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“Apollinaire Munyaneza’s testimony engages us, the living. We to whom the survivor addresses himself in the hope that the past he embodies and present from which he expresses it will not sink into oblivion.”
—Professor Alexandre Dauge-Roth, Bates College

“His story, like many others, is a reminder that the genocide did not begin in April 1994. It was preceded by years of prejudice, silence, and impunity—realities that his book brings into sharp focus.”
—The New Times

“Some stories exist not only to be told, but to be preserved. In Rugeshi Hill, Apollinaire Munyaneza documents his personal journey of family, loss, and survival during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, ensuring that his testimony remains intact in his own words.”
—Africa Press

Rugeshi Hill, Where Humanity was Buried

Written by Apollinaire Munyaneza
Published by Inzozi Publisher

Apollinaire Munyaneza was born and raised in Nyabihu District in Rwanda’s Western Province. The 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi claimed the lives of most of his immediate family, both parents, a brother, and five sisters, not to mention hundreds of extended family members who lived on Rugeshi Hill. His family endured targeted violence as early as 1990, largely because the Western Province was home to key architects of the Genocide, both civilians and high-ranking military officials.

In this memoir, Apollinaire shares compelling accounts of the horrors his family endured, as well as evidence that the Genocide was not a spontaneous eruption of anger, but a meticulously planned, state-orchestrated atrocity. Despite surviving the unthinkable, he found the strength to rebuild his life with resilience. For him, survival is not just a reminder of how humanity can be lost under bad leadership, it is also a responsibility.

During the period between April and July 1994, Apollinaire’s family endured targeted violence amounting to the acts of Genocide since 1990, largely because the Western Province was home to key architects of the Genocide — civilians as well as high-ranking military officials.

Today, the hills of Rugeshi stand as silent witnesses to what transpired. For Apollinaire, writing this memoir was not only an act of personal reckoning — it was a moral imperative. The world must know. The truth must endure.

Primary ISBN:
Publication Date: April 2026
Available As: Paperback
Memoir, Age 14 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , ,

Setting: Rwanda, US (Maine)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee or Asylee

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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