Rwanda pauses for 29th commemoration of genocide

The commemoration will be held under the theme “Kwibuka twiyubaka: Remember-Unite-Renew.”

Commemorative activities to begin the mourning week at the national level will be held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where over 250,000 victims are laid to rest.

President Paul Kagame is expected to lead wreaths laying and then light a flame to burn for the next 100 days.

Similar activities at district level will be held at district genocide memorial sites.

Jean Damascene Bizimana, Rwanda’s National Unity and Civic Engagements Minister called on the public to observe the guidelines issued by the ministry.

On April 7, all business activities will open after midday, but as it has been the norm entertainment activities, including sports betting will be prohibited throughout the commemoration week.

Also restricted during the mourning week are wedding ceremonies and other mass celebrations, according to the guidelines issued by the ministry.

The world including the East African Community (EAC) will also hold similar commemorative events.

A statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha said the EAC will commemorate the anniversary in collaboration with the Rwandan community in Arusha, the Arusha regional authorities, and the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals.

The annual commemoration is an occasion to pay tribute to the more than one million innocent lives lost from April to July in 1994 through the heinous extermination of Tutsis by armed Hutu militias in Rwanda, said the statement.

The EAC commemoration will begin with a walk from the EAC secretariat headquarters to the Arusha city center, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony.