Augustin Ndindiliyimana (born April 15, 1943) is a former Rwandan General and Chief of the Rwandan National Gendarmerie. He was convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda but he was acquitted by the tribunal upon appeal.
71-667: Ndindiliyimana was born in Nyaruhengeri commune in Butare prefecture . He joined the military in 1966 and enrolled in the military academy and following his graduation in 1968 he attended the Royal Higher Institute of Defence in Brussels from 1971 and 1974. When Ndindiliyimana returned, he was assigned to work at the basic training centre in Kanombe and while stationed there he helped establish
142-728: A Tutsi mother in Murama, Rwanda. Although stating that he grew up poor, in a "house ... made of mud and sticks" and "without shoes", Rusesabagina described his upbringing as "solidly middle class by the standards of Africa in the 1950s". Rusesabagina's parents sent him to school in a town near Gitwe run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church . By the age of 13, he was fluent in English and French, as well as his native Kinyarwanda . Because of distance and his commitment to work, he and his wife Esther legally separated in 1981. Rusesabagina
213-657: A U.S. green card and has homes in Brussels , Belgium and San Antonio , Texas. Since fleeing Rwanda in 1996, he has become a prominent critic of Paul Kagame and the RPF government . He founded the PDR-Ihumure political party in 2006, and is currently President of the MRCD . On 31 August 2020, believing he was taking a chartered flight to Burundi from Dubai , he arrived in Kigali , where he
284-693: A taxi driver. They later settled in San Antonio , Texas . In 1999, Rusesabagina received a phone call from an American screenwriter named Keir Pearson . Pearson, along with his colleague Terry George , went on to write the script for Hotel Rwanda in consultation with Rusesabagina. The script was made into a Hollywood film, starring Don Cheadle as Rusesabagina. The film was released in 2004 to much critical acclaim. It received three Academy Award nominations, including for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Don Cheadle 's portrayal of Rusesabagina. In response to critics, Odette Nyiramilimo ,
355-499: A 2010 interview with CNN , Rusesabagina said: "I have sent no money to terrorists... He [the prosecutor] is not only lying, but lying with bad logic... This is pure and simple fabrication from Kigali". Text messages intercepted by German intelligence , between Rusesabagina and the FDLR's former leader, Ignace Murwanashyaka , came to light during Murwanashyaka's trial in 2011. Rusesabagina's wife also denies his association with FDLR. She told
426-466: A ballistics report, and that the killings committed by the RPF rebels during the conflict constituted genocide. The historian Gérard Prunier agrees that the RPF committed "horrendous crimes", but he rejects the notion of a "double genocide", which he argues "does not stand up to serious inquiry". In a 2012 speech, Rusesabagina expressed a disillusionment with the RPF, casting doubt on its ability to institute
497-804: A career as a public speaker – listed for bookings by both the American Programme Bureau in the United States and the London Speaker Bureau. Rusesabagina's speaking engagements ranged from schools and universities to churches and businesses, in his own words: "whoever wants to invite me, invites me and I talk about my experiences of 1994". In June 2006, in Washington D.C. , he founded a political party in exile: The Party for Democracy in Rwanda: PDR-Ihumure . The party's general ideology
568-547: A crime against humanity, persecution on political, racial or religious grounds as a crime against humanity, "other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity" and various war crimes. In their indictment prosecutors alleged that Ndindiliyimana played a central role in drawing up a blueprint to exterminate the Tutsi population as well as political opponents of the Hutu government along with ordering specific massacres and crimes against humanity upon
639-481: A democratic process and calling for general mobilization to remove the RPF from power. In an open letter to President Bill Clinton in 2012, Rusesabagina warned against the Clinton Foundation 's support for Kagame. In this letter, he made claims that Rwandan nurses were being ordered to kill by the government. He said that one nurse was "ordered to give tainted vaccines to prisoners, Hutus and other enemies of
710-405: A dictator and accusing him of extrajudicial killings. In 2007, in an interview with American journalist Keith Harmon Snow, Rusesabagina blamed the 1994 genocide on the RPF, claiming that Interahamwe leaders, including Robert Kaguja , were working for Paul Kagame, who had ordered them to begin the genocide. He also claimed that the RPF shot down Juvénal Habyarimana 's plane, a theory ruled out by
