May 4, 1994: Students accused of listening to Inkotanyi songs on Radio Muhabura, murdered

The genocide against the Tutsi continued its devastating course on May 4, 1994, as the persecution of innocent people who were targeted solely for their ethnicity intensified. On that day, at Groupe Scolaire Marie Merci, in Kibeho, a plot aimed at cultivating hatred unfolded when Tutsi students were falsely accused of putting poison in porridge so as to kill their Hutu counterparts. ALSO READ: May 3, 1994: Students, children take part in Genocide Incited by the false claims, the Hutu students rioted, blowing whistles and rejecting the porridge before they subsequently left the school and relocated to Collège des Lettres (now Mère du Verbe), leaving the Tutsi students at Groupe Scolaire Marie Merci. Father Emmanuel Uwayezu, the school's headmaster, accompanied by law enforcement officers, pursued the departing Hutu students, and persuaded them to return and pick their belongings. They insisted that they would only stay at the school if the Tutsi students were removed. Consequently, the Tutsi students were relocated to Ecole des Lettres while their Hutu counterparts returned to Groupe Scolaire Marie Merci. ALSO READ: May 2, 1994: Plot to attack refugees at Hotel des Mille Collines foiled Upon their arrival at Collège des Lettres, the nun in charge, Sister Pierre de Vérone, denied them proper lodging, relegating them to the refectory, where they slept on a bare floor. On May 4, 1994, Father Uwayezu, accompanied by policemen, convened a meeting, purportedly to offer solace to the Tutsi students. In reality, the meeting was aimed at restraining any potential escape attempts. Among the meeting attendees was the former governor of Gikongoro, Laurent Bucyibaruta, who asked Tutsi student representatives to voice their concerns. They expressed worries not only for their safety, but also for their families, as the genocide was escalating in many parts of the country. ALSO READ: May 1, 1994: Genocide enters new month with continuing atrocities According to some survivors’ accounts, Bucyibaruta told the Tutsi students that their troubles with their Hutu counterparts were as a result of the claim that the Tutsi allegedly listened to Inkotanyi songs broadcasted on Radio Muhabura, in addition to attempting to poison their Hutu peers. Subsequently, on May 7, Interahamwe militias, in collaboration with Hutu students, launched a brutal assault on the Tutsi students, using various weapons to carry out massacres. ALSO READ: April 24, 1994: Tutsi killed in Kabgayi, Ruhango Those who managed to survive faced relentless pursuit by dogs. Some were betrayed by their Hutu classmates, who revealed their hiding spots.

News

May 4, 1994: Students accused of listening to Inkotanyi songs on Radio Muhabura, murdered