Revisionism, Genocide Denial, and the Rise of “Tropical Nazis”
A long and self-righteous statement from the eldest son of former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana brings to mind an idea expressed by researcher Dr. Golooba-Mutebi during an interview on the Rwanda Beyond the Headlines podcast.
Who, he asked, was truly liberated in the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)’s war of liberation?
It might be tempting to see Kwibohora (“Liberation”) only from the viewpoint of those whom Habyarimana’s regime had condemned to extermination. However, the RPF began its struggle not just to free one group, but to release all Rwandans from leaders who treated independence as an opportunity to continue serving colonial interests. These leaders helped colonial powers shift smoothly from direct rule to neo-colonial control.
The liberation movement’s vision was deeper: to free even those still mentally bound by genocidal ideologies inherited from colonialism. For the RPF, true liberation could not be partial; as the saying goes, one cannot be “half pregnant.”
You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
Kwibohora—literally “to unbind” or “to unchain yourself”—was meant for every Rwandan, regardless of background.
Author’s Summary
The article reflects on Rwanda’s liberation, arguing that the RPF’s struggle sought to free not only victims but also perpetrators from the deep colonial and ideological chains of the past.
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