President Paul Kagame said that the tragedy of the Genocide against the Tutsi that Rwanda experienced will never happen again, emphasizing that Rwandans will not die in the same way again, but will instead stand up and fight to prevent it from the youngest to the oldest.
The Head of State made these remarks while launching the Week of Mourning and the 10 days of commemoration marking the 32nd anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. His speech followed testimony from a genocide survivor named Ngiruwonsanga Théoneste.
Ngiruwonsanga recounted how, during his escape on April 12, 1994, he witnessed a Tutsi man named Bahati Enock, who had been gathered with others in Cyangugu, being killed by Interahamwe militia. After killing him, they mutilated his body, removed his heart, and ate it, claiming they did so so that his intelligence would not go to waste.
He said, “All the Tutsi men who had gone to that sector, none of them came out alive. A man named Bahati Enock was killed there; his heart was taken out, roasted, and eaten so that the intelligence he possessed would not go to waste.”
He later fled to a church, where Interahamwe continued killing those who had sought refuge there. At one point, they collected weapons from the refugees after promising they would not return, but shortly afterward launched another attack and killed them.
He said, “They killed people in such a way that if you pushed a body, you would find it decapitated; you could feel your hand going into someone’s body. People’s blood covered me-I even drank it, because they dragged me out from among the corpses. As they pulled me, the skin on my legs was left behind among the bodies, like someone removing a sock.”
President Kagame stated that all the testimonies given are grounded in truth.
He said, “Those who try to deny it have a very difficult task, to try to change such history involving people and reshape it as they wish. Whether here in the country or especially abroad, where some often attempt to distort our history for various reasons, they will have to confront the truth of these events.”
He stressed that the dark period Rwanda went through will never return.
He said, “No one will ever die again as Théoneste described, or as he himself experienced. In a way, he died, his being alive today is like a resurrection. No one can die like that again. You cannot kill a person twice. If you try, they will kill you before you kill them.”
“Some mock us from abroad, but when you look at the whole country of Rwanda, it cannot die twice. Before you destroy Rwanda, Rwanda will destroy you first. You cannot kill people twice, it is impossible. As you see us here, we cannot die twice. Whether it is us elders or our children, no one will kill us twice. It is not possible. We will live as people are meant to live… no matter what, we will not beg for it.”
President Kagame emphasized that remembrance carries deep meaning for Rwanda and serves as a way for the country to overcome divisions that once threatened to destroy it.
He said, “This day strengthens us all. We draw strength from the survivors, who continue to be a source of humanity from which our country draws. To all survivors, know that you are not alone, we stand together as a nation.”
The Head of State added that Rwanda’s achievements have been possible because all Rwandans united in rebuilding the country. He also noted that the truth about the Genocide against the Tutsi continues to be affirmed, and that those responsible have been convicted in international courts based on undeniable evidence.
Photos by Urugwiro and RBA