781-557: A minister. He studied at the Faculty of Theology in Yaoundé . In Cameroon, he soon became disillusioned with the prospect of a career as a clergyman, deciding he wanted to live an 'urban life'. In December 1978, Rusesabagina moved to Kigali . While there, an acquaintance, Isaac Mulihano, invited Rusesabagina to apply for an opening to work at the Hôtel des Mille Collines . He was offered a position and
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#1732851190109852-459: A prominent survivor who became a senator in the new government, pushed back against Paul Ruseabagina's suspected bad-faith intentions, saying: "I never saw him threaten to expel people from the hotel if they didn't pay up — never." In 2008, the book Hotel Rwanda or the Tutsi Genocide as seen by Hollywood , by Alfred Ndahiro, a public relations advisor to Kagame, and journalist Privat Rutazibwa,
923-403: A truck past the militia's roadblocks. The truck set out for Kigali airport so they could flee to Belgium. He remained in the hotel. Tatiana and her children were specifically targeted within the convoy by radio messages on RTLM, and they returned to the hotel after being attacked. Tatiana's family faced extreme tragedy. Her mother, brother and sister-in-law, and four nieces and nephews died in
994-540: Is a Rwandan human rights activist. He worked as the manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali , during a period in which it housed 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees fleeing the Interahamwe militia during the Rwandan genocide . None of these refugees were hurt or killed during the attacks. An account of Rusesabagina's actions during the genocide was later depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda in 2004, in which he
1065-544: Is all made up. There is no evidence to what they're claiming...We know this is a wrongful arrest". Rusesabagina's family is a part of the Bring Our Families Home campaign which advocates to bring home wrongful detainees and hostages. His image is featured in a 15-foot mural in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) along with other Americans wrongfully detained abroad. Human rights activists and celebrities have called for
1136-402: Is not Rwandan." Following a hearing held on 12 March 2021, Rusesabagina stated his intention to no longer engage in the court process because he believed that justice would not be achieved and accused the court of not respecting his rights to a fair trial. Rusesabagina did not attend subsequent hearings, and the presiding judge Antoine Muhima ruled that the trial would continue. In July 2021,
1207-595: Is somewhat unclear, but as Rusesabagina described in a 2012 speech, its policy is broadly oriented towards the "political struggle to liberate Rwanda from the current RPF dictatorship". The party's membership is mostly Hutu , and is almost entirely based abroad – particularly in Belgium and the United States . In January 2016, Rusesabagina announced his intent to run for President of Rwanda . Rusesabagina has been critical of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, denouncing him as
1278-581: Is time to attempt our last resort. Hence, I plead my unreserved support that our youth, The National Liberation forces, NLF, launches against the Kagame army in order to free the Rwandan people. As Rwandans it is important to understand that this is the only way to bring about change in the whole country." Rusesabagina, a permanent resident of the United States who has not lived in Rwanda since an assassination attempt
1349-599: The Parti Social Démocrate (PSD), rather than the Mouvement Républicain National pour la Démocratie et le développement (MRND), from which the genocidal Interahamwe drew recruits. The Interahamwe in Butare were thus less numerous and less organized than their counterparts in the rest of country. When the country erupted into bloodshed following the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana (no relation to
1420-458: The Arusha Accords and a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Rwandan government forces and the [Rwandan Patriotic Front] RPF his opposition to the massacres in Rwanda. and the fact that he had saved the lives of many Tutsis. The Tribunal also held that his arrest and indictment appeared to be politically motivated. He was sentenced to time served since his arrest eleven years prior to
