France Drops Investigation Against Agathe Habyarimana: No Charges After Years of Probing

The investigation conducted in France against Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, has been closed with no charges filed.

This decision was made on Friday, May 16, 2025, according to sources close to the case.

Judges concluded that the evidence implicating her in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was “contradictory, inconsistent, and unreliable.”

In the decision issued on Friday, the investigating judges stated: “At this stage, there is no solid and credible evidence proving that Agathe Habyarimana was an accomplice in acts of genocide […]. Even if rumors persist, as the judges noted, they cannot constitute evidence in the absence of corroborating and consistent facts.”

According to this report published by RFI, Agathe Habyarimana has never publicly made statements inciting hatred or calling for genocide.

Therefore, the investigation has concluded without the former president’s widow being charged with any crime.

Agathe Habyarimana, 82, has been under investigation in France since 2008 for suspected complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity. However, no grounds have been found to prosecute her in court.

The investigation began following a complaint filed by the “Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda.”

This decision comes at a time when the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office—which holds jurisdiction over the case—submitted the matter to the Investigating Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal in September 2024, requesting prosecution.

In fact, a hearing on this request is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21.

The lawyer representing the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expressed disappointment over the absence of charges, arguing that there was “sufficient” evidence implicating Agathe Kanziga Habyarimana.