Staff members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), on Friday June 3, led by Minister Béata Habyarimana honoured former workers at the ministry who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

As part of the 28th commemoration of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, MINICOM staff also visited the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in Kicukiro district and laid wreaths at mass graves where over 100,000 victims are buried.

Among the victims include thousands of Tutsi who sought refuge at the former ETO Kicukiro anc were killed after being abandoned by UN peacekeepers from the Belgian contingent.

Staff members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), on Friday June 3, led by Minister Béata Habyarimana honoured former staff for MINICOMART during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

"Each year, we hold the commemoration activity to honour about 36 former staff members of this ministry which was then called MINICOMART. They included three females and 33,” Habyarimana said.

She said that the staff, on June 1, also visited Honorine, an orphan of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi whose father, Felicien Kanyamibwa, was a former staff of the ministry.

She said that the ministry donated to her two modern knitting machines that will help her earn an income to sustain her family.

"We pray for more strength and resilience for the family of Honorine and other genocide survivors,” she said.

Edmond Mbabazi, a brother of Eugene Mbayiha who is one of the ex-employees commended the annual commemoration event saying it is one of the tools building resilience and healing wounds of genocide survivors.

"We highly value commemoration activity organized by MINICOM every year. As people whose relatives were killed in the Genocide, the commemoration events bring us together and help us heal. The commemoration activity should be maintained,” he said.

Liliane Umuhozawase, another genocide survivor, whose mother, Iphigénie Mukamurigo, used to work in MINICOMART, said she doesn’t know whereabouts of her mother who was killed during genocide.

As part of the 28th commemoration of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, MINICOM staff also visited the Nyanza memorial site in Kicukiro district and laid wreaths at mass graves where over 100,000 victims are buried.

"We never got her body for a decent burial. It is a sad history for us. She was killed in Kamonyi district although she used to work in MINICOMART in Kigali. 

We hope one day we get her body so we can give her a decent burial. We thank MINICOM for organizing the commemoration activity which shows that they are together with us to help us in the journey of resilience and healing from trauma as we speak out our history,” she said.

New book on Genocide

Minister Habyarimana added that in November last year, MINICOM in partnership with the dissolved National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG), published a book that narrates genocide history in MINICOMART.

Staff members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), on Friday June 3, led by Minister Béata Habyarimana honoured former staff for MINICOMART who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

"This book is a great contribution to preserving genocide history as a way of fighting against genocide denial and those trivializing 1994 genocide against the Tutsi,” she said.

She noted that the research carried out to write the book also shows how former leaders played a role in planning and executing 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

"The book narrates how former Tutsi staff for MINICOMART used to be tortured and killed before and during 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The preserved genocide history will enlighten the current and future generation so as to ensure genocide never happens again by fighting genocide ideology ,” she said.

She added that the book published in English and Kinyarwanda languages will also serve as a weapon for mainly youth to intensify battle against genocide deniers all over the world.

"As many people especially, youth are using social media in denying 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, the Rwandan youth should raise the voices and use such books as weapons to tell the truth and combat deniers. This is based on the fact that some youths have not yet understood genocide history,” she said.

Minicom on June 1, also visited Honorine, an orphan of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi whose father, Felicien Kanyamibwa, was a former staff of the then Ministry responsible for trade.