Prime Minister’s Office staff honour fallen colleagues

Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday held a memorial walk from their office in Kimihurura to Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi, remembering former colleagues who were murdered during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.

Sunday, April 14, 2013
Staff from the Prime Minister's Office march to Gisozi. The Sunday Times/Timothy Kisambira

Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday held a memorial walk from their office in Kimihurura to Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi, remembering former colleagues who were murdered during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.

The delegation led by Eugene Balikana, the Director of Cabinet in the Prime Minister’s Office, toured the memorial site that is home to the remains of more than 250,000 people killed around Kigali City.

"We always have to remember our colleagues who were brutally massacred during the Genocide. That’s why we have walked up to here,” Balikana said in an interview.

He said that according to tentative statistics, three employees from the Prime Minister’s Office were killed during the Genocide, adding that the number could rise as investigations continue to ascertain more names.

Among the people who were killed was the former Prime Minister Agathe Uwiringiyimana who was murdered due to her opposition to ethnic-based policies among Rwandans. She is today officially recognised among Rwandan heroes.