Rwandans set to mark 'Day of Shame' for all humanity

Arusha. It is difficult to forget. Only 29 years ago Rwanda descended into one of the most horrific tragedies in the history of humanity.

Bands of seemingly possessed people carrying all manners of weapons started hacking hundreds of thousands to death.

The killings apparently started in the capital Kigali following the death of the then President Juvenal Habyarimana on a plane crash on the evening of April 7th, 1994.

The massacres spread across the tiny but densely populated country, leading to the spill over of refugees to neighbouring countries.

At least a million or so people were hacked to death, mainly from the Tutsi ethnic group, in one of the most horrific mass murders after the post Second World War

The genocide against the Tutsi and its resultant after- effects led to, among others, the hunt and prosecution of the masterminds and perpetrators.

This led to the formation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, which convicted 61 suspects before closing shop.

Today, 29 years after the genocide against the Tutsi started, Rwandans residing in Arusha and the neighbouring regions will converge in Arusha to mark the Day of Shame.

Also to be roped in the anniversary that will take place at the East African Community (EAC) headquarters is the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals or simply the Mechanism which succeeded the ICTR.

Themed Remember – Unite - Renew, the commemoration which is done annually on this date is an occasion to pay tribute to the more than one million innocent lives lost through the heinous extermination.

A statement issued by the EAC secretariat yesterday said the commemoration will begin with a walk to remember from the EAC head office to the iconic Clock Tower and back.

The event will therefore bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders including local government, religious groups, Development Partners attached to EAC, Rwandans from the diaspora in Arusha and Kilimanjaro.

Others will be the EAC staff, UN International Residual Mechanism Criminal Tribunals, the university students, youths and school children.

Rwanda government officials say during the 1994 genocide members of the Tutsi community were savagely exterminated “in a very horrific and systematic manner”.

The massacre lasted for three months from 7th April to 2nd July in 1994; meaning on average, 10,000 people were killed per day!