On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa joined international leaders in commemorating the 30th anniversary of Rwanda’s genocide.
On April 7 1994, Hutus, the majority ethnic group in Rwanda, began a 90-day campaign of slaughtering Tutsis, a minority group. The genocide claimed nearly a million lives of Tutsis and Hutu moderates. Most of the victims were hacked to death using machetes and a few were shot with small firearms.
The genocide was hardly a surprise. There had been a series of anti-Tutsi broadcasts on radio and TV in the months leading up to it.
Much of the world’s attention, including international media, was firmly focused on SA’s inaugural all-race elections. The pre-election violence in SA, including the IFP’s initial refusal to participate in the elections, made ours an important story to watch.
SA’s government at the time had all but lost authority to do anything, especially outside our borders. Essentially, it co-governed with non-parliamentary parties through transitional committees established to monitor its lack of authority.
The West, Africa and today’s Global South had no interests in Rwandans killing each other. The Organisation for African Unity — the forerunner to the AU — was constrained by a clause on non-interference in internal affairs of its member states.
Rwanda had no strategic geopolitical significance to Western powers except colonial ties. So it watched as the massacres quickly turned into a genocide in the next three months.
The UN had both intelligence and some military presence in Rwanda. Its officials on the ground warned Kofi Annan, then head of peacekeeping, of the impending massacre and asked for more peacekeepers. Annan, who would later become the UN secretary-general, declined the request. Instead, he pulled out the remaining UN peacekeepers and kept only a skeleton staff that could scarcely stop a beer-hall brawl.
The genocide was stopped only by a courageous Tutsi-led resistance movement, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). Its leaders included Ugandan-trained Paul Kagame, today’s president of Rwanda. The Hutus lost power, and some were forced into exile in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In the early years of his regime, Kagame led an admirable campaign of reconciliation between the various ethnic groups. Descriptors such as Hutu and Tutsi, a colonial requirement, are no longer needed in government forms. In the three decades, he has also led the reconstruction of his country. It is one of the best-performing economies on the African continent and has averaged GDP growth of 8% a year in the past 20 years.
By doing nothing to stop the genocide, the world community lost whatever sway it could have on Kigali. Over the years, mostly out of guilt, the West has poured billions in aid to Rwanda. The West has also propped up Kagame by giving him international recognition. Most recently, the UK, which is still reeling from the self-inflicted wound of Brexit, asked Kagame to host hundreds of refugees for millions of pounds.
Africa too has joined in this mutual adoration. He was given the task of reorganising the AU’s finances. For a small country, this is a major achievement. Africa has turned a blind eye to Kagame’s early signs of straying from a freedom fighter to an authoritarian. He has not hesitated to use his military power in intervening on his neighbours’ conflicts. He has generously contributed troops to African peacekeeping missions.
More concerning, however, he has been supporting the M23 movement which is fighting in the eastern DRC. This move, which he argues is aimed at stopping the conflict from spilling over into his borders, has not been welcomed by his neighbours.
At home and abroad, his political opponents are roughed up. Kagame routinely wins elections through landslides. In the last elections, he won with more than 80%. His opponents are likely to muster 4% of votes. In July, Rwandans will be going to the polls again. No prize for guessing who will win.
Quite rightly, the world owes Rwandans an unqualified apology for enabling and allowing the genocide to occur. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, was correct in acknowledging that the world failed Rwanda in 1994. It could have been stopped within weeks. But thanks to a lack of political will, it was allowed to unfold.
It would be churlish to diminish Kagame’s and the RPF’s role in stopping the genocide and rebuilding a new country. However, the world’s complicity and guilt should not stop it from standing up for political freedom and a vibrant democracy.
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