By Friday last week remains of 906 Genocide victims had been discovered where the maternity ward is set to be constructed at Kabgayi Hospital in Muhanga District, Naphtal Ahishakiye the Executive Secretary of Ibuka, the umbrella body for associations of Genocide survivors told The New Times on Monday. The exhuming activity started on May 2 when 30 genocide remains were discovered as construction workers landscaped the field for the maternity ward construction. This was a surprise to many, for remains to be concealed for over 27 years since the victims were killed. According to Ahishakiye, every day since May 2, they have been exhuming remains from this construction site. “The activity to search genocide remains at the site continues,” he said. During 1994 genocide, thousands of Tutsi from flocked to the area as they sought refuge in classrooms at the nearby school. From here they were targeted by interahamwe militias and government forces. “Because residents didn’t disclose the whereabouts of these remains even today, the searchers have no precise location. This will really take time,” he said. Ahishakiye said that the more genocide remains are discovered, the more exhuming activity will even be expanded to more places that accommodate some infrastructure. “This can lead to destruction of some infrastructure if we manage to exactly locate where remains were dumped because there are really many buildings around the site,” he said. Jean-Damascène Bizimana, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) explained that in order to know people who committed genocide against the Tutsi in Kabgayi, it requires to know the history of genocide history in the area. He said that different testimonies in different areas had pointed out that there might many genocide remains in forests and buildings in Kabgayi. Bizimana said that among the suspected genocide perpetrators include Brother (Monk) Adalbert Nemeyimana currently roaming in Belgium where he is priest and many former regime leaders, military and militia among others who are yet to be known. In 2009, details about the 1994 killings at the Kabgayi Catholic Diocese in Muhanga district were released in a report that was compiled by a team of 18 Gacaca judges from former Gitarama Province - who since October 2008 had been collecting various testimonies from Kabgayi survivors wherever they are across the country. When the Genocide broke out, thousands of Tutsi fled to Kabgayi for sanctuary since it is considered the cradle of the Catholic Church in Rwanda, hence seen as sacred. The fleeing Tutsi gathered in the church, classrooms and in structures near the hospital, but the Interahamwe militia found them and killed them. According to the report by the judges, more than 64,000 Rwandans who had sought refuge at Kabgayi Diocese grounds were killed.
