SOUTHERN PROVINCE

NYAMAGABE — After 15 years of waiting, MP Henriette Sebera, has finally accorded a decent burial to the remains of her husband, Silas Sebera, who was killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The remains were exhumed near the foundation of a building at Motel Mont Huye in Butare town last month.

During a sombre reburial ceremony held at the Murambi Genocide Memorial site in the Nyamagabe District on Tuesday, remains of four other Genocide victims; Martin Hakizimana, Bosco Ntirushwamaboko, Augustin Gasore and another unidentified victim, exhumed at the same Motel, were also reburied.

Various testimonies by survivors, at a ceremony which was attended by a number of high ranking government officials, hailed the then RPA soldiers (now RDF) for stopping the Genocide.

"I came out of my hiding place after news filtered in that the RPF Inkotanyi had arrived in Gikongoro,” said Emmanuel Murangira, a Murambi survivor who lost his wife and five children to the carnage at the Murambi Technical School.

Over 50,000 people are buried at the Murambi site. During the Genocide, the Tutsi were gathered by the local leaders at the school with a promise to protect them.

But on the night of April 21, 1994, the Interahamwe attacked the school, killing nearly all those who had sought refuge there.

During the reburial, the Mayor Alphonse Munyentwari, described the Génocidaires as ‘heartless cowards’ who gruesomely killed the young and old alike.

"The Génocidaires lost honour and respect, not the victims,” said Munyentwari, pointing out that despite the grim past, there is hope for a brighter future as Rwandans embark on rebuilding their lives and country.

The Provincial Governor, Fidele Ndayisaba, gave a historical account of the killings in the former Gikongoro Prefecture, saying they were sanctioned by local leaders.

He castigated people who still harbour the genocide ideology in the Province, stressing the readiness of local authorities to bring them to book.

The Minister of Youth, Protais Mitali said that the debate about the Genocide in Rwanda should not be limited to 1994.

"Genocide in Rwanda should be spoken about in its entirety, it did not just happen in 1994,” said Mitali.

He added: "In Gikongoro, Tutsi were dumped in Rukarara and Mwogo rivers way before 1994. This is the history that has to come out to counter claims by those who seek to deny the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Mitali called upon the perpetrators to come out and speak about what happened during the Genocide, saying survivors’ testimonies do not give the full picture.

"Survivors only tell half of the story because they were either hiding or being chased to be killed. The killers have the full story of what happened. They should have the courage to speak out. It is only then that we shall truly come to know what happened during the Genocide,” said Mitali.

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