On January 28, 1991, Imvaho published an article titled: “Death penalty was sought against Munyambaraga and colleagues.” Written by Gaspard Gahigi and Kantano Habimana, it was about the case of Narcisse Munyambaraga and his colleagues who were persecuted for false allegations including attack on the state’s security.

 

Following the launch of the liberation war by the Rwanda Patriotic Front, in October 1990, Munyambaraga who was the Director General of the post office, and other people, suffered from the defamation through pro-government media.

 

The accused were confirmed guilty before the trial. Their lawyers were considered traitors. However, Gahigi and Kantano concluded, supporting the sentence given to them saying: “This trial was a waste of time, they should only be executed.”

 

During 1990s, Rwandan media was manipulated by politicians with horrible intentions such as propagating the Parmehutu ideology, inciting hate speech and dehumanizing the Tutsi in preparation for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

 

At least 11 of the 42 new journals founded in 1991 were linked to ‘Akazu’, extremists linked to Habyarimana's family and in-laws.

 

The Interahamwe, Kangura, Kamarampaka, La Médaille Nyiramacibiri, Echos des Mille Collines and Umurwanashyaka newspapers; Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and Radio Rwanda were all disseminating content inciting violence and hatred against the Tutsi.

 

On January 27, 1994, RTLM broadcasted programs calling for the Hutu to fight the Belgian contingent of the United Nations mission in Rwanda, with allegations that they had a plan to give the country to the Tutsi. The propaganda originated from a meeting brought together Secretary General of then ruling MRND party, Joseph Nzirorera, vice-president, Edouard Karemera, the son of president Juvénal Habyarimana, Jean-Pierre Habyarimana and Robert Kajuga, the chairperson of Interahamwe militia at national level.  

 

Media content was fabricated by either the extremist politicians, or Parmehutu ideologues. Poison pen speeches against the Tutsi were frequently broadcasted, referring to them as Inyenzi (Cockroaches) and Inzoka (snakes).

 

Gahigi, the editor-in-chief of RTLM, had previously worked for Umurwanashyaka, a newspaper of MRND. He was the party’s Central Committee member representing Byumba prefecture.

 

At RTLM, he worked with journalists including Noël Hitimana, Kantano Habimana and Valerie Bemeriki in the Kinyarwanda version, while Emmanuel Nkomati, Philippe Mbirizi, Joel Hakizimana and Belgian broadcaster, Georges Ruggiu, were known in the French version.

 

Ruggiu had on March 22, 1994, warned, through RTLM and Radio Rwanda, that “the Belgians wanted to impose RPF government of bandits and killers on Rwanda.”

 

Radio Rwanda, on the same day, broadcasted the Ministry of Defense, denying divisionism in the armed forces, and insisting: “All Rwandans have decided to fight their common enemy and have identified him.”

 

Radio was used more in delivering hate messages to a wide audience. Before the liberation war, listening to radio was unpopular. In 1991, 29 percent of all households had a radio. The number raised higher by the start of the Genocide as the government distributed free radios to local authorities.

 

Radio Rwanda had ideologue journalists like Jean Baptiste Bamwanga who, on March 3, 1992, broadcasted incitement of over 500 Tutsi massacres in Bugesera. He got content from Ferdinand Nahimana, director of Rwandan Information Office (ORINFOR) and co-founder of RTLM.

 

RTLM and Radio Rwanda used to merge frequencies during the programs of extremist journalists like Bamwanga, Froduald Ntawulikura, Augustin Hatari, Phocas Fashaho and Robert Simba.

 

Politically manipulated

 

Before the daily news, Radio Rwanda broadcasted excerpts of Habyarimana's political speeches. It disseminated misinformation, particularly about the war’s progress.  After Habyarimana’s plane clashed, on April 6, 1994, government officials openly mobilized the public for the genocide against the Tutsi.

 

Speaking on Radio Rwanda, on April 12, MDR-Power leader, Frodauld Karamira, said that the war was “everyone’s responsibility,” an idea that would be broadcasted frequently in the next weeks. He urged the Hutu to “assist the armed forces to finish their work [killing the Tutsi].”

 

On May 3, 1994, the Prime Minister of the interim government, Jean Kambanda, was on Radio Rwanda urging the acceleration of Genocide, saying: “Everyone must be armed.”

 

Two days later, RTLM declared that the killing of the remaining Tutsi should be accelerated. The message followed by Simon Bikindi's songs inspiring the killers.

 

RTLM was strengthened by its founders who included Félicien Kabuga, the genocide financier now on trial in The Netherlands, a wealthy businessman whose daughter was married to Habyarimana’s son; Alphonse Ntilivamunda, Habyarimana’s son-in-law; Augustin Ngirabatware and André Ntagerura, the ministers of planning and telecommunications respectively; the Director General of the Banque Continentale Africaine, Pasteur Musabe and the governor of the National Bank, Augustin Ruzindana.

 

In 2003, RTLM co-founder, Ferdinand Nahimana, its executive, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza and Kangura founder and editor, Hassan Ngeze, were convicted of genocide crimes. Nahimana and Ngeze were sentenced to life imprisonment while Barayagwiza was sentenced to 35 years in prison.