The Myth of the Akazu Genocide Conspiracy

Abstract

This genocide resulted from the deliberate choice of a modern elite to foster hatred and fear to keep itself in power. This small, privileged group first set the majority against the minority to counter a growing political opposition within Rwanda. Then, faced with RPF success on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, these few powerholders transformed the strategy of ethnic division into genocide. They believed that the extermination campaign would restore the solidarity of the Hutu under their leadership and help them win the war, or at least improve their chances of negotiating a favourable peace. They seized control of the state and used its machinery and its authority to carry out the slaughter.¹

This is how the Rwandan genocide is explained by Human Rights Watch. The ‘modern elite’ are generally referred to as the Akazu, a clandestine group of individuals close to President Habyarimana.