Senate vice-president urges survivors on hard work

Senate vice-president Jeanne D’Arc Gakuba has called on Genocide survivors to stand firm and work hard for a better Rwanda. She also urged Rwandans to stand up against genocide ideology and denial. “We are on the right path and there is no turning back. As we remember our loved ones, let’s work hard to build a new Rwanda,” she said. Gakuba was speaking in Kimihurura, Kigali, where residents gathered on Wednesday to remember 244 people killed in Rugando area during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. “I also want to ask Genocide perpetrators to come out and show us the remains of our loved ones so that we give them a befitting burial,” Gakuba added. The event started at 4pm with a Walk to Remember, followed by a night vigil at Rugando Secondary School. One of the Rugando survivors, Mariette Harindintwari, recalled how her brother was killed by the then Republican Guard. “My brother was a driver of a Hutu businessman, his boss ordered his killing. Later the Interahamwe militia came and took his pregnant wife from his home, murdered her and then removed the foetus and threw it away,” she narrated. Although Harindintwari lost most of her family members, she has hope for a better future. She has joined several cooperatives involved in different businesses. Straton Niyitanga, the Ibuka president in Kimihurura Sector, read out the names of the 244 Tutsi who were killed in Rugando in the Genocide. Kimihurura executive secretary Mapambano Nyiridandi encouraged people to embrace Ndi Umunyarwanda programme, noting that since it started he received letters from people who participated in the Genocide asking to meet the families of survivors to ask for forgiveness. “We are now in the process of linking those families,” said Mapambano.

National

Senate vice-president urges survivors on hard work