South Africa and Rwanda embarked on two disparate paths in April 1994. One country towards a democratic election, the other towards a genocide. Unspoken and sometimes forgotten are the ties that bind these two moments. Because while South Africa was ushering in democracy, apartheid’s personnel had found new opportunities to sow misery in Rwanda in pursuit of profit.
The Secretary: How Middlemen and Corporations armed the Rwandan Genocide is a call to hold to account arms dealers and banks involved in the Rwandan genocide. Published in May 2023, this investigative report is about the global nature of civil wars and genocide. It shows how localised genocides often have far and complex origins, involving not just victims and perpetrators but also enablers and profiteers. It is our duty to hold them to account and to remember that April in Rwanda.
On 20 June 2024, Open Secrets submitted a memorandum to the NPA motivating for the prosecution of Willem “Ters” Ehlers, for the offence of aiding and abetting the Rwandan Genocide.