"I Bled Internally When Fred Rwigema Died" – Dr Emile Rwamasirabo on Exile, War and Liberation

In this week’s episode of The Long Form, I sit down with Dr. Emile Rwamasirabo — a man whose life mirrors the turbulent history of Rwanda. Born in 1951 in Nyaruguru, he lived through the Kayibanda years, endured exile, trained as a surgeon in France, and then left a comfortable life abroad to join the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Uganda. From the battlefields of the liberation war where he treated wounded fighters, to rebuilding Rwanda’s shattered health system and leading its biggest hospitals, Dr. Rwamasirabo shares a deeply personal and historical perspective. We talk about exile, sacrifice, state-building, and the lessons of the RPF struggle. For audiences across Rwanda, East Africa, Africa, and the diaspora, this conversation offers a rare look into the journey of a senior RPF cadre and the evolution of Rwanda’s politics, medicine, and nationhood. #Rwanda #War #Liberation #RPF Timecodes 0:00 – Intro: Previews 1:19 – The Long Form Theme Song 2:02 – Meet Dr. Emile Rwamasirabo 2:33 – Join The Long Form Community! 3:01 – What October 1st Means to Me 8:16 – Growing Up Under Belgian Rule: Why Rwandans Never Trusted the Colonizers 11:50 – What 1959 Looked Like in Nyaruguru – Witnessing the Refugee Crisis 16:06 – Life in Rwanda Before Ethnic Division and Colonial Influence 21:27 – How Rwanda Lost Pieces of Its Culture and Identity Over Generations 25:17 – Can the Rwandan Identity Be Revived? 34:22 – Life After the 1959 Crisis – From Burundi Back to Rwanda 45:57 – Venue Partner Shoutout: Kigali Marriott Hotel 46:24 – Should Rwanda Bring Back Arranged Marriages? 50:06 – The Refugee Experience in Burundi 59:57 – Life After Exile: “My Father Was Imprisoned Despite Promises of Security” 1:15:53 – The Post-Colonial Order in Rwanda 1:16:59 – How African Independence Leaders Were Eliminated by Colonial Powers 1:18:17 – The Suspicious Death of King Rudahigwa 1:30:15 – “Young Rwandans Must Know Their Enemies” – A Message to the Youth 1:32:59 – Beating the Odds: How I Got Into the National University Despite Ethnic Discrimination 1:47:20 – How the West Accepted Apartheid in Rwanda 1:51:16 – Why My Family and I Fled Rwanda in 1973 1:57:58 – How Former President Pasteur Bizimungu Saved My Life 2:06:00 – Escaping Rwanda (Again): Fleeing to Burundi 2:33:40 – From Nyaruguru to France – My Journey to Study Abroad 2:34:27 – Silenced in France: How Rwandan Students Were Threatened Over Speaking Out 2:42:58 – My Medical Career Across Africa 2:48:52 – Discovering the Rwandan Liberation Movement 3:04:39 – Inside the RPA: How the Liberation Army Was Structured 3:10:03 – Losing Fred Rwigema and Continuing the Fight – “I Was Bleeding Internally” 3:23:27 – Why Did Some Liberation Heroes Turn Corrupt? 3:34:55 – Closing Reflections 3:37:23 – Outro – Thank You for Watching 3:37:56 – Credits Listen to the Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/rw/podcast... Listen to the Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7HkkUi4... Follow Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya on Twitter: https://x.com/TheLongFormRw Follow Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya on Instagram:   / thelongformrw   Follow Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya on TikTok:   / longformrw   Follow Sanny Ntayombya on Twitter: https://x.com/SannyNtayombya