On April 19, 1994, as the Genocide against the Tutsi entered its 12th day, the brutality escalated with perpetrators employing various forms of torture. In one harrowing incident in Kamonyi district, Gacurabwenge sector, Interahamwe commanded the Tutsi to excavate their own graves before executing them.
Various attacks had taken place earlier in the area, claiming numerous Tutsi lives, but leaving some survivors who sought refuge in the surrounding bushes. Exploiting their vulnerability, a local leader named Ndahayo called them out of their hiding, assuring them that they would be protected.
In response to Ndahayo’s call, they came out of the bushes. Approximately 100 Tutsi gathered at the residence of an elderly man named Gatabirwa. After gathering, Ndahayo brought a large group of militia, including soldiers.
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The assailants divided their forces. One group attacked Gatabirwa's home, while another targeted Tutsi seeking refuge at the residence of a neighbor named Kabera.
In Gatabirwa's compound, Interahamwe ordered the Tutsi to dig a pit where their dead bodies would be thrown. When they refused, Interahamwe took up hoes themselves and started a mass grave around 2pm.
By 5pm, they were done with digging the grave, and the executions commenced, claiming the lives of both adults and children. Their bodies were disposed of in the pit dug by Interahamwe.
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Meanwhile, on the same day, President Theodore Sindikubwabo, the interim president of the genocidal government called on the people of Butare to participate in violence against the Tutsi.
In a speech he made at the inauguration of the new governor of Butare Sylvain Nsabimana, he called upon the public to participate in the killings and reminded them not to act as if it is not their business.
Shortly after the speech of Sindikubwabo, Tutsi were massacred in Butare town.
In Kigali, the same day, soldiers of the genocidal government shelled Amahoro Stadium where 19 people under protection of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) were killed.
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In Nyaruguru district, Ngoma sector, between April 18 and 19, 1994 more than 3,360 Tutsi gathered at Nkomero ground were killed in an attack that involved local leaders like Straton Semanyenzi, the mayor of Kigembe Commune, Leonard Munyengango, the councilor of Ngoma sector, and a teacher called Godefroid Mugemanshuro.
In Kigali and nearby areas, a number of massacres took place on the day in places like Rwezamenyo and Kamonyi, where Interahamwe killed the Tutsi by handcuffing them and throwing them into River Nyabarongo. Such massacres went on for many days until the RPF liberated the area in June 1994.
Many more massacres unfolded across the country. These include one at Mushubi Health Centre in Nyamagabe district where about 500 women and children were killed.
Mushubi sector suffered many massacres against the Tutsi during the Genocide. Today, Mushubi Genocide Memorial is home to more than 14,152 bodies of the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi.