The President Who Died Trying to Stop Genocide

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]The peacemaker who prevented genocide was murdered to start one. [music] It's 1994, Kigali, Rwanda. President Juvenal Habyarimana has ruled for 20 years, keeping Hutus and Tutsis from each other's throats. [music] He's a moderate who believes in sharing power. While extremists demand Hutu supremacy, [music] he negotiates with Tutsi rebels and signs peace accords.

[00:00:23]His own party calls him a traitor. Hutu hardliners meet in secret [music] planning to stop the agreements. On April 6th, his plane approaches Kigali airport in the darkness. A missile streaks upward from the ground below.

[00:00:37]The plane [music] explodes, killing him instantly. Within hours, machetes come out and checkpoints rise across the country. 100 days later, nearly 1 million people are dead. The peacemaker who tried to prevent Rwanda's nightmare was Juvenal Habyarimana.