Police beefs up protection for Genocide Survivors

As the country prepares for the 15th commemoration of the Genocide against Tutsis, Rwanda National Police has vowed to intensify and come up with new strategies to protect Genocide survivors and witnesses during the mourning period. This was revealed yesterday by the acting Commissioner General of Police, Mary Gahozire ,during a press conference at police headquarters in Kacyiru. “We have come up with new strategies by mapping all genocide survivors and providing them with adequate security. From our database, we have also located all those people we suspect could cause a threat to the survivors and we will monitor them throughout,” said Gahonzire. She said that Police have set up a team of professional investigators who will monitor any cases of insecurity that may arise during the commemoration period. According to Gahonzire, night operations have been extensively widened and community policing committees have been strengthened. According to available records, Genocide survivors and witnesses are usually intimidated, murdered or threatened with death by those who participated in the Genocide during this period. Statistics from the Police indicate that about 2,178 cases of murder, torture, and intimidation of genocide survivors have been registered since 2007. According to Christopher Bizimungu, the director of Criminal Investigations Department (CID), 1,287 cases were registered in 2007 and 854 in 2008. “Since January this year, we have registered about 37, but some of these are not murder cases.” He clarified that a recent murders of Francois Gasirabo and Jeannette Nyirabaganwa can not be considered since they are still under investigations. The duo was killed in the Southern Province and dumped in River Nyabarongo. Ibuka, the Genocide Survivors’ Umbrella body has declared that the victims were killed because of giving testimony against some individuals in Gacaca trials. He added that the new strategy of protection of genocide survivors will go on even after the commemoration week. Ends