1491-569: The Belgian Commission on Refugees denied his official request for asylum due to "serious reasons to think that the subject committed crimes against humanity " but the ruling was overturned two years later by a review panel. Ndindiliyimana lived in Belgium until his indictment and arrest in 2000. Ndindiliyimana was accused and acquitted by the ICTR of conspiring with other high-level FAR officers to plan
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#17328511901091562-679: The Burundi border, in 2018. At least nine people were killed in these attacks, including two children. In October 2020, the Rwandan Prosecution Authority announced that it would try Rusesabagina along with 16 alleged rebels. His trial was initially scheduled for the 26 January 2021, but was postponed by ongoing complications with the COVID-19 situation in Kigali. His trial, alongside 20 co-defendants, began on 17 February 2021. Rusesabagina told
1633-601: The FLN "as an armed wing, not as a terrorist group.... I do not deny that the FLN committed crimes but my role was diplomacy". He has denied any wrongdoing. Rusesabagina has admitted to backing and "diplomatically" supporting the group, as evidenced in a widely disseminated video in which he pledges his "unreserved support" for the FLN and denies any wrongdoing. In the video, Rusesabagina's speech includes: "The time has come for us to use any means possible to bring about change in Rwanda, as all political means have been tried and failed. It
1704-708: The Gendarmerie. On January 1, 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Major General under the provisions of the Arusha Accords . On April 7. 1994 following the assassination of the Rwandan President , Ndindiliyimana became a member of the Crisis Committee, which was composed of a number of senior leaders of the Rwandan Armed Forces but ended on the 9th of April following the restoration of civilian rule. During
1775-542: The Hotel Milles Collines assisted later, at Ndindiliyimana's request, by UNAMIR units. Dr. Alison Desforges testified at his trial in November 2006 that Ndindiliyimana was opposed to genocide, and acted to stop killings and was himself threatened because he had Tutsi officers and men in his close protection escort. The transcripts of these testimonies are available from his counsel, Christopher Black of Toronto, Canada and
1846-692: The Hôtel des Mille Collines. During Rusesabagina's training abroad, and his rise as a distinguished hôtelier, the Hutu-dominated government of President Juvénal Habyarimana was facing military pressure from the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). After a ceasefire in Arusha brought the Civil War to an end in 1993, several reports of militia activity – including the stockpiling of weapons and
1917-579: The ICTR found that his role on the Committee was a positive one and that he always tried to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Ndindiliyimana is mentioned frequently in Roméo Dallaire 's chronicle of his time as UNAMIR force commander. Dallaire writes that he "had always found his [Ndindiliyimana's] loyalties an enigma" and initially assumed he represented a moderate voice in the crisis committee which
1988-690: The ICTR), General Augustin Ndindiliyimana (head of the Gendarmie), and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko , the minister of women and family affairs were all born in Butare. Despite the fact that the genocide was delayed two weeks, 220,000 would be killed. This is more than 20% of the total and the highest by far of any prefecture. 2°36′S 29°45′E / 2.6°S 29.75°E / -2.6; 29.75 Paul Rusesabagina Paul Rusesabagina ( Kinyarwanda : [ɾusesɑβaɟinɑ] ; born 15 June 1954)
2059-474: The ICTR. On January 28, 2000 the ICTR issued an indictment against Ndindiliyimana along with three other Rwandan military officers, Augustin Bizimungu , François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye , and Innocent Sagahutu , charging Ndindiliyimana with conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide or alternatively complicity in genocide , assassination as a crime against humanity, murder as a crime against humanity, extermination as
2130-457: The Kagame administration" and to "control population growth among undesirable populations by causing birth and surgical complications". For example, during C-sections , nurses were to place metal objects such as scissors into the abdomen before closing the wound to cause infections and death". His comments have attracted strong criticism in Rwanda. On 6 April 2006, Kagame suggested, "[Rusesabagina] should try his talents elsewhere and not climb on
2201-582: The Minister of Youth and Sports. Following that he was appointed Minister of Transport and Communication in 1990 and Minister in the President’s Office for Defence and Security Issues in 1991 and ended serving as Minister of Defence from December 1991 to April 1992. He was also elected the chairman of the Rwandan Olympic Committee in 1992 and served until March 1994. Along with that role in 1993 he
