PRETORIA, South Africa – The Rwandan High Commission in South Africa will on Monday commemorate the 31st anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, known as Kwibuka31.
The solemn observance will take place on 7 April 2025, at the CT Hotel (formerly the Sheraton Hotel) in Pretoria, marking the start of the 100-day remembrance period.
Held under the unifying theme “Remember – Unite – Renew,” Kwibuka31 is a moment of reflection, remembrance, and reaffirmation. It calls on all people of conscience to honour the memory of the victims, stand in solidarity with survivors, and recommit to a world where genocide has no place.
The event will feature testimonies from genocide survivors, sharing stories of resilience and healing and a musical performance by Rwandan youth “symbolising hope and the promise of Never Again”.
His Excellency, High Commissioner Emmanuel Hategeka will deliver a keynote address as well the dean of the Diplomatic Corps in South Africa, the United Nations Representative in South Africa and a representative of the South African government.
“Kwibuka 31 takes place amid rising concerns about whether the world has truly internalized the lessons of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Genocide denial, hate speech, and disturbing acts of genocide continue to rise across Africa and beyond, casting a troubling shadow over humanity’s progress. In our region and across the globe, the persistence of these evils demands urgent action,” said H.E Hategeka said.
“To remember is not to dwell in our past but to reflect and actively, collectively recommit to the fight against genocide in all its manifestations.”
The Significance of Kwibuka31
Kwibuka, meaning “to remember” in Kinyarwanda, is more than a commemoration—it is a call to action. Kwibuka31 marks 31 years since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, one of the most horrific atrocities of the 20th century.
Between April and July 1994, over one million Tutsi were systematically murdered in just 100 days, in a state-orchestrated campaign of genocide that also claimed the lives of moderate Hutu and others who opposed the killing.
More from Africa News 24
30 Years Later: Remembering the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at Kwibuka30 in Cape Town
“This was not a civil war. It was not a spontaneous outbreak of violence. It was a planned and deliberate attempt to exterminate an entire people—because of who they were,” a statement from the High Commission reads.
In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly officially recognized 7 April as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, through Resolution A/RES/58/234. In 2018, the UN reaffirmed this truth with Resolution A/RES/72/550, which formally adopted the terminology: “the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.”
“Kwibuka31 challenges all of us to reflect on the root causes of genocide and the stages that precede it—classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, and denial.
“It also calls us to collectively reaffirm the responsibility to protect innocent people, promote human dignity, fight impunity and genocide denial, and uphold justice,” the statement reads.
