1994 Rwandan genocide testimony by Epaphrodite Rugerinyange

Epaphrodite Rugerinyange, a girl from Cellule Katareshya, Kirwa Sector of Commune Masango in Gitarama Prefecture, describes how the killings in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide started in Kigali City, Kigali Rural, Byumba, Ruhengeri, and Gisenyi. Epaphrodite escaped to a home in Gitwe where one of the sons was a soldier in the government. She escaped to another town but returned to Gitwe on April 20, 1994, where she was made a shepherd. She bribed some Hutus to hide in their homes, and at some places she lied and said that she was a Hutu from Gikongoro. Some of the Tutsi who paid money in exchange for protection were eventually killed by the same people whom they had bribed, and Epaphrodite knew many Tutsi who were killed at Gitwe. Her father, a staunch Adventist Church member, refused to seek refuge and was killed on Sabbath day after attending a church service. When Epaphrodite realized that the home she was hiding in was about to be attacked, she spent two weeks hiding in a pit.