During the genocide, Mukumira with his own hands, killed one Prisca Mukarwego, a sister to François Gakayire. He also killed Paul Kamanzi’s wife, Madeleine, and another woman they lived together whose names he cannot remember.
Mukumira killed all the victims at ADEPR Kayenzi Church and at Ntarama Church.
On Thursday, Innocent Mukumira with his 19 fellow prisoners convicted of genocide crimes now serving their sentences at Bugesera Prison met at Kibungo Cell in Ntarama Sector of Bugesera District to confess and apologize to members of families of victims they killed.
The event was organized by Prison Fellowship Rwanda, Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC).
In his testimony, Mukumira who has now served 18 years of his 19 years imprisonment sentence said: “Before the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, I was a leader in the Christian Association Church of Rwanda and I was not really able to stand firm in my duties as a pastor.”
“I ignored the lambs God had given me to feed and put down the Shepherd’s rod and replaced it with the evil rod which I used to kill those I had to protect. I was not like a human being, I had become like a beast. I apologize to the family of François Gakayire and all other families whose members I killed. I admit that sin, apologize and promise never to repeat it,” Mukumira said.
François Gakayire whose sister was killed by Mukumira said Mukumira had refused to say he was responsible for his sister’s murder for all the past 20 years.
“I went to Bugesera Prison but no prisoner admitted having killed my family members. I remained calm as I could not go to jail to force them accept the wrong they did to me. I did not know Mukumira is the one who killed my people until a few days ago,” recounted Gakayire.
“When I discovered it was Mukumira, I asked him ‘how could you spend 20 years in jail without coming to apologize to me? I told him if he had come to apologize before, we would have forgiven him. He said his heart had not yet accepted what he did and I told him ‘I forgive you’,” Gakayire adds.
The Commissioner General of Rwanda Correctional Service, CGP George Rwigamba said the institution he heads has 27,000 prisoners convicted of crimes they committed in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and only 15 per cent of them have apologized to families whose members they killed.
“Those who aplogized to family members of the victims are 6,000; only 15 percent. We still have a long journey but we are happy of where we are now. We hope others will open their hearts and apologize as time goes by,” CGP Rwigamba said.
Leave a Reply