WESTERN PROVINCE

RUBAVU  — District authority is organizing a decent burial of 2063 Genocide remains that were recently found in Mudende, Busesamana Bugeshi and Kanzenze sectors.

Vice mayor in charge of social affairs Jacqueline Bakunduseruye revealed this last week at a burial preparatory meeting with district leaders, sector coordinators and security personnel.

"Rubavu just like other districts had concluded the burials in April this year but we later on discovered more 2063 bodies of the victims which were murdered and dumped in various pits.

It hasn’t been easy for the district because the money for this year’s budget had been spent on other activities,” she said, adding that contributions from residents however, would be used to accord the remains a decent burial.

She noted that since the discovery of the remains early in July, burial arrangements were derailed by lack of a memorial site which has just been constructed to accommodate the remains.

Bakunduseruye thanked all residents for their contribution towards the burial arrangement that raised Frw 8million to supplement the district stake in constructing a big memorial site.

The site that has so far consumed a total of Frw 12milions would become a burial ground for yet other remains that they may come across.

The requiem mass is projected to take Frw2million.

Out of 2063, more remains were found in Mudende and Busesamana in big heaps, which imply that the victims could have been gathered in one place at the time of their death.

The two sectors had earlier on been condemned by the district authority for their refusal to cooperate in identifying the location of the victims of Genocide that were murdered and dumped in various places especially in Mudende in 1994.

Until the time of location by constructors of a public market in the area, mayor Ramadan Baringayabo had earlier on suggested that it was highly plausible that residents knew where these remains were buried.

But residents had allegedly refused to reveal information probably due to fear of being implicated in the Genocide crimes.

 Genocide survivors who attended the meeting and are suspecting some of their family members to be among the latest remains, called upon residents to cooperate with the district authority to identify more places where the bodies were dumped so as to give them a respectful and decent burial.

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