A Genocide survivor has said that Eglise Methodiste Libre au Rwanda; a church in Gikondo, Kicukiro district, was characterized by discrimination even before 1994 Genocide.

Speciose Mukagahima, who is also a member of the church’s congregation, says that Tutsis were sidelined from church leadership, saying that even the school run by the church was characterized by prejudice.

She said this on Sunday when the church, for the 14th time, honoured members of the congregation who were killed in the 1994 Genocide

"In April 1994, at the beginning of the Genocide, Tutsis in Gikondo started hiding in this church but the leaders of the church asked them to leave saying that they had no reason to flee," Mukagahima revealed.

She said that shortly after, many Tutsis were killed, some in the church where they had taken refuge.

She added that 78 people were killed at the church premises and dumped in a pit that had been dug by Bishop Philemon Munyagisaka, who was the head of the church before the Genocide.

She continued that the pit had been there for sometime and was always visited by different government officials. "But they did not want to tell its purpose although it became clear later," she explained.

She also alleged that Bishop Munyagisaka reportedly informed the Tutsi who had gone to his office for rescue that their end had come.

Mukagahima continued that in 1993, she had seen female students at the school being taken by soldiers for sexual abuse.

The current head of the church, Bishop Samuel Kayinamura, said that many Tutsi were killed in the church. He said that only 78 were thrown in the pit, while many others were dumped in Kicukiro and different places.

He added that those in the pit were last year exhumed and accorded decent burial at Gisozi Memorial Centre.

Bishop Kayinamura said that commemorating the victims of the 1994 Genocide is a must as it helps the fight against genocide ideology.

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