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Rwanda Genocide: 24 years later MSF field workers recall horrors, aftermath
24-years ago on April 7, 1994, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams in Kigali witnessed the city descend into violence. These were the first days of what would go on to become known as the Rwandan genocide, during which more than a million people lost their lives, including MSF staff.
The crisis that engulfed the country also spilled across the border, forcing refugees into neighboring DRC, Uganda and Burundi. Among those who lived through the tragedy were young people who would decades later become fieldworkers for MSF.
Claudia Kanyemera, Dominique Mukunzi and Innocent Maniraruta first encountered MSF as an organization providing medical care and assistance to people fleeing the violence in Rwanda. Today, they share the experiences that inspired and motivated them to join MSF:
‘As a genocide survivor, I know people need support’ Claudia Kanyemera – MSF Finance Manager
“I decided to join MSF long ago because I admired the mission of MSF, the neutrality, how MSF helps people who are in a critical situation, people who are victims of war. As a genocide survivor, a victim of political crisis, I know how much people need support when they are in these conditions.
At that time of the Rwandan genocide, in 1994, I was in secondary school. We lived in the south province of Rwanda when everything started, and I was forced to leave my home with my family. We were internally displaced to another part of the country. I lost some family members during that time. It was really difficult. We fled and went to a place we thought was secure, but everywhere in Rwanda, there was no place that was fully secure.
A few months after the fighting began, I found some work with a non-profit organization, helping to translate between French and Rwandese. That was where I first saw MSF – they had set up a hospital that shared the same compound with this non-profit.
Some days, I would help out with translations at the hospital when they needed me. That’s when I saw how MSF treated patients without discrimination and without any bias. They really cared for the people. That’s when I decided I would go to university and one-day also join MSF.
After the fighting stopped, and things finally returned to normal, I applied to go to university.
I dreamed of studying medicine, so I could join a humanitarian organization as a doctor. But after the genocide it was not easy to get scholarships and studying medicine was very expensive.
The scholarship I was able to get was to study finance, so I changed my mind about doing medicine. In the end, I couldn’t get my exact dream of becoming a doctor. But I built a career in finance, working as an auditor and then a finance manager at a bank, heading departments and doing a masters in economics.
But I still wanted to do more for people, so I decided to join MSF as a finance manager in the field. Today, even though I’m not a doctor, I can still help in some way, and work to achieve my dream of changing people’s realities.
‘MSF came to the middle of nowhere and made a hospital’ Dominique Mukunzi – MSF Pharmacist
“In 1994 I was 11 years old when we fled. The genocide just took place in my home country Rwanda, and we had to escape. We walked for days, all the way across the border, into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), until we reached the refugee camp in Bukavu. That’s where I first met MSF – in the refugee camps, helping people.
We stayed there for over a year. Then in 1996, war started in Bukavu, and we had to leave again. Once more we walked for days, all the way to Kisangani, hundreds of kilometers away. Sometimes there were no villages along the way, so we just slept in plastic sheeting on the side of the road.
There is something which stays in my mind from that journey. I remember being on the road to Kisangani, and there was a camp along the way. One day a small plane landed close to where we were, and it was MSF. MSF came to the middle of nowhere and made a small hospital which was helping refugees on the road.
Before fleeing Rwanda, my father worked in a bank and my mother worked at Kigali hospital as a social worker. But with the violence, we had to leave (including my sister and two brothers). All in all, we spent three years on the road and in camps in the DRC. My mother got a job with MSF in the refugee camp, working in the nutrition centre. In 1997 it was finally safe enough to move home. We had to start everything over in Rwanda: home, work, and school for us kids.
After school I went to university to become a pharmacist. The experience of my mother influenced me to want to work in a similar field. Although there are other organisations doing humanitarian work, MSF inspires me. I remember the help MSF gave me when I was in need. I always keep that in mind, to remember to help what once helped me.”
‘Nothing could be as bad as what happened in Rwanda’ Innocent Maniraruta – MSF Finance Manager
“Since many years ago, I have always wanted to work with humanitarians so that I can help people who are in desperate need.
In fact, in the beginning I always wanted to work with children so that I can give back and share what I have. MSF does a great job in helping people in need. It’s something you can’t imagine until you go to the field and see how people suffer, and then you see how MSF helps those people solve their problems, especially by offering medical assistance.
I remember the genocide which took place in Rwanda in 1994.
We Rwandans saw how MSF came to assist the people who were in need, while at the same time we saw how a lot of the rest of the world didn’t come to assist or to offer help. For the most part, Rwandans had to find the solution to the crisis themselves.
I remember how I really wanted people from those countries to come and help us. But for a long time, no one came; people ignored what was happening, and Rwandans suffered.
But then I realized that MSF had come to assist in Rwanda. In fact, MSF did a great job, they did good work and saved lives. I remember thinking that other organizations and other countries should take MSF’s example to come and help immediately and not wait until problems become a big issue.
It was also a lesson to me. It made me feel that I should also work to help people who are in need, to transfer my skills in some way with the aim of assisting and protecting people.
That’s why I am committed to helping in places where MSF works. I am ready to contribute, even if it can be difficult. Because I know that nothing could be as bad as what happened during the genocide in Rwanda.”
The Minister-designate for Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has firmly clarified that he never promised to fix Nigeria’s national electricity grid within three months, describing such claims circulating in sections of the media as a misrepresentation of his Senate screening remarks.
