Agathe Habyarimana, widow of the former Rwandan president, will not face trial in France for her alleged role in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

In a major legal twist, French judges have officially closed the investigation into Agathe Habyarimana, wife of the late President Juvénal Habyarimana, without filing any charges. The decision follows years of legal pressure from civil parties and international justice activists seeking accountability for the Rwandan genocide.

Agathe, 82, had been under the status of “assisted witness” since 2016. But the investigating judge ruled that the evidence provided was “contradictory, inconsistent, and even false.” The court found “no serious and consistent evidence” proving she was part of a conspiracy to commit genocide.

Despite years of accusations linking her to the extremist Hutu “Akazu” inner circle, the alleged architects of the genocide, the court noted:

• No public hate speech was made by Agathe

• No direct orders or communications linking her to the killings

• No evidence of her financing or participating in hate radio propaganda

Victim or Villain?

The judges controversially described Agathe as a “victim” of the April 6, 1994 plane attack that killed her husband, the event that sparked the genocide that left over 800,000 Tutsis dead.

Yet civil society groups aren’t convinced. Patrick Baudouin, lawyer for the International Federation for Human Rights, “deplored the absence of indictment”, saying there was enough material to justify a trial.

What’s Next?

A closed-door hearing is set for May 21 to determine if the case will be dismissed entirely. France also continues to deny Rwanda’s request to extradite her, even as she lives without legal status in Paris.