GICUMBI — The governor of the Northern Province, Boniface Rucagu has said land is the source of genocide ideology in Rwanda.

Opening a two-day workshop on land registration in the country, Rucagu asserted that genocide ideology was fuelled by the need to preserve land. He explained that when Rwandan refugees in neighbouring countries wanted to return home, they were turned away by the then President Juvenal Habyarimana citing inadequate land.

The seminar organized by the National Land Commission, was attended by district land officials of the Northern Province.

"That was hate ideology which resulted into killing of innocent people in Rwanda," Rucagu said.

In a separate interview with The New Times after opening the seminar, the long-serving governor said that residents who previously belonged to the racist party PARMEHUTU still pose a serious challenge in fighting genocide ideology in his Province.

He said the same people were against land registration because they don’t want to share land with their compatriots more especially those who previously lived outside.

"The government’s policy was that every citizen in Rwanda should have a right and access to their land and that those who have land would share with the landless. But some groups have shown no interest at all to embrace government’s policy of land sharing," Rucagu said. He continues that other groups who are against land sharing are those who only have land as their resource of survival as well as polygamous families.

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