The Hamitic hypothesis is a racialist hypothesis created by John Hanning Speke that taught that the Tutsi people (Hamites) were superior to the Hutus (Bantus). This hypothesis was a major cause of the Rwandan genocide. Because of the wide-spread racism in the area, and the belief among Tutsis that they were superior to the Hutus, the Hutus began to see the Tutsis as an outside invader to their land. One Hutu political activist suggested that the Tutsis be floated down the river to Ethiopia, the country John Hanning Speke claimed is the ancestral home of the Tutsis.

Although this hypothesis is often compared to the ideology of Nazi Germany, it should be noted that in Rwanda, the genocide was conducted against those the hypothesis described as superior, whereas the victims of the Holocaust were seen as the inferiors by the Nazis.