By Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa
Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
Thirty years after the genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda remains burdened—not only by the trauma of what occurred but by what has been systematically suppressed. As the world solemnly commemorates the devastating events of 1994, I must speak clearly about an equally grievous crime, deliberately erased from our collective memory: the genocide committed against the Hutu. This crime, though extensively documented, remains Rwanda’s forbidden truth.
This painful reality is not speculation but established by credible international investigations, survivor testimonies, and meticulously documented evidence. In the immediate aftermath of the 1994 genocide, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), under General Paul Kagame’s command, orchestrated widespread, deliberate massacres of Hutu civilians within Rwanda and later across the refugee camps and dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 2010 United Nations Mapping Report explicitly detailed these atrocities, concluding that they “may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide.”
Yet even before this crucial report, the international community was aware. In 1994, Robert Gersony, a seasoned investigator working for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, provided alarming evidence after interviewing hundreds of refugees returning to Rwanda. His findings were unequivocal: systematic killings of tens of thousands of Hutu civilians by RPA forces were underway. Rather than bringing justice, the UN buried the Gersony Report, hiding its grim findings to preserve diplomatic convenience.
Further atrocities followed unchecked. In April 1995, in the horrific Kibeho massacre, more than 4,000 internally displaced Hutu civilians—primarily women and children—were slaughtered by RPA troops in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of international peacekeepers. Again, the global community turned away.
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have continuously documented patterns of violence under Kagame’s regime: extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, widespread torture, and political repression specifically targeting Hutu communities. These were neither isolated incidents nor actions of rogue soldiers, but deliberate and coordinated acts reflective of a policy imposing collective punishment on an entire ethnic group.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), established precisely to bring justice and accountability after the 1994 genocide, tragically failed its mission. It deliberately refused to investigate or prosecute Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) crimes. Most egregiously, it ignored the assassination of two African presidents—Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi—whose plane was shot down on April 6, 1994. This attack, ordered by General Kagame, ignited the genocide against Tutsi. Yet, no international tribunal has dared to pursue justice.
Inside Rwanda, the community-based Gacaca courts continued this selective justice, prosecuting exclusively Hutu while systematically shielding RPF perpetrators. This judicial distortion has deepened ethnic mistrust and resentment rather than fostering healing and reconciliation.
General Kagame has maintained his grip through military might and narrative dominance. Under his rule, Hutu identity has been relentlessly stigmatized, burdened by collective guilt, and effectively erased from national memory. To openly grieve Hutu victims, acknowledge these massacres, or even mention reports like Gersony’s or the UN Mapping Report is met with accusations, threats, persecution, or exile.
Such suppression is not reconciliation; it is coercion masked as unity. Its consequences are perilous. Suppressed trauma breeds further trauma, generation after generation. Unaddressed injustice fuels bitterness, alienation, and a cycle of violence and extremism. The noble promise of “Never Again” becomes hollow when built upon silence and denial.
Rwanda and the entire Great Lakes region cannot achieve genuine peace under conditions of enforced amnesia. The ongoing instability in eastern Congo cannot be understood apart from Rwanda’s unresolved historical crimes and its continuing impunity.
The African Union bears a heavy responsibility here. It has lauded Kagame as a visionary leader, consciously overlooking his involvement in grave human rights abuses and assassinations of fellow African heads of state. The AU must break its complicit silence and demand accountability, starting with a transparent investigation into the 1994 assassination of Presidents Habyarimana and Ntaryamira, and full implementation of the UN Mapping Report.
Today, Rwanda stands at a crossroads. We must courageously confront our full history, acknowledging both our shared humanity and the tragedies we inflicted upon one another, to create a common future rooted in truth and justice. I call upon Rwandans—Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa alike—to reject silence, reclaim our right to mourn openly, and strive for genuine reconciliation.
Let us build a Rwanda that no longer fears memory, where all victims are honored equally, and justice becomes the cornerstone of lasting peace. Only then can Rwanda truly heal, flourish, and live at peace within itself and with its neighbors.
Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa
Former Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States
Co-Founder, Rwanda Truth Commission
Washington DC
USA
E-mail: [email protected]
April 17, 2025
