Machete Season

The cabarets were informal pubs common to local neighborhoods throughout Rwanda. The farmers would meet in the cabarets daily to drink locally made beer and talk about their day. During the genocide, the killers continued their habit of going to the cabaret daily. After the genocide, the killers’ cabaret was burned to the ground. One cabaret was opened solely for the survivors while a second had a more mixed clientele. 

A sharp blade, an inkota is like a machete used to slaughter cattle. This was the instrument Alphonse used to kill his first Tutsi, an elderly man. 

In Kinyarwanda, the name means “those who attack together,” and it was the name of the Hutu paramilitary group formed by friends of President Habyarimana in the early 1990s. Although not a state military, the members were trained by Rwandan soldiers and even French soldiers. Three gang members were interahamwe members and leaders in the militia. The militia was critical to the success of the genocide, providing the equipment and vehicles for large-scale killings and training the killers in the early days.