PRINCE Charles, The Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, on Wednesday, June 22 paid tribute to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The duo, who are in the country for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), yesterday morning toured the Kigali Genocide Memorial where they laid a wreath in honour of the over 250,000 victims laid there.
"We remember all the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” reads a post on the official Twitter handle of Prince Charles and Princess Camilla.
Prince Charles is in Rwanda to represent his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who is the head of the Commonwealth for the CHOGM that is supposed to attract over 5,000 delegates from over 54 countries that subscribe to the multinational body.
His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall tour at the Kigali Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the victims on June 22. Courtesy
Following a meeting with President Paul Kagame, the duo proceeded to Bugesera District, where they visited Nyamata Genocide Memorial (formerly a Catholic Church) where, in 1994, over 10,000 Tutsi were killed.
"We will always remember the innocent souls that were killed in 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in April 1994. Be strong Rwanda,” reads a note written in Kinyarwanda by Prince Charles, which he laid on the wreath he put at one of the mass graves.
In the afternoon, Charles and Camilla visited a reconciliation village in Mbyo Sector, in Bugesera District, where survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi live side by side with perpetrators.
"Both perpetrators and victims have moving and painful testimonies of the 1994 Genocide. Reconciliation villages such as Mbyo, help to build the resilience needed for Rwanda to leave the past in history and for communities to live together,” reads another post on the royal couple’s Twitter handle.
Meanwhile, as part of an earlier-released itinerary, the Duchess of Cornwall is expected to be joined by First Lady Jeannette Kagame to visit a public library in Kigali and attend an event on ending violence against women and girls, alongside Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
On the other hand, on Thursday, June 23, Prince Charles is scheduled to host heads of government of the Commonwealth member states to a dinner.
Commonwealth leaders meet for CHOGM every two years although this is the first time they’re convening since 2018, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Kigali summit had earlier been scheduled for June, 2020 before it was postponed to 2021 and again to 2022, owing to the pandemic.
This year’s edition is being held under the theme, ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming.