Andrew Wallis, the UK journalist and author, first visited Rwanda in 1990 as a young student, on an expedition to visit the fabled Virunga mountain gorillas.
At that time the sense of tension and unease within in the country was noticeable, even for someone who had never visted Rwanda – or indeed Africa – before. The friend he was travelling with was prohibited by the authorities from leaving Kigali to travel to the north because he had declared himself as a journalist on his entry visa.
"They thought he was investigating state secrets, so he was effectively put under house arrest and never did get to see the gorillas. But it alerted me to the fact that this was a regime with something to hide,” he says in an exclusive interview with The New Times.
A few years later, after the Genocide against the Tutsi, Wallis began researching about the genocide - leading to his first book Silent Accomplice: The Untold Story of the Role of France in the Rwandan Genocide, (London, I.B.Tauris 2014).
The past seven years has been dedicated to research for his new book ‘Stepp’d in Blood: Akazu and the Architects of the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi’ (Zero Books 2019).
"This has been a hugely difficult and time consuming project, and has led me to many trips to the ICTR in Arusha, as well as archives in Berlin, Belgium, London and of course Rwanda. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had tremendous support from many people and have appreciated the importance of the subject,” said Wallis, who was recently in the country for the International Conference on the Genocide against the Tutsi.
"I’m a historian and to me history shapes the future: if you don’t understand your history it will repeat itself,” he says.
The book reveals the often-overlooked events over many decades that led up to the 1994 Genocide. This horror was far from spontaneous: most of its perpetrators rose to power during the 1960s and 70s under first President Grégoire Kayibanda and then Juvénal Habyarimana. The book plots their rise to power and wealth and then their fall after the genocidal regime was forced from the country in July 1994.
The book, he hopes, will shed light on the perpetrators and their crimes – something that has often been lacking in much of the literature to date.
"I found it surprising that while everyone knew about who committed the Holocaust (against the Jews) - they can name Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels etc - but with regard to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda few could name who the genocide perpetratotrs or knew much about them and their rise to power or current whereabouts. The danger is that without this information, without knowing the names and actions of such criminals, it’s easy to say there’s no crime.
"It’s vitally important to shed a light on the lives and actions of men like Anatole Nsengiyumva, Théoneste Bagosora, Ferdinand Nahimana, Tharcisse Renzaho and Michel Bagaragaza …they have all stayed in a very comfortable quiet place while the spotlight is put on the current government in Rwanda,” he says.
Wallis adds that although many books have been written on the Genocide, most only focus on the events of 1994.
"These criminals didn’t just appear in April 1994. You have to go back to the 60s, 70s and 80s to find out who they are, how they took power and how they grew their wealth and position in the country. This is what they were protecting in the 1990s to the extent they were prepared to sacrifice a part of their own population in order to retain their hold on the country. What I’m exploring is how this mafia group really took power in Rwanda over many years. Their crimes during two decades in power is a fascinating study of how greed and power can destroy countless individuals lives.
"For the military and political figures who planned and organised the genocide to protect their power and wealth, the sacrifice of a million people was a price they were happy to pay.”
The researcher has also criticised western media for distorting the truth about the Genocide.
"It’s sad that people here in the UK – and in the west in general – give so little thought to such terrible crimes as happened in Rwanda. Despite the so-called ‘global’ community we live in, people are remarkably insular and tend to switch off from bad news, even more so if it has happened in a place they don’t know much about. This in turn allows the judiciary and politicians here to feel they do not have to put the same time, resources and effort into bringing perpetrators to justice as they would a crime against a British citizen. They don’t understand the significance of genocide in the same way too often judges at the ICTR in Arusha have not fully understood the significance of the crime they have been trying.
"Genocide is a crime like no other, the most hideous crime that can be committed. In the UK journalists too often seem content to publish conspiracy theories, hoping such a new slant will get a bigger audience for their publication or programme. Whether it is the truth seems not to matter. They can just put a small apology in the paper the next day if it’s not. Every editor is chasing that illusive scoop, and unfortunately the truth rarely excites readers as much as fake news and lies. The BBC programme in 2014 was just such a pathetic piece of programming. No research, no time or trouble to make sure facts and detail was correct. Just a revisionist conspiracy theory rolled out to get more viewers to watch.
"What is hugely depressing is that world media groups like the BBC would never dream of allowing Corbyn and her like to put together such a programme on the Holocaust: that’s a subject they know is off-limits because of the uproar that would happen. Yet they can do that here because Rwanda is a small country and they know full well the political or financial ramifications are likely to be small so it’s worth the risk to air such programmes.”
"We see these double standards also in the matter of justice. Western countries would not wait 10 or 20 years for criminals to be extradited back to stand trial if having offended on their shores they then fled abroad; however the reverse is clearly true. While much of the focus has been on the failures of France and Belgium to bring to justice alleged perpetrators, at least they now have a handful of successful prosecutions. The UK government over the past 70 years has a pretty shameful record in bringing war criminals and genocidaire to justice. We are still waiting for any of the accused here to face trial or extradition.
"Genocide denial is best fought by education and the truth being openly available to people in Rwanda and abroad. Archives, witnesses, intelligence reports and documents become more vital as the years go by after the crime both to fight denial and to educate the present generation, many born after the event, about their history and the importance of inclusivity, moderation, unity and peace within their local communities and society. Fighting denial is a battle that will not go away and will be around for generations to come. Every archive, every document, every witness testimony helps to cement the truth about the genocide against the Tutsi.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com
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Andrew Wallis’ book ‘Stepp’d in Blood: Akazu and the Architects of the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi’ (Zero Books 2019) is now available to buy at Ikirezi Bookshop and the Kigali Genocide Memorial Bookshop in Gisozi.