By Joseph Mudingu
Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of the global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, on Sunday visited Kigali Genocide Memorial, where he paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
During the visit at the memorial where over 250,000 victims are laid to rest, Kaspersky said that he cannot help but draw comparison between the Genocide against the Tutsi and the Holocaust that was perpetrated against Jews.
“It is 25 years after the Genocide happened here in Rwanda and I am happy to see that the country has moved on despite the loss of so many people, said Kaspersky, who is in the country for a five day visit.
He added: “I am deeply moved by the memorial to the victims of one of history’s greatest crimes – and reminded of the haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people. I thank the leadership of this country,” he said.
Kaspersky toured the memorial with some of the senior managers of the company and were in the company of Patrick Nyirishema, the Director General of Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).
From the memorial, he also visited the museum at parliament that is dedicated to tell the story of the campaign against the Genocide during which tour he was also explained to the different sections of the museum.
Speaking after the tour, Nyirishema said: “We are really happy to have Kaspersky who is one of the most successful people in the world here to pay tribute those that lost their lives in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The gesture of joining Rwandans in this commemoration period is really touching.”
Kaspersky headed to Musanze after visiting the two memorials.
In Musanze, he is lined up as one of the speakers at the National Security Symposium that starts on Monday at the Rwanda Defence Force Command and Staff College.
Kaspersky is also later this week take part in Transform Africa Summit that will be held in Kigali for the fifth time, jointly organised by Smart Africa Alliance and the Government of Rwanda.
“We are happy that the Rwandan Government takes cybercrime as a serious issue. We are a platinum sponsor at the event and our experts are present to showcase our latest innovative solutions that will help organizations in Africa be cyber immune which will allow them to grow and prosper away from cyber threats” said Kaspersky.
About how important the summit is to Kaspersky Lab and why they chose to be part of it, he said that for over 20 years, Kaspersky Lab has been recognized as experts in the fight against malware and cybercrime.
“We are present in the summit to help organizations in the region achieve high security measures because it is what we do best” he said.
Under the theme “Boosting Africa’s Digital Economy”, Transform Africa Summit will convene over 4,000 participants, including Heads of States, senior government officials, representatives from public and private sector, international organizations, civil society and the academia, among others.
Headquartered in Moscow, Russia and with a holding company based in the United Kingdom, the firm is most renowned for its anti-virus solution, the Kaspersky Anti-Virus.