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2272-755: The New York Times: "the rebel group "hates Paul because he protected Tutsis during the genocide." The armed wing of Paul Rusesabagina's PDR-Ihumure and MRCD political parties, the FLN, was accused of terror attacks in South-West Rwanda in 2018. In an interview broadcast on Voice of America Kinyarwanda in 2018, when asked if FLN rebels were in the Nyungwe forest near where the attacks took place, Rusesabagina responded: "We are angry. We did not enter it to abandon it, we are there to demand our rights as Rwandan natives". After his arrest, he admitted that he had founded
2343-529: The North of Rwanda. During testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) investigating the 1994 Rwandan genocide , expert André Guichaoua referred to Butare as the "rebel province." Butare was the only prefecture to be run by a Tutsi , Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana , who actively opposed the genocide. Because it had a large Tutsi minority, prefectural politics were dominated by
2414-773: The Para Commando Battalion in 1975 and served as the unit’s director of intelligence and training. In 1977, he was transferred to the Rwandan Superior Military School ( École Supérieure Militaire ), where he taught courses as well as commanding a group of trainees. Subsequently, in 1979 he was transferred to the Staff Headquarters of the Rwandan Army and became the Chief of Personnel of the General Staff and
2485-464: The Rwandan Genocide of 1994. One radio reporter said: "Nobody had been killed, injured, beaten, tortured, expelled or retrieved from the hotel during the whole time we were refugees. Paul Rusesabagina managed to do the impossible to save our lives at the moment when others were massacring their own children, their own wives." On 3 May, Rusesabagina ensured that his wife and children fled safely in
2556-662: The Rwandan government accusing Rusesabagina of helping the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu Power rebel group, which has been condemned by the UN Security Council for "serious violations of international law involving the targeting of women and children". In an open letter to the UN, he equated the FDLR to the RPF, and cast them as "bona fide refugees" who had been "collectively demonized". In
2627-402: The Rwandan government had paid for the private jet that brought Rusesabagina to Kigali. On 31 August 2020, Rusesabagina was kidnapped and taken to Kigali where he was arrested on charges of terrorism , arson , kidnap and " murder perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on Rwandan territory". The charges refer to terrorist attacks that took place in the south of Rwanda, near
2698-552: The Tutsi population. Alongside those allegations, they alleged that Ndindiliyimana was complicit in the assassination of Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana by allegedly having been aware that the Belgian and Ghanaian soldiers protecting her were being beaten and then executed by Rwandan soldiers but to having done nothing to stop it. Following the indictment he was arrested in Belgium on January 29, 2000 and handed over to
2769-464: The charges were politically motivated by Rusesabagina's criticism of Kagame. On 24 January 2022, prosecutors in the Kigali court sought life imprisonment for Rusesabagina in the trial. Rusesabagina's lawyers have argued that the arrest was motivated by Rusesabagina's outspoken criticism of the Rwandan government, in line with other arrests and disappearances of dissidents under the presidency of Paul Kagame. They have also argued that his flight to Rwanda
2840-434: The court announced that the verdict of the trial would be promulgated on 20 August 2021. On 20 September 2021, he was found guilty of terrorism-related charges. During the court proceeding, he denounced president Paul Kagame and reported that he had been abducted from exile to stand trial in Rwanda. Following his conviction, Rusesabagina was given a 25-year prison sentence. Human rights advocates stated that they believed
2911-428: The court that he did not have Rwandan citizenship, so he could not face trial in Rwanda. Another defendant, FLN spokesperson Callixte Nsabimana, seemed to be shocked by these comments, testifying that Rusesabagina "had ambitions to become the president of Rwanda. Now how do you have such ambitions when you're not Rwandan? We waged war on Rwanda, and failed and were captured. It is embarrassing for him to now claim that he
