Clergyman recounts how he survived 1994 Genocide

Genocide survivors in Mukarange Sector, Kayonza District were shocked in the wake of the killings in 1994. What shocked them was not the systematic attacks but the fact that the attackers were their neighbours. “We thought we had been attacked by strangers and fought with stones until dawn. In the morning, we were shocked to realise that the people who were killing us were our neighbours,” said Fr. Vedaste Kayisabe, one of the survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Mukarange Sector. The head of Kabgyi Grand Seminaire Philosophicum, based in Southern Province, blamed the atrocities on the then government. The clergyman was then a student at the school he heads today. He had returned for his holidays in his village. At least two clergymen died in Mukarange Sector trying to save the Tutsi who had sought refuge at the church. Recounting the ordeal and how he survived the killings to The New Times, yesterday, Kayisabe said the Tutsi were killed by their friends, relatives and neighbours. “The first person I set eyes on was a boy we played football with. We had shared a lot as footballers and now I was seeing him among the attackers,” he said. Kayisabe said that Genocide occurred because of the bad leadership at the time. “I won’t delve into details, but it is clear that the then government was responsible for Genocide. The gendarme that had hitherto guarded us turned against us by supplying weapons to our assailants. “It was a long term plan by the bankrupt regime that thought killing its people was of any use,” he added. “Twenty one years ago, today, this church was filled with blood. It was the first time I saw a mother and her baby hacked to death.” Kayisabe further warned residents against divisionism, ethnicity, cultural degradation, noting that such tendencies had greatly contributed toward the Genocide. “We must be careful when guarding our values. Genocide perpetrators and current deniers lack this…our past must be a lesson to helpshape our future.” The 21st commemoration was attended by various lawmakers from both chambers of Parliament and other government officials. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Clergyman recounts how he survived 1994 Genocide