Apocalypse 1994

Abstract

Jean-Luc, the son of Rwanda’s President Juvénal Habyarimana, and his two cousins were in the garden beside the pool of the Presidential residence situated at the edge of Kigali airport when the familiar engine drone of the Presidential plane announced his father’s return from a regional summit in Dar es Salaam. They watched the plane fly overhead against the darkening sky. Suddenly, there was a whining sound and a streak of white smoke shooting up towards the plane. The plane seemed to lurch to one side as a projectile shot harmlessly past. Before the scene could be fully processed by the stunned observers, there was another streak of white smoke, hurtling upward with the same sickening whine. Then a scene from hell. A flash, a ball of flame, a thunderous bang followed by a roar. The plane disintegrated in front of the hapless relatives’ eyes. Lumps of blackened twisted metal and debris began to rain down directly upon them. One large piece impacted at the edge of the garden. A deafening crash heralded the landing of another on the garage roof …¹