Simon Bikindi

Simon Bikindi (1954–2018) was a prominent Rwandan singer, composer, and director of the Irindiro Ballet, who gained popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s as a purveyor of patriotic and ultranationalist music. His songs, characterized by catchy melodies and often elliptical lyrics in Kinyarwanda, were widely played on the national airwaves, including the extremist Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM). During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, these compositions were used to promote Hutu solidarity and incite hatred against the Tutsi minority. For his actions, Bikindi was tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), becoming the first artist to be charged with incitement to genocide through music. Although acquitted of most charges, he was convicted in 2008 of direct and public incitement to commit genocide based on a speech he made in Gisenyi Prefecture, publicly urging Hutus to exterminate Tutsis. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, a sentence that was affirmed on appeal, and he died in Benin in 2018 while serving his time.

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MBWIRE ABUMVA

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OYA NGWINO NDEBE

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indilimbo

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Untitled - 06-01-09

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