When 23-year-old Elianna Nyirayumve met Samuel Nteziryayo at their local church in Karengera Sector, Nyamasheke District, there was no doubt that the two had a lot in common.

Nyirayumve told The New Times in an interview that the then 26-year-old Nteziryayo ticked all the right boxes.

He was handsome, smart, had a solid plan for his future and most importantly, he was a God-fearing person.

Just like her, Nteziryayo was also a singer in their local church choir.

About two years after they met, the couple got married and went on to have four children.

Nyirayumve says that her husband was keen on ensuring that she and their children never lacked.

She says that his mission was to challenge the stereotype around rural lifestyle where women wake up early, toil on farms and fend for their families.

So, with his savings, he bought land and Nyirayumve’s only responsibilities were to deliver lunch to the farmers at midday and to ensure that the activities on their farm were going according to plan.

On the other side of the country in Bugesera District, Nteziryayo was busy, waking up early and going to bed late to keep up with his blossoming wood business.

Every two to three months, he would set aside a weekend to commute to Nyamasheke to visit his wife and children.

It is on one such visit that his life would come to an untimely end.

The dreadful call

Nyirayumve says that she remembers that fateful day in 2018 like it was only yesterday.

The mother of four, who was three months pregnant at the time says that the day she had spent the fateful day in bed.

"Looking back, sometimes I wonder if I was feeling unwell because of early pregnancy challenges or if my system was preparing me for the terrible blow that our family was about to be dealt with that day,” she says.

She says that Nteziryayo called her to inform her that he would be on the last evening bus from Kigali to Nyamasheke.

She received a second call from her husband when his bus stopped at a popular spot in Nyanza District where passengers normally buy snacks, refreshments and goods to take home.

He asked her what he could carry home for the children and she only recommended milk.

Nyirayumve says that her husband joked that the food in Kigali was not as tasty as the one back home and requested for a hot meal that included fresh beans to be prepared for him.

She prepared his meal and lay on the sofa where she slept off. She suddenly woke up at 9 pm and noticed that it was late and her husband was not home.

And then her phone started ringing.

She picked the call and someone on the other end of the call said, "Hello? Your husband has been shot dead. His body has been transported to Kigeme Hospital”.

Nyirayumve says that she sat there in confusion.

"I said to myself, shot? Who would shoot Samuel? He is not a politician. He is not a soldier, he is not a policeman. Why would anyone shoot him? I convinced myself that this was some sort of mistake, a wrong number,” she says.

However, she got up and went looking for her brother-in-law. When she narrated what had happened, the brother suggested that they should call back the number, just to be sure.

Unfortunately, the news was confirmed. At only 34, Nteziryayo was dead.

Nyirayumve says that the day her husband was killed is the first time she heard of the FLN/MRCD terrorists. She had so many questions but above all, she says that she would like to know why civilians like her husband were murdered in cold blood.

"How do you explain this to young children? How do you explain that their father will never come back and he was killed by rebels? What do you say when they ask why?” Nyirayumve wonders before she starts sobbing silently.

Following the fatal attacks, the government made high-profile arrests of individuals who are allegedly behind the FLN/MRCD terror activities, among them MRCD president Paul Rusesabagina.

Rusesabagina, whose FLN/MRCD has in the past publicly taken responsibility for the rebels in Nyungwe forest was the subject of an International Arrest Warrant for multiple charges, including terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder.

When Nyirayumve appeared in court in June this year, on her back was a little girl who will never know her father.

She says that since her husband was killed, her life and that of her children has turned upside down.

First, she had to move in with her husband’s parents to enable the children to get basic needs.

She says that her children have had challenges adjusting to living in poverty and constantly ask questions that she has trouble responding to.

"Our children had everything. Our oldest son constantly asks me why I can’t pay his school fees on time, or why I have to mend his shirts over and over. Their father would be very sad to see how life has changed for the worst. He wanted much better for us,” she says.

Compensation

As the verdict in the Rusesabagina and co-accused case was being delivered on Monday, September 20, Nyirayumve was awarded Rwf10 million in reparations.

Despite the compensation, she says, there is no amount of money that can heal the kind of wounds that Rusesabagina has caused.

"Rusesabagina’s crime was not only taking my husband’s young life. He has also victimised my children who are growing up without their father’s love. He has victimised me who did not sign up to be a widow before I am even 35. No monetary value can be attached to that,” she said.