Data Yarokoye Abatutsi muri Jenoside, Ariko Gacaca Imukatira Imyaka 19

I am a Rwandan citizen of Hutu ethnicity. My family, however, includes both Hutu and Tutsi relatives. Throughout my childhood, my father taught us that protecting human life was more important than ethnic identity.

During the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, my father sheltered a young Tutsi boy who had come to our home seeking protection. My father integrated him into our family, and he lived with us as if he were one of his own children. After the genocide, the boy's family expressed their gratitude by giving my father a cow, a traditional symbol of appreciation in Rwanda. This act reflected their recognition that my father had risked his own life to save their son.

I also personally remember another event. During the genocide, a Tutsi woman who was in hiding went into labor. My father, accompanied by my aunt, who was a nurse, went to assist her despite the risks involved. The woman safely gave birth to her child. In appreciation for my family's assistance, she gave the newborn my first name.

These events are important because they demonstrate that my father actively protected Tutsi civilians during the genocide.

Several years later, during the Gacaca court proceedings, my father became the subject of criminal accusations. My family firmly believed that these accusations were false.

The young man whose life my father had saved appeared before the Gacaca court to testify in my father's defense. According to my family's direct observations, instead of considering his testimony, the court warned him that he was obstructing the proceedings. After this incident, he never returned to testify again.

Despite the evidence of my father's actions in protecting Tutsi civilians, he was convicted and sentenced to nineteen years of imprisonment.

During the proceedings, my father repeatedly asked the court to identify his accusers and specify the acts for which he was being prosecuted. According to those present, the presiding judge replied that the prosecution was "in the interest of the State." No further explanation was provided.

Another incident raised serious concerns regarding the reliability of the accusations. The prosecution alleged that my father had supplied a grenade to his eldest son, namely myself. However, the authorities identified my younger brother instead. When they realized that he was not the eldest son, the allegation was apparently abandoned without explanation. To my family, this demonstrated significant inconsistencies in the case presented against my father.

At that time, I had already left my home area following the war and had never returned there. I was employed as a university lecturer. Observing the treatment of my father and fearing for my own safety, I decided to resign from my position and leave Rwanda. I have lived in exile ever since.

Following my father's imprisonment, my family continued to experience intimidation and pressure. As my father was approaching the end of his prison sentence, we were informed that he had died in prison. Based on the circumstances surrounding his death and the information available to my family, we believe that he may have been poisoned. However, I acknowledge that this belief has never been independently investigated or officially established.

My father's death deprived our family of any opportunity to seek the restoration of his reputation or judicial review of his conviction.

The experiences of my family have profoundly affected my perception of the political and judicial situation in Rwanda. In my opinion, many Rwandans continue to express support for the current authorities despite widespread fear and repression. I believe that for more than thirty years, the government has maintained an official narrative that discourages open criticism and limits public debate.

These are my personal observations and conclusions based on my family's experience. They explain why I no longer believe that I could safely return to Rwanda.

I make this statement truthfully and to the best of my knowledge and recollection.