MURAMBI GENOCIDE MEMORIAL CENTRE
Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre – Previously a half-built Murambi Technical Institute – Estimated to have 50, 000 graves of Victims of 1994 Rwanda Genocide – The Survivors are Site Guides at Murambi.
Opened to visitors on 26th May 2011, Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre is a must visit for all travelers headed to southern Rwanda. Perched on a green hilly current Gikongoro area, the current Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre previously known as Murambi Technical Institute, the Centre Stands as the most unique of all the other genocide memorial center. It is only at Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre that over 800 corpses remain un-buried (but are preserved) and are displayed on the tables of the once half built technical institute.
WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED AT MURAMBI?
At the start of the 1994 Genocide, Ak – 47 submachine guns were handed to the Hutu dominated Interahamwe militia, Machetes marked “made in China” too were given to the Hutus under the oversight of the then ruling government. The armed Hutus were instructed to kill all Tutsi men, women, and Children or even any Hutu person that seemed to sympathize with the Tutsi.
The Tutsi all over the country fled to churches, schools and any other hiding places you could think of. In the countryside town of Gikongoro, the Tutsi fled to a nearby Catholic Church for safety only to be advised by the Bishop and Mayor that it wasn’t safe for them to seek refuge at the church but rather they hide at the then half-built Murambi technical Institute where the French army would protect them.
Unfortunately, little did the Tutsi know that both the Bishop & Mayor would later “sell” them out to their enemies. Food, water & electricity supply to the institute where the Tutsi were taking refuge were cut off, the French army had fled the institute and a series of attackers (Interahamwe government militias & Hutu ) came in a and killed thousands of the Tutsi who were weak from having no food to eat or clean water to drink but pools of contaminated water. By 21st/April, thousands had been killed and only 34 people are rumored to have survived this deadly 1994 Rwanda Genocide.
Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre is on your way to the famous Nyungwe forest National park and can be added to any Safari visiting the southern Sector of Rwanda.
