Rwanda

Memory and justice

Rwanda year zero

In 1994, we took refuge in Gahanga, I lived above, over there in Rukatsa, here on the road. Me and all my family, we took refuge in Gahanga, we arrived there on the 9th, we spent the night there and on the 10th came an igitero who wanted to kill. They arrived around 8 o'clock in the morning. So, they started their work of killing (batangira akazi ko kwica). We were in the school classes, the classes were full and the church was also full. And you see how big it is. But if I go back, on Saturday, we heard a statement saying: "All the Bahutu who are in Gahanga return to their homes because there is security." We then stayed in Gahanga on the 10th and they came to kill us. All of a sudden, I ran into the church and we locked ourselves in and they started their job to kill (akazi ko kwica), they killed, they killed (barica, barica) until the evening.

Extract from the testimony of Marie-Jeanne Kayitesi, gacaca of Kagarama, 20 October 2007. Interview by Hélène Dumas.