The Rwandan High Commission in Ghana in collaboration with the Rwanda Community in Ghana, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone today Saturday May 22, 2021 commemorated the 27th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

It was held on the theme 'Remember, Unite and Renew'.

Key invited guests who attended the event as representatives as well as those who followed online included Senior Government officials of Ghana, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and the Rwandan Community and Friends of Rwanda.

Referred to as Kwibuka in Kinyarwanda, remembering the genocide against the Tutsi offers a platform to honour the lives of the over a million lives lost and to accord them the dignity they were stripped of by the cold-hearted manner they were killed.

Among the speakers of the event included General Henry Kwami Anyidoho (Rtd.), who led the Ghanaian Contingent and was Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda during the months of the genocide.

There were also a presentation on the genocide by Dr. Bideri Diogène, the principal legal adviser at the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide in Rwanda and the testimony of Mr. Pacifique Kayihura, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

The High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda in Ghana, Dr Aisa Kirabo Kacyira appreciated the spirit of solidarity and calls upon leaders, citizens and all friends of Rwanda to continue to stand together Against any form of Genocide denial, negation and impunity by working to together to uphold truth and justice.

The commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi is an important event in the calendar of the Republic of Rwanda as it provides the platform to remember the lives lost, show solidarity with survivors and unite to ensure such tragedy never happens again in Rwanda or elsewhere in Africa and beyond.

The commemoration of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda also provides an opportunity to learn about Rwanda’s story of reconciliation and nation building among others.

Officially, the commemoration each year begins on April 7, which is the day the genocide started and continues for the next 100 days to represent the period within which more than a million people were killed. 

Since 2020, the commemorative event has been held in a hybrid format (physical and virtual) as a result of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and its attendant restrictions on mass public gathering.

In accordance with the Covid-19 protocols, the commemorative event in Ghana had just about 100 persons in attendance, with many others following proceeding virtually via the social media handles of the Rwanda High Commission in Ghana.