Nyamasheke is a district (A''karere'') in

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. Its capital town is Kagano. The district has 15 sectors, 68 cells, and 588 villages. The total area of the district is 1,175 km2 with a population density of 632 people /sq as of 2022 national census

Geography

Nyamasheke district is divided into 15 sectors, 68 cells, and 588 villages. The fifteen sectors include Ruharambuga, Bushekeri, Bushenge, Cyato, Gihombo, Kagano, Kanjongo, Karambi, Karengera, Kirimbi, Macuba, Nyabitekeri, Mahembe, Rangiro, Shangi. Nyamasheke district borders Karongi District to the North,

Nyamagabe Nyamagabe is a Districts of Rwanda, district (''akarere'') in Southern Province, Rwanda, Southern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Gasaka. Geography, flora and fauna The district lies between Butare and Cyangugu in the south-west of Rwanda, and ...

District to the east, Rusizi District to the South and the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

borders to the west. The district is strategically located between

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...

and

Nyungwe National Park The Nyungwe Forest () is located in southwestern Rwanda, on the border with Burundi, where it is contiguous with the Kibira National Park to the south, and Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. The Nyungwe rainforest is ...

, increasing its advantage of being a tourist destination and agricultural as economic activities.

History

Nyamasheke was originally part of the colony of German East Africa, which included what are now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika. Nyamasheke's Lake Kivu is the site of the first German colonial military post, founded in 1898 by Kapitan Berthe, a German Army officer. With missionaries, Shangi was chosen by the Germans for its strategic position on the Lake Kivu border with the Congo. Shangi; on January 20, 1900, the first mass was celebrated on the Rwandan territory by Father Alphonse Brard, Father Paul Barthelemy and Brother Anselme. In the post-colonial period, Nyamasheke was a part of

Cyangugu Cyangugu (formerly Shangugu) is a city and capital of the Rusizi District in Western Province, Rwanda. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Kivu, and is contiguous with Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but separated from it by the ...

prefecture. After the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, the RPF led government made different administrative reforms that led to a new administrative district of Nyamasheke. In 1994, District saw considerable bloodshed during the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

Recent events

In 2009, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) announced that it had evidence implicating former businessman Yussuf Munyakazi in the

genocidal massacre The term ''genocidal massacre'' was introduced by Leo Kuper (1908–1994) to describe incidents which have a genocidal component but are committed on a smaller scale when they are compared to genocides such as the Rwandan genocide. Others such as ...

s that occurred in 1994 in Nyamasheke.Muramira, Gashegu,
Rwanda: ICTR Pins Munyakazi On Nyamasheke Massacres
', AllAfrica.com, 22 April 2009, retrieved 26 February 2012 Munyakazi, a former wealthy rice farmer in the Western Province, was charged with counts of genocide, or complicity in the alternative and extermination as a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

. On 30 June 2010, the ICTR found Yussuf Munyakazi guilty of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity and sentenced him to 25 years’ imprisonment.Yussuf Munyakazi Sentenced To 25 Years
The Hague Justice Portal, retrieved 26 February 2012 The ICTR specifically found that Munyakazi was a leader in massacres in Shangi sector on 29 April 1994, and Mibilizi sector on 30 April 1994 which resulted in the deaths of over 5,000 Tutsi. After reports of harassment of genocide survivors in the district, several genocide survivors were murdered in Nyamasheke.Bishumba, Nasra,

', News From Africa, 15 January 2004, retrieved 26 February 2012Mugisha, Stevenson and Kagire, Edmund, ''Genocide Survivor Murdered in Nyamasheke'', Rwanda New Times, 15 April 2009 In April 2009, Séraphine Uwankwera, a resident of Kagatamu cell, was killed between 7:45 and 8 pm on April 12 and dumped on the roadside in the Bushenge sector of Nyamasheke District. The deceased was murdered as she was coming from Gashirabwoba Genocide memorial site also in the Bushenge sector where she had gone to attend a Genocide commemoration ceremony where some of her family members who were killed are buried. Uwankwera was found lying in a pool of blood on April 13. A relative of Uwankwera stated that the murderers were Genocide suspects who wanted to prevent testimony conceal evidence attesting to their role in the 1994 genocide.

Education

Nyamasheke District is home to different educational institutions
Kibogora Polytechnic
is a university located in this district with extensive programs that attract local and national students to acquire higher education.

Tourism

Nyamasheke district as it sandwiched between lake Kivu and Nyungwe forest. It possesses different attractions which people enjoy. They include Nyungwe canopy walk, canoing, hiking and Kivu tours. It has the following hotels and guest houses that ease the tourist activities in this district. They include:
Maravilla Kivu Eco Resort

One&Only Nyungwe House
* Nyungwe Top View Hotel * Ishara Beach Motel Ltd

References

*
Inzego.doc
— Province, District and Sector information from ''MINALOC'', the Rwanda ministry of Local Government. {{coord, 2, 22, S, 29, 09, E, display=title, region:RW_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki

Nyamasheke District Nyamasheke is a district (A''karere'') in Western Province, Rwanda, Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital town is Kagano. The district has 15 sectors, 68 cells, and 588 villages. The total area of the district is 1,175 km2 with a population dens ...

Western Province, Rwanda Districts of Rwanda