Sexual violence in Cyangugu: a testimonial

By Monique Kankera

Monique Kankera is a member of AVEGA-Cyangugu, an organisation that works with widows in that area of Rwanda. Monique supported the efforts of the Coalition, and with her collegues, shares the experiences of these women with us.

Experiences of Victims of Sexual Violence, Perspectives on the Process of the Amicus Curiae and the Opinion of Women Members of AVEGA in Cyangugu, Rwanda

• In the Prefecture of Cyangugu, as in other parts of the country, women and girls were subjected to rape during the genocide of April 1994
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• This violence was orchestrated by both political and military authorities, headed by Former Prefect Emmanuel Bagambiki, Military Commander Samuel Imanishimwe, and Minister of Transport Ntagerura.
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• The women victims of rape and sexual violence were wounded with respect to their dignity, self-love, and sense of decency...! They swallowed these atrocities in the presence of their children, their husbands& in short in the public eye
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• These women also contracted many sexually transmitted diseases, even AIDS.
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• The rapes were committed by many men successively, sometimes known, and often unknown to the victim
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• The number of rapes remains unknown in all of the prefectures, because sometimes after the rapes the women were killed.
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• The testimony of a rape survivor imprisoned in a military camp commanded by Imanishimwe: she found the naked cadaver of a girl she knew well.
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• One-hundred-and-thirty-two cases of rape have been reported, and the list is getting longer!

To cite only a few examples:

• F.M.: of the commune of Karembe raped by six soldiers under the orders of their commander.
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• C.M.: also from Karembe, raped by an unknown number of unknown people, suffers from genital deformities which have not get been treated because of the lack of financial means!
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• E.K.: Raped in the Gashirabuoba stadium by seven unknown youth suffers from AIDS.
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• F.T.N.: Raped at the age of eight by three youth, died in 1998 due to AIDS contracted during the rape.

All of these women are waiting for justice to be served in order for them to feel at least a sense of moral relief; they call on the international community, accomplices in the genocide, to come to their aid.

They are destitute and without any assistance, and AVEGA is worried about their eminent death. In short, the priority for these women is psycho-social and medical help.

Concerning the amicus curiae, we are satisfied by the steps taken by the Coalition of NGOs for the Rights of Women in Armed Conflict Situations, and hope that the amicus will be accepted by the ICTR in Arusha!

The members of AVEGA in Cyangugu forcefully condemn the acts of rape and sexual torture that were perpetrated against the women and girls of Cyangugu, and ask the ICTR to establish criminal and civil liability for the leaders of genocide in Cyangugu: Bagambiki, Imanishimwe and Ntagerura.

It would be unfortunate for the ICTR not to condemn the leaders of the genocide in Cyangugu on charges of rape. In essence, rape was used as a tool of genocide not only Cyangugu, but everywhere in Rwanda! The perpetrators of rape participated in one way or another, either through their political position, or by ordering, commanding, planning and executing rapes. In short, women were the spoils of war!

In conclusion, the AVEGA team is willing to collaborate with anyone who wants to defend human rights, particularly those of women.

Those who collaborated on this article include:

• Marthe Mukamanli, AVEGA Treasurer, Cyangugu
• Asimantha Mukankwaya, AVEGA Secretary, Cyangugu
• Monique Kankera, AVEGA President, Cyangugu
• Hilirie Mukamazumpake, AVEGA National Coordinator