The UK Conservative government courted controversy (let’s be honest, when haven’t they?) in April 2022 when a deal was revealed for the deportation of asylum-seeking refugees to Rwanda. Rwanda is probably a name that strikes fear into the hearts of readers although many people know little about the nation beyond one horrific association. If there is one thing most recall, it is the events of 1994: the Rwandan Genocide – one of the deadliest genocides since Nazi Germany, in which at least 500,000 people were slaughtered over just 100 days.
Background – Rwandan Genocide
It is fair to say that a Rwandan inner conflict was inevitable, with the seeds for war being planted long before the 1990s.
For hundreds of years, Rwanda had largely been split between two tribes: the Hutu and the Tutsi.
Racial superiority reigned supreme as German-controlled Rwanda favoured the Tutsi minority, believing them ethnically superior to the Hutu majority. When Belgium later took over, citizens were forced to label themselves by tribe, further alienating the groups.
By the 1930s, around 84% of the population were Hutu and 15% Tutsi.
The chaos escalated further following the assault of Hutu sub-chief Dominique Mbonyumutwa. In 1962, Rwanda gained independence – but by then over 300,000 Tutsis had fled, waiting to plot their revenge. They later became the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), prepared to act against the racist Hutu Power movement simmering inside Rwanda.
Walking Into War – Rwandan Genocide
In 1990, militias grew in power as deadly weaponry such as machetes were distributed to civilians.
Another huge instigator in the genocide was the radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, which consistently aired anti-Tutsi propaganda.
The single most cited spark came with the murder of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, whose plane was shot down on April 6, 1994. The next day, Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana was also killed, followed by a number of high-profile political figures.
The UN’s involvement was restricted to a peace-keeping mandate, meaning they had no offensive orders. They could do nothing to stop the violence.
Bill Clinton later admitted about his lack of intervention: “If we’d gone in sooner, I believe we could have saved at least a third of the lives that were lost. I do feel a lifetime responsibility.”
Genocide In Action – Rwandan Genocide
In cities, militias set up checkpoints where Tutsis were killed immediately, often dragged into roadside ditches. The capital city Kigali saw the worst of the brutality.
Militias blamed Tutsis for the President’s death, killing high-profile targets and their families. In areas with few military figures, the killings were passed down to local civilians – and those who refused to kill were murdered themselves.
This propaganda was only exacerbated by new President Théodore Sindikubwabo, who ridiculed those not killing Tutsis, demanding on radio: “Get out of the way and let us work.”
Prime Minister Jean Kambanda became the only head of government to plead guilty to genocide. Forced to do so in 1997, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, incitement, aiding and abetting, failing in his duty to prevent the killings, and crimes against humanity.
After 100 days, in which ceasefires were rejected, the RPF liberated the nation as the government fled.
Genocide Through Statistics and Quotes – Rwandan Genocide
Deaths occurred in the hundreds or thousands per day. During the 100 days, at least 250,000 women were raped. HIV-positive prisoners formed “rape gangs,” with over two-thirds of victims infected with AIDS.
Death toll estimates vary from 800,000 to over 1.1 million. Rwanda’s succeeding government recorded well over a million, with around three-quarters of Tutsis exterminated.
Some 300,000 children were killed, and just under 100,000 left orphaned.
TRT World noted: “During this period, six people were murdered every minute.” That equates to 8,500 deaths per day.
Tutsi survivor Antionette recalled at age twelve being told by her father: “If you hide, don’t hide together [with your brother]… because if you hide together, they will kill you all.” She described seeing a woman beheaded while her child tried to feed from her corpse. She added that dogs ate the bodies of rotting humans. Those with money were shot; those without were beheaded.
Incredibly, many families of victims and perpetrators now live side by side as neighbours. VICE News interviewed both a survivor and a man who had killed her children and husband. He admitted: “We would consider every Tutsi, with no exception for women or children. It was all about massacring.”
BBC journalist Fergal Keane, who covered the genocide, later reflected: “I thought the dreams of Rwanda had gone away, but going back ten years after has brought them back… Just after the genocide, I would wake up in the night with dreams of being hidden under corpses, with a man pulling them away to get at me. Now it’s a different sense of failure as a human being. That’s what Rwanda has left me with.”
Two million Rwandans, largely Hutu, fled as refugees after the war’s end – sparking the First Congo War, which claimed 200,000 lives.
Simply put, Rwanda’s population was devastated. Stephen Kinzer’s 2008 book A Thousand Hills records that around 40% of the country had either been killed or displaced.
Role of the Catholic Church – Rwandan Genocide
As one of the most Christian countries in the world, Rwanda was around 60% Catholic.
Yet many of the most infamous atrocities were directly tied to church leaders. According to Timothy Longman’s book Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda, churches lured tens of thousands of Tutsis into buildings under the guise of sanctuary – only to betray them to the militias.
Christopher Hitchens once argued: “Priests and nuns and bishops incited massacres from their pulpits, radio stations and newspapers. The Papacy was silent on this appalling occasion and everyone in Rwanda knows it.”
The Nyarubuye killings were among the most infamous. Around 2,000 Tutsis were assured sanctuary in the Roman Catholic Church by priest Athanase Seromba, who was later convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. He instructed a bulldozer driver to destroy the building, exposing those inside to slaughter. Survivors were shot or hacked to death.
At Sainte-Famille Church, Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka was accused of handing Tutsis over to militias. National Geographic later described the buildings as “left largely as they were the day he entered 20 years ago.”
Other clergy were also complicit. Sister Maria Kisito and Mother Superior Gertrude Mukangango gave gasoline to militias to burn hundreds of civilians alive in their abbey. One survivor, Seraphine Mukamana, testified: “I saw Sister Gertrude and Sister Kisito. Kisito was carrying a petrol can. Soon after, the garage was set on fire.”
The Catholic Church eventually apologised – but not until 2016, 22 years later.
The apology read: “Forgive us for the crime of hate… We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other.”
Aftermath and Reconciliation – Rwandan Genocide
The genocide left Rwanda shattered, but the country has spent decades rebuilding. Around two million people faced trial in Gacaca courts, a community justice system that prioritised truth-telling, confessions, and reconciliation over retribution.
Paul Kagame, leader of the RPF, became Rwanda’s first Tutsi president in 2000 – a remarkable reversal of history. He remains in power today, credited with rebuilding infrastructure and reducing poverty, though criticised for authoritarianism.
Reconciliation programmes have brought perpetrators and survivors into dialogue, sometimes even coexisting as neighbours. Rwanda has also outlawed any ethnic distinctions between Hutu and Tutsi, declaring all citizens simply “Rwandan.”
Epilogue – Lessons From Rwanda
In the West, many like to believe the horrors of ethnic cleansing ended with World War Two. Rwanda proves otherwise. Less than 30 years ago, hundreds of thousands were butchered while the world watched on in silence.
It is understandable that the Hutus would feel resentment at centuries of Tutsi rule despite their minority status. What was utterly inexcusable, however, was the orchestrated, church-condoned massacre of men, women, and children based purely on ethnicity.
Rwanda’s past will always haunt its people, but the nation has taken huge strides forward. As the UK considers it a destination for deported refugees, history should at least force us to think twice.
