have intervened in 1994 is the least we can do to honour the memory of the dead.

Rwanda learnt its painful lesson well. We proudly watched you go about the business of burying your dead, seeking justice for them by pursuing the killers, and then building a country that disavowed ethnic division, and promised good government.

Your nation is a phoenix, home of millions of unsung heroes.I salute the Rwandans who endured and survived. I applaud those who reached out to save their neighbours.

I thank the Rwanda Patriotic Front for doing what so many others were unable or unwilling to do. I join hands with your President, H.E. Paul Kagame, in working toward a region that is prosperous, brotherly and safe for all our people.

We have learnt from your outstanding example of resisting the politics of ethnic division. We too have suffered from the violence that arises from not putting colonial divide-and-rule narratives to rest.

We must guard against those who sought to dominate and exploit us all those years ago, and who even today pursue their economic and geopolitical interests with scant regard for our independence and sovereignty.

But that is not all we need to guard against. We must take the Rwandan example of Gacaca to deploy home-grown solutions that find the difficult balance between the victim’s craving for justice and the nation’s need for reconciliation and peace following conflict.

The dreadful media of Kangura and Radio RTLM must be remembered for us to reject hateful and inflammatory speech that seeks to turn us against one another on the basis of ethnicity or religion.

We must also guard against deniers of the genocide and their supporters. We note that genocidaires remain abroad, openly rejecting the horrors of 1994 and even seeking to argue, from reputable rostrums, that it is they who were the real victims.

This is a way to hide their vile agenda, which is nothing less than the continuation of the genocide by narrative means, behind admirable norms such as free speech.

We are not fooled for one instant. Free speech is not hate speech. Denial of the 1994 genocide is not an exercise in academic freedom or democratic politics; it is a cloak for murderers who to this day believe their genocidal work is not complete.

Rwanda has moved forward together with Kenya and East Africa. You are no longer just a nearby country; you are a first-line partner in our transformative political and economic enterprises. These days we look out for each other.

Although we do not expect mass violence to revisit Rwanda, our history has taught us the need for vigilance. The Inter-Government Committee on the Great Lakes Region (IGCLR), the Eastern Africa Standby Force, and other arrangements remain at hand to ensure that our region is never again home to mass murder and genocide.

Our concern extends to the tragic events in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Kenya has worked hard to engage in the search for peace in these troubled countries.

Our troops like those of Rwanda have been deployed to protect civilians, while our diplomats work overtime to forge stability and then peace.

We must not allow those crises to escalate any further into the kind of mass atrocities that would betray our determination to ensure that “never again” is a real promise.

Let me finish by telling all Rwandans that in Kenya you have a friend. We grieve with you, and honour the memory of all who suffered and perished. I pray with you for the souls of the dead, and for the healing of their families, friends and compatriots.

I look to the future in expectation of continued stability and progress. Stay united and independent. I wish you all God’s blessings – and peace, love and unity always.

Thank you.

{{The Rwanda Police peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) joined the rest of Rwandans, on April 7, to pay homage to over a million innocent lives massacred in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as the country kicked off the 100 days of mourning.}}

The Rwandan peacekeepers were joined by peacekeeping forces from other countries serving in the Caribbean nation, Haitian national Police, local leaders and clerics to mark the 20th Genocide anniversary.

The commemoration started with a walk to remember. A moment of silence was also observed in respect of those who perished in the Genocide.

Chief Superintendent Peter Hodari, the Rwanda Formed Police Unit (FPU) contingent commander thanked all those who turned up to join Rwandans to remember the victims of the horror act.

“We gather here today to remember and pay homage to the victims of this carnage of ruthless atrocities and to also pledge solidarity and strengthen the survivors,” Chief Supt. Hodari said.

He said Rwandans have moved on, despite the horror acts, changed the past bad politics and united towards a common goal.

He outlined infrastructure, education, health, investment, unity and reconciliation, energy, agriculture, good governance as areas where the country has made tremendous strides in the past 20 years.

Chief Supt. Hodari also handed over a portrait of late Capt. Mbaye, a Senegalese soldier who was killed during the Genocide, to the Senegal Formed Police Unit contingent commander, Lt. Col. Magatte Mbaye, in respect of his role to save some Tutsis from being killed by Interahamwe militias.

Capt. Mbaye, who was serving under the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1994, was killed by Interahamwe militias while trying to save some Tutsis from being massacred.

Ba Fatoumata, the Chief Regional Officer, who represented MINUSTAH, thanked Rwanda for her peacekeeping contributions to the rest of the world and in Haiti in particular.

“’Never again’…everyone has a responsibility to speak out in the face of genocide, anti-Semitism, bigotry, hatred, racism, intolerance or discrimination,” Fatoumata stated.

Currently, there are 140 Rwanda Police officers in Haiti, who include 14 females.

The commemoration ended with a documentary film on Genocide. The 20th Genocide commemoration is held under the theme, “Remember, Unit, Renew.”