After clashing with his lawyer, singer Simon Bikindi decided to take over his defense before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on February 14 and 15.

Bikindi is accused of using his songs to incite Hutus to massacre Tutsis. Wearing a white shirt and two white pagnes, the same clothes he dawned for his concerts, Bikindi took over the cross examination of a Rwandan linguist called by the prosecution - Jean de Dieu Karangwa, a professor at the Institut des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris.

"What passage of this song calls upon Hutus to kill Tutsis?" he asked several times. Three songs were cited: 'Rwasezereye' ("We Said Goodbye"), written in 1987 for the 25th anniversary of Rwanda's independence, and 'Akabyutso' ("The Little Awakening") and 'Impuruza' ("The Alert"), both composed in 1992. Those are the original titles, but the average Rwandan who heard these songs almost every day on RTLM radio from 1993-1994 knew the latter two by the titles "Nanga Abahutu" ("I Hate Hutus") and "Bene Sebahinzi" ("The Descendants of the Father of Farmers").

In "Nanga Abahutu", Bikindi harshly criticizes the Tutsi monarchy that was overthrown in 1959 and sings about the end of colonization and Rwanda regaining its independence in 1962. He speaks of his hatred of greedy Hutus with short memories who detest other Hutus. In "Bene Sebahinzi" a soothsayer advises the "sons of the Father of farmers" to unite. According to Professor Karangwa, who acknowledges his fellow countryman's "charisma, talent and aura", the songs are a call to unite against Tutsis so as to avoid falling under their yoke again.

"What if I told you that the 'sons of the Father of farmers' includes all Hutu, Tutsi and Twa farmers indiscriminately?" asked Bikindi. "I do not agree," replied Karangwa. According to the singer, the expert witness had gone on a "wild goose chase" by analyzing texts he does not understand. Professor Karangwa took offence, then smiled and said, "I plan to continue this goose chase..."