(The following information is excerpted and lightly edited from my dissertation, Mbwirabumva [“I Speak to Those Who Understand”], copyright © 2013.)
Bikindi’s political songs comprise only a small portion of his total output. Most of his songs had to do with themes of romantic love, weddings, marriage, the moral education of children, nature, and even Christmas and other holidays. Whenever there was cause for ceremony or celebration, Bikindi would compose a song, and so when the social and political climate in Rwanda deteriorated in the early 1990s, it was expected that he would address the situation but do so in a way that still supported the nation’s leaders.
Historically, Rwandan musicians were expected to demonstrate their support for the rulers and military through both praise songs and songs that denounced or belittled their enemies. Musicians in the royal court composed songs that honored the king and his family and kept a record of his deeds and those of his forebears. Songs were composed and deployed during the 1959 Revolution in order to cultivate support for the movement, the new government, and to forge a new nationalist identity. When Habyarimana took power in 1973, his government organized numerous performing arts troupes to sing the praises of Rwanda and its people and government.[1] Bikindi’s songs follow in the same tradition. A young up and coming performer of traditional Rwandan music informed me that when Bikindi composed “Akabyutso” and “Intabaza” during the war with the RPF:
If you did not compose songs to encourage soldiers, you could lose your job or opportunities to perform. Your career could be over. All [music and dance troupes] competed to prove their loyalty, so that they could continue on. Bikindi did not want to be suspected. Composers were obliged to create songs supporting the ruling party.
He took me one evening to meet one of his mentors, the famed Thomas Kirisu. Until he passed away the following year, Kirisu was the last surviving instrumentalist of the royal court. He and Bikindi had been professional colleagues before the genocide. Bikindi went to him to learn about the dynastic poetry, history, and musical stylings of the court. In return, he taught Kirisu about the musical innovations that he and other younger musicians were developing and which were becoming popular.
Kirisu shared his belief that Bikindi’s songs did “side with the [Hutu] tribe” but that he should be forgiven, because he was only doing what all musicians did at the time. He believed that Bikindi was “contaminated by the politicians.” Speaking of himself, he said, “Whoever rules this country, I will praise them.” He too had submitted a song to RTLM in the hopes of receiving more publicity and the financial gain that would come with it. Kirisu confessed that his song also “sided with the [Hutu] tribe,” but fortunately, it was never chosen for airplay. Laughing, he recalled of the moment, “I was rejected! I don’t know if it was because of God’s grace that I was rejected!”—implying that if RTLM had broadcast his song, he may have ended up in prison too. Kirisu did not seem to harbor any ill feelings towards Tutsi. His mother was Tutsi, and for this reason, he and his family were targeted during the genocide, and some of his relatives were killed.
Kirisu’s defense of Bikindi may appear uncomfortably similar to the infamous defense, “I was only following orders,” offered by Nazi defendants during the Nuremberg Trials. The two situations, however, are not wholly comparable. There is a difference between “following orders” and following a long and deeply instilled cultural and historical tradition with no knowledge that it would result in genocide. The message in the songs dovetails with the nationalist rhetoric expressed by many political leaders at the time, some of which was hostile towards Tutsi, but there is no evidence that Bikindi knew that genocide was being planned, nor is there any evidence proving that political leaders told Bikindi what to sing or that Bikindi sought their approval. Bikindi testified that he was not following orders. He claimed full responsibility for his songs, because he did not believe that they contained anything spurious.[2]
[1] The two most popular of these groups were Abamararungu and Impala.
[2] Witness Simon Bikindi, T. 2 November 2007, p. 10.