After the murder of Burundian president Melchior Ndadaye on 21 October 1993, Karamira gave a public speech during which he coined the concept of "Hutu Power".

[1] On 8 April 1994, after the death of Hutu President Juvénal Habyarimana when his plane was shot down, Karamira participated in the creation of the interim government.

In addition to his daily speeches that incited genocide, it was claimed that he was instrumental in creating and arming the Interahamwe militias; he was also accused of being personally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Tutsis, including 13 members of his own family.

On 24 April 1998, in a public event at the Nyamirambo Stadium in Kigali, Karamira and several others were executed by firing squad for their involvement in the Rwandan genocide.

Rwanda abolished capital punishment in 2007 after their almost festival-like executions were met harshly by human rights activists who fought hard to bring them to an end.