Murambi Technical School

The Murambi Technical School

(The Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda.)

The Murambi Technical School is in Murambi in southern Rwanda.

During the Rwandan Genocide (April 7-July 19, 1994) it was the site of one of the worst Massacres in Rwanda.

When the Massacres began the Local Tutsis tried to hide in the Local Church but the Bishop and Mayor lured them into a trap by sending them to the Murambi Technical School (saying the French Peacekeepers there would protect them.)

On April 16, 1994, 65,000 Tutsi Men, Women and Children arrived at the Technical School.

The French Peacekeepers left the School and all the People inside to fend for themselves.

Once they arrived they weren’t given any food or water to ensure they were too weak to resist.

Then the Hutu Milita came and attacked the School.

The weakened Tutsis used stones and other makeshift weapons to hold the Militia off until April 21, 1994 when the School was overrun.

The Hutu Militia massacred 20,000 Men, Women and Children inside the School using Machetes, Knives and other Crude Weapons.

30,000 Men, Women and Children managed to escape the School and hide out in a nearby Church where they were caught and massacred by the Hutu Militia in the next few days.

After the Massacre the French Peacekeepers returned, dug large Mass Graves and placed Thousands of Bodies in them.

They then built a Volleyball Court on top of the Mass Grave to hide the crime.

Only 34 of the 65,000 Tutsis at the Murambi Technical School on the day of the Massacre are known to have survived.

The Rwandan Genocide lasted around 100 days and saw 665,000 Tutsi Men, Women and Children murdered by the Hutu.

10,000 Twa Men, Women and Children were also murdered by the Hutu as were 30,000 Opposition Hutus.

500,000 Women and Girls were also raped during the Genocide.

2 Million Rwandans (mostly Tutsis) fled Rwanda.

The Rwandan Genocide stopped when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (led my Tutsis Exiles) captured the Country.

The International Community did little to nothing to stop the Genocide.

 The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) had been in Rwanda since October 1993 and even when the UNAMIR Commander Roméo Dallaire told the UN about the planned Massacres the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations told Dallaire that he was exceeding his Mandate and was told to not interfere.

At the beginning of the Genocide France launched a Military Evacuation of French and Belgian Civilians. The French refused to allow any Tutsis (including the Spouses and Children of French and Belgian Civilians) oftentimes giving them to the Hutu Militias at Checkpoints where they were murdrred in plain site of the French,

France then launched Opération Turquoise in Rwanda in 1994 that created a so-called “Safe Humanitarian Areas” for Displaced Persons, Refugees, and Civilians in danger.

The Murambi Technical School was in the so called French “Safe Humanitarian Areas.”

France continues to deny any involvement in the Genocide.

The United States also knew about the Genocide and President Clinton declined to send any help.

After the Genocide 100,000 People were arrested for their crimes, but the Rwandan Judicial System (destroyed by the Genocide) couldn’t cope and so Rwanda turned to Gacaca Courts (used traditionally in Rwanda to deal with conflicts within the Community) at every level of the Country.

In June 2012, the Gacaca Court System was officially closed after facing criticism.

It is estimated that the Gacaca Court System tried 1,958,634 cases during its lifetime and that 1,003,227 People stood trial.

The UN established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania.

The UN Tribunal tried high-level Members of the Government and Armed Forces, while Rwanda prosecuted lower-level leaders and Local People.

The Tribunal finished 50 Trials and convicted 29 accused People.

Rwanda today has moved away from France and the French Influence due to the perceived role of France in the Genocide.

Rwanda switched it’s Primary Language at Schools from French to English and Rwanda became a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations (as one of two Countries never colonialized  by the UK.)

The Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre was established in April 1995 and exhibits the Skeletons and Mummified Remains of some of the Victims of the Murambi Massacre as well as other Massacres in Gikongoro Province.

The Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre is one of the 6 main Centers in Rwanda that commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

The others are the Kigali Memorial Centre, the Ntarama Memorial Centre, the Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre, the Bisesero Memorial Centre and the Nyarubuye Genocide Memorial.

The Center was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in September 2023 as part of the "Genocide Memorial Sites: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero."