Nyamata is a town and sector in the

Bugesera District Bugesera is a district (''akarere'') in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Nyamata. The district is named after the old Kingdom of Bugesera. The district is the location of two memorial sites of the Rwandan genocide at Ntarama and Nyam ...

, southeastern

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 ...

. Nyamata literally means 'place of milk' from the two Kinyarwanda words ''nya-'' 'of' and ''amata'' 'milk'. It is the location of the Nyamata Genocide Memorial, commemorating 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 ...

of 1994.

History

It is not well known what happened in the region before 1900. The area was originally part of the Kingdom of Bugesera, but was conquered by Rwanda in the late 19th century. In March 1992, the town and its surroundings were the site of anti-Tutsi massacres.

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 is a relativ ...

, the national

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

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, is under construction, with the first phases expected to be completed in 2019. The town is the location of Nyamata Genocide Memorial, 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 ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

, 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 city consisted of 17,076 people. As of 2022, it was confirmed that the numbers have since then grown to 65,107 people, making it the sixth largest town in Rwanda. Nyamata has developed into a busy town with lots of infrastructures and facilities like churches, hotels and factories.

Points of interest

The following points of interest lie within the town limits or close to the edges of town: * Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre * Offices of Nyamata Town Council * Nyamata central market * A branch of the Bank of Kigali * A branch of the Urwego Opportunity Bank * Bugesera International Airport, near the town of Rilima.

References

Works cited

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