Writer: Odoobo C. Bichachi. PHOTO/COURTESY
Two readers were tickled by media coverage of commemorative events of the tragic 1994 genocide in Rwanda. One referred to the cover picture of The East African of April 12-18. The picture was headlined, “Kwibuka @31: Never Again.”
It was a photo of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and wife Jeanette Kagame holding aloft a torch to light a fire, with the accompanying caption: “Rwanda begins 31st anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi that left one million people killed in 100 days”. He asked why The East African – and many media houses – continue to refer to the 1994 tragedy as “genocide against Tutsi” instead of “Rwanda genocide” to capture the fact that hundreds of thousands of Hutu also perished in the genocide. The other referred to a story on UBC television bulletin of April 13, “Rwandans living in Uganda converged at Ggolo, a site of sorrow and solidarity” to remember victims of genocide that were buried in mass graves at Kasensero landing site, Rakai District.
Kasensero is the point at which River Kagera enters Lake Victoria. Her question was whether there are any such genocide burial/memorial sites in Tanzania, considering that the River Kagera marks the boundary between Rwanda and Tanzania and at some point flows exclusively in Tanzania. If these bodies were tossed into the river by the perpetrators of genocide, she noted, not all of them could have reached Lake Victoria. Well, this calls for a simple lesson in the geography of the Kagera basin.
River Kagera originates from Lake Rweru (shared between Rwanda and Burundi), flowing eastwards where it marks the boundary between Burundi and Rwanda, then northwards from the Rwanda-Burundi-Tanzania tripoint, henceforth marking the boundary between Rwanda and Tanzania (about 300km) to the Rwanda-Uganda-Tanzania tripoint near Mirama Hills border point. Thereafter, the Kagera flows eastwards marking the boundary between Uganda and Tanzania, then meanders south into Tanzania before flowing north to cross the border at the 1st parallel south (i.e. 1 degree south of the Equator), then enters Lake Victoria near Kasensero.
Total length is 400km or 250 miles. I had dealt with the first question before (see, “Time for newspapers to re-imagine opinion pages” – Daily Monitor, April 14, 2023) under the section, “READERS HAVE THEIR SAY”. I reproduce it below for those that may have missed it, including this particular reader.
*****
Michael Kasozi: Why do NMG platforms not rise above politics in relation to reporting on the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994? The East African is particularly “guilty” by continuously writing "genocide against Tutsi" which is a political statement of one side of the Rwanda question/conflict. Independent media should refer to it as "the Rwanda Genocide" because all ethnic groups in Rwanda lost people on both sides of the political divide. Reference to “genocide against Tutsi” should be left to non-independent state media.
Public Editor: The East African’s bureau chief in Kampala, Nelson Naturinda, explained that this is a conversation they have had internally and use the reference “genocide against Tutsi” because it fits in the dictionary definition of the word. Genocide is usually against a specific group.
Tutsi where the community that was primarily targeted. However, it is also correct to say “Rwanda genocide”.
*****
As to whether any bodies of genocide victims washed up the river banks in Tanzania and were buried there, or if a memorial to them exists there, I don’t know. Never heard of it. I put this question to veteran journalist Dismas Nkunda who covered the Rwanda genocide for The Monitor then. Good question, he noted, but he too had never heard of it. A plausible explanation?
The Kagera River flows through sets of rapids and falls along the course of the Tanzania-Rwanda boundary before reaching the lowlands and snaking through Akagera National Park on the Rwanda side and Ibanda-Kyerwa National Park on Tanzania side. Did some bodies of victims get trapped here and were feasted on by crocodiles, vultures and other such creatures of the wild? Or were some bodies shredded in the powerful rapids and waterfalls? Either way, perhaps this could explain why no memorials to the floating genocide victims exist in Tanzania or even in Ntungamo and Isingoro where the Kagera River cuts the boundary. May the souls of all victims of this genocide rest in eternal peace.
Send your feedback/complaints to [email protected] or call/text on +256 776 500725. WhatsApp +256 752 500725
