The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has dismissed all charges and the 25 years in jail sentence by the ICTR Trial Chamber Two against a former leading officer in the ousted Rwanda Armed Forces, Tharcise Muvunyi.

Tharcisse Muvunyi, a Lieutenant Colonel in the EX-FAR and former commander of a military legion in Rwanda’s other influential city of Butare was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on 12th December 2006.

ICTR Trial Chamber 2 had convicted him for Genocide, direct and public incitement to commit Genocide and other crimes against humanity. He is alleged to have been a senior figure in the hierarchy of the Interahamwe in Butare city.

Muvunyi was convicted for having been actively involved in the genocide in Butare beginning with his appointment on 7th April 1994.

He was also convicted for the crimes he committed at his command post of Ecole Sous Officiers in Butare, an elite military officers institution, a nearby secondary school, the national university campus and its adjacent hospital and in public speeches at Gikonko and Gikore where he was convicted for inciting the masses to commit Genocide.

Hailing from hilly Byumba in 1953, Muvunyi was appointed commander of Ecole Sous officiers in Butare on 7th April 1994.

He replaced the current Minister of defense General Marcel Gatsinzi who was moved to Kigali and made Chief of Staff in a national army reshuffle during the Genocide.

As a senior army figure in the Southern city, Muvunyi is alleged to have been fully aware of the plans and meetings organized in the area to attack and kill Tutsi targets in Butare and nearby areas.

He is  also accused of having attended some of the meetings and participated in public speaking campaigns to incite the necessary ideologue against the Tutsi. 

The Five man team of judges for the ICTR Appeals Chamber, are also the same judges in the appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

They sit at the Headquarters of the International Criminal Court at The Hague and were in Arusha from Thursday to Friday before returning to Holland over the weekend. 

In their two days stay, the Appeals Chamber also heard oral arguments in the appeal of Francois Karera against his life sentence imposed in 2007 by the ICTR Trial Chamber one which sentenced the 69-year-old Karera to life imprisonment for three counts of genocide and crimes against humanity. 

The decision of the Appeals chamber in the case will come at a later time which was not given. 

In Muvunyi’s case, he had presented fourteen grounds of appeal on fifteen charges which had led to his sentence to life in prison by the trial chamber.

The Appeals chamber granted Muvunyi’s plea for appeal in thirteen of the charges and ordered a re-trial in the fourteenth.

The judges stated that the trial chamber had erred in their judgments in regard to the evidence and role of Muvunyi in Butare in 1994 and his seniority and influence as well as the identity and definition of his subordinates.

The trial chamber had also erred in judging Muvunyi’s knowledge of events during the Genocide and his failure to prevent or punish his juniors. They dismissed all appeals by prosecution and quashed the 25 year jail term imposed on Muvunyi.

The Appeals Chamber further ordered a full retrial in Muvunyi’s case and that he remains in custody of the tribunal pending his retrial.

The new date for the commencement of the retrial trial has not yet been determined by the ICTR.

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