A statue was unveiled in Rusizi District this past weekend in honour of Catholic priest Ubald Rugirangoga, a peace champion known for his rather impactful sermons in which he preached love, repentance and forgiveness, among others.

A survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rugirangoga was also a champion of reconciliation between survivors and perpetrators of the Genocide in which over a million people were killed.

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The statue was unveiled during the third anniversary of his death. He succumbed to complications related to Covid-19 from the United States, where he had been invited to pray for the sick when the pandemic struck at the beginning of 2020.

He had dedicated his life to praying for the sick and vulnerable, earning a reputation for miraculous healing through prayer.

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The newly unveiled sculpture now stands on the hill named ‘Ibanga ry'Amahoro’ (the secret of peace) in Gihundwe sector, Rusizi District, and was molded by Father Leszek Jan Czelusniak, a Polish priest currently based in Kibeho in southern Rwanda.

While the giant sculpture is a good way for Rwandans, especially Christians of the Roman Catholic belief that he professed, to honour the peace-loving man, the best way to remember him is to embrace all those values he held dear.

As we approach the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as recent as this year, bodies of genocide victims are still being discovered including in precincts of churches in the country.

A case in point is the hundreds of Genocide victims whose remains were found in the compound of Mibilizi Catholic Church, which is ironically not far from where the priest was buried. It is also within the same diocese where he served for much of his life in priesthood.

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The reason as to why, three decades after the Genocide, we have not been able to find all the victims so that their families can give them a decent burial is mainly because of people who either killed them or those that witnessed the massacre are reluctant to come up and provide information of their whereabouts.

This not only denies the deceased the right to a decent burial, but also greatly impedes the reconciliation, which Father Rugirangoga was so passionate about. Christians, especially the Catholic Church should therefore see to it that such information is provided and the dead given a befitting burial.