Victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who were dumped in Lake Kivu were remembered and honoured on Sunday, April 7, in Nyamyumba Sector, Rubavu District.

Hundreds of Rubavu residents joined other Rwandans and friends to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Nyamyumba, formerly Commune Nyamyumba, at the shores of Lake Kivu.

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Genocide victims were killed while attempting to escape to DR Congo, previously known as Zaire, to evade their attackers.

An unspecified number of Tutsi were dumped into Lake Kivu, with only 11 Genocide victims’ remains being exhumed and given a proper burial, while other corpses were severely damaged, according to Ibuka in Nyamyumba Sector.

It is believed that more bodies were likely washed away to neighbouring DR Congo by the water.

Chadia Mukarurema, a survivor of the Genocide in Nyamyumba, shared her harrowing experience of losing her family, including her grandfather, who was murdered at the location known as ‘Ku Mashyuza’. She managed to flee to DR Congo and survived.

"When I was 16, I imagined we were one people. I remember seeing my father worried after Habyarimana’s plane was shot down. We saw some houses of our neighbours being set on fire. My elder sister and I were holding a baby, running in sorghum farms during heavy rain,” she recalled.

"I fled to DR Congo, hoping to meet my family. The night I left home, my family was killed,” she narrated."My grandfather was killed here, among the drivers of Bralirwa. But we survived, thanks to God.”

Gerard Mbarushimana, Head of Ibuka in Rubavu, said, "Rubavu has a unique history, as part of the former Préfecture de Gisenyi, it included top government officials who played a great role in the preparation and conducting of the Genocide.” Kangura— a Kinyarwanda and French publication that promoted ethnic hatred —he said, was also based in Gisenyi town.

According to Mbarushimana, by 1992, Interahamwe from Nyamyumba were trained to stop Tutsi who were seeking to flee to DR Congo, and in 1993, all lists of Tutsi were already prepared.

He said: "By April 7, killings had started and local authorities ordered everyone not to leave their homes. Many Tutsi were thrown here and we don’t know their whereabouts, including Braliwa truck drivers.”

He also said some people were trying to flee to Cyangugu town, but were killed at the spot.

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One of the challenges Mbarushimana highlighted is hate speech being disseminated in DR Congo and the lack of monuments in special areas where many Tutsi were killed.

"Even though we commemorate, there are still some countries that did not learn lessons from what happened in Rwanda. There is the same hate speech being spread in Congo which at the time was the same thing happening during the preparation of Genocide against Tutsi.

"There is the ‘Igisenge Hutu’ group who are among the people spearheading hate speech in Congo while the international community is doing nothing.”

Speaking at the event, Mayor of Rubavu District, Prosper Mulindwa, emphasised that the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is a responsibility. He highlighted the importance of understanding the tragedy that victims and survivors endured, emphasising the need for people to empathise with them, as "we all share the same blood, emotions, and body.”

He noted, "There will be no more genocide, and this is based on good leadership and the nonexistence of hate speech amongst Rwandans.

"Let’s be grateful that everything became normal, a lot of things, like any other district, have been done and more are to come.”