Freddy Mutanguha | Survivor of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Freddy Mutanguha was born on August 18, 1976, in Burundi. When he was two years old, his father died in an accident. Freddy’s mother decided to bring Freddy and his sister, Rosette, to the city of Mugunda, Rwanda. For two years they all lived with Freddy’s grandfather. Freddy and Rosette were separated when his mother remarried and Freddy and his mother moved to Mushubati, Rwanda. Freddy’s new teacher there discriminated against him and other Tutsis in his class, always favoring Hutu students. However, Freddy’s closest friend in Mushubati was a Hutu named Jean Pierre. As Freddy finished primary school, the political landscape for Rwandan Tutsis worsened. On April 7, 1994, the day after President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down, Freddy observed Hutu Power militia setting up road blocks in his neighborhood. Freddy hid at Jean Pierre’s house. After bribing killers for about a week, Freddy’s parents were murdered on April 14. When Freddy’s four stepsisters came looking for their parents at Jean Pierre’s house, they too were murdered. While fleeing, Freddy was reunited with his sister Rosette, who had been hiding nearby. Soon after, they moved together to live with Jean Pierre’s aunt and uncle for two weeks, before Freddy felt it was too dangerous. Jean Pierre’s uncle gave them his Hutu identification card so they could pretend to be his children. They left, seeking refuge elsewhere. After several unsuccessful attempts to find help, Freddy and Rosette learned that the director of Rosette’s former school would be willing to take Rosette in, so Freddy and Rosette separated for several months. Freddy was liberated by the advancing Rwandan Patriotic Army after crossing the Nyaborongo River. Following the Genocide against the Tutsi, Freddy traveled back to Burundi with relatives in fall 1994, before returning to Rwanda and reuniting with Rosette. He resumed his education in 1995, and helped found AERG, Rwanda’s organization for student survivors of the genocide. In 2001, Freddy located the remains of his mother and gave her a proper burial. Today, he is the East Africa Regional Director for Aegis Trust, which works to prevent genocide around the world. He was interviewed in Los Angeles, California, USA, on September 1, 2010.