Survivors: Rusesabagina was no hero as shown in Hotel Rwanda film
Paul Rusesabagina is the chairman and founder of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change. His portrayal as a hero in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda has been disputed by some survivors. PHOTO | AFP
Paul Rusesabagina, who shot into the international limelight after the premier of Hotel Rwanda in 2004, has attracted both admiration and controversy in equal measure. His recent arrest has brought the controversies into sharper focus.
His critics argue that he was never a hero and that he grossly exaggerated his role in saving more than 1,000 people, who hid inside Hotel Mille Collines during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Some of the genocide survivors who sheltered inside the hotel until they were rescued by incoming rebel forces commanded by President Paul Kagame in May 1994, have a different opinion.
