On April 16, 1994, massacres in Rukumberi, now part of Ngoma District, intensified, nearly wiping out the entire Tutsi community in the area. While killings had begun on April 7, they escalated sharply when government soldiers and police joined the Interahamwe militias in targeting Tutsi civilians. ALSO READ: April 15, 1994: Bulldozer used to crush Tutsi refugees in Nyange Surrounded by lakes Mugesera and Sake and bordered by the Akagera River, Rukumberi’s geography tragically trapped victims, making escape nearly impossible. By the time the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) intervened on May 5, over 35,000 Tutsi had been killed. The RPA rescued around 700 survivors, many severely wounded. The killings began on April 7 in Ntovi Cell. Tutsi residents initially tried to resist, but on April 8, Interahamwe from Sake Commune, aided by municipal police and officials—including bourgmestre Ernest Rutayisire and Parliamentarian Sylvain Mutabaruka—attacked an ADPER church sheltering refugees, killing more than 1,800 people. ALSO READ: April 14, 1994: Remote areas feel the onslaught of Genocidaires On April 10, Burundian refugees joined the attackers, helping to hunt down and kill Tutsi in hiding, especially in sorghum fields. At the home of Ruhumuriza, over 200 Tutsi were murdered. The violence peaked on April 16, when more than 10,000 were killed. Tired and defenseless, many victims were hunted down even in papyrus swamps and plantations, with boats ferrying Interahamwe across the lakes to reach them. Other regions also experienced mass killings. In Kibuye (now Karongi), Interahamwe attacked Kibuye Catholic Church and Home St. Jean, killing many of the 11,400 Tutsi refugees there. ALSO READ: April 13, 1994: When churches turned into slaughter houses The militia first fired outside the church, forcing people inside. Then soldiers from Gatwaro military camp threw grenades and opened fire before Interahamwe moved in with machetes. In Bugesera’s Nyamata area, many were killed at the Benebikira Sisters’ residence and St Agnes Maternity, where grenades were thrown and traditional weapons used. In Mugonero, Karongi District, killers struck a Seventh Day Adventist complex on Sabbath, murdering many inside the church with guns and grenades. In Kigabiro, Rwamagana, former sector leader François Turatsinze falsely promised refuge to Tutsi at his home. On April 16, they were brutally killed, with babies thrown into a pit latrine. Elsewhere in the district, around 3,000 Tutsi were executed on the shores of Lake Muhazi. Victims were stripped, beaten, and their heels cut before being drowned in the lake.