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2982-418: The creation of lists of Tutsis – had been received by the UN and other authorities. Alongside this, radio stations including the infamous Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) were broadcasting messages about Tutsi plots to murder Hutus, and encouraging violence towards Tutsis. On 6 April 1994, a plane containing President Habyarimana (and others, including Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira)
3053-539: The custody of the ICTR in Arusha , Tanzania . He was defended by Canadian lawyer Christopher Black. On February 11, 2014 he was acquitted of all other charges of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes though the judges of the Appeal Chamber later found that it was very doubtful that gendarmes were ever involved at Kansi Parish. The ICTR trial judgment recognised Ndindiliyimana's “consistent support for
3124-617: The falsehood of being a hero, because it's totally false". Francois Xavier Ngarambe, the president of Ibuka , the umbrella body of survivors' associations for the genocide, said of Rusesabagina, "he has hijacked heroism. He is trading with the genocide. He should be charged." Terry George , the director of Hotel Rwanda , characterized the comment as part of a smear campaign. The Rwandan government has accused Rusesabagina of genocide denial. Various media outlets in Rwanda, including The New Times , have accused him of genocide denial. Rusesabagina has consistently denied allegations put forward by
3195-575: The film. At a conference in 2014, General Romeo Dallaire , who led the UNAMIR mission, said that the film was "not worth looking at." He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the highest civilian honour in the United States, by President George W. Bush on 9 November 2005 for "remarkable courage and compassion in the face of genocidal terror". After the success of Hotel Rwanda , Rusesabagina acquired global fame. He used this to embark on
3266-497: The food which was given to them, he cut off communication lines to the hotel which were located outside his own office, he was a prominent member of Hutu Power politics, and he handed a list of refugees over to Interahamwe forces and broadcasters at the RTLM , among other things. UN Peacekeepers who were present at the Hotel des Mille Collines during the genocide have also been critical of
3337-485: The genocide. Her father paid Hutu militia to execute him so that he would not die a more painful death: We all knew we would die, no question. The only question was how. Would they chop us in pieces? With their machetes they would cut your left hand off. Then they would disappear and reappear a few hours later to cut off your right hand. A little later they would return for your left leg etc. They went on till you died. They wanted to make you suffer as long as possible. There
3408-571: The government evacuated the hotel, on account of RPF shelling, Rusesabagina arrived at the Hôtel des Mille Collines. Upon arrival, Rusesabagina promptly phoned the hotel's corporate owners, Sabena , imploring them to put him in charge as the acting general manager of the Mille Collines. They sent through a fax, and he assumed control of the hotel from the staff who had been running it since the killings began. Despite Rusesabagina's claims that Romeo Dallaire 'rescinded' an order for UN protection of
3479-461: The government on account of his work as a human rights defender , because of his criticism of the government on a broad range of issues. In 2023, after serving two years in Mageragere Prison , Rusesabagina's sentence was commuted by the Rwandan president. Rusesabagina was born in 1954. He was one of nine children born to a Hutu father, a respected community elder named Thomas Rupfure, and
3550-406: The hotel, there was in fact, a strong UN peacekeeping presence at the Hotel, including Mbaye Diagne , a Senegalese military observer who was ferrying threatened Tutsis into the Hotel. General Dallaire – in charge of the UN deployment, and his deputy, Brent Beardsley, were also often at the hotel, ensuring its safety from killings. Rusesabagina sheltered approximately twelve hundred people during
3621-550: The judgment. The ICTR ordered his release but Ndindiliyimana was unable to return to his home in Belgium and was forced to stay in a UN safe house in Arusha, Tanzania. In late September, 2014 the Belgian government permitted his return to Belgium to rejoin his family after almost 15 years in detention in Tanzania. Butare Province Butare was a province ( prefecture ) of Rwanda prior to its dissolution in January 2006. Butare city
