Elvis Nkundanyirazo, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, remembers the painful journey he and his father endured before the latter was killed at Petit Séminaire St Vincent Ndera, where thousands had sought refuge.
ALSO READ: Kwibuka 32: Experts fault global inaction on genocide warnings
Speaking during a commemoration ceremony held at the Ndera memorial site on Saturday, May 16, Nkundanyirazo reflected on the suffering his family had gone through over the years before 1994.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Ephraim Nkundanyirazo, a medical assistant, was among 8,004 people killed at the Gasabo-based seminary, many of whom had fled from areas including Gikomero, Kabuga, Rusave, Rugogo, Remera, Nyarugunga, Bumbogo, Kimironko, Rusororo, and Kanombe after the April 6, 1994 plane crash that killed former president Juvénal Habyarimana.
Elvis, who was 13 in 1994, described his father's life as one marked by persecution long before the genocide. Like many Tutsi families targeted during earlier waves of violence, most of their family fled the country in 1959 to neighbouring countries. His father stayed in Rwanda with his elder brother.
"In 1963, while he was in secondary school, they planned to kill him," he said.
"A Hutu friend warned him not to return to school because some people were waiting for him. Later, they suspected the friend had helped him and threw him from a building. He survived, but he lived with injuries for the rest of his life."
Ephraim fled to Uganda and Burundi before returning to Rwanda and resumed work at the neuropsychiatric centre Caraes Ndera. According to his son, he became widely respected in the community for his medical work and generosity.
"Our home was like a pharmacy where people came for treatment," Elvis said.
ALSO READ: Genocide: Mentally ill patients killed at Ndera hospital remembered
He also recalled his father's love for sports and running.
When the Genocide began on April 7, the family fled alongside other residents to Musave school seeking refuge.
"For the first time as a child, I slept away from home and relatives," he recounted. "People had gathered form different places, children were crying all night. Fathers we knew were broken. On RTLM radio there were frightening songs and messages. Parents were desperate."
The following morning, local leaders instructed the displaces Hutu to return home, leaving the Tutsi behind. Those who remained were later killed.
ALSO READ: Josephine Murebwayire: A light after darkness, a legacy of healing
As violence intensified, a man whose wife had once been treated by Ephraim offered to hide the children and their mother but refused to shelter the father, fearing he was too well known and being actively hunted.
Separated from his family, Ephraim moved from one hiding place to another before reaching Ndera Seminary, where many Tutsi believed they would find safety.
Meanwhile, the family was hidden by the neighbor for two weeks, before sending them to seek safety elsewhere. They hid in different homes until April 27, when they were captured by Interahamwe militia and handed over to a government soldier known as Mabirisi.
Elvis said the soldier ultimately spared their lives because Ephraim had once treated him during a serious illness.
"He said he would not shed the blood of my father's family," he recalled.
ALSO READ: Kwibuka 32: Why survivor testimonies are vital
Days later, the RPF Inkotanyi arrived in the area and rescued them.
"There were bodies and blood everywhere," he said.
The family later learned that Ephraim had been killed at Ndera Seminary alongside thousands of others. Few people survived the attacks there.
"Since then, we have continued to come here to remember our parents and relatives," Elvis said. "We consider this place our second home because of its history."
Now an agricultural consultant, he urged students attending the commemoration to study Rwanda's history carefully and reject any ideology that could divide Rwandans.
"When we remember, we are not reviving the past," he said. "We want young people to ask themselves what role they can play to ensure such history never happens again."
Nkundanyirazo added that one of the most painful realities for his family was learning how his father spent his final moments believing his loved ones had already been killed.
"What we cannot help thinking how our father died thinking that the rest of his family had been killed, as he was told by the person who was with him in his last days," he said. "He died with sorrow and sadness for his family."
ALSO READ: Kwibuka 32: Diaspora survivors reflect on memory, duty and resilience
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Public Service and Labour, Christine Nkulikiyinka, said the Genocide was enabled by the involvement of various individuals and institutions, including state authorities, businesspeople and members of the clergy, hence the killing of more than one million people in just 100 days.
"At the seminary grounds, Tutsi were shot at, and later the killers returned to burn the bodies," she said.
The minister also praised individuals who risked their lives to save others.
"What they did is a noble act. Students here should learn from it and live by those values."
"Although progress has been made in rebuilding the country, we still have a journey ahead and a responsibility to preserve and build upon what has been achieved," she said.
"We must strengthen the unity of Rwandans, thinking broadly about what benefits the country and every citizen."
She asked students to avoid those who distort history or spread genocidal ideology, urging them to be vigilant and to study history carefully so they are not misled.
ALSO READ: Kwibuka 32: Experts fault global inaction on genocide warnings
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Philbert Gakwenzire, the President of Ibuka, reflected on the tragic history of the genocide, especially at the seminary, reminding students that their school carries a heavy legacy. He talked about priests, teachers, and students who participated in killings, others who fought to save lives, and some priests who later fled justice and denied the genocide through various means.
"There are still those who want to erase the truth of the victims. Some write books, including a former priest here who published one last year. He claimed it showed the truth, but it was full of harmful messages inconsistent with the integrity expected of a priest," Gakwenzire said.
"Normally, such a book should educate people, but this one does not. It is important to be aware of it so that no one is misled."
Gakwenzire urged students to be cautious of such messages and those who spread them, and to hold firmly to Rwandan values.
Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, who represented Cardinal Antoine Kambanda at the commemoration, called on students to exercise critical thinking and responsibility, especially in an era of widespread misinformation amplified through technology.
"Young people today navigate technology, which has abundant information, much of it may be misleading," Nsengiyumva said.
"Intellectual responsibility gives us the duty to select and choose the right information that benefits us."
Representatives of the student alumni also paid tribute to former colleagues killed during the Genocide, describing them as role models whose lives and values should inspire younger generations.
