{"id":105510,"date":"2025-07-16T17:09:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza"},"modified":"2025-07-16T17:15:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:15:42","slug":"genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza","title":{"rendered":"Genocide Survivor’s Account of the Butcher of Nyanza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Gustave Mukurarinda, a 42-year-old survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and author, carries a burden of memory and unanswered justice.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Nyanza District, Mukurarinda grew up next to Vincent Nzigiyimfura, alias \u2018butcher of Nyanza\u2019, a wealthy businessman and community influencer who was one of the most feared masterminds of the 1994 Genocide in Southern Province.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir family was powerful, rich, and feared,\u201d Mukurarinda recalled. \u201cHe [Nzigiyimfura] owned a butchery, shops, cars, and a huge house. People respected him, but also feared him.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, behind the success lay a dangerous ideology.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in Nyanza knew the family\u2019s extremist views,\u201d Mukurarinda recalled. \u201cEven as children, our parents warned us to be cautious around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Genocide began in April 1994, Mukurarinda was just 11 years old. The massacres in Nyanza erupted slightly later than the killings in other regions. But the warning signs had already been detected, especially through the unusual night patrols organized by Nzigiyimfura.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just a businessman, previously. But, overnight, he spearheaded the killings,\u201d Mukurarinda said. \u201cHe led the patrols and set up roadblocks. He turned his business premisses into planning hubs for the killings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mukurarinda\u2019s pain is deep. On May 7, 1994, his mother was among those killed in an operation orchestrated by Nzigiyimfura and then-Bourgmestre [mayor] Celestin Ugirashebuja, one of the known genocide suspects living in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey previously claimed that the killings had stopped. They told the people who were hiding the Tutsi to register them so as to ensure their safety. But it was a trap. That is how they got my mum and sister. They paraded them to gain trust, but killed my mother days later.\u201d Luckily, his sister survived.<\/p>\n

According to Mukuralinda, Nzigiyimfura\u2019s brothers [Michel and Cyamatare] were also involved, setting up roadblocks in areas such as Remera and Gihisi. His vehicles transported Interahamwe militias while most meetings to coordinate the killings took place in his shop.<\/p>\n

After the Genocide, Nzigiyimfura fled to Malawi, where he briefly eluded indictment before disappearing again.<\/p>\n

In 2008, genocide survivors reported that he had resurfaced in Dayton, a city in western Ohio, in the midwestern region of the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing his pictures on Facebook, with his family, living freely as though nothing happened, was like reopening a wound. We lost hope in ever seeing him brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the memory endured, shared in his tributes to his parents on social media.<\/p>\n

In a post that went viral during Kwibuka 21 \u2013 commemoration of the 1994 Genocide, in 2021 \u2013 Mukurarinda tweeted: \u201cMy son will never know his grandparents, for the same reason I never knew mine. Both generations were wiped out for being Tutsi.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUgirashebuja is protected by the UK. Nzigiyimfura, the \u2018Butcher of Nyanza,\u2019 found safe haven in the U.S. Both countries pride themselves on human rights but have failed to deliver justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a separate tribute to his mother, Mukurarinda detailed her final moments.<\/p>\n

On May 6, warned by a neighbour that killers were approaching, his mother escaped, momentarily.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the next day, a man named Bosco, who was once married to Mukurarinda\u2019s aunt, betrayed his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sat for two hours reading her Bible before the killers arrived. She asked to pray before dying. That\u2019s the kind of dignity she had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bosco\u2019s betrayal was part of a larger pattern that allowed genocidaires like Nzigiyimfura to thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese men orchestrated one of the deadliest days in Nyanza and Kigoma. Thousands died. Yet they walk free in some of the world\u2019s most powerful nations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, with the reports of Nzigiyimfura\u2019s arrest, Mukurarinda, like other survivors in Nyanza, feels a glimmer of relief, though cautious.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only justice when he stands trial in Rwanda. Until then, the pain stays.\u201d<\/p>\n

For genocide survivors like Mukurarinda, justice delayed is justice denied, but not forgotten. Survivors welcomed Nzigiyimfura\u2019s arrest and expressed hope that he will finally be put on trial for his role in the genocide, once the fraud charges in the US are resolved.<\/p>\n

Nzigiyimfura, 65, taken into custody on June 12 in Dayton.<\/p>\n

He made his initial court appearance the following day before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice on June 13, Nzigiyimfura faces one count of visa fraud and two counts of attempted naturalization fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Gustave Mukurarinda, a 42-year-old survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and author, carries a burden of memory and unanswered justice. Born and raised in Nyanza District, Mukurarinda grew up next to Vincent Nzigiyimfura, alias \u2018butcher of Nyanza\u2019, a wealthy businessman and community influencer who was one of the most feared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":105509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17],"tags":[7170,758],"class_list":["post-105510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","tag-kwibuka-31","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nGenocide Survivor's Account of the Butcher of Nyanza - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gustave Mukurarinda, a 42-year-old survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and author, carries a burden of memor ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Genocide Survivor's Account of the Butcher of Nyanza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gustave Mukurarinda, a 42-year-old survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and author, carries a burden of memor ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T17:09:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T17:15:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1752673504.445961.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Genocide Survivor’s Account of the Butcher of Nyanza\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-16T17:09:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-16T17:15:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\"},\"wordCount\":751,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1752673504.445961.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Kwibuka 31\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Culture and Art\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/culture-and-art\/genocide-survivors-account-of-the-butcher-of-nyanza\",\"name\":\"Genocide Survivor's Account of the Butcher of Nyanza - 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