Supreme Court, NPPA commemorate Genocide

Employees of the Supreme Court and the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) gathered in Musanze on Friday to honour former employees of the two institutions as well as other Rwandans who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in former Ruhengeri, the current main town of Musanze District. The event which brought together hundreds of people was marked by a march from Musanze town to Muhoza Memorial site in Musanze District, Northern Province, where they laid wreaths at the memorial site’s graveyard. The Deputy Chief Justice Sylvie Zainabo Kayitesi reminded participants at the mourning event that efforts to fight against the genocide ideology and the crime of genocide remain in the country and that staff in the justice sector remain the first custodians of those efforts. “As Supreme Court staff and prosecution authorities, we really know how dangerous the genocide crime was and we also know that, as a principle of life, we should join hands to fight against it and its ideology,” Kayitesi said. She urged mourners to make efforts to support orphans of former court staff and other survivors to relieve them from sorrow while helping them to be self reliant. Officials from the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) urged court staff to be aware of the issue of some genocide survivors who have ongoing cases to claim back their property that has been taken by other members of the society, perhaps when the survivors were still young. “Justice is fundamental in striving for self reliance. We urge you to support genocide survivors who need their property that has been occupied by others. Help them overcome the challenges through good justice,” said Dr John Rutayisire, the CNLG board Chairman. The mourners paid special respect to people who were killed in the building of the current high court chamber of Musanze, former court of appeal of Ruhengeri, where more than 400 Tutsis were brought from various areas and killed. Genocide survivor Justine Nyiraneza who witnessed the killings described how people were advised to take refuge in the court building, only to be killed by officials who had advised them to flee to the area. The former Ruhengeri Prefecture, currently in Musanze District, was one of the places where the possibility of genocide was tried in Rwanda when more than a hundred thousand Tutsis were killed before 1994. Those who were mourning the genocide in Musanze on Friday criticised courts for having failed to stop the genocide because those who were killing people before it started were not held accountable in the courts. Events to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis are ongoing in many areas of the country to remember the 100-day slaughter of more than a million Rwandans.