Rwanda’s Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean-Damascène Bizimana, has criticized Jean-Luc Habyarimana, son of former President Juvénal Habyarimana, for attempting to defend his father’s legacy and deny his government’s role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Jean-Luc has recently used social media to argue that his father committed no wrongdoing and that allegations accusing the former government of planning the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are false.
Speaking on March 9, 2026, Minister Bizimana said such claims cannot erase well-documented historical evidence.
Bizimana recalled that Habyarimana joined the Rwandan army in the early 1960s during the presidency of Grégoire Kayibanda. He noted that on December 22, 1963, Habyarimana and fellow soldiers killed 30 former government officials and civil servants, most of them Tutsi inside Ruhengeri Prison.
The minister also stated that on the same day, Habyarimana and other soldiers killed several Hutu politicians, including Michel Rwagasana, who served as Secretary-General of the UNAR party, a political movement associated with the former monarchy.
According to Bizimana, after seizing power in 1973, Habyarimana ordered the arrest of more than 70 senior political figures and civil servants, mainly Hutu from central and southern Rwanda who were detained in harsh conditions in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri prisons.
“Many of them were killed in prison by a group of criminals led by Major Théoneste Lizinde, who headed an intelligence unit attached to the Office of the President,” Bizimana said. “Lizinde and his group acted on orders from President Juvénal Habyarimana.”
Bizimana further alleged that prison officials including Théodomir Sembagare, Pierre-Désiré Cyarahani, and Joachim Ntibandeba subjected political detainees to severe torture.
He cited testimony indicating that some prisoners were forced to handle fellow inmates’ waste before being given food without being allowed to wash their hands. Former President Kayibanda himself died under detention in 1976, reportedly from hunger and dehydration.
Bizimana also referenced a document written by Major Lizinde titled “Le président Habyarimana face à ses actes criminels”, which accuses Habyarimana of ordering killings carried out by senior figures including Protais Zigiranyirazo, Élie Sagatwa, and Laurent Serubuga.
The minister also mentioned the 1985 killing of American primatologist Dian Fossey, who had dedicated her life to protecting mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes region. According to Bizimana, individuals linked to illegal gorilla trafficking orchestrated the killing after Fossey uncovered their activities.
He further alleged that Father Silvio Sindambiwe, editor-in-chief of the Catholic newspaper Kinyamateka, was killed by the Habyarimana government on November 7, 1989, for criticizing injustice and violence committed by the regime.
Bizimana also cited several other victims, including parliamentarian Félicula Nyiramutarambirwa and François Muganza, as well as senior military officers such as Stanislas Mayuya, who was killed in 1988.
The minister reiterated that the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was planned by the Habyarimana government, noting that numerous international reports issued between March 7, 1993, and February 27, 1994 had warned about preparations for mass killings.
He pointed to communications sent by Roméo Dallaire, the Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), who alerted the United Nations that individuals close to Habyarimana were planning to exterminate Tutsis.
Bizimana concluded by telling Jean-Luc Habyarimana that denying or defending his father’s actions cannot erase historical truth.
“When you continue to deny the undeniable and defend the indefensible crimes committed by your father’s criminal regime, you only demonstrate a lack of integrity and humanity,” he said.
He added that history will continue to hold Juvénal Habyarimana accountable for the grave crimes committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, stressing that his government played a central role in its planning.