Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta offered an apology for the East African region’s failure to intervene in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994 in a speech delivered in Kigali during the commemoration of 20th anniversary of the mass killings in the country.
President Kenyatta, Chairman of the East African Community (EAC), said the “pain and death” that characterized the genocide was a reminder of the failure by the whole world to prevent mass killings.
“For 100 days, Rwanda suffered grievously while the world watched without daring to step in and fulfill the famous pledge of ‘never again’ made after the Jewish Holocaust,” Kenyatta said in Kigali Monday.
“Our region also stood aside and for that we owe the most profound apology to the people of Rwanda,” Kenyatta said.
World leaders gathered in Rwanda to lay commemorative wreaths marking the 20th anniversary amid concerns by leaders gathered there on the need to ensure there is no return to such wanton killings.
President Kenyatta regretted the East African region “stood aside” during that period.
The Kenyan leader said to prevent a return to similar mass killings such as those which occurred in Rwanda, Kenyan and Rwandan peacekeepers had regularly deployed to quell potential mass killings.
President Kenyatta said ambassadors from both nations were active diplomatically to prevent atrocities.
President Kenyatta and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged the crisis in Rwanda was still being felt around the Great Lakes region.
“We have learned that no one from far away can be relied on to come to our aid. We must build an independent capability and will to protect the lives of our children and their futures,” President Kenyatta reiterated.
To avoid a return to such security vacuums in future, President Kenyatta said the Great Lakes region was working towards its stabilization force.
The stabilization force is part of an African Union plan to ensure rapid response to regional crises such as those of genocide.
“This is why as the chairman of the EAC I believe that we must ensure that our region is as strong on security and mutual aid,” President Kenyatta said.
