WESTERN PROVINCE

RUSIZI –Police authorities in Kamembe Sector, Rusizi District are holding three men on charges of mocking Genocide survivors and promoting genocide ideology.

Isidori Bamporiki, 28, a resident of Gihundwe Sector, Jean Paul Ngendahayo, 20, a senior one student at Giheke College in Giheke Sector and Aman Harerimana, 26, from Mururu Sector were all arrested on Thursday on the fourth day of the 14th Genocide commemoration week.

"The trio has been arrested on charges of attacking some Genocide survivors, something which shows signs of genocide ideology," a police officer told The New Times at Kamembe police post.

On March 25, Ngendahayo was accused of having kicked his classmate, Janviere Nyiransabimana, a genocide survivor, without any clear reason and later Nyiransabimana became traumatized.

Ngendahayo reportedly wrote a letter to Nyiransabimana in which he said that the traumatized classmate looked like someone who had retrieved the bones of their parents or who carried a jerry can filled with blood of Tutsis.

In the letter, Ngendahayo threatened that if he had means he would kill Nyiransabimana the same way her parents were killed during the 1994 Genocide.

Bamporiki is also accused of attacking another Genocide survivor, Venuste Ndabikunze ,in a bar, The suspect allegedly told Ndabikunze that it was time for all the remaining Tutsis to be slaughtered and buried in polythene bags.

A police officer said that Bamporiki had also earlier exhibited genocide ideologies in verbal insults against Damascene Munyakayanza, an elder brother to Ndabikunze.

Harerimana, who is a staff of the National University of Rwanda stationed in Rusizi 1, is also accused to have dug a deep hole and told one Rosine Uwimana – also a Genocide survivor – to go into that hole saying that it’s time to burry all Tutsis.

Speaking to The New Times at her home in Kamembe Sector, Uwimana further claimed that Harerimana also told her that as a Crow (Igikona) and a Heron (Inyange) can’t share, Tutsis and Hutus cannot share anything.

"I believe Harerimana’s aim was to traumatize me and fellow Genocide survivors during this mourning period," she said.

However when contacted for comments at Kamembe Police Station, the three men denied all the allegations levelled against them saying that they did not say or do anything related to genocide ideology or mocking Genocide survivors.

"I only quarrelled with Ndabikunze in a bar in Gihundwe Sector and even spit at each other because we were both drunk, but I did not say anything related to killing somebody or tribal," Bamporiki claimed.

The men are expected to be transferred to Cyangugu central prison pending further investigations into their cases.

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