There is a popular belief that the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi – which claimed the lives of over a million people – would probably not have been committed on such a large scale had the perpetrators not violated the sanctity of the most revered institutions in the land. Alas, Interahamwe death squads and then government forces did not only raid these institutions – such as places of worship, cultural institutions and government premises – but also ransacked them, rounding up and slaughtering helpless refugees that sought shelter there. Now, in the earlier episodes of violence against the Tutsi spanning decades, those who made their way to churches or public offices were largely spared alive. This false impression would be exploited by the genocidal regime in 1994, with officials across the country actively encouraging the Tutsi to seek refuge at such sites with promises of protection. Little did the Tutsi know that this was only a cunning strategy to have them converge at designated places before unleashing fully equipped death squads on them. The result was that hundreds of thousands of people were ultimately slaughtered from those venues, some bludgeoned to death on church altars or inside judicial chambers. That was the case of the then Ruhengeri Court of Appeal (which until recently served as the High Court Detached Chamber of Musanze). Hundreds of people were brutally killed inside the courtroom on April 15, 1994 after they were lured to the building from as far as the former Busengo sous-prefecture (now Gakenke District). At least 200 victims were subsequently laid to rest in a mass grave not far from the courthouse. Fast forward to 2021, 27 years later, the facility is now being transformed into a Genocide memorial following years of lobbying by mainly Ibuka, the umbrella association of the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Over the years, several churches that witnessed some of the worst massacres have been turned into Genocide memorial centres, but Muhoza memorial will be the first installed at a former courthouse. The campaign to turn the judicial chambers into a memorial site gained momentum back in April 2019 when the then Chief Justice, Sam Rugege, backed the bid. Two years later, on May 1, the process to transform the former courthouse kicked off, with Musanze District authorities saying the Rwf600 million works are expected to be completed in September. As the survivors have rightly pointed out, this will allow for a proper burial of the victims who lost their lives at the former court premises and help preserve their memory. It will go a long way toward showing the barbarity and meticulous planning of the attacks on the refugees at the former courthouse as well as help keep the memory of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi alive and fight Genocide denial.
