The Bisesero Genocide Memorial in Karongi District of the Western Province is currently under rehabilitation after more than 10 years in bad state.
The Rehabilitation project was funded by the Ministry of Sports and Culture, and supervised by the National Commission Against Genocide (CNLG). It is estimated at more than RWF 150 million according to CNLG agent at the site, mister Stanley ….
Part of the project consists of renovating the main part which stands right next to the memorial stone at the entrance, with spears all around as a sign of resistance by the fallen Tutsi brave men who fought with stones and spears. CNLG’s agent there said the roof of the main part was about to collapse because of rain water that had been kept atop for more than twelve years (since 1998).
The project also consists of expanding the site with more rooms representing places where the victims had come from seeking refuge on the Bisesero Mountain. The rooms will also display historic dark moments of the 1994 genocide which occurred in the eyes of French Soldiers who stood aside and looked when thousands of Tutsis (in zone turquoise) were brutally massacred by interahamwe militiamen and the ‘ex forces armées Rwandaises’ (former Rwandan Defense Force/EXFAR) before fleeing to neighboring Congo (the former Zaire) with the French.
The Bisesero Genocide Memorial is located about 31 kilometers from the lake side town of Kibuye. The beautiful mountain setting with breathtaking views of Lake Kivu is in sharp contrast to the horrifying violence that took place at this site during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Historically, the majority of people who lived in Bisesero were Tutsis, whose main activity was cattle breeding. They were called ABASESERO, a name from which the region derived its name. More than 50 thousand Tutsis took refuge in the mountain’s wood, over 30 thousand were killed there.
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