Rwanda: Damas Gisimba - Genocide Hero Dies at 61

4 June 2023
The New Times (Kigali)
By Hudson Kuteesa

Damas Gisimba Mutezintare, a hero who saved over 400 people in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has passed on at the age of 61, The New Times has learned.

When the genocide started in 1994, Gisimba was running an orphanage in Nyamirambo - Kigali, and he is credited for having hid more than 400 children and adults who had taken refuge at the centre.

When the genocidal forces were defeated, 405 children, and adults, who had been sheltered in the tiny compound were rescued.

In a 2019 interview with The New Times, Gisimba said 405 people survived the Genocide from the orphanage. These ranged from babies of one week to teenagers and adults.

Gisimba was awarded the Presidential Order of Umurinzi -- meaning protector -- in recognition of his heroic actions.

Read the original article on New Times.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2023 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.