MISS RWANDA 2022 Divine Nshuti Muheto has urged the young generation to take a lead in the fight against genocide denial and ideology as part of their contribution to preventing the 1994 tragedy from happening again.

The beauty queen gave the remarks on Saturday, April 9, when she joined children studying at Ndayisaba Fabrice Foundation, Kicukiro, and Spanish Club Real Betis, to pay tribute to children laid to rest at Nyanza Genocide Memorial in Kicukiro District.

The children are among the victims killed in different parts of Kicukiro during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and now buried at the memorial where over 97 000 are laid to rest.

Among these victims, over 2,500 were killed by Interahamwe-militia after they were abandoned by UN peacekeepers.  

Muheto writes a tribute message in the memorial’s guest book

After paying respects to the children, Muheto called on children who attended the commemoration event and the youth in general to fight genocide ideology and invest their efforts in fighting anyone with an intention to promote it. 

"Many of us here were born after the Genocide, we are young. We may not know what happened but we should not let history repeat itself. It’s, therefore, time for us, the youth, to take the lead and fight denial and those who still have genocide ideology,” she said. 

Muheto said that giving respect to the Tutsi victims should leave a lesson to the young generation to give no room for genocide ideology so that what happened never happens again. 

"As we give respects to the Genocide victims, let’s live on their behalf and try to achieve what they died fighting to achieve. But commemoration should be an occasion to think of what we can do to ensure that history never repeats itself,” she said.

The beauty queen gives her remarks during the commemoration event at Nyanza Kicukiro Genocide Memorial. 

Miss Rwanda organisation has on different occasions been collaborated with Ndayisaba Fabrice Foundation regarding commemoration activities which the foundation has been doing over the last 11 years.

According to Fabrice Ndayisaba, the foundation’s founder, they choose to involve children in commemoration initiatives so as to nurture them into future leaders, free of genocide ideology.

"We bring children here to commemorate so that they grow loving each other and always ready to say ‘NO’ to anyone who tries to spread genocide ideology among them. We believe they can be future leaders who can spread love and unity among Rwandans,” he said.

Later on, Muheto joined some of the pageant’s 2022 finalists in paying tribute to Genocide victims laid to rest at Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi. 

With the children during the commemoration event at Nyanza Kicukiro Genocide Memorial.