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#17328511901093692-512: The logistics of the Rwandan genocide . He was also accused and acquitted of the charge that in early April 1994, he informed interahamwe leaders of a plan by UNAMIR force commander Roméo Dallaire to search for a cache of weapons, a cache which never existed. Following the death of President Habyarimana , Ndindiliyimana was one of the senior FAR officers to serve on the Crisis Committee, along with Théoneste Bagosora and Tharcisse Renzaho . which committee lasted only two days. The judges of
3763-419: The middle of the genocide on June 5, 1994, Ndindiliyimana was replaced as Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie and was appointed ambassador to Germany. On June 17, 1994, he departed Rwanda for Zaire en route to Belgium where he would arrive between the 1st and 2 July 1994. Several senior Belgian military officers helped Ndindiliyimana travel and eventually arrive in Belgium and obtain temporary refugee status. In 1996
3834-502: The next to die was former Queen Rosalie Gicanda , described by the ICTR prosecution as "a historical symbol for all Tutsi". Paramilitary units and Interahamwe were then airlifted from Kigali , signaling the start of the killing. It has been suggested that the Hutu government leadership were particularly concerned about Butare because so many of them were natives; besides Sindikubwabo, Prime Minister Jean Kambanda (the first person convicted by
3905-436: The prefect) on 6 April 1994, Butare was untouched, with the notable exception of the Nyakizu commune. Many Tutsis who fled the violence in other parts of country found haven in Butare. The calm lasted two weeks. Interim President Théodore Sindikubwabo , himself a native of Butare, appointed a new prefect on 19 April in a ceremony in the prefectural capital. Prefect Habyalimana was shortly thereafter arrested and killed. One of
3976-468: The release of Rusesabagina. Don Cheadle has called for his release. Others who have supported Rusesabagina include Joaquin Phoenix , Doc Rivers , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Chris Evans , Scarlett Johansson , Mark Ruffalo , and Sophie Okonedo . Rwanda is hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2022) and there have been calls for Commonwealth governments to pressure Rwanda to release Rusesabagina. The European Union criticised
4047-460: The war to try to stop killings and to protect civilians. In his autobiography, Paul Rusesabagina says that Ndindiliyimana was more of a moderate who did not seem to entirely approve of the genocide. He also notes that Ndindiliyimana was responsible for dismantling a potentially disastrous roadblock in front of the Hôtel des Mille Collines. In fact, the evidence in the Military II trial was that Ndindiliyimana's gendarmes initially protected Tutsis at
4118-453: Was Hutu (as his father was Hutu and his mother Tutsi), his wife Tatiana was a Tutsi and his children considered mixed – meaning that his family was under considerable threat. When the violence broke out, soldiers came to Rusesabagina's house, asking him to open the Hôtel Diplomates, which the interim Hutu government used as a headquarters. Rusesabagina bribed the soldiers with money from the hotel safe to ensure safe passage for his family. When
4189-593: Was arrested on nine charges of terrorism that related to his association with the FLN (National Liberation Front), the armed wing of PDR-Ihumure , who claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in 2018 that killed at least nine people. On 20 September 2021, he was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention rendered its opinion on 18 March 2022 that Rusesabagina had been illegally kidnapped, tortured, and sentenced after an unfair trial. The Working Group further found that Rusesabagina has been targeted by
4260-416: Was correct. Dallaire admitted at the trial that the reason he called Ndindiliyimana an enigma was because he expected Ndindilyimana to mount a coup against the government but the coup never took place as Dallaire had expected. General Dallaire testified on his behalf at his trial and stated that Ndindiliyimana was essentially stripped of his command as of April 7, 1994 and that he worked with Dallaire throughout
4331-440: Was granted full custody of their three children: Diane, Lys, and Roger. In 1987, he was invited to a wedding where he met Tatiana, a nurse who lived in Ruhengeri . Tatiana and Paul married two years later and she adopted his children. She gave birth twice, but only their son, Trésor, survived infancy. Rusesabagina's father died in 1991, and his mother shortly after. By the end of his adolescence, Rusesabagina had decided to become
