It was realised in the previous piece that state machinery, both human and material support, was put at the disposal of the genocide perpetrators. In this article, we will examine how the state acted against reason and logic, betraying its historical mission. The role of the Rwandan State in the genocide was therefore obvious, given the fact that numerous victims were killed in public and in administrative offices, such as in kigembe, Nyaruhengeri, Runyinya and Gishamvu communes. Others were killed in government schools, like in Murambi and Cyahinda. Places of entertainment and apprentice training centres like Kibuye Stadium and ETO Kicuciro also served as killing grounds. Places where people gathered and from where government forces could have ensured their security were used as slaughterhouses as well. Such places included churches in Cyahinda, Kibeho, Nyamasheke, Nyange, Sainte Famille, Mugombwa, Ntarama, Nyarubuye, Nyamata and Nyundo, among others. Finally, the responsibility of the Rwandan State appeared in the dismissal, assassination and exclusion of some political and military leaders who were opposed to the genocide. These measures strengthened the positions of the extremists and facilitated the accomplishment of the hunting and assassination of the Tutsi in various parts of the country. Assured of impunity, thousands of Rwandans killed victims without any remorse. Emmanuel Nyirimbuga is one of the militias who testified regarding their role in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Gikongoro, specifically mentioning the establishment of roadblocks and the killings at the Murambi Technical School. He said that he participated in acts of hunting down Tutsi from houses and bushes and was involved in operations to assassinate the Tutsi at roadblocks in Murambi. He testified that the killers were merciless. He also testified on the impunity which was guaranteed by the government authorities. He declared: “I had no shame whatsoever in participating in acts of killing during genocide. It looked like a normal act because the Burgomaster, Semakwavu and the Second in Command of Gikongoro Police Post came to visit us regularly at the roadblocks. They gave us a word of encouragement. The Burgomaster liked to use the Kinyarwanda expression: ‘Nimukomere, turabashyigikiye’ which meant: courage, we support you. Sebuhura, commander of Genderme in Gikongoro, used to tell us: “you do not have to let the enemy escape from you”. “The monopoly to kill, the encouragement to exterminate and the impunity enjoyed by the murderers were, without doubt, the responsibility of the Rwandan government. “Shortly before the genocide, the authorities told us that the Tutsi were ill-natured, had attacked us and that we should defend ourselves by killing them. I participated in the killing and looting squads. We started the massacres with the Karangwa and Karamuka families. We were in about six killing squads.” “We then moved towards places where many Tutsi gathered, and we killed not less than 20,000 Tutsi. MRND and MDR leaders, as well as sector and cell authorities, were with us. They coordinated the massacre activities. We went to Karumugabo’s family. We killed him, his wife and his two children. We buried people that we had cut with machetes; some of them were buried while they were still alive. We buried them in paupers’ graves. In the evening, we deliberated on the techniques we had used during the day and the ones we would use the following day.” “In short, we killed them on the hills, in churches and in their houses. I personally killed Michel Murwanashyaka, Caroline and her two children with a machete and club. I also killed Madarubi and his three children, Mushingwe Etienne, his wife and their daughter, as well as Uwayezu and her two children. We killed with mediation, we were conscious of our deeds; we hoped to have a country devoid of Tutsi. We thought that Rwanda would be a paradise if we got rid of the Tutsi. The Hutu participated in the genocide except for the sick and disabled. Human consciousness had disappeared. The Hutu were eager to kill. The desire for economic gain also motivated us to commit genocide.” Human consciousness had indeed disappeared, as the above testimony has revealed. The state acted against sense and logic. Little wonder so many people were killed in a short period of time. As we progress, more of the inhumanity will be revealed.
