LONDON — Rwanda’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Johnston Busingye, has renewed calls on the British government to bring to justice known genocide suspects residing in the UK, saying that 32 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, justice has been unjustifiably delayed.
Speaking during the 32nd commemoration of the genocide at St Marylebone Parish Church in London on Tuesday, April 7, Busingye did not mince words.
“Thirty-two years after the genocide, the United Kingdom remains the only country in the West where known genocide suspects continue to live untried. Survivors know who they are and where they are, yet justice has been repeatedly delayed,” he told an audience that included Rwandan diaspora members, diplomats, British officials, and friends of Rwanda.
The high commissioner stressed that remembrance must be inseparable from confronting genocide ideology and ensuring accountability for perpetrators.
Rwanda’s Recovery: A Model to the World
Busingye also reflected on Rwanda’s remarkable recovery over the past three decades, attributing the nation’s transformation to strong leadership, economic reforms, and home-grown solutions.
“Today, Rwanda is a model to the world on how to remember, on how to unite, and how to renew,” he said.
He cited key initiatives such as Umuganda (community work), Umwiherero (national leadership retreat), and Umushyikirano (national dialogue council) as examples of Rwanda choosing to chart its own path. He also pointed to women’s inclusion, accountable governance, and long-term investments in tourism, agriculture, technology, and finance as drivers of the country’s post-genocide renaissance.
Commonwealth Chief: ‘The World Failed Rwanda’
Also addressing the gathering, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, delivered a stark acknowledgment of international failure.
“We gather today in solemn remembrance for the 32nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. This is a moment not only to honour the memory of over one million innocent lives lost, but also to confront a painful truth: the world failed Rwanda,” she said.
Botchwey warned against the growing threats of denial, distortion, and hate speech.
“To remember is to resist indifference. To remember is to defend truth against denial and distortion. Denial of genocide is not merely an affront to memory, it is a threat to peace,” she said.
She praised Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery, particularly its community-based justice system (Gacaca), reconciliation efforts, and inclusive governance, calling the country an example for nations emerging from conflict.
‘Renewal After Genocide Is Possible’
Michael Gray, Head of Hereford International School — which plans to open a campus in Kigali — spoke of witnessing Rwanda’s transformation over 15 years of regular visits.
“Having travelled to Rwanda for more than fifteen years, I have witnessed a nation that has rebuilt with remarkable leadership, courage and vision,” Gray said.
He credited Rwanda’s success to strong leadership, women’s empowerment, and sound economic planning. “Where women thrive, where women are safe and where women are empowered, a country succeeds,” he noted.
Gray also highlighted Rwanda’s sustained economic growth, averaging 7 to 8 percent over the last 25 years, driven by tourism, conservation, digital technology, mining, agriculture, and banking.
Survivor’s Testimony: ‘The Genocide Did Not Begin in April 1994’
One of the most powerful moments of the evening came from Marie-Rose Rurangirwa, a survivor who was just 15 years old during the genocide. She offered a harrowing personal account of how hate was systematically cultivated.
“The Genocide did not happen overnight. It was carefully planned and methodically executed,” she said. “The Genocide against the Tutsi did not begin in April 1994. It was decades in the making, built on propaganda, discriminatory laws, and daily practices that systematically devalued Tutsi lives.”
She recalled how Tutsis were publicly humiliated, singled out, and labelled as “cockroaches” through media and political rhetoric.
“When hate speech became normalised, when conspiracy theories spread unchecked, when discrimination was tolerated, we were one step closer to violence. Not all hate ends in genocide, but every genocide has been preceded by it.”
Rurangirwa spoke candidly about the invisible wounds survivors carry.
“As a child and young person after the genocide, I carried an invisible weight: grief without language, images I could not erase, and questions I could not answer. I looked normal on the outside. Inside, everything had changed.”
She urged everyone present to challenge hate speech and false narratives before they escalate.
“Do not wait for hate to become ideology, or ideology to become violence,” she said.
A Call to Action
The commemoration, held under the theme of remembrance and renewal, served as both a solemn tribute to more than one million victims and a pointed reminder that accountability remains unfinished business especially in the United Kingdom, which Busingye singled out as the last Western nation still harbouring untried genocide suspects.
As the 32nd Kwibuka continues, Rwanda’s message to the international community remains clear: memory without justice is incomplete, and denial is a path toward repetition.
