Genocide mastermind’s son calls for banning use of word “genocide”

The children of the most notorious perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi who are living in Western countries have become more brazen in propagating genocide denial and revisionism in a bid to exculpate their genocidaire parents. They staunchly defend the legacy of their parents who committed a genocide which claimed more than one million lives. They use social media to spread their vile propaganda.

Their aim is to rehabilitate their parents, well-known genocidaires, some of whom are holed up in Western capitals or are facing trial like in the case of Félicien Kabuga, the financier of the genocide against the Tutsi. He was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the hate Radio Television des Mille Collines which fanned the flames of hatred and was instrumental in inciting the extermination of the Tutsi.

In a clip circulating on social media, Donatien Nshimyumuremyi, alias Nshima, Kabuga's eldest son is heard mobilising his like to rise and fight against the use of the word “genocide” because of the stigma it carries.

In a rumbling speech he points out: “I would like to say the word genocide is for white people ...carries huge implication and the laws against it are very draconian. Therefore, as long as we will not stand up and fight because of that word which trivialises… That word is being used in our country (Rwanda) to say that such mass-killings is a genocide, the other ones are not a genocide. We have therefore to protest (the use of) of that word and say that massacres which happened in Rwanda, whether they were perpetrated against this group or that other one. We must get out of that trap of playing with that word genocide. Whether it was genocide against the Tutsi, or genocide against the Hutu…It is something in the case of abazungu” (westerners), they don’t take that to think it because of the shame it left on them because of the genocide they committed against the Jews.”

He adds: “When a case is brought to them containing the word genocide, they don’t think twice. That is why when Kigali asks for someone, they extradite him immediately.” Nshima’s father was on the run for more than two decades until he was arrested in the suburbs of Paris, France, in May 2020 and is currently undergoing trial at the UN International Residual Mechanisms for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). Charges against him include genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide and crimes against humanity.

What Nshima forgets is that genocide crimes are imprescriptible and to fight against the use of the word “genocide” is a losing battle. The shame their fathers brought onto them will follow them forever. They have only their parents to blame for their current predicament. They have a clear choice. They can cut themselves from the hideous legacy of their fathers and be part of the new Rwanda, or they can stick to it with all the consequences.

Amongst those who feel burdened by the evocation of the word “genocide”, Nshima is the one who bears a lot. Once one looks at where he is coming from, one could easily understand his motivation. Apart from being Kabuga’s son, he is also directly connected to the family of former president Juvenal Habyarimana. He is the brother-in-law to Jean Pierre Habyarimana, the eldest son of the former president, who married Nshima’s sister, Bernadette Uwamariya.

He is the brother-in-law to Augustin Ngirabatware, former Minister of Planning in the interim government, who was sentenced to 30 years in jail for incitement to genocide in December 2014.  This heartless, cynical, and disdainful attempt by Nshima and company pushes genocide denial and revisionism to another level. Survivors’ organisations in Belgium where he lives, have been urged to file a lawsuit against him. In April 2019, the Belgian Parliament adopted a Law against genocide denial. Regrettably, to this date, this law remains ineffective to deter revisionists and deniers to continue to freely spread their nefarious propaganda aimed at whitewashing their parents of their crimes.

One genocide survivor commented on Twitter: “This Donatien, son of Kabuga who wants (people) to stop using the word genocide. This is because of shame. He spent 26 years helping his father to evade justice, now that he is finally facing justice, he started talking. We should condemn this move.” Belgium is fertile ground for genocide deniers including former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu, and members of Jambo asbl.  Nshima and fellow genocide deniers believe that by waging their campaign on social media networks, they can be shielded against the consequences of their villainous acts.  It is high time these people are denied access to the vehicles of their insidious propaganda.