STAFF REPORTER
Zimbabwe is joining Rwanda tomorrow in marking the beginning of 28th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi — (Kwibuka 28) which is observed under the theme, Remember, Unite and Renew.
The National commemorations for Kwibuka28 will be held today in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame will lead the commemorations.
The 28th commemorations will be held tomorrow at the Arrupe Jesuit University in Mount Pleasant.
Government officials, diplomats, and friends of Rwanda, will join hands with the Rwandan Community in Zimbabwe to commemorate the death of over 1 million Tutsi that perished in 100 days due to ethnicity.
Rwanda’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, James Musoni said Kwibuka acknowledges and recognises survivors who mourn their families and friends to this day.
“Kwibuka commemoration serves as a continued warning to humanity to ensure that the genocide against the Tutsi is not forgotten or a similar being repeated anywhere in the world,” Musoni said.
Over a period of 100 days beginning on April 7, 1994, soldiers and militias from an extremist regime callously hunted down and killed innocent people in what has become the darkest chapter in human history.
The mass slaughter was stopped by the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
Ambassador Musoni said when Rwanda gained its independence in 1962, the regimes that took power up to 1994 perpetuated the segregation legacy of the colonial masters which included propagating sectarianism.
He said these regimes promoted hatred among Rwandans; exclusion of Tutsis in school, work and politics and oppression of fellow Rwandans.
“After driving out the extremist government and stopping the Genocide against the Tutsi, the Rwanda Patriotic Front set up a new governance system that promoted unity among the people of Rwanda,” Ambassador Musoni said.
Since the RPF took over Rwanda has experienced huge socio-economic growth which has made it a model country in Africa.
