During the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) campaign to liberate the country, not many battles can be referred to as defining moments. Among the hardest fought battles in the 3 years, 9 months and 16 days of the struggle, there is the battle of Gitarama, one of important battles in the liberation war that ended 31 years ago. It is really difficult to say that this battle or that one defined the fate of the genocidal regime, because each of the battles fought had brought its own height to the final victory. Can we ignore the battle of Ruhengeri that allowed the release of Col Lizinde, Biseruka and Muvunanyambo from Ruhengeri prison? Or the battle of Gabiro where RPA defeated Belgian and Zairean soldiers sent to support Habyarimana’s regime? Or the capture of Mount Rebero, which was used to shell on Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) politicians and the 600 RPA soldiers at CND? On June 13, 1994, the RPA liberated the City of Gitarama, in a battle considered one of the greatest height in Rwanda’s liberation war. It is after this battle that the genocidal government fled the city of Gitarama to Kibuye (currently in Karongi) and then to Gisenyi (current Rubavu) before crossing to DR Congo, then Zaire. To understand how the Interim Government fled to Murambi in Gitarama, while Kigali City was not yet totally liberated, we need to know about the battle of Rebero, another important battle that weakened the former Forces armées rwandaise (Ex-FAR). After the downing of the plane carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana, the 600 RPA soldiers, under the command of Lt Gen (Rtd) Charles Kayonga, then colonel, that were based at the former Conseil National de Development (CND) present-day Parliamentary Buildings were in danger. In his testimony about the 600 soldiers, Gen (Rtd) Sam Kaka said that they decided to send troops to support them because they were surrounded by the FAR from Camp of Garde Presidentiel (GP) south of CND, Gendarmerie units from Camp Kacyiru in northwest and military police units from Camp Kami from northwest. To prevent attacks on the 600 RPA soldiers, a meeting, chaired by H.E. President Paul Kagame, then Major General and RPA Commander was held at the Headquarters of the RPA at Mulindi, and decided to send troops to help the 600 soldiers. Three mobile forces, including Alpha, under the command of (Rtd) Gen Sam Kaka then colonel, Bravo, under (Rtd) Col Twahirwa Dodo and the 59th under Col. Charles Ngonga (RIP), were deployed to the Capital Kigali. The three mobile forces departed Byumba on April 8, arrived in Kigali on April 11, 1994 and immediately started operations. Strategically, Mount Rebero Camp had to fall first, because it contained long-range guns that could fire anywhere from above, and was a concern for the RPA forces in Kigali City. According to testimonies, due to the complexity of the mission, the RPA soldiers decided to attack the Rebero camp from their back rather than from the front. After reaching this mountain, the FAR and RPA forces clashed, the fighting lasted about two hours and ended with the RPA forces winning. The capture of Rebero changed the face of the war, creating fear in the City of Kigali and prompting the FAR forces in Camp Kigali to evacuate and the departure of the Interim Government, led by Théodore Sindikubwabo from Kigali to Murambi in Gitarama. Once in Murambi, on April 12, 1994, the Interim Government, accompanied by political party and military leaders established their headquarters at the Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management (RIAM). The same day they arrived at RIAM, they organized their first meeting, Council of Ministers and Political Parties and discussed internal and external mobilitization to halt the advance of the RPA. Internal, meaning mobilization of interahamwe and Ex-FAR in identification of infiltrators, traitors, and accomplices, and external, meaning diplomacy to get logistics and financing of the war. All the decisions made were aired on Radio Rwanda, some of them read by Shingiro Mbonyumutwa, the Director of Cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Kambanda, calling on Interahamwe to exterminate the Tutsis. The Interim Government organized other meetings with Gitarama local leaders, giving them directives to clean the Prefecture of the enemy, the Tutsis. But by mid-April, they still had not won the support of the Prefect of Gitarama Fidèle Uwizeye and many of the burgomasters under his direction were opposed to the killings, and relatively few Tutsi were killed before the arrival of the Interim government. He was replaced by Maj. Jean-Damascène Ukurikiyeyezu, to speed up the killings in the prefecture, that took another level, culminating in the slaughter of 500 Tutsis on June 1, 1994, who had sought refuge in Kabgayi refugee Camp. The killing of Kabgayi reached the RPA Headquarters, prompting intervention. In one of his testimonies, then-Lt Col, now Gen (Rtd) Fred Ibingira, said that he was called by the RPA Commander, H.E. President Paul Kagame who asked him to run with his troops and save the Tutsi who were being killed at Kabgayi. Ibingira and his 157 Battalion that was fighting in Bugesera left to stop the genocide at Kabgayi. On June 2, 1994, they liberated Kabgayi. Hearing that the RPA had reached Kabgayi, the Interim Government sought support and brought to Gitarama many Ex-FAR troops from Bigogwe and Mukamira camps. The Ex-FAR resistance in Gitarama was one of the difficult battles that the RPA encountered, compared to other cities that experienced minimal resistance, sometimes lasting just a few hours or a day. It took the RPA soldiers 11 days of intense fighting to defeat the Ex-FAR in Gitarama. One may ask why resistance in Gitarama was strong compared to other cities. According to French writer Jacques Morel, the genocidal government deliberately chose to resist in Gitarama because they anticipated that France's Operation Turquoise would soon intervene. Unfortunately, the support could not arrive on time, because the UN approved their deployment on June 22, 1994, after the RPA had liberated the City. This liberation promoted the fleeing of the Interim Government leaders to Kibuye and then to Gisenyi. There they created a new national assembly in a last vain effort to establish legitimacy. But, they failed on July 18, 1994, when the RPA captured Gisenyi and the Interim Government, Ex-FAR, Interahamwe and nearly 2 millions of civilians crossed to Zaire. As we remember the battle of Gitarama, let’s honour the memory of those who lost their lives fighting to liberate our country. Not only those who lost their lives, but also those who are still alive and continue by their example to inspire our young generation.
