Archbishop Christophe Muzihirwa of Bukavu assassinated in 1996 by Rwandan Refugees from Uganda
Archbishop Christophe Muzihirwa of Bukavu Archdiocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo assassinated by Rwandan Army composed of Tutsi Refugees from Uganda because of advocating for the protection of Hutus Refugees who fled the Genocide in 1994.
The Letter of the late Archbishop Muzihirwa which was the direct cause of his assassination is here bellow.
Archbishop Christophe Muzihirwa of Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of Congo
This is part of our history, it is time may be to talk about this, not because we want a revenge or hatred but because we want to know, to learn for the past and forge a way together with our perpetrators. As DRC embark on transitional justice, part of the truth telling will involve telling us the truth about who gave orders that Christophe should be killed, who then killed him and why was he killed exactly? Is defending the rights of Rwandan refugees in DRC and in the region a crime?
In 1994 millions of Hutus refugees from Rwanda fled to eastern Democratic Republic mainly in the Archdiocese of Bukavu both South Kivu and North Kivu, where Christophe Muzihirwa was Archbishop. It is estimated that over four million people were hosted in both South Kivu and North Kivu, many did not attract the attention of the international community in order to provide them necessary relief aid, thousands then died of hunger, diseases and other consequences of displacement.
Muzihirwa then mobilized the faithful to do what they can but it was not sufficient, himself could tell people not to have a party and instead collect the food and drinks for the party and give it to refugees in camps. On to top of that we opted for a lasting solution through negotiations which should bring together all Rwandans on one table in order to agree about the mode of the management of their country, mainly Rwanda, in which he called Rwanda Dialogue. This was supposed to bring together all refugees and those who captured power in Rwanda who were themselves refugees and put a better management of Rwanda.
Christophe Muzihirwa assassinated on October 29th, 1996 just a some metres from Bukavu Cathedral, in a popular place called Nyawera round about. On that Tuesday morning October 1996 at around 9am Muzirwa was short as he came from a meeting, he was on his way to the Cathedral, then Rwandan Army who controlled the town of Bukavu stopped him, then they started communicating on phone as there was an argument about releasing him or killing him, after the phone communication then the Rwanda Army killed him, and left his dead body on the road, they also shut bullets in air which forced people to run away.
It was then a disaster in the whole Bukavu, however what is important is that the very place where they shot him from, is currently a public place.
Archbishop Christophe Muzirwa killed by Rwandan Refugees who lived in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania who took power in Rwanda as he wanted the protection of Rwandan refugees in DRC being massacred by other refugees.
Refugees have done a lot in this great lakes region especially in terms of bloodshed, however where in UNHCR? As per now Congolese people are strongly opposed to the collective criminalization of Hutu Rwandan Refugees calling them as either genocidaires or FDLR,
Despite the killing of Muzihirwa Congolese people believe that Hutus refugees should be protected, and the lasting solution to the problems is a Rwandan Dialogue bringing together all Rwandans in order to agree on how to manage their country.
THE LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHE MUZIHIRWA ABOUT THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES WHICH CAUSED HIS ASSASSINATION BY THE RWANDAN REGIME
Mgr Munzihirwa Christophe Bukavu, January 16, 1995
Archbishop of Bukavu
Box 555
Bujumbura (Burundi)
Fax: 00 873 686 180 071
To Cardinal G. Danneels,
Archbishop of Mechelen – Brussels
to Mgr J. Delaporte, President of
Justice and Peace France
Eminence and Excellence,
Concerns: Call to put pressure on a negotiated solution at the
Rwanda allowing the return of refugees.
Since July 94, there have been more than two million Rwandan Hutu refugees in Zaire, among 400,000 in the diocese of Bukavu. They live in conditions of increasing distress: food distributions are becoming rarer, cooking wood is increasingly difficult to find. Several humanitarian organizations are withdrawing.
Rwanda just changed its currency at the beginning of January, and as it had closed its border, the refugees were not able to benefit from the currency exchange: they therefore lost the little money they had left…
The vast majority of refugees want to return to their country, but they cannot: the conditions for return are not met. They are afraid of being put in prison on simple accusation, on unproven facts, or of being killed trying to enter their property. According to objective witnesses living in Rwanda, the massacres continue and are even intensifying. It is estimated that between five and ten thousand people are murdered per month in Rwanda. And refugees continue to arrive here in recent days.
There is no other peaceful solution to these tragedies than for all Rwandans to come together for a negotiated and balanced political solution. A lot of work and contacts made it possible, in the last few numbers, to hope for this meeting. This hope was dashed by financial aid from certain Western countries to the government in Kigali. There is reason to question the aid provided to a minority which conquered power by force of arms. We help Rwanda, but forget the Rwandans who are languishing in the camps, in great moral distress and without a future… The refugees are a young population. Kept inactive and pushed by shortages, these young people will seek a solution through violence here in Kivu and Rwanda. And the consequences for the local population are also dramatic: The sites occupied by the refugees are agricultural land in this region which is overpopulated.
Letting two million Rwandans waste away in Zaire is also a crime against humanity. And moreover, it is not acceptable for Western democratic countries to provide unconditional support to the Kigali regime which excludes the right to speak and which discourages the return to the country of more than a third of its population. I therefore ask you to use all your moral authority as Primate of Belgium and President of Pax Christi International, as President of the Justice and Peace France Commission.
Could the Church of Belgium and France not launch an urgent appeal inviting the West to put pressure on Rwandan leaders, both Hutu and Tutsi, so that they seek this political solution allowing the return of refugees?
Please believe, Eminence and Excellency, in my fraternal feelings.
Munzihirwa Christophe
Archbishop of Bukavu