The historical documentation and preservation project at the Commune Rouge Genocide Memorial in Rubavu District has reached 98 percent completion, officials have confirmed. The initiative aims to collect, document, and preserve information on victims, survivors, events, and evidence related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi for education, remembrance, and historical research. Located in Ruriba Village, Rubavu Cell, Gisenyi Sector, the memorial is the final resting place of more than 5,000 victims from the former Gisenyi Prefecture. Many others who were killed there had fled from surrounding areas hoping to find safety in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire). The project includes new historical exhibitions inside the memorial. According to officials, it has reached a significant stage with the installation of interpretive panels and documentary films that will help visitors better understand the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: Commune Rouge: The chilling story behind Rubavu trees that stand as a stark reminder of cruelty of genocidaires Rubavu District Mayor Proper Mulindwa said presenting the site's history in sustainable and accessible formats will help Rwandan youth, adults, and international visitors better understand the genocide while strengthening efforts to combat genocide ideology. The district has taken measures to present the history at Commune Rouge Memorial in both written and digital formats and has appointed permanent staff to guide visitors through the site's history, Mulindwa told The New Times. He added that similar documentation projects are planned for the Nyundo and Bigogwe genocide memorials to preserve the history of atrocities committed across the former Gisenyi Prefecture, the home region of former President Juvénal Habyarimana and several senior members of his regime. One of the site's most horrific features is the large pits where victims were dumped after being killed. Babies were slammed against tree trunks before being thrown into the pits, which still exist today. Mulindwa said. He said that while the history of the Commune Rouge is painful, it must be preserved for future generations. The truth about the Genocide against the Tutsi must never be forgotten. It should continue to be taught so that it is always remembered, he said. The project is expected to be completed soon. A provisional handover was conducted on June 18, 2026, with construction about 98 percent complete. The remaining work includes correcting lettering on a garden information board and installing a few outstanding materials, including speakers that had not yet been delivered. Dr Augustin Nshimiyimana, a specialist in collective trauma and grief management through therapeutic rituals at the University of Rwanda and a national commissioner at Ibuka, said documenting genocide history is becoming increasingly urgent as eyewitnesses grow older. Testimonies should be written down and recorded in both audio and video formats as survivors age, he said during a previous commemoration event at Commune Rouge. We recommend that all commemoration activities be digitally recorded in line with current technology. Genocide survivor Hussein Twagiramungu, whose stepmother was among those dumped at Commune Rouge, recalled the atrocities committed in Gisenyi and expressed gratitude to the Inkotanyi for stopping the killings and saving lives. Young people should learn our painful history. It belongs to all of us, and there is no way we can escape it, Twagiramungu said. Digital platforms can help preserve this history and contribute to preventing such atrocities from happening again. His testimony, along with those of other survivors, has been documented inside the memorial alongside photographs of the trees and other locations where atrocities were committed. The Gisenyi area holds particular historical significance not only because of the scale of the atrocities committed there, but also because it was the home region of former President Habyarimana and influential members of the Akazu, the inner circle of his regime. Several meetings were held in Gisenyi during the Genocide against the Tutsi, where Interahamwe militia were urged to continue killing Tutsi by senior military officers, including Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva. According to the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Colonel Nsengiyumva presided over meetings attended by hundreds of Interahamwe militia at Umuganda Stadium in Gisenyi, where he encouraged participants to continue the killings. He was indicted by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on July 11, 1996.
