Uganda's representative Richard Kabonero explained on behalf of his colleagues from Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya that these torches symbolized "prevention of genocide within the EAC".
Several Rwandan personalities attended the ceremony, including Supreme Court President Aloysie Cyanzayire and Prime minister Bernard Makuza.
A hundred names of genocide victims - for a hundred days of killings - were read aloud by 25 five young Rwandans. According to the master of ceremony, these names were those of " 30 innocent children, 40 youngsters who were about to start enjoying life, 10 old persons keeping our wisdom and culture, and 20 other working people from different backgrounds who are deeply missed".
This evening gathering was part of a week of national mourning launched on Wednesday to commemorate the sixteenth anniversary of the genocide.
During his opening speech at the National stadium of Kigali, President Paul Kagame called upon his fellow citizens to commemorate "upright, on our feet" the 1994 mass killings of Tutsis, asserting that the future of the Nation depended on it.
Conferences and debates will be held until April 13 throughout the country districts.
SRE/ER/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency