Efforts to exhume remains of victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which were found at Gisenyi Airstrip last week have been intensified, as a total of 141 bodies have so far been found.

The search started on Tuesday after casual workers who were digging water channels at the airstrip discovered mass graves last week on Saturday.

According to accounts by the casual labourers, they were surprised to find people’s clothes and when they dug deeper, they found people’s limbs and this is when they immediately informed officials.

Rubavu district officials intervened and immediately urged the general public to provide information which would help in identifying the names of the victims in these mass graves.

On the first day of the search, officials and citizens managed to exhume remains of 28 victims from two separate mass graves while on Wednesday (the second day of search) they exhumed 113 more victims thanks to the use excavator caterpillars.

Testimonies from Genocide survivors from the area later attested that indeed these were victims of the Genocide that took place 25 years ago.

It is disgraceful

Addressing the media, Innocent Bisengimana the district head for Ibuka, an umbrella organisation of Genocide survivors said that it is a disgrace to find remains of Genocide victims scattered after 25 years yet they should have accorded a decent burial.

"We have never ceased to beg the public to avail information on the whereabouts of our loved ones who are yet to be found so that they can get a decent burial, we are therefore saddened that people’s remains can be found in such manner,” he said.

It is believed that a number of victims remain unaccounted for and unidentified mass graves are still scattered across the district. However, citizens are still reluctant to avail reliable information on the matter.  

In mid-2015 a number of Genocide victims were also discovered in Gisenyi Hospital backyard, among the found bodies were patients and the caregivers from the hospital.

By press time, Rubavu district residents, as well as officials in the area, were still at Gisenyi Airstrip using excavators to search for the more remains.

Rubavu District officials resorted to using excavator caterpillars to search for the remaining remains. / Courtesy

Some of the clothes which were worn by the victims. / Courtesy