{"id":55354,"date":"2025-08-25T10:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T10:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/historian-duclert-insists-on-strong-evidence-of-kanziga-s-role-in-genocide\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T17:32:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:32:03","slug":"historian-duclert-insists-on-strong-evidence-of-kanziga-s-role-in-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/historian-duclert-insists-on-strong-evidence-of-kanziga-s-role-in-genocide\/","title":{"rendered":"Historian Duclert insists on strong evidence of Kanziga\u2019s role in Genocide against the Tutsi"},"content":{"rendered":"

His remarks come days after French investigative judges dismissed a long-running case against her, citing insufficient evidence.<\/p>\n

Speaking to France Inter on Saturday, Duclert said, \u201cThe archival documents we are collecting show the very strong involvement of Agathe Habyarimana in the Genocide against the Tutsi, being, like her brother, the mastermind of the Zero Network, the secret command center tasked with exterminating the Tutsi.\u201d<\/p>\n

French judges ruled on August 20 that there were no grounds to prosecute Kanziga for complicity in genocide or crimes against humanity, noting she was herself affected by the April 6, 1994 plane attack that killed her husband. <\/p>\n

However, Duclert stressed that historical records tell a different story, pointing to her alleged role in coordinating the extremist \u201cZero Network\u201d and her continued activism after being evacuated to France by French forces on April 9, 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most numerous and converging analyses confirm that the attack on her husband\u2019s plane was the work of the Zero Network, either directly or as the instigator,\u201d Duclert said, adding that Kanziga was also heavily involved in the killings that immediately followed. <\/p>\n

He argued that further investigation into her role \u201cclearly seems necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

{{Appeals against dismissal
\n}}<\/p>\n

The ruling has already sparked appeals. On Thursday, France\u2019s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor\u2019s Office (PNAT) announced it would contest the decision, alongside the Civil Parties Collective for Rwanda (CPCR), which represents genocide survivors.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Richard Gisagara, who represents survivor organisations, confirmed that the decision to halt the probe will not stand unchallenged. <\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be discouraged by the celebrations of g\u00e9nocidaires, deniers, hatemongers, and their supporters. This is only one step in the case. The next steps are appeal and annulment. The case cannot be declared closed until it has gone through all these stages,\u201d he said on August 22.<\/p>\n

{{A contested legal history
\n}}<\/p>\n

The case against Kanziga dates back to 2008, when survivors\u2019 groups filed a complaint in France over her alleged role in the genocide. Judges previously attempted to close the case in 2022, citing lack of evidence, but PNAT pushed for a broader inquiry covering her activities in the weeks leading up to April 6, 1994. Despite these requests, investigative judges in May 2025 again dismissed the case, a decision reaffirmed last week.<\/p>\n

The ruling has been welcomed by the Habyarimana family, including Kanziga\u2019s son Jean-Luc, who claimed the case was permanently closed. But survivor groups and prosecutors argue that both the scope and evidence considered by the judges were too limited.<\/p>\n

Kanziga, now 82, has lived in France since her evacuation during the genocide, reportedly surviving on state support. Analysts argue that her protection reflects enduring political sensitivities in France over its role in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Tite Gatabazi told IGIHE that remnants of the Mitterrand era continue to shield her. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe holds secrets about France\u2019s role in the genocide. She was evacuated by a French plane. To this day, she lives on support from the French state. Even though governments have changed, she still has powerful protectors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
\"French<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French historian Vincent Duclert has reiterated that archival evidence strongly implicates Agathe Kanziga Habyarimana, widow of former Rwandan president Juv\u00e9nal Habyarimana, in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000093080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000093080,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/000_96t942-47280.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000093080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55354"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55354"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}