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Myth and Memory: The Construction and Deconstruction of Ethnic Conflict in Colonial and Post-colonial Rwanda By Nicasius Achu Check A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy Promoter Prof Yolanda Sadie Department of Politics and International Relations University of Johannesburg 2015 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION, AIM & SCOPE OF STUDY 13 CHAPTER 1 CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1 Introduction 46 1.1 Understanding myth and memory 47 1.2 Conceptual and analytical understanding of myth and memory 54 1.2.1 Functional myth model 55 1.2.2 Rational myth model 56 1.2.3 Political myth model 57 1.2.4 Structural myth model 60 1.2.5 Elements of the structural approach 61 1.3 On the conceptualisation of myth in the study 63 1.4 Myth as a form of political acculturation in Rwanda 64 1.5 Structuralism as a form of analysing complex social interactions 67 1.6 Conceptual understanding of memory 68 1.6.1 Individual memory approach 69 1.6.2 Collective memory approach 71 1.7 Memory as a function of myth in Rwanda 72 1.8 Towards a definition of ethnic conflict 73 1.9 Theories of ethnic conflict 75 1.9.1 Eclectic and class theories 76 1.9.2 Instrumental and symbolic theories 77 1.10 Conclusion 81 2 CHAPTER 2 SITUATING RWANDA IN A HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT 2 Introduction 83 2.1. Rwandan pre-colonial generalities 84 2.2. The dialectic of state formation in Central Africa 90 2.3. Hutu, Tutsi and Twa in Rwanda: The pre-colonial era 92 2.4. The search for a Rwandese identity: The colonial era 98 2.5. The racialisation of Rwandan society in the colonial era 102 2.6. The road to independence 105 2.7. The 1959 revolution 109 2.8. The birth of a Rwandan republic 112 2.9. Post-independence Rwanda 114 2.10. Rwanda’s First and Second Republics: The construction of an ethnic enclave 116 2.11. Conclusion 119 CHAPTER 3 THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DIVIDED SOCIETY IN RWANDA: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL MYTH 3 Introduction 121 3.1 Myths in Rwanda: The pre-colonial era 122 3.2 Myths in colonial Rwanda 132 3.3 Mythical narratives in the post-colonial era: The resurrection of the Hamitic myth 140 3.4 Mythical narratives in the run-up to the genocide 144 3.5 Conclusion 149 3 CHAPTER 4 FROM PRE-COLONIAL TIMES TO THE ADVENT OF GENOCIDE: THE ROLE OF MEMORY 4 Introduction 151 4.1 Pre-colonial memories 152 4.2 Memories of the colonial era 162 4.2.1 The German occupation 162 4.2.2 Transformation of social classes into racial and ethnic groups 164 4.2.3 Memory on the role of the Catholic Church in perpetuating division in Rwanda 167 4.2.4 The changing policy direction of the church and the colonial administration 169 4.3 Post-colonial memories 172 4.3.1 Memory and violence: The inyenzi attacks 173 4.3.2 The celebration of Hutuness in post-colonial Rwanda 173 4.3.3 Memory narratives in the post-colonial Hutu administrations 175 4.4 Conclusion 177 CHAPTER 5 SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GENOCIDE: 1990 – 1994 5 Introduction 179 5.1 Uganda’s indigenisation policies and their impact on Rwandan Tutsi refugees 179 5.2 The invasion of Rwanda by the RPF 184 5.3 The Arusha negotiations 186 5.4 Arrival of the UN and the advent of the genocide 193 5.5 The genocide and the deconstruction of the Tutsi ethnic superiority 4 myth 198 5.6 Reaction of the international community to the killings 201 5.7 Conclusion 207 CHAPTER 6 ‘NEGOTIATING MEMORY’ IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA 6 Introduction 208 6.1 The genocide: 20 years later and beyond 209 6.1.1 The refugee question 211 6.1.2 Post-genocide ethnic relations 213 6.1.3 Gacaca and the ICTR process: The search for a post-genocide justice framework 215 6.1.4 Ndimurwanda: ‘Rwandaness’ as a way forward 221 6.2 Perceptions of reconciliation initiatives in post-genocide Rwanda 222 6.3 Collective memory in the post-genocide era 228 6.4 Conclusion 233 CHAPTER 7 MAIN FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS 7 Scope, rationalisation and theoretical framework 235 7.1 Key findings 238 7.1.1 Key findings on the role of myths 239 7.1.2 Key findings: Memory 242 7.2 Negotiating memory in the post-genocide political dispensation 245 7.3 Contribution to the field of study 247 7.4 Areas for future research 248 Bibliography 250 Addendum (Respondents) 271 5 Abstract This thesis analyses the role of political myth as an instrument of the social mobilisation of various segments of Rwandan society, and the role memory has played in shaping perceptions and societal interactions over time in this context. Therefore, of particular importance is the manner in which myth and memory have contributed to dividing the people of Rwanda along social and class lines, which eventually culminated in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In addition to existing scholarly contributions, this study is based on interviews with both Hutu and Tutsi survivors of the genocide. In establishing the role of myth, the structural approach is used. With regard to memory, the direct and indirect memory narratives of respondents are analysed. Direct memories are those that respondents have gained from first-hand experience, while indirect memories are those they have acquired through oral or written transmission. The study finds that myth and memory have played important roles in shaping the perceptions of both Hutus and Tutsis regarding the other. Myths propagated and reinforced ethnic differences in Rwanda – one of the most important being the Kigwa myth, which affirmed the superior ethnic status of the Tutsis. This superiority was perpetuated after the implantation of colonialism, when racial segregation as a means for the structural transformation of African colonial society became the norm. Consequently, the Tutsis began to play an increasingly important role in the colonial administration until the late 1950s, when a change in colonial policy direction in favour of the Hutus took place. The colonialists considered Rwanda to be a Hamitic kingdom, a position that precludes the existence of pre-Tutsi Rwandan traditions. The change in colonial policy direction towards the Hutus was as a result of the post- Second World War myth in Rwanda that suggests that Hutus had developed sophisticated state machinery before the arrival of the Tutsis. These contradictory mythical narratives played an important role in creating separate nationalities within the Rwandan polity, which helped in shaping the opinions of members of the two main ethnic groups in Rwanda in a way that turned them against the other. The role it played in the manner in which people were killed in 1994 should be viewed within a wider context than the immediate causes of the genocide. The creation of these separate groups inevitably 6 resulted in major differences in the way in which the past is remembered by Hutus and Tutsis. For the majority of Hutu interviewees, divisions between the Hutus and Tutsis were sown during the pre-colonial period through a system of social contracts such as the ubuhuke and ibinkigi, which restricted the Hutus and Twas to a lifetime of labour and service to their Tutsi masters. For Tutsi respondents, entering into a contractual obligation with the Hutus was another way of diversifying the food base of Rwanda. However, the implications and interpretations of such contracts were, according to Hutus, biased towards the Tutsis, thus creating tension between the groups. This was further enhanced by colonialism – a period which, until the late 1950s, is regarded by the Hutus as one in which their dignity as a people was taken away from them. The Hutus blame the Tutsis for fashioning and directing the separatist policy that the colonial administrators adopted soon after their arrival in Rwanda in 1894. The memory of post-colonial Rwanda for Tutsis is one of becoming an ethnic minority in Rwandan political discourse. For Hutus, on the other hand, this period was a time when Hutu pride and the sense of nationhood among them were solidified and when the sense of ‘Hutuness’ was at its peak. Hutus were privileged in all domains of the country. It is also evident from the interviewees that memories (and more importantly, the recollection by the Hutus of the ill manner in which they were treated by the Tutsis in the pre-colonial and colonial era) may have contributed to the Hutu people developing an attitude of revenge during the political dispensation that immediately followed the colonial period. Given the existence of different memories for Hutus and Tutsis, which culminated in the genocide in 1994, it was also important to establish how post-genocide reconstruction efforts are perceived from the two traditionally opposing sides.