The experience of visiting the Campaign against Genocide Museum has gone beyond the indoor exhibition to describing vivaciously the strategic bunkers that the 600 soldiers (the 3rd Battalion) used during the liberation struggle.
Just below the Heroes Garden where there is a monument of a soldier bowing on one knee holding a gun, 20 symbolic trenches were dug to illustrate the defense dwellings of the 600 in Centre Nationale de Developpement (CND) until the order to break out was given on April 7, 1994.
The 3rd Battalion, troops who were part of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), were tasked to protect the RPF politicians who were in Kigali for the implementation of the Arusha Peace Accords.
They stayed at CND, currently the Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura, a tactical place chosen by the Chairman of the High Command, President Paul Kagame.
The agreement, which was supposed to put up a transitional government comprised of RPF politicians, saw no light, instead on April 6 when the plane of the then President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down, gunfire from all directions rained on them all night as an all-out Genocide began.
Their mission changed from protecting the politicians to containing the attacks from genocidal forces, stop the Genocide and save as many lives as possible.
The new outdoor feature at the museum shows in detail how the order to break out was given and implemented.
Four trenches are allocated symbolically to each of the five companies that made up the 3rd Battalion namely; Tiger Company, Chui Company, Headquarter Company (reserve troop), Simba Company, and Eagle Company.
And one long communication trench was also dug, where these soldiers could pass through for sharing information, food, reinforcement and other forms of support.
The feature graphically explains the different break out directions each had to take to contain the attacks that were coming from Camp Kacyiru Gendarmes, Camp Kami Military Police, Presidential Guard (GP) Camp, and Para-Commandos from Kanombe barracks.
Starting October 1, a visitor will have access to enter and experience these trenches as they are guided through the historical eventualities that mark the history of Rwanda.
Medard Bushana, Museum Manager said that it took one year to construct the new feature and that more elements are in consideration to be added to the exhibition.
"As His Excellency was moving around, during the launch of the museum, he suggested that there should be these bunkers of the 600 soldiers, showing to the people how they were deployed and how they protected the politicians when they were here,” he said.
The museum was put in place in 2017, to showcase how the country was liberated from the genocidal regime, he said, an addition to the Kigali Genocide Memorial that shows how the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi was planned and executed.
It is open to both nationals and foreigners who wish to learn the history of Rwanda.
Entrance fees to the museum are Rwf 14,000 ($14) for foreigners, Rwf9,500 for locals, Rwf2,700 for children, with a discount for visitors of 20 people or over.
Viewing The 600, A Soldier’s Story film is an additional Rwf2,000.
Bushana said: "it is a good chance for the youth to learn the values that the RPA forces had at the time, of patriotism and self-sacrifice to the extent of knowing that you would even lose your life but stop Genocide and build your nation.”