OFFICIALS in Gakenke District on Friday joined residents of Rumbi Cell in Rusasa Sector for a sombre ceremony to lay to rest eight members of the same family who perished during the torrential rain that pounded parts of the country early Thursday.
The district lost 23 people in total, all of whom were buried in their respective sectors.
The eight family members from Rumbi Cell included the father, mother and their six children and they were killed when their home was washed away by the landslide.
The somber event was graced by the district mayor Déogratias Nzamwita, his deputy in charge of economic development and some other local officials who include security organs.
Mourners during the burial on Friday
The burial for the family was preceded by a requiem mass that took place at the compound of Théoneste Dusabimana the man whose entire family perished, before they went to the cemetery.
In his remarks, Nzamwita said the district and its partners were doing everything within their powers to help the affected by providing temporary shelter and humanitarian assistance until a permanent solution is found.
"We are here to condole with you; as the district we have organised how to support you and our relief assistance will come in to you in the very short possible period,” he told the mourners many of whom were rendered homeless by the rains.
The mayor went on to assure that the district was working closely with the Rwanda Red Cross to avail humanitarian assistance to those who have been relocated to various schools from across the country following the torrential rains.
He pointed out that some other families whose homes were identified to be prone to landslides were temporarily relocated to local schools to prevent further fatalities.
Survivors speak out
Gratien Ngendahimana, a neighbour of the perished family noted that the incident was escalated by rocks from the hillside that crashed the victims’ home and rendered a number of other local homeless.
Patrick Niyomukiza – another survivor, noted that neighbours who were already outside tried to rescue the victims but in vain "we only managed to retrieve dead bodies.”
Niyomukiza and other survivors appealed to the Government to provide them with humanitarian assistance as soon as possible, stressing that they were left high and dry.
Gakenke District recorded a total of 577 houses that were brought down by the heavy rains.
Countrywide, at least 72 people have been confirmed to have been killed by disasters associated with the Wednesday night downpour, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
The fatalities were recorded in at least seven districts of; Gakenke, Musanze, Nyabihu, Muganga, Ruhango, Rubavu and Ngororero.
Besides the lives lost, the rain destroyed public infrastructure including roads like the Kigali-Musanze road which was temporarily blocked on Thursday morning but was late cleared and traffic resumed a few hours later.
Over 70 victims of disasters is the worst case at least in the recent days, another worst case was in 2016 when floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains claimed lives of 49 people including 35 from Gakenke District alone.