The incident occurred in the morning of Friday 3rd February 2023 when the maize drying facility which caved in, took 11 lives and left more than 30 people injured.

The drier belongs to Duharanire Ubukire – Gasagara Cooperative based in Gasabo District of Kigali City.

Following the accident, the government assured to take measures to ensure the safety of built up structures is reinforced to avoid similar incidents in the future. The deceased were buried on Sunday in Rusororo.

Minister of State in charge of social Affairs at the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC), Assumpta Ingabire represented the government during the ceremony.

She condoled with the bereaved families and others whose relatives sustained injuries. Ingabire told them that the government stands with them during these difficult times and ’will continue to stay closer to them’.

“On behalf of the Government of Rwanda, we have come here to sympathize with you. You lost siblings, children and parents but we are also saddened by the incident because it is a loss to the country. These brothers have died but they leave a good legacy - the legacy of work,” she said.

“The government will continue to stay close to you to move on with life, be it in terms of wellbeing or sustaining the cooperatives’ activities. There are recommendations to reinforce safety on facilities used by citizens and we assure that this incident won’t repeat itself,” added Ingabire.

It said that the accident resulted from heavy weight of maize on the drier’s wooden structure and wind that shook it.

The Minister of State , Ingabire offered condolences to the bereaved families.

The death of 11 people in maize drier accident shocked Rusororo residents.