The children of the late Pastor Iyamuremye Amoni say that their father was not only a pastor but also a prominent leader in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Rwanda.

They claim he owned land located below APACE Secondary School and was killed during the genocide in 1994, with other pastors allegedly involved in his death because of his ethnicity and his close ties with Western missionaries who had brought the church to Rwanda.

During a public meeting held in Munanira II Cell, the children of Pastor Amoni requested local authorities to help resolve the issue of the land that was taken by the Seventh-day Adventist Church many years ago.

The children stated that their mother used to cultivate this land after their father's death, and this was confirmed by several long-time residents of the area who were present at the meeting and had lived there before the genocide.

One of the children told UKWELITIMES that the church leadership not only took the land but also built on it, despite knowing it rightfully belonged to their family.

He said, "They know very well that the land is ours." They just went ahead and changed everything when the land registration process began, even rerouting a road through it. As you can see, all the residents agree-everyone knows our mother farmed that land."

He further alleged that some of the church pastors, including one named Bitushya, were responsible for their father's death.

He said, "Because our father was well-educated and well-liked by the white missionaries, some church leaders were jealous and wanted to take over." The moment Habyarimana’s plane was shot down, they sent people to burn our house using petrol and killed him that way."

Onesphore Yadusoneye, Director of Communication Department in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Rwanda, insisted that the land in question belongs to the church.

He explained, "This kind of thing happens everywhere. When pastors live somewhere, they often cultivate church-owned land. When they leave, their successors continue using it. Just because the parents of these children were using the land doesn’t mean it belonged to them."

Pr Onesphore Yadusoneye added that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has land title issued in 1977 while the children of late Pastor Amon say that their land titles got lost in fire during their father's death.

However, some local witnesses told the authorities that they clearly remember the land belonging to Pastor Amoni.

One of them said, "That land belonged to Pastor Amoni—we all know it. He had a very large plot of land. There is no one around here who doesn’t know that."

The executive secretary of Nyakabanda Sector, Florence Ntakontagize, urged both the church leadership and the children of the late pastor to come to the sector offices so that local authorities can assist in resolving the dispute.