ULK Ltd commemorates the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi
On 29th May 2022, the entire community of ULK Ltd commemorated the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi. It is an event that started with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial where wreaths of flowers were laid to pay tribute to the victims slain during the genocide.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Hon. BAMPORIKI Edouard, was the guest of honour of this event which was also attended among other dignitaries by Prof. Dr RWIGAMBA Balinda, Founder and President of ULK, Dr. RUSIBANA Claude, Vice Chancellor of ULK, Dr. SUMBIRI Djuma, Principal of ULK Polytechnic Institute, army and police representatives, IBUKA representative, to mention but a few.
In his welcome remarks, Dr.RUSIBANA Claude said that commendable strides have been made in terms of unity and reconciliation thanks to the efforts made by the government of Rwanda which never ceases to preach unity among Rwandans. He also urged young people to visit memorial sites for clear information about the history of their motherland.
“We’d like to thank the government of Rwanda for relentless efforts invested in reuniting Rwandans and rebuilding the nation. In actual fact, commemorating aims at preventing similar atrocities and we’re very thankful to the government of Rwanda for the memorial sites put in place to help everyone especially young people to learn more about the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi as this contributes to the prevention of such pogroms in the long run”, he told the participants.
In a public lecture delivered by the Founder and President of ULK Ltd, Prof. Dr RWIGAMBA Balinda, he threw more light on Rwanda’s history before and after the arrival of colonialists, and the post genocide period. As Prof. RWIGAMBA said, in the pre-colonial era, Rwandans were proud for being called Rwandans with their unity being very strong only the arrival of colonialists set them apart.
“Unity prevailed among Rwandans in the pre-colonial period. They proudly shared a country, language, culture and values. In other words, Rwandans enjoyed being together as one people through thick and thin. It is the colonialists who harboured divisionism among them through their divide and rule politics., and this politics culminated into the genocide we are commemorating today”, he told the audience.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Hon. BAMPORIKI Edouard who was also the Guest of Honour urged the participants to strive for upholding the Rwandan spirit as this is the only identity that is superior to any other identities. He added that with the Rwandan spirit, one feels proud of being Rwandan despite their social or economic status.
“If Rwandans had prioritized the Rwandan spirit as their true identity over other sub-identities, genocide would not have been possible. You should therefore be proud of being Rwandans as this is the most important identity that has been the catalyst for Rwanda’s rebuilding journey and I believe that once fully owned, genocide with its ideology can be uprooted for good”, he was quoted as saying.
The testimony by Mr. NTIRENGANYA Sylvestre left everyone devastated after narrating how he narrowly survived the genocide and all the hardships he encountered during that heinous period. As he said, he was in Form One, Primary School when the genocide sparked off, and he saw many people being killed in a genocide that wiped out his family.
Munyenshoza Dieudonné, Rwandan vocalist fondly known as Mibirizi also attended the event and sang his Turi Bene Gihanga song in which he recalls the unity that defined Rwandans before colonial masters landed in the country.
