The president of the Rwanda National Olympics Committee, Robert Bayigamba has called on the local sports fraternity to continue with the spirit of honoring the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The president of the Rwanda National Olympics Committee, Robert Bayigamba has called on the local sports fraternity to continue with the spirit of honoring the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The Rwandan sports fraternity lost several players, coaches, supporters and administrators during the Genocide but former Minister for Sports, Youth and Culture, Bayigamba believes sports has been, and continues to be key to uniting and reconciling Rwandans.
The 21st Genocide commemoration week started on Tuesday last week and will end on April 14, but the 100 days of remembering will continue with activities honoring the victims.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday Sport, Bayigamba said that people, who love sport, need to stand together during this difficult period as the country commemorates the massacre that lasted for 100 days, leaving over a million Rwandans dead.
"Our aim is to continue to be united and spread love to all Rwandans through sports. We need to build strong relationships between Rwandans, which will help us to build a stronger and more prosperous country,” he said.
He noted that if there was unity and togetherness among Rwandans before 1994, probably the Genocide wouldn’t have happened.
The former national volleyball team player noted, "We lost many people in sports and sports has been key to reunite people so we have to continue with that spirit which will change the mind of some people who still have harbor Genocide ideology.”
"It is through this love of sportsmanship that we will be able to fight any possible recurrence of genocide, not only in Rwanda but anywhere else in the world,” Bayigamba added.
Between May to June, the Ministry of Sports and Culture instructed all federations to organize memorial tournaments to remember their members including players, coaches, and administrators, who were killed during the horrors of 21 years ago. Since 1995, the Rwanda Volleyball Federation (FRVB) has organized annual Genocide memorial tournaments. The volleyball family lost over 50 of their known members including coaches, players, administrators and fans.
The football fraternity was most affected by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, losing over 70 people.
Some teams that lost players include Mukura, SC Kiyovu, Rayon Sports, Panthère Noire, Etincelles, Gishamvu, Mukungwa, Terminus and Kilo Volte. However, Rwanda Football Association has never organized a memorial tournament to honor them.