Local researchers have released three new books on how the Genocide against the Tutsi was prepared and committed in former Prefectures of Kigali (Kigali Ngari), Kibuye and the City of Kigali. Officially launched on Thursday, November 24, the books, made up of more than 600 pages each, were compiled and published by local academics with support from the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE). According to Jean Damascene Bizimana, the Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, the idea of doing meticulous research on the Genocide against the Tutsi started in 2016 when the 13th National Leadership Retreat asked all institutions – public and private, to put effort into it as to protect and conserve the country’s history. “We chose to start with the former prefectures, because the genocide was organised by the former government, and it was implemented through its institutions,” he said. He noted that such research work will help to not only conserve history but will teach the young generations so that they will not do the mistakes that plunged the country into the atrocities of genocide. Maurice Mugabowagahunde, the Executive Director of Research and Policy Development at MINUBUMWE, said the books will be available to the public in various ways including in hard and soft copies, as he promised that more research work is underway on more aspects of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Julienne Uwingabira, a genocide survivor from Gitega, Kigali, told The New Times that such research “helps us to get our history known, so that even our children will understand what we passed through.” She added: “It is also important in ensuring that the genocide that took place in our country will never happen again.”
