Kigali, 1 June 2019

290 company course, platoon commanders’ and platoon sergeant course students from RDF Combat Training Centre in Gabiro this Saturday visited both Kigali Genocide memorial and Campaign Against Genocide Museum to pay their respects to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 

At Kigali Genocide Memorial and Campaign against Genocide Museum, the soldiers were given a guided tour to learn more about the Genocide against Tutsi and how it was stopped by Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) now RDF. They also laid a wreath in honour of the victims. 

According to Captain Laurent Kalisa Kamanzi of Rwanda Air Force, pursuing a company commanders’ course "as members of the armed force it’s important to know the background of our fellow precedents because that’s the back born that we are built upon, so we are continuing to learn our history to help us understand and have the foresight to prevent such atrocities in the future’’.

He also noted that the history of the genocide is full of human tragedies, but also human bravery of RDF predecessors a foundation young commander should build on. 

“Given the history of I have seen here, I feel a responsibility to do something about the opportunity that our predecessors fought for,” Lieutenant Jeanine Umutoni suggested to course participants to use their storied past as a drive to do more for the best for the country.

Colonel Donat Ndamage, Chief Instructor at Rwanda Defence Forces Combat Training Centre in Gabiro, Eastern Province said that exposing young officers about Rwanda’s recent dark history would give young officers how Rwanda has managed to rebuild from scratch.