A HOST of local artistes on Monday, April 11, visited Kigali Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the victims laid to rest at the memorial.

According to Luckman Nzeyimana, the visit coordinator, rappers Riderman, Bulldog and Fireman shared the idea to organise a visit—for artistes to know more about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that left over million innocent people dead—and use their voices to play their part in fighting genocide ideology to prevent it from happening an again.

 "I was so enthusiastic when they shared the idea with me. They were happy to be a part of it as they felt it’s their responsibility to participate in commemoration. It’s good for artistes, and a great realisation for the industry. I look forward to seeing more artistes join us in future activities,” said Nzeyimana.

During the visit, artistes were given a tour of the memorial where they were enlightened on how the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was set and executed, claiming the lives of over a million innocents in just 100 days.

Showbiz presenter Luckman Nzeyimana reads a section of the events of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The artistes also paid respects to the victims laid to rest at the memorial’s gravesite which is home to over 250,000 remains of Tutsi victims. The action touched renowned rapper Diplomate in an overwhelming way.

"It was a sad moment when I laid the flowers over the grave where hundreds of thousands of bodies of our brothers and sisters were laid to rest. The reflection of how they were murdered is unimaginable,” said Diplomate.

"This memorial wouldn’t have existed if we had not experienced such a bad history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. We, therefore, need to stay together and united all the time and strive for a peaceful country so that genocide never happens again,” he added.

Some musicians used their music as a propaganda tool to encourage and incite the killings of Tutsis during the Genocide, a lesson that has inspired artistes to use their voices and talent to make a better world, free of genocide.

Artistes observe  a moment of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi during the artistes’ visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

"We are very aware of it and we want to be the change now, and with the package of what we’ve learnt from this visit, it’s our turn as the new generation to play our part in our country’s efforts towards unity and reconciliation,” said musician Gabiro Guitar.

Many of the artistes who visited the memorial were born after the Genocide, and fast-rising singer Juno Kizigenza is one of them.

The visit was not his first, but the singer admits it’s always important, especially for young artistes, to visit Genocide memorials to not only pay respects to the victims laid to rest at these places, but also use the opportunity to learn new things about what the country went through. 

"You shouldn’t stop coming here. There is history that everyone wishes to learn and it’s always important to visit this place because every time we come, we learn new things because it’s where our history belongs,” he said.

One of the artistes looks at pictures of the victims archived in the memorial .

A number of artistes have been at the centre of criticism—that their presence in commemoration activities was far from enough. Diplomate says that artistes do their best to participate in commemoration activities but admits there is room to improve.

"The fact that artistes produce songs dedicated for commemoration makes our presence noticed. Maybe we need to improve but it’s everyone’s responsibility to be a part of this important period and artistes are no exception,” he said.