Rutaremara made the remarks on the evening of August 13, 2026, during a commemoration event held by Banyamulenge living in Rwanda to mark the 22nd anniversary of the massacre of 166 Banyamulenge refugees at Gatumba camp in Burundi in 2004.
The Banyamulenge refugees were attacked by armed groups, including FNL-PALIPEHUTU, on the night of August 13, 2004. Reports have also implicated other armed personnel, including elements from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Banyamulenge have accused the governments of Burundi and the DRC of failing to ensure justice for the victims, saying the two countries have continued to delay accountability while hostility towards the Banyamulenge persists.
Rutaremara expressed solidarity with the Banyamulenge, saying their frustration over the lack of justice is shared by Rwanda, which he said has also been waiting for Burundi to hand over genocide suspects for more than 30 years.
'We are still waiting for justice. We have not brought a single Burundian [suspect] here,' he said.
He said Burundi's reluctance to cooperate is largely linked to the fact that some Burundians who participated in the Genocide against the Tutsi later returned to Burundi and eventually rose to senior positions in government.
Rutaremara specifically cited former Burundian Prime Minister General Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, saying he had opposed cooperation that could have led to the extradition of suspects.
'Gen Bunyoni was the one who refused. He said, 'If we allow Rwandans to come and ask for people, they will end up taking all of us who are in Burundi,'' Rutaremara said.
He argued that once judicial cooperation began, Rwanda would have been able to request the extradition of suspects regardless of their positions in Burundi's leadership.
'We would have started by asking for those at the top because many of them participated in the Genocide here in Rwanda,' he said.
Rutaremara said the international recognition of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and subsequent efforts to prosecute those responsible were made possible in part by the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF Inkotanyi), which ended the genocide and took control of the country.
He said that before the RPF's victory, the mass killings of Tutsi had not been formally recognized internationally as genocide.
Addressing the Banyamulenge, Rutaremara said governments play a decisive role in either delivering justice or preventing it.
'You will not get justice from Burundi because we have also been waiting for it from before you. There are many people there who killed people here in Rwanda. Their names and lists are available,' he said.
He cited the Mayaga region of southern Rwanda as one area where Burundian refugees allegedly participated in the genocide.
According to Rutaremara, the genocide in Mayaga was carried out with extreme brutality, with local Interahamwe militia receiving support from Burundian Hutu refugees who had fled to Rwanda and settled in Ngoma, in Muyira Sector.
He said the refugees had carried anger and resentment from Burundi following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye and later participated in attacks against Tutsi in Mayaga.
Rutaremara also alleged that Burundian refugees in Ntongwe and Muganza communes, in the former Butare area, participated in the Genocide against the Tutsi, accusing some of those involved of committing acts of extreme brutality.
He said it remains difficult to secure accountability because the international community appears unwilling to pursue the matter, while those responsible have also failed to acknowledge their actions.
The comments came as Banyamulenge in Rwanda continued to demand accountability for the 166 refugees killed at Gatumba camp on August 13, 2004, an attack that remains a major source of grievance among the Banyamulenge community.