A statement issued after his appearance before the Senate stressed that Tegbe was deliberate and cautious in his presentation, avoiding unrealistic timelines while outlining a structured reform pathway for the power sector.
According to the clarification, Tegbe explained that while Nigerians can expect early signs of progress, particularly in grid stabilisation within his first 100 days in office, comprehensive reforms will be guided strictly by technical assessments, stakeholder consultations, and sector realities.
He noted that critical challenges such as gas supply constraints, metering gaps, infrastructure decay, and commercial inefficiencies require coordinated interventions that cannot be resolved through arbitrary timelines.
“My commitment to this distinguished chamber and to Nigerians is clear: we will deliver visible and measurable improvement in the power sector,” Tegbe stated during the screening.
He assured that his focus would include stabilising the national grid, modernising transmission and distribution infrastructure, strengthening commercial frameworks, and enforcing accountability across the electricity value chain.
On tariff policy, the minister-designate reaffirmed that reforms would be carefully designed to balance sustainability with social protection, ensuring that vulnerable households are shielded while also restoring investor confidence in the sector.
The statement further emphasised that Tegbe’s approach reflects discipline, technical understanding, and a reform-minded agenda aimed at delivering lasting solutions rather than short-term political promises.
It added that he remains open to responsible media engagement and constructive clarification where necessary, noting that accurate reporting is essential to public understanding of ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s power sector.
Tegbe reaffirmed his readiness to lead a transparent, results-driven reform process anchored on accountability, realism, and measurable progress.
A grand cultural renaissance celebrating the enduring legacy of legendary Yoruba war hero and statesman, Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, will take centre stage as the 2026 edition of Ogedengbe Fiesta holds from July 29 to 31 across Osun State and Ekiti State.
The three-day heritage festival, unveiled by organisers on Wednesday, is themed, “Ogedengbe Agbogungboro Legacy: Leadership, Security, and Statecraft for Modern Governance in Nigeria.”
The event is designed to preserve Yoruba cultural heritage, deepen historical consciousness, promote tourism and stimulate national conversations on leadership, peacebuilding and governance.
According to the organisers, the fiesta will commence with traditional homage at Atorin and heritage excursions to notable Kiriji War historical sites in Imesi-Ile, where participants will relive significant moments in Yoruba military and political history.
The programme will also feature guided visits to the historic Ogedengbe Cave, Ibu Latoosa Site and the Yoruba Peace Treaty Grove, all regarded as symbolic monuments of Yoruba resilience, diplomacy and unity.
As part of activities lined up for the celebration, participants will tour the gardens of renowned legal icon and elder statesman, Afe Babalola, in Okemesi-Ekiti.
The organisers further disclosed that a Legacy Awards and Hall of Fame Investiture ceremony would hold in Ilesa to honour individuals who have contributed immensely to the promotion of Yoruba culture, leadership and community development.
A distinguished personality lecture in honour of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, and Arole Fabunmi of Okemesi-Ekiti is also expected to headline the event, with scholars, traditional rulers, cultural enthusiasts and public intellectuals billed to discuss pathways to strengthening governance and security through indigenous values and historical lessons.
The organisers noted that all activities would commence daily by 11am, adding that the festival would serve as a rallying point for lovers of Yoruba culture, history and tourism across Nigeria and beyond.
They described the fiesta as not only a celebration of the heroic exploits of Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, but also a strategic platform to inspire a new generation of leaders through the ideals of courage, unity, patriotism and visionary leadership.
The Federal Government on Tuesday ruled out any plan to reinstate fuel subsidy despite worsening economic hardship and mounting public pressure.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this in Paris, France, during a meeting with global investors alongside President Bola Tinubu.
Oyedele said the government would also not introduce price controls, stressing that market forces remain the preferred mechanism for determining petrol prices.
“We will not bring back fuel subsidy because it creates distortions for the economy, and we won’t introduce price control because we believe in the market,” he said.
The minister argued that the subsidy regime had long undermined economic efficiency, adding that emerging global energy shifts, including developments in Iran, present fresh investment opportunities for Nigeria.
The removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 triggered a steep rise in inflation, worsening the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Nigeria’s headline inflation climbed from 22.41 per cent in May 2023 to 34.19 per cent by June 2024 — its highest level in nearly two decades — driven by surging fuel, food, and transportation costs.
Food inflation further accelerated, exceeding 39 per cent by October 2024, while transport fares soared by nearly 300 per cent, compounded by currency devaluation.
Despite the economic strain, Tinubu defended the policy, saying it had stabilised the foreign exchange market.
“Subsidy that was a burden to the entire country was removed, and ever since we have achieved FX stability,” the President said, according to his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
In a related statement, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the administration’s reforms were aimed at eliminating structural distortions, strengthening macroeconomic stability, and laying the foundation for inclusive growth.
He added that the government remained committed to fiscal discipline and transparency.
Highlighting economic progress, Oyedele disclosed that Nigeria recorded an 11.2 per cent growth in Gross Domestic Product in dollar terms in 2025, describing it as a major step towards the country’s ambition of building a $1tn economy by 2030.
He also pledged that the government would begin publishing quarterly financial reports to enhance accountability and public trust.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, assured investors of Nigeria’s commitment to prudent borrowing and sustainable debt management.
The Federal Government has continued to defend its reform agenda despite growing public discontent, insisting that the long-term gains will outweigh the current economic pains.
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