The commemoration took place on May 13, 2026, beginning with a flame of hope lighting ceremony, followed by a moment of silence in honour of the victims. The event was held at a memorial bearing the names of former SORAS employees, located at the headquarters of SanlamAllianz Rwanda.
Participants later proceeded to Nyanza Genocide Memorial in Kicukiro, where they laid wreaths and paid tribute to the victims buried there.
Speaking at the event, Ibuka Executive Secretary Ahishakiye Naphtal said SORAS’ history of employing Tutsi staff, and its continued remembrance of those who were killed, serves as an important lesson to companies and employees in general. He noted that during that period, many institutions in the country did not allow Tutsi to work.
“We appreciate that those we remember were among those who had the opportunity to get jobs, because in some institutions, being Tutsi made it impossible to be employed. Today, a company can appear to have been founded after the Genocide, yet it existed before it, built on a strong ideology that excluded Tutsi,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Board of SanlamAllianz Life Insurance PLC, Sebuhuzu Gisanabagabo, said remembrance is not just a ceremony but a responsibility and a value that helps build a better future for the country and prevent a return to its painful history.
“Remembering has deep meaning because we do not only remember numbers or names, but people who had lives, talents, professional skills and aspirations to build their country. We remember them to restore the dignity they were denied,” he said.
Kicukiro District official in charge of public services, Donatien Murenzi, urged young people to reject all forms of genocide ideology, to love their country, learn its history, and actively counter genocide denial and revisionism, especially on social media.
A representative of families who lost relatives working at SORAS, Uwonkunda Josiane, said the remembrance period remains emotionally difficult, but noted that SanlamAllianz continues to support the families of former employees.
In addition to the commemoration, SanlamAllianz Rwanda also donated Rwf 4 million to IBUKA to support health insurance coverage for some Genocide survivors.
So far, nine former SORAS employees, which later became SanlamAllianz, have been confirmed among those killed during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
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