The commemoration event took place on May 9, 2025, at the Ntarama Genocide Memorial located in Bugesera District.
The visit began with a historical briefing about Bugesera, especially the events leading up to the Genocide, highlighting how the area had been designated as a settlement for Tutsi with the intent of extermination.
Participants were taken through some of the tragic history, including how Bugesera was once considered a cursed, uninhabitable place, suitable only for relocating Tutsi with the hope that they would perish due to the Tsetse fly.
Mukabucyeri Angélique, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, shared her harrowing testimony. She recounted how survival was incredibly difficult as they were hunted by neighbours who knew them personally, making hiding nearly impossible.
'I had a baby strapped to my back when they struck me on the head with a club. I lost consciousness and fell. They slashed the child on my back. When I woke up, I was carrying a dead baby and had nine stab wounds and scars all over my body," she recounted.
Aditya Chacko, General Manager of Kigali Marriott Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Kigali, stated that they joined Rwandans in commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Genocide to honour the innocent victims who were brutally murdered in 1994.
'We do this not only to pay respect to the victims but also to express our solidarity with survivors during this difficult period when the entire country remembers the Genocide against the Tutsi," he said.
Chacko thanked Rwanda for its remarkable recovery after the horrors and darkness of the Genocide, and especially commended President Paul Kagame for uniting the nation after it had been deeply divided by the previous regime.
IGIHE
