Nyamata is a town in the

Bugesera District Bugesera is a district (''akarere'') in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Nyamata. The district is the location of two memorial sites of the Rwandan genocide at Ntarama and Nyamata. Geography Bugesera comprises areas south of Kigali, ...

, southeastern

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Nyamata literally means "place of milk" from the two Kinyarwanda words "nya-" (of) and "amata" (milk). It is the location of

Nyamata Genocide Memorial The Nyamata Genocide Memorial is based around a former church south of Kigali in Rwanda, which commemorates the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The remains of 50,000 people are buried here. Location The memorial is based around a former church which i ...

, commemorating the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

of 1994.

Location

Nyamata is located in

, Eastern Province, directly south of

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

, the national

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and the largest city in the country. Its location is about , by road, south of

Overview

Exterior of Catholic Church Genocide Site - Nyamata - Rwanda

Nyamata is a small town in Bugesera District, Rwanda. Since 2017, a new airport,

Bugesera International Airport Bugesera International Airport is an airport in the Bugesera District of Rwanda under construction since 2017. Location Bugesera Airport is located in southeastern Rwanda, in Bugesera District, near the town of Rilima. This location is approxim ...

, is under construction, with the first phases expected to be completed in 2019. The town is the location of

, commemorating the

of 1994. Located at the site where Nyamata Parish Catholic Church once stood, the memorial contains the remains of over 45,000 genocide victims, almost all of whom were

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...

, including over 10,000 who were massacred inside the church itself.

Population

According to the national population census of 15 August 2012, the population of Nyamata consisted of 34,922 people.

Points of interest

The following points of interest lie within the town limits or close to the edges of town: (a) Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre, (b) the offices of Nyamata Town Council, (c) Nyamata central market (d) a branch of the

Bank of Kigali Bank of Kigali (BK) is a commercial bank in Rwanda. It is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda. Location The headquarters and main branch of the bank are located at 6112 KN4 Avenue, in Nyarugenge District, in the city of Kigali, the capital a ...

, (e) a branch of the

Urwego Opportunity Bank Urwego Bank (Urwego) is a Christ-centered Microfinance bank in Rwanda. It is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the national banking regulator. History Founded in 1997 by World Relief as Urwego Community Banking, the bank joined the HOPE I ...

and (f)

, near the town of

Rilima Rilima is a town in southeastern Rwanda. It is the nearest urban center to Bugesera International Airport. Location Rilima is located in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, south of Kigali, the national capital and the largest city in the coun ...

History

It is not well known what happened in the region before 1900. In 1900 there was a war between the Kingdom of Rwanda-Rwagasabo with Cyirima as the King, and the Kingdom of Bugesera whose King was Nsoro. Bugesera won the war, Nsoro captured Cyirima but did not kill him nor did he acquire the territory of Rwanda-Rwagasabo. After Nsoro died his son Ruganzu Ndori became King. Ruganzu Ndori was the last king of Bugesera, he died in 1962 when Rwanda became a republic.

References

External links

Website of Eastern Province, Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) & (English)

Pictorial of Nyamata Genocidal Memorial
{{coord, 02, 12, 18, S, 30, 08, 42, E, type:city, display=title Bugesera District Eastern Province, Rwanda Populated places in Rwanda