The author argues that the Rwanda-Burundi’s dark colonisation past helps us understand the deep-rooted causes of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
A common narrative about the genocide in Rwanda is that between 7 April and 15 July 1994, an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed. [1] Following this, a Tutsi group, led by the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), killed over 100,000 Hutus, but also thousands of Tutsis. The scale and brutality of the genocide shook the world. [2] Sexual violence was rife, with an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women raped during the genocide.[3]
In her book, Judy Rever gives details of the human carnage during those 100 days. Although here and there Rever gives figures of Tutsis killed, the bulk of the book is a chilling account of how the Tutsis killed the Hutus.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.