Bisesero Village is a small hilly lush village situated at approximately 30 kilometres south-east of Kibuye, Karongi district in the Western Province of Rwanda. Bisesero is not an ordinary village but is very instrumental in shaping the genocide history of Rwanda.
The village is important and popular for being the home to breathtaking scenery as well as a dramatic genocide memorial. The village of Bisesero was also referred as the “Hill of resistance” because it represents the resistance by some brave Tutsi against the Interahamwe militia during the 1994 genocide using rocks, spears, and sticks to block guns and machetes used by the Hutu.
Bisesero Genocide Memorial
The Village of Bisesero is home to the outstanding Bisesero Genocide Memorial (the memorial of resistance). During the start of the genocide, some of the Tutsi (at least 50,000) who were the majority of the victims of the 1994 genocide ran to Bisesero with the hope of escaping the brutal murders of Interahamwe and for at least 30 days, some brave people managed to fight and defend themselves against their assailants with ordinary farming tools.
Following the orders of one of the elders and resident of the Village (Aminadabu Birara), people of this village went through tactical preparation to fight and defend themselves against attackers to their village. The terrain (hilly nature) of the village of Bisesero was to their advantage and gave the locals a strategic cover on top of Muyira Hill hence able to easily detect and fight their enemy.
Youth and strong men fought while women and children hid behind the hill. Later, more enforced soldiers and militia descended on the village of Bisesero and murdered over half the refugees. There were less than half Tutsi (about 1,300) that remained in the village by the time the French reached the area.
French troop invaded the village of Bisesero on 27th June 1994 claiming to have come to finally end the genocide and bring back peace but left and promised to be back after only three days. However, the moment they left, the Interahamwe militia went back to finish what they had left-slaughtering locals during day and night before the French came back. As they promised, they indeed went back (on 30th June) only to find only a quarter of the people left
A visit to this village will introduce you to the Bisesero Memorial Center that was built in 1997 and features three buildings with bones of the victims and a graveyard where over 40,000 bodies were buried.
How to get to Bisesero Village.
Located at approximately 30 kilometers south-east of Kibuye, Karongi district in the Western Province of Rwanda. It can be reached by bus from Kigali, alternatively, go by boat from Gisenyi/Rubavu to Karongi/Kibuye.