Augustin Ngirabatware, former cabinet minister in Juvenal Habyarimana’s government pleaded not guilty to ten counts during his initial appearance last Friday at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Ngirabatware, a former Minister of Planning denied the charges while appearing before Judge Asoka de Silva.

The counts include: Genocide, conspiracy to commit Genocide, complicity in Genocide, and direct and public incitement to commit Genocide.

Others are: crimes against humanity, murder, extermination, rape, inhumane acts and serious violations of the Geneva conventions and additional protocol 11.   

The court registrar, John Kiyeyu read out the counts to the accused and on several occasions mentioned situations that supported the charges against him.

The prosecution alleges that given his position as Planning Minister, he often diverted state funds from the ministry for the sole purpose of arming civilian militias to kill Tutsis.   

"Further, the accused always returned to his home area in Nyamyumba in Gisenyi with plans to exterminate innocent Tutsi civilians and also played a key role in installing Faustin Bagangu as Bourgomestre,” