In memoriam of Father Stanislas de Jamblinne

On November 12, Father Stanislas de Jamblinne, a Belgian national, passed away at the age of 99. He has been hailed as a hero by many Rwandans who knew him throughout the 74 years he served as a priest in different parts of the country since his arrival in the country.

People especially remember him for risking his life in protecting thousands of Tutsi refugees at Cyanika Parish, in the former Gikongoro Prefecture, in the present day Nyamagabe District, during the 1959 state-orchestrated massacres of the Tutsi. At the time, mass-killings of Tutsi by Hutu mobs were taking place under the supervision of militants of the MDR (Mouvement Démocratique Républicain) Parmehutu. These killings had the blessings of then Belgian tutorial power that colluded with the MDR leaders to massacre the Tutsi and destroy their property.

Most members of the white clergy aligned with the killers, but Father de Jamblinne did not spare any effort to rescue and protect thousands of persecuted Tutsi in his parish. He helped these refugees to flee to neighbouring countries like Burundi, and former Zaire, now DRC.

It is reported that ahead of the massacres of thousands of Tutsi who had sought shelter at Cyanika Parish in 1963, de Jamblinne wrote a letter to the then Prefet of the area, André Nkeramugaba, and copied it to the president of the republic, and the Bishop of Butare Diocese, warning them they could be held accountable for the impending massacres of thousands of innocent women and children who fled to the parish.

Nkeramugaba was the ringleader in the massacres of Tutsi in Gikongoro which claimed hundreds of thousands of victims and forced thousands more to flee to neighbouring countries. It is believed that more than 200,000 Tutsi perished in Gikongoro alone during the 1963 pogroms.

Jean Damascene Bizimana, Minister of National Unity and Reconciliation, who is from Cyanika Parish and knew Father de Jamblinne wrote that it is difficult to talk about this priest. Only people he saved from the hands of the killers in 1963 and 1973 could attest that he was a special man of God.

The Minister noted: “In 1963, Father de Jamblinne helped the Tutsi in saving them from the killers. At night, he patrolled the area looking for where the Tutsi were hiding, went into their houses and brought them to the parish. As he looked for the Tutsi and sheltering them, he tried to advise the killers to stop this evil plan. Once he refused to give a holy communion to Prefet Nkeramugaba in the church telling him that he doesn’t deserve to receive the body of Christ if he continues to massacre for no reason God’s creatures.”

During the massacres, a colleague of Father de Jamblinne joined the killing spree with other mass-murderers while de Jamblinne was treating the casualties, mainly widows and orphans. In 1973, Father de Jamblinne continued to protect Tutsi students, fearing that the Hutu would kill them like in 1959-1963, and drove them at night clandestinely to the border of Burundi and gave some assistance and blessings.

Father de Jamblinne contributed to the development of Bufundu (former region of southern Gikongoro Prefecture), by electing roads and bridges on Mwogo, Kaviri, and Rukarara rivers and helped resettle the displaced by building new homes. Father de Jamblinne also taught locals various trades like carpentry, masonry, and driving. He helped to build health centres and schools. Father Stanislas de Jamblinne was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1922. He was ordained priest in 1943 and became a missionary in 1947 and subsequently sent to Rwanda.

He served as a priest in various parts of Rwanda, including Nyagahanga and Rushaki in Byumba, Rwaza and Runaba in Ruhengeri Diocese, Rusumo in Kibungo Diocese, Cyanika and Kaduha in Butare Diocese. Though Father de Jamblinne has passed on, many Rwandans will continue to celebrate him as a hero, a man of integrity, compassion, and love. While a large number of his peers acted in a very despicable manner and sided with killers, he stood against them and saved many lives.