Veteran broadcaster Jeff Koinange has shared a powerful look back at his 2004 reporting from Rwanda. The footage captures the country as it marked the 10th anniversary of the 1994 genocide.
In the video, a younger Jeff is seen reporting from the ground in Rwanda. Behind him, workers are putting the finishing touches on the country’s largest memorial.
He is surrounded by the hills of a nation still physically and mentally scarred by its past, far from the polished studio settings of modern news.
The Sacred Sites Turned Into Graveyards
The report takes viewers to the Ntarama Catholic Church. A decade after the killings, the church remained a site of horror. Jeff describes how thousands of bodies once littered the compound. In 1994, families sought refuge there, believing it was a safe haven.
“A haunting reminder of the darkness humanity is capable of. 32 years ago, nearly one million lives, mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were lost in the worst genocide of the late 20th century. We look back to ensure the world never forgets the cost of silence,” Jeff captioned the video.
On 15 April 1994, militia members surrounded the church. By the end of that single day, over 5,000 people were dead. Jeff’s reporting shows skulls piled high and remains stuffed into banana sacks.
Personal items like rosaries, shoes, and purses were still scattered among the pews.
“Our priest assured us we would be safe here in God’s house… We were wrong. We were so wrong,” One survivor told Jeff.
Justice Under the Trees
The footage also explores Rwanda’s unique path to justice through the Gacaca courts. These are traditional community courts where suspects face a jury of their peers, often held in makeshift shelters under trees.
In these sessions, killers often mingle freely with villagers. Some confess to their crimes in the hope of receiving an early prison release. One man in the report admits to killing six people, while another speaks of using a wheelbarrow to dump bodies into a pit.
“We know those who killed here, but we forgive them because they have confessed to the killings.” — Local survivor.
A Legacy of Healing
The report highlights the “new nightmares” discovered as more mass graves are found. Jeff describes a young boy emerging from the hills holding a human skull as calmly as if it were a toy.
While physical scars were healing by 2004, Jeff noted that mental scars would take generations to mend. The report ends with a message of hope from a young boy named Hachisimana, whose name means “God will protect.”
According to archived records, Jeff Koinange was serving as CNN’s West Africa Bureau Chief when he filed this report in 2004.
His reporting during this time was instrumental in bringing the scale of the post-genocide recovery to a global audience.
