Machete Season

April 11, 1994 was the first day of organized killings in Nyamata. Since the downing of Hutu dictator Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane on April 6, 1994, Hutu paramilitary, the interahamwe—translated from Rwandans’ native language of Kinyarwanda “as those who kill together”—and Hutu soldiers had been killing their political opponents. The genocide leaders arrived in Nyamata to organize the killings. The leaders instructed Hutu gang members, like Rose Kubwimana’s 23-year-old son Aldabert Munzigura and his friends, to kill the friends and family members—including men, women, and children—of Tutsi leaders on the government’s extermination list.

The gang of killers made their way to the soccer field. The gang included Adalbert, 25-year-old Pancrace Hakizamungili, 39-year-old Fulgence Bunani, 37-year-old Pio Mutungirehe, and 39-year-old Alphonse Hitiyaremye. At the field, they were joined by 38-year-old Jean-Baptiste Murangira, 31-year-old Joseph-Désiré Bitero, 22-year-old Léopord Twagirayezu, 50-year-old Élie Mizinge, and 62-year-old Ignace Rukiramacumu.

After listening to speeches and drinking a locally brewed banana beer called urwagwa, the men stepped into the muck to hunt Tutsis. Most Tutsis were hiding, their houses abandoned.