WESTERN PROVINCE

KARONGI — Over two hundred bodies of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi were on Wednesday given a decent burial in Karongi district.

The bodies that were buried were retrieved from the Sectors of Mubuga and Bwishyura. The burial ceremony took place at Home St.Jean cemetery in Bwishyura sector and attracted thousands of mourners who included relatives of the victims.

This ceremony follows another one where 11,000 victims were buried at Home St. Jean Genocide memorial centre. Speaking before the burial, the District Mayor, Bernard Kayumba, said that it is crucial to remember those who died as a way of finding lasting solutions to challenges facing our society.

"It is important to remember the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. We must also help those who survived to help them get off their feet,” he said, calling for more support in retrieving remains of the Genocide victims still hidden in unidentified places.

"This place was home to a big number of Tutsis...which is why the killers put more efforts to clear them. It is from such evidence that we are sure that remains of very many more victims are still buried in unidentified locations. We need help to give them a decent burial.”

The Governor of Western Province, Celestin Kabahizi who also attended the burial ceremony, said remembering should be a responsibility for every Rwandan as this will lay a big foundation in stopping the Genocide from happening again.

The representative of Ibuka appealed to security officials to assist with the security of survivors who are still hunted by perpetrators. Ibuka is the umbrella organization of Genocide survivors.

During the Genocide, many Tutsi in Kibuye were killed in churches and others were thrown in toilets, consequently,  a big number of victims’ remains have not been retrieved fifteen years later.

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