The Campaign Against Genocide Museum, housed within the Parliamentary buildings in Kigali, tells a powerful story through its preserved rooms, symbolic monuments, and walls etched with history. ALSO READ: How Kagame masterminded RPA’s decisive campaign against Genocide within hours As tour guide Vincent Ruzindana explains, this site, was once the Conseil National de Développement (CND). In December 1993, 600 soldiers from the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA)’s 3rd Battalion were deployed to Kigali to protect Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) politicians under the terms of the Arusha Peace Agreement. The Arusha Accords were a peace agreement between the genocidal regime and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) signed in August 1993. ALSO READ: The hazardous route to the Arusha Accords The accords were a culmination of marathon talks between the RPF and the then genocidal government to bring to an end to a three-year armed conflict. The 3rd Battalion was to later on play a decisive role in ending the 1994 Genocide despite being pounded from all sides by the genocidal government’s army and militia. ‘They dug shelters around the premises and lived underground’ The 600 rebel forces held their ground at CND until they linked up with their colleagues who walked all the night from their base in Mulindi, northern Rwanda, to come to their rescue. “Part of the building served as a hotel for politicians. But the 600 soldiers didn’t stay there. Instead, they dug shelters around the premises and lived underground.” But the peace agreement quickly broke down. On April 6, 1994, President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down. The following day, April 7, the Genocide against the Tutsi began. “This very building was surrounded by government forces. Across the country, similar attacks were already being carried out,” Ruzindana recounts. Government troops, including gendarmes in Kacyiru, military police nearby, artillery units in Rebero, and deployments on Mount Kigali and Mount Jali all targeted CND, aiming to eliminate the RPF/A politicians and the 600 soldiers guarding them. In the midst of this, moderate political figures such as former Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana were among the first to be killed. “Despite being outnumbered, the 600 soldiers inside CND received a directive from Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame, then Chairman of the RPA High Command, to act. On April 7, they were ordered to stop the genocide, rescue those under threat, and confront the perpetrators.” Ruzindana explained how the soldiers responded across multiple fronts. Some moved to Kacyiru to repel attacks, others faced the elite Presidential Guard, while others moved toward Kinyinya. A unit was dispatched to Amahoro Stadium, where more than 5,000 defenceless people had been abandoned by UN peacekeepers. “They fought continuously for the first four days, holding their position until Mobile Forces like Alpha and Bravo units arrived,” Ruzindana said. “However, because the Genocide against the Tutsi was being carried out across the entire country, other RPA units were deployed in different directions west, north, south, and east. The fighting continued for about 100 days until the Genocide was brought to an end.” As I moved around the museum with Ruzindana, it became clear that beyond the detailed walls and preserved rooms, the story of rescue is also told through four key monuments. One of them features a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun that was originally stationed on the rooftop of the CND building. It was operated by Major (Rtd) David Rwabinumi, one of only two soldiers assigned to the weapon, which had been allowed into Kigali under the terms of the Arusha Accords. “It became a defence line against forces attacking from Kanombe and Rebero. This gun helped stop presidential guards and commandos from reaching CND,” Ruzindana said. Another monument is a preserved field hospital (sick bay) once used to treat wounded RPA soldiers and civilians who were rescued during the Genocide. ‘They protected mothers, because mothers raise the nation’ Outside, the museum grounds host monuments that symbolically capture the broader campaign. One sculpture shows a soldier carrying a baby in one arm and binoculars in the other, representing the dual focus on protecting the future and leading with vision. Around him, other soldiers move in different directions, symbolizing the various fronts of the campaign across the country from Kigali, Byumba, and Ngoma, to Nyagatare, Kayonza, Bugesera, Nyanza, and Rubavu. As Ruzindana notes, the monuments are named for what they represent: “They rescued children because they are Rwanda’s tomorrow. They protected mothers, because mothers raise the nation. This was not just about ending killings it was about protecting the idea of a country.” Another figure helps a man whose arm is raised in gratitude, representing the people who were rescued from genocide perpetrators. A more solemn part of the monument shows a soldier kneeling before a woman who didn’t survive, acknowledging that not everyone could be saved, and that the campaign was also marked by grief and loss. In a quiet area called the Heroes Garden, a sculpture of a soldier kneeling with a gun pays tribute to fallen comrades.
