Timeline - April 8: President Sindikubwabo’s govt incites community, killings intensify

On April 8, 1994, the genocidal Government termed “Saviours government” had been established with Théodore Sindikubwabo as President, and Jean Kambanda as the Prime Minister. The government did much in the implementation of the Genocide countrywide, as it distributed arms and mobilised people to commit genocide. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Inside Murambi Genocide Memorial, a new UNESCO world heritage site Killings continued to spread across the country as the military and Interahamwe exterminated the Tutsi. In Kigali, soldiers of the Presidential Guard and the Interahamwe joined forces to kill the Tutsi who lived in Nyamirambo, finding them in the various places where they had taken refuge, like at the Catholic Parish of Saint Charles Lwanga, the convent of the Josephite brothers and the Saint André College. Other places were also experiencing the onslaught of the genocidaires. For instance, there were massacres in Taba Commune, in former Gitarama Prefecture on April 8. The Interahamwe installed barriers at various locations including Rwabashyashya, Buguri, Gishyeshye and around Remera hospital in Rukoma. Silas Kubwimana, Chairman of the MRND in the Taba Commune and very influential person, organised a meeting in Kiryamocyinzovu, and declared that the Tutsi was the enemy and must be denounced. He claimed that the Tutsi had dug pits into which they were going to throw the bodies of the Hutu. According to records, Kubwimana was the head of the killers in the area and coordinated the massacres. It was he who designated who should die. ALSO READ: Value of two shades of life: Death of Kagame’s cousin vs protection of diplomats The killers came to Taba commune to wait for Kubwimana's orders to go and kill. Many Tutsi came to take refuge in the commune but found there were Interahamwe who were waiting for them and who had received instructions to bring them to Kiryamocyinzovu to massacre them. One group of the Interahamwe had been designated to kill, while others were tasked with burying the bodies of the victims in a long ditch. The weapons used to kill were clubs, hoes and guns. In the old Kamembe Commune (currently in Rusizi District), Tutsi were killed in the Parish of Nkanka, in the locality of Busekanka. From April 8, the Tutsi began to take refuge in the Parish of Nkanka because the massacres and the burning of the houses had started in the areas of Gitwa and Murambi. The Tutsi took refuge in the Parish of Nkanka because they had become used to finding a safe refuge there. The Mayor of the Kamembe Commune, Jean Napoleon Mubiligi had declared that the Tutsi could go to take refuge in the parish. He had even sent police there to protect them. However, when they went there, things were different. The day after the Interahamwe attacked the Tutsi and killed them with grenades, clubs called “Nta mpongano y’umwanzi,” machetes, swords and other various weapons. ALSO READ: Genocide survivor Nduwamungu reflects on overcoming “urge to avenge family” In the Rusizi district, Muganza sector, Shara cell, in the former Bugarama commune, Muganza sector, Tutsis were killed at a place called Specialized cell. It was the place where the infamous Yussuf Munyakazi was born. The Tutsi in this locality were removed from their homes and brought CIMERWA to be killed from there. The director general of CIMERWA, Marcel Sebatware and some of his officials had drawn up the list of Tutsi who were employed there so that they could be killed. They told their fellow employees to take them out and give them to the Interahamwe. Among more than 500 staff, this factory employed some 80 Tutsi who were almost all killed, except a few who had escaped before. Many killings took place on April 8 in various places of the country, from Nyaruguru and Nyabihu, to Kigali and places like Kayonza and many more, carried out by the military (ex-FAR), police, and the Interahamwe under the support of the country’s former leadership on various levels.

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Timeline - April 8: President Sindikubwabo’s govt incites community, killings intensify