KIGALI - The youth from the East African Community and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tuesday, visited Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre to pay tribute to over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi buried there.

The youth, organised through the East African Community Youth Organisation (EACYO), are in the country to take part in the week-long series of activities to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the Genocide.

The organization was formed in 2007 to strengthen regional youth solidarity for peace and unity and challenge them to be agents of positive change.

At the memorial centre, the group learnt how the Genocide was planned and executed and the role played by the youth in the massacres that left over one million people dead.

Godfrey Kyalo Makau, the vice-president of the organization, observed that the youth were misled into joining killer gangs. 

"For those countries that have not experienced this (Genocide), they should initiate programmes geared towards never allowing the Genocide to happen again,” Makau said.

He called on the youth to have an upper hand in uniting people."Any source of division should be punished,” Makau noted.

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