During a Unity Club dialogue on Rwanda’s history, Ambassador Christophe Mfizi emphasized that “crime is personal” a principle he believes people must internalize.
Mfizi was asked how he could have opposed ethnic division and the regime of Juvenal Habyarimana, while his younger brother, Dr. Léon Mugesera, incited genocide. He responded: “Indeed, the same womb can give birth to Mweru and Muhima. I am Léon Mugesera’s elder brother, but when the younger refuses to listen, there is nothing more you can do.”
Mugesera was sentenced to life imprisonment for inciting genocide through his infamous 1992 speech at Kabaya. In contrast, Mfizi, who once headed Rwanda’s national information office ORINFOR, fought against discrimination and even resigned from the ruling MRND party in protest. His stance made him a target of hostility from his brother.
Mfizi explained that his family suffers because some people fail to understand that guilt is individual, not collective. He highlighted that another brother, Thadée Ngirabatware, was honored with the Umurinzi w’Igihango medal for his integrity, while Mugesera became the family’s “stain.”
He added that in their upbringing, they were taught to treat everyone with kindness, regardless of background — a value he carried into his public life.