CIBITOKE July 23rd (ABP) – The First Deputy President of the Senate of Burundi, Mrs. Spès Caritas Njebarikanuye, along with parliamentarians elected in the constituency of Cibitoke, has just paid a two-day visit to Cibitoke province (north-west of Burundi), from Wednesday July 21.
As soon as she arrived, she met with administrative officials, heads of services, representatives of political parties, religious denominations and other leaders of the communes of Buganda, Murwi and Rugombo, at the Urunani stadium based in Buganda.
In his introductory speech, the first deputy president of the Senate invited the participants to testify on the tragic events of 1972 which brought mourning to Burundi. She said that remembering those massacres will allow all Burundians to know the truth, give a qualification for the same reading. She reassured the witnesses on their revelations by telling them that knowledge of those events will allow Burundians to walk together towards peace and reconciliation.
Based on the testimonies of the first day, Mrs. Njebarikanuye concluded that there were killings of Hutu intellectuals and traders, along with some Tutsis. As for the perpetrators of those massacres, she deduced that it is not ethnic group that kills but rather power. She urged all-level leaders to lead the people like good fathers of families for peace and reconciliation.
The first deputy president of the Senate asked the people for social cohesion, the safeguard of peace and security for a true reconciliation.
Speaking of places constituting mass graves, Mrs. Njebarikanuye cited two; the first near the Buganda communal office and another at the provincial headquarters of Cibitoke. One of the witnesses asked how the dignified burial of the bodies that have been dumped in various rivers in the province is going to be done, a question that the first deputy president of the Senate has promised to submit to higher institutions.