‘94 Genocide victims honored

WESTERN PROVINCE RUBAVU — Dukundane Family, an umbrella association of former student survivors from College Saint Andre and hundreds of Rubavu residents on Sunday remembered Genocide victims who were dumped in various water bodies during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The memorial ceremony commenced by staging events at the district headquarters which later culminated in a march to Lake Kivu where mourners laid wreaths along River Sebeya, one of the Lake Kivu inlets. Survivors testified that their relatives were killed and some thrown alive into Lake Kivu by the Interahamwe militia, with their hands tied behind to ensure that they drown. Egide Gatari, the president of Dukundane Association, said remembering Genocide victims who were dumped into lakes and rivers was a way of honouring them especially those whose bodies were not recovered. “One of our association’s objectives is to remember victims who were thrown into water bodies. Some of us lost many relatives that way. They died a brutal death. Some were killed and dumped in water while others were thrown in alive with big stones tied around them to make them sink deep down the water bodies,” he said. He appealed to the government to erect a memorial site for the Genocide victims who died in this manner. “There are many victims whose bodies were washed to the neighbouring countries such as DR Congo and Uganda. Genocide memorial sites should be constructed for such victims,” he suggested. In his remarks, the Minister of Sports and Culture, Joseph Habineza, who attended the ceremony, called upon the Genocide perpetrators to admit their crimes and ask for forgiveness which he said was the foundation for fostering unity and reconciliation. “They should confess and seek forgiveness because it relieves and creates peace of heart to Genocide survivors who witnessed the killing of their relatives and friends,”he added. The Minister thanked Dukundane Association and other organisations that support survivors, adding that survivors need to work hard for development. He also called upon scholars to write more books with testimonies about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, for posterity purposes. He disclosed that the government has plans to build more memorial sites, and give decent burial to remains of Genocide victims in neighbouring countries. Ends