Kwibuka: Amb. Nsengimana Urges IFAK Students to Embrace Love and Unity

On Friday, May 30, 2025, students of the Institut de Formation Apostolique de Kimihurura (IFAK) gathered to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. During the event, they were urged to draw lessons from the country’s dark past to help build a better future anchored in love and unity.

The event paid tribute to former IFAK educators, students, staff, and others who were killed during the genocide. A wreath was laid at a memorial site bearing the names of those who perished, whose remains now rest with dignity at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi.

Speaking at the event, IFAK Principal Father Jean Bosco Ntirenganya emphasized that remembering the victims of the genocide is both a responsibility and a debt owed to them by all Rwandans. He highlighted that schools have a vital role in teaching young people to resist genocide ideology and prevent the recurrence of such atrocities.

“Commemoration is a time to educate the youth about the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi. It helps us guard against anything that could bring back that tragic history and to denounce genocide ideology, wherever it may appear—within or beyond our borders,” said Fr. Ntirenganya.

Alphonse Nsengimana, representing IBUKA (the umbrella organization for Genocide survivors), praised IFAK for organizing the memorial, describing it as an effective approach to confronting those who deny or downplay the genocide. He stressed the importance of educating the younger generation to reject denialism and champion truth.

He traced Rwanda’s painful history back to colonial rule, particularly the Belgian administration, which laid the foundations of ethnic divisions that eventually culminated in the genocide. He also paid tribute to the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), who halted the genocide and liberated the country.

“Rwanda was on the brink of death but was revived by brave men and women. Imagine what would have happened had there been no Rwandan hands to stop the Genocide, while the world stood by and watched,” Nsengimana reflected.

Ambassador and Senator Joseph Nsengimana, the guest of honor, is an IFAK alumnus and one of its earliest students. He recounted how he ended up at IFAK due to discriminatory practices during the pre-genocide era that denied Tutsi access to education and subjected them to widespread persecution.

Amb. Nsengimana focused his message on the moral lessons depicted in plays performed by young students, which illustrated kindness overcoming evil and the power of love as a legacy worth passing on.

“Good always triumphs over evil—but building goodness takes time and effort. The most valuable legacy we can leave is one of love, real love that is free from hatred,” he said.

He emphasized that goodness brings forth other virtues and is essential for Rwanda’s continued prosperity, urging the youth to cultivate values rooted in compassion and unity.

Speaking to TOP Africa News, several IFAK students expressed appreciation for the government’s efforts to reconcile the Rwandan people, saying they now live in harmony, free from ethnic divisions. They also praised the RPA for not only ending the genocide but for continuing to rebuild a united Rwanda.

More than 85 people known to have been killed at IFAK during the genocide including teachers, students, and civilians who had sought refuge there were remembered during the ceremony.

The event took place during Rwanda’s official 100-day commemoration period, observed both locally and internationally, to honor over a million victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.