HUNDREDS of residents, including leaders and survivors on Monday gathered at Murambi memorial site, Nyamagabe District to pay their respects to the over 50, 000 Genocide victims buried there.

Residents listened to testimonies and speeches at the same site where the Tutsi were murdered. The event also served as an occasion to offer a decent burial to the remains of 12 Genocide victims recently exhumed from various places around Murambi.

On April 21, 1994, the Tutsi who were gathered at Murambi were attacked by the Interahamwe militia. Fatigued and hungry, the victims tried in vain to fend off   the attackers using stones, according to testimonies. 

They were overpowered by the Interahamwe militia and brutally killed. Of the over 50, 000 Tutsi who gathered in the area, only  a handful survived.

Murambi is regarded as one of the scenes of elaborate killings of the Tutsi and a distressing reminder of the horrors of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.

The Minister for Sports and culture, Protais Mitali, reminded the residents of how the Tutsi were killed by the very people who were meant to protect them.

"It is regrettable that some leaders trained and encouraged some members of the community to kill their compatriots,” Mitali said.

"Most regrettable, however, is the fact that some of these individuals are still wandering about in various countries around the world and continue to spread genocide ideology with impunity,” he added. 

Mitali warned such individuals that they will not be allowed  to commit such heinous acts again.

The Southern Province governor, Alphonse Munyantwali, called upon mourners to fight divisive and discriminatory ideology in order to avoid a repeat of genocide.

Genocide ideology is an evil that everyone needs to fight in order to ensure that it is totally eradicated, he said, noting that though significant progress had been registered, efforts to eradicate it must be sustained.