How ’accomplice’ to Rwanda genocide turned up in a rural English pulpit Chris McGreal The Guardian, February 15, 2014 Jonathan Ruhumuliza defen- claimed it was working hard to stop the ded the murderous regime 20 killings that it was actually organising, years ago. Now, although denoun- and falsely blamed a rebel army for the ced by human rights groups, he is massacres. a priest in Worcestershire Human rights groups denounced him at that time as a propagandist By the time Bishop Jonathan Ru- for the genocidal regime. Even his own humuliza decided to tell the world archbishop called him an “errand boy” what was going on in Rwanda, the for the Hutu extremist government. mass graves of the 1994 genocide were Other accusations followed, including already overflowing. from the London-based group, African The Hutu extremist regime that Rights, that Ruhumuliza allegedly re- seized power two months earlier had fused shelter to Tutsis facing imminent unleashed the notorious militia, the in- death. terahamwe, and the army in a sys- Two decades later, Ruhumuliza is a tematic attempt to exterminate the priest at the Norman church in the vil- country’s Tutsi population. The rate of lage of Hampton Lovett and under in- killing was astonishing – 800,000 Tutsis vestigation by the Church of England, slaughtered in 100 days – as the prime which said it was not fully aware of the minister and members of his govern- “disturbing” accusations against him ment toured the country egging the until they were brought to its attention murderers on. Even priests were among by the Observer. The Rwandan autho- the killers as churches were turned into rities are also investigating the bishop killing centres. as an alleged accomplice to genocide. But this is not what Ruhumuliza, Ruhumuliza declined to talk to the then a bishop in Rwanda’s Anglican Observer about his part in the tragedy. church and now a Church of England The former bishop of Worcester, priest in a Worcestershire village, told Peter Selby, who appointed Ruhumu- the world at the height of the geno- liza in 2005, said the Church of En- cide. In letters to foreign churches and gland should consider referring the in- a press conference before a tour to Eu- vestigation to outside authorities. rope and North America, he called the “I think that over the whole child murderous government “peace loving”, abuse thing, it’s become clear that 1 2 what the church has to do, and do im- to the country although they are fa- mediately, is refer cases to the police. cing many problems,” he wrote to Chi- Because there’s a recognition that the penda. church, when it has presumed it was In fact, Kambanda and his mi- competent to deal with such things, nisters were travelling across Rwanda clearly wasn’t.” to urge the killers on and broadcas- The Anglican church is the se- ting speeches that were thinly disgui- cond largest in Rwanda after Roman sed calls for murder. Kambanda and Catholicism. The archbishops of both several members of his cabinet were churches were close to the ruling Hutu convicted of genocide by an internatio- elite when the genocide broke out. Af- nal tribunal. terwards they were widelycriticised for In June 1994, Ruhumuliza and the their failure to use their influence to try Anglican archbishop of Rwanda, Au- to stop the killings and for their refusal gustin Nshamihigo, held a press confe- to condemn the politicians organising rence in Kenya. The pair again claimed the massacres. Many of their bishops that it was the RPF leading the mas- faced the same criticism, including Ru- sacres and that the government was at- humuliza, who was at the forefront of tempting to stop the killing. the Rwandan Anglican church’s misre- “The RPF had planned in advance presentation of the genocide. to kill their opponents. They had wea- In May 1994, about five weeks pons to kill these people. This has be- into the killing, Ruhumuliza wrote come a big hindrance to the work of pa- to the secretary general of the All cification by the interim government, Africa Council of Churches, Jose Chi- the church and other peace lovers,” penda, defending the genocidal govern- said Ruhumuliza. ment by parroting the regime’s pro- Human Rights Watch offered a sca- paganda that blamed the killings on thing assessment. “Far from condem- its opponents, the Rwandan Patrio- ning the attempt to exterminate the tic Front rebels led by Paul Kagame, Tutsi, Archbishop Augustin Nshami- who is now Rwanda’s president. Ruhu- higo and Bishop Jonathan Ruhumuliza muliza wrote that the RPF was “des- of the Anglican church acted as spo- troying everything, killing everybody kesmen for the genocidal government they meet while