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#17328511901094402-613: Was illegal under international law and constitutes extraordinary rendition . Human Rights Watch called Rusesabagina's trial "flawed" and an example of Rwanda's overreach and manipulation of the country's justice system. Rwandan authorities repeatedly violated Rusesabagina's due process rights during the trial and interfered with his right to counsel. HRW accused Rwanda of violating international criminal laws by kidnapping Rusesabagina. Rusesabagina's adopted daughter Carine Kanimba has protested against his arrest, calling it politically motivated. Kanimba claimed: "What they're accusing him of
4473-495: Was made on him in 1996, had gone on a trip to Dubai shortly before being arrested. In a jailhouse interview with The New York Times , Rusesabagina stated that in Dubai, he boarded a GainJet charter jet that he thought was bound for Burundi , where he planned to speak at the invitation of a Christian pastor; instead, the plane took him to Kigali. In a February 2021, interview with Marc Lamont Hill on Al Jazeera , Rwandan Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye admitted that
4544-523: Was one alternative: you could pay soldiers so they would just shoot you. That's what her [Tatiana's] father did. By the end of the massacre, four of Rusesabagina's eight siblings remained alive. He comments in his autobiography that "for a Rwandan family, this is a comparatively lucky outcome." After staying in Rwanda for two more years after the genocide, Rusesabagina applied for asylum in Belgium and moved to Brussels with his wife, children, and two nieces in 1996, fearing for his life. There he worked as
4615-423: Was portrayed by American actor Don Cheadle . The film has been the subject both of critical acclaim and controversy in Rwanda . On the back of newly found international fame, Rusesabagina embarked on a successful career as a public speaker, mostly touring universities in the United States . He campaigns for the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, which he founded in 2006. He holds Belgian citizenship and
4686-637: Was published. The authors conducted interviews with 74 people who had stayed in the Hotel during the genocide. Their accounts provide an alternative take to the portrayal of Rusesabagina's actions as seen in the film Hotel Rwanda : Many of the survivors criticise Rusesabagina in their interviews. This was followed by the 2011 publication of Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story ... And Why it Matters Today , co-written by Hotel des Mille Collines Survivor Edouard Kayihura and American writer Kerry Zukus. Both books are critical of Rusesabagina, alleging that he forced refugees to pay for their rooms and all of
4757-406: Was responsible for recruiting senior, junior and non-commissioned officers as well as enlisted soldiers until 1982. Ndindiliyimana rose through the ranks of the Rwandan Army first as a Commander, then Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel. Along with his military duties, Ndindiliyimana served in numerous ministerial positions in the Rwandan government beginning in February 1982 when he was appointed as
4828-406: Was selected as the secretary of Zone 4 of the International Olympic Committee responsible for the Central and West African zones. In June 1992 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie nationale . Following his appointment he began rebuilding the organisation’s command structure, reviewing the Gendarmerie’s capacity and in June 1993 he wrote a report on the integration of the RPF into
4899-419: Was sent to Nairobi and then to Switzerland and Brussels to study hotel management. As he rose through the ranks at the Hôtel des Mille Collines, his promotions earned him the resentment of some fellow Rwandans in the staff. Some took to calling him ' muzungu ' – a Kinyarwandan word for 'white man'. In 1992, Paul Rusesabagina was promoted to assistant general manager of the Diplomates Hotel, an affiliate of
4970-401: Was shot down as it approached the Kigali Airport for landing. Everyone on board was killed. 'Hutu Power' extremists within the government and local militias blamed this event on the Tutsi, and consequently, the Rwandan genocide started on 6 April 1994. Interahamwe militias consulted their lists and began searching the city for Tutsis and Tutsi 'sympathisers' to murder. Though Rusesabagina
5041-445: Was the second largest city in Rwanda and one of the nation's former twelve provinces . It is located in south-central region of the country and borders Burundi to the south. It had a population of 77.449 as of January 2006. Butare was situated in the south west of the country and bordered Burundi . Its geography was in keeping with most of the rest of Rwanda, and was hilly compared to surrounding Tanzania, but not as mountainous as
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