Nyamata church genocide memorial is located in the Bugesera region, about 35kms from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. The Nyamata area and the surrounding region suffered some of the most extensive devastation in 1994 Rwanda genocide, a result of targeted attacks during that period against the Tutsi.
As soon as the genocide started in April 1994, majority of the residents of this area gathered in Nyamata church as they sought protection at the local Catholic Church. The church compound, tended to by priests and nuns, provided a haven for the frightened masses that flocked to the compound, hoping to escape death. The church was thought of as a place of refuge and of sanctuary where the militia would not dare to attack. Therefore, many people ran to Nyamata catholic church seeking for shelter, they looked at the church as the safest place in that region by that time.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. According to testimonies given by survivors and evidence gathered, over 10,000 civilians were killed in and around the Catholic Church compound on April 10, 1994. As the marauding killers approached, people gathered in Nyamata church and padlocked the iron door that safeguarded the entrance. Members of the ‘Interahamwe’, the Hutu militia, and the Rwandese Government Forces forced the door open and entered the church with their rifles, grenades and machetes. They massacred the people hiding inside the church and also went on to kill those in the surrounding area. People screamed for mercy but receiving none.
Inside Nyamata Church
The brick walls show several gaping holes. The victims inside had locked the doors to prevent the militia and soldiers from entering the church to kill them. In response, the Interahamwe used sledge hammers to break open holes in the wall, through which grenades were thrown into the church, causing many deaths and stunning those trapped inside. The killers eventually forced their way into the church and proceeded to murder the surviving men, women and children, using machetes, clubs, and local farming tools. The ceiling is riddled with bullet holes and is still stained with blood. The remains have been removed from inside the church and placed in two mass graves located behind the church. But the clothing of the victims remain: It has been placed in piles that line the pews of the church, as well as the floor in the certain places. Although the remains have been removed, bones still peek out of the clothing; a rib here, a vertebrae there. The alter cloth still covers the alter, stained in blood.
In memory of the people who lost their lives in Nyamata Church and its surrounding area, the Rwandese government, in collaboration with the Genocide survivors from the Nyamata area, decided to preserve the church as a memorial to the Genocide against the Tutsi. Services are no longer held here. Today, this site is visited by tourists, students, survivors and activists who want to learn about the Genocide and those who wish to honor the victims and the survivors of this horrible atrocity.