the government is at a press conference in Nairobi. Like trying to bring peace in the country”. many who tried to explain away the The bishop portrayed the genocide slaughter, they placed the blame for as a populist outburst of anti-Tutsi the genocide on the RPF because it hatred caused by the rebels’ actions had attacked Rwanda. Foreign journa- and the government as working hard lists were so disgusted at this presen- to stop the massacres. He said the tation that they left the conference,” prime minister, Jean Kambanda, and it said in its comprehensive account of members of his cabinet were touring the genocide, Leave None To Tell The Rwanda to appeal for unity and peace. Story. “After the setting up of the new go- Nshamihigo’s successor as archbi- vernment, we see that things are chan- shop, Emmanuel Kolini, accused Ru- ging in a good way. The ministers are humuliza of collaborating with the doing their best to bring back peace Hutu extremist government and des- 3 cribed the Anglican church in Rwanda a letter from the archbishop of Canter- during the genocide as “corrupt”. bury’s office asked if any bishop could In 1998, fresh allegations against find a place for him because he had fini- Ruhumuliza emerged in a document shed studying in Birmingham and was sent by African Rights to the World unable to return to Rwanda. “I saw Jo- Council of Churches. It accused him nathan, who comes over as a very nice, of collaborating with another Anglican humble, pious person,” said Selby. “I bishop, Samuel Musabyimana, who said : ’Is it the genocide that means was later charged by the international you can’t go back ?’, and he said : ’Well tribunal with genocide crimes. African the government would let me back. It’s Rights said Ruhumuliza refused shel- just that there are people who, in the ter to Tutsis who were facing imminent aftermath of what happened, might go death and that he failed to try to save after me or my family’.” people after another Anglican bishop, Selby said that as British law re- Adonia Sebununguri, said a group of quires the consent of the archbishop Tutsis were “wicked people” who de- of Canterbury for foreign priests to served to be killed. take up positions in England, the back- After the genocide, Ruhumuliza ground check was done by Lambeth was made bishop of Kigali but his pre- Palace. But he said he did later have sence proved divisive within Rwanda’s concerns. Anglican church as other clergy de- The bishop of Stafford offered the manded he be called to account for his Rwandan priest a job so he could make actions. In 1996, he apologised for not a living. That required a work permit. speaking out strongly enough against Selby said the Home Office spent about the killings and asked to be pardoned two years considering the request and “because I did not continue to ener- then turned it down in a letter he des- getically condemn either the tragedy cribed as semi-literate. “The only thing which was in progress or the state com- it referred to, and the only thing I ever muniqués which were broadcast on the knew about that had ever come up in radios during this time”. conversation with Jonathan, was that The bishop added he should have press conference in Kenya which he has used the pressconference in Nairobi “to always been disarmingly frank about publicly condemn the genocide which as a lack of courage on his part, and was taking place in Rwanda”. But Ru- a lack of good sense and an ill-judged humuliza’s critics dismissed the apo- thing to have done. That was the only logy because they said his real crime evidence I ever had of anything that was not what he didn’t say but what might be called culpable,” he said. he did in defending the regime over- But Selby said that Ruhumuliza’s seeing the genocide. “account doesn’t square” with what he Despite calls from within the Angli- has now seen in contemporarynewspa- can church for Ruhumuliza to appear per and human rights groups reports of before a church court, he was moved the Rwandan bishop’s statements and to Canada in 1997 and then appointed actions in 1994. bishop of Cameroon. The church paid for Ruhumuliza to Selby said he had given Ruhumu- challenge the Home Office ruling and liza a position in Worcestershire after the decision was withdrawn before an 4 appeal was heard. He was granted six- he was appointed in 2005 and that “no month renewable visas. evidence was found of complicity in the Selby conceded that there were Rwandan genocide”. It said that Arch- other concerns, including when Ruhu- bishop Kolini had “commended” Ru- muliza told him he had made an ap- humuliza to the archbishop of Canter- plication for asylum in the UK, that bury.