Beatrice Groth

John Conroy in The making of…Rwanda’s Untold Story, on BBC TWO online, argued that, ‘Marie was just a young when she witnessed the repeated bombing of Hutu refugee camps by Kagame’s artillery and the remains of Hutu refugees piled upon one another forming a hillside. She saw her own grandmother die of physical and moral exhaustion – she was anxious to ensure that people that massacres were committed by all sides – including Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front, who until today have been viewed largely as the heroes of 1994’(Conroy, J. 2014).

However, the 1994 genocide of Tutsis, by their neighbouring Hutus, and celebration of a good leader, who probably should have been a prisoner, arguably, may be the failure of investigative journalism. The fact that President Kagame was able to convince the governments of the supper powers of the west, of his innocence, led to western journalists dancing to the tunes of their leaders, who supported Rwandan President, without a good nose for the truth, like Conroy’s investigative documentary. The truth about what actually happened in Rwandan mayhem came a little too late.  In his book, The Universal Journalist, David Randall argued that, ‘one of the most admired skills is ‘nose for a story’- to see meaning and interest in what others might overlook’ (Randall, D. 2000, p. 16).

In conclusion, journalists are not expected to be biased in their judgement. The Tutsis have remained in pain and agony of the massacre of their loved ones. In his book, Balance and Bias in Journalism, Guy Starkey cited Wilson (1996:45)  as he argued that, ‘telling it like it is – is the ‘uncommitted way’ – issues must be presented in order for that account to be ‘balanced’ (Starkey, G. 2007, p. xvi).