Speaking candidly on The Long Form podcast about the ethnic violence that shaped his youth and the resilience that propelled him forward, Dr. Biruta offered a rare glimpse into the experiences that forged his commitment to a unified and stable Rwanda.
Born in 1958 in Rulindo District, Dr. Biruta was just a year old when the 1959 violence against the Tutsi ethnic community erupted, setting the stage for decades of sectarian strife.
Reflecting on his childhood, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled, 'As a young child, I heard my parents and visitors talk about violent events: destroyed properties, relatives in exile. It made me aware that I was growing up in an unstable, unsafe environment. You understood you were a target for violence.'
This early awareness planted the seeds of a political consciousness that would later define his career.
The turning point came in 1973 when, at age 15, Dr. Biruta was expelled from Kabgayi Seminary, where he was attending secondary school, during the ethnic purges.
'We were expelled on April 15, I believe,' he recounted. 'I went home, planning to go into exile in Zaire on July 6. But on July 5, the borders closed due to a curfew, so I couldn't leave.'
The thwarted escapeâ€"narrowly averted by chanceâ€"kept him in Rwanda, where he later returned to school despite the odds.
'I was fortunate to be accepted back, though I had to repeat a year. Not everyone was so lucky,' he added, underscoring the precariousness of those times.
His pursuit of education faced steep hurdles due to Rwanda's discriminatory policies against Tutsis. 'Discrimination limited Tutsi access to public schools,' he explained.
At Kabgayi Seminary, the Catholic Church provided an alternative.
'I didn't necessarily want to be a priestâ€"it was my only chance at secondary education. I took exams for both public schools and seminaries to maximize my chances.'
The Church sought bright students, and Dr. Biruta qualified: 'If you met academic and Christian criteria, you could get in. I was fortunate to be accepted.'
After surviving the 1973 expulsion, he graduated from secondary school in 1978 and applied to the National University of Rwanda's Faculty of Medicine.
'Medical school wasn't the most popular choiceâ€"it was tough, six years with four terms annually, unlike law or economics, which were shorter and led to better-paying jobs,' he said.
'But they selected the best science students from secondary schools. I was lucky to be accepted.'
His motivation was both practical and idealistic: 'I'd wanted to be a doctor since I was young… by a desire to serve the community and work independently, not reliant on government goodwill. The 1973 events also lingered; I thought medicine would help me integrate if I went into exile.'
Dr. Biruta graduated in September 1984, but even then, discrimination persisted. 'The best graduates were typically selected as assistants at the university hospital, with opportunities for specialization. Despite qualifying, I and other Tutsi colleagues were sidelined and sent elsewhere,' he recounted.
Assigned to Byumba Hospital, he began his career as a doctor, later rising to director of Ruhengeri District Hospital in 1988.
The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi once again put his survival instincts to the test. Living in Kigali's Kimihurura neighbourhood near the parliament, Dr. Biruta narrowly escaped death and was ultimately rescued by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which ended the genocide and liberated the country from the genocidal government.
'I was rescued on April 8 by RPF soldiers,' he said. 'They came to our housesâ€"I recognized them and opened the gate.' The rescue came amid chaos, just days after the genocide began.
'They weren't looking only for me; they were saving people in that area,' he clarified.
'We stayed at parliament, later moving to Byumba at the war's end.'
Reflecting on his survival, he remarked, 'I was not arrested in 1990, I managed to relocate from Ruhengeri on February 6, 1993, two days before an RPF attack, and I was at home when the plane of President Habyarimana went down. It's just fortune.'
His family, too, was spared, though he kept his fears private: 'You don't show your children you're anxious… but I'd tell my wife, 'X, Y, Z have been arrested. If I'm taken, know where the money and food are, and move.''
After the liberation of the country, he played a pivotal role in rebuilding Rwanda's health system and the PSD, eventually rising to its presidency in 2001.
'We identified surviving members uninvolved in the genocide, formed a political bureau, and rebuilt,' he noted, highlighting the painstaking effort to restore both party and nation.
Today, as a cabinet minister and party leader, Dr. Biruta balances immense responsibilities with a quiet pragmatism.
'You have to find time for all these aspects, prioritizing what the country has entrusted you with,' he said of his dual roles.
Defending Rwanda's consensus-driven governance model against critics who call it a one-party state, he argued, 'Our constitution… reflects our history and cultureâ€"not the U.S. or Norway. Resultsâ€"like developmentâ€"prove it works.'
Looking ahead, Dr. Biruta remains optimistic yet vigilant. 'I'm excited by Rwanda's development pathâ€"achieving more, faster,' he said, though he cautioned, 'I worry about our regionâ€"conflicts and leadership challenges could slow us.'
His story, from a child marked by violence to a leader shaping Rwanda's future, embodies resilience and purposeâ€"a narrative he hopes will inspire the nation's youth.
Watch the full interview on The Long Form Podcast below:
Wycliffe Nyamasege
