Kayonza- At least 850 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were accorded a decent burial in Mukarange sector, Kayonza District yesterday.

The remains were recovered from various sectors of the district.

The burial ceremony was preceded by a Church service at Mukarange Parish in honour of the deceased.

The Governor of the Eastern Province, Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, who presided over the ceremony, said that a decent burial was a sign of respect and remembrance.

The Governor noted that the Genocide deprived innocent people the right to life endowed to them by God.

"Commemoration affects some people psychologically, but is essential to a post Genocide society, she added.

"I call upon everyone to work towards shaping the minds of Rwandans …mothers, especially, must take it upon themselves to shape their children.

If mothers had taught their children morals, instead of instilling in them the Genocide ideology, we wouldn’t be mourning here. Genocide is a product of a long propagation of hatred”.

One of the survivors, Father Kayisabe, said the cruelty with which the Tutsi were killed, cannot be erased in peoples’ memories.

He observed that the Tutsi were tricked by Priests and local leaders, to hide in Churches, where they were easily preyed upon.

"It is beyond human imagination that the Tutsi were killed by priests, neighbours, friends, colleagues and their leaders. I remember I was first attacked by my Hutu friend…I couldn’t imagine what I was seeing, when blood started flowing all over the Church compound,” he recollected.

Vedaste Rutayisire, a member of Ibuka, pointed out that the challenge facing the process of providing a decent burial to Genocide victims was people’s failure to disclose the truth.

"We need the truth. It would help us to end the burial process, but unfortunately, those who know where the bodies are, have kept silent,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, a number of other remains were discovered around Rukara Church in the same district.

Ends