Several dignitaries from all over the world on Sunday morning, laid wreaths at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in honor of not only the 250,000 inferred at the site but all the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Over 1 million innocent people were killed in the carefully planned massacres that lasted 100 days from April through July. ALSO READ: Kwibuka30: Rwanda honours Genocide victims At the Gisozi memorial site, which is also among the four memorial sites that were recently added to the World Heritage List by the UNESCO, a number of current and former Heads of State and Government, heads of international organizations, distinguished dignitaries, high ranking officials from the Rwandan government, among others. The officials started arriving on Friday to stand in solidarity with Rwandans on this solemn occasion. They include Czech Republic President Petr Pavel, President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. ALSO READ: Heads of State, other dignitaries arrive ahead of Kwibuka 30 On Saturday afternoon, South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who is also the chairperson of the East African Community, arrived in Kigali to attend the commemoration. Former US President Bill Clinton, the President of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Denis Sassou N'guesso, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic, jetted in on Saturday evening. Others who arrived in Kigali on Saturday include Ugandan vice president Jessica Alupo, the Deputy President of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua, Stéphane Séjourné, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, and Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under Secretary General and Special Adviser to UN Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide, among others. The event comes on the same day Rwanda commenced activities to mark the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This year’s commemoration will run under the theme Remember-Unite-Renew, and also focus on Rwanda’s transformational journey in the past thirty years. The commemoration will start with lighting of the ‘Flame of Remembrance’ at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Gisozi by President Paul Kagame, which will burn for the next 100 days, as the country honors the memory of the victims of the tragic massacres. President Kagame has always led the country to kick off the commemoration activities, which are observed by laying wreaths in honour of not only the 250,000 victims interred at the memorial, but also all victims of the Genocide in different parts of the country.
