Mbaye Diagne - Rwandan Genocide

Rwandan Genocide

The start of the Rwandan Genocide was signaled by the assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana on the evening of 6 April 1994. Hutu hardliners, who had opposed negotiating with the rebel Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, began implementing a plan to kill moderate politicians. The following morning Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and her husband were assassinated by soldiers of the Presidential Guard. The ten Belgian peacekeepers assigned to her protection were also murdered. Later that morning, Mbaye heard rumors of Uwilingiyimana's murder from people fleeing to Hôtel des Mille Collines. Unarmed, he came to investigate and found the prime minister's four children being hidden in the adjoining United Nations Development Programme housing compound. He was discovered later that morning by UNAMIR Force Commander Roméo Dallaire, who was trying to find out what had happened to the prime minister. Dallaire told Mbaye to wait for UNAMIR armored personnel carriers to rescue the children and UNDP employees later that day, but the APCs never appeared. Mbaye eventually put the children in the back seat of his vehicle, covered them with blankets and made his way to the hotel.

Despite U.N. rules of engagement prohibiting observers from going out to save civilians, it soon became apparent to other UNAMIR employees that Mbaye was continuing his rescue missions. The head of humanitarian operations in Rwanda gave an explanation as to why Mbaye was not rebuked: "here's someone who stepped out of line and not going to discipline him because he's doing the right thing." The number of lives he saved is variously given as "dozens upon dozens" and "at least hundreds". Because he had to pass through dozens of checkpoints tasked with killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Mbaye ferried at most five people on each trip. In order to get past, he relied on his extensive contacts among the military and militias, his ability to defuse tense situations with quick jokes, and occasional bribes of cigarettes and money.