Niyongabo, Protais

Abstract

Niyongabo went to church on Sunday, April 29th, 1972 just as he did every Sunday with his family. As he and his family of 9 exited Sunday service, they could hear helicopters in the next commune. Niyongabo explained that people in his community were not accustomed to hearing helicopters so close to their homes and everyone became very intrigued as to what was happening. Niyongabo went home only to hear screams from the parishioners exiting the second mass session. Then, the following day, a group of people ran toward him and his father, screaming at them to run for their lives. They looked up to see that the ruling party’s house in their community was on fire. Niyongabo said the violence and house burning continued to engulf his community.https://neiudc.neiu.edu/burundi-oral-histories/1041/thumbnail.jp