During the events leading up to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the Parliament Buildings played the role of housing a 600-strong Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) unit and RPF politicians.
The fighters were guarding the then-rebel politicians who had come to Kigali to negotiate a transition.
Events at Parliament Buildings in 1994 form part the country’s history and the government decided to document for current and future reference.
“That building represents two things: Legislation and the liberation struggle,” said Mr Wellars Gasamagera, a senior member of RPF and former senator. “It is a place representing the efforts of the negotiated peace process to end the 1994 war but when that failed it became a battleground.”
Many buildings, including the country’s parliament, still bear bullet holes from the civil war in 1994. They are a monument to the closeness of the past in a country that has moved so far away from it.
Here are some of the images captured from these historical buildings in Rwanda.
The main monument faces the entrance of the parliamentary buildings and narrates the story of rescue missions carried out by the RPA.
The most visible monument is placed on top of the Parliamentary buildings. It is an imposing statue of two soldiers operating a machine gun and it is an exact replica of their mission then.
For the RPA to contain the fire, they had to place a heavy gun on top of the Parliamentary main building to counter the attackers. One of the soldiers who operated the gun is still active in Rwanda Defence Forces.
