Survivors condemn killings, call for action

KIGALI - Ibuka, an umbrella organisation of Genocide Survivors has condemned the recent killings of survivors which took place in the Southern Province. The development comes after recent killings of two survivors in the districts of Muhanga and Kamonyi, both in the Southern Province. “We condemn in the strongest terms the persistent persecution against survivors by those who still have an aim of pursuing the Genocide and their acts intensify as we approach the commemoration of the Genocide,” reads a statement signed by IBUKA president, Theodore Simburudari. The association attributes the killings mainly to those people who were released after pleading guilty and are now on community service under the Works for General Interest (TIG) programme. The two survivors who were killed were identified as Maniragaba and Jean Paul Muvunyi from Kamonyi and Muhanga districts respectively. According to IBUKA, both victims were hacked to death by unknown assailants this month. “Muvunyi’s killing follows a series of harassment from released prisoners who were on TIG activities in Nyarusange Sector,” the release says. It called for action by relevant authorities. “Responsible authorities have to take immediate action on these gruesome killings and devise preventive measures…this should be done as a way of severely punishing the perpetrators,” adds the statement which was released on March 19. When contacted, the Minister of Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama said that the government condemns the murders in the strongest terms possible and said it would work very hard to ensure that those responsible are brought to book. “It is however unfair to cast a collective guilt to all the genocide suspects on conditional release. A crime should be conceived on an individual basis,” Karugarama said by phone Thursday. He added that acts like those killings signifies that the there are still bad people in the Rwandan society, adding that the genocide ideology is still rampant in the country. “IBUKA’s concerns are genuine,” Karugarama, who is also the Attorney General, said. The Southern Province has been most affected by killings of genocide survivors where several survivors, including Gacaca officials, have been brutally killed mostly in fear of the testimonies they had on some Genocide suspects.Ends

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Survivors condemn killings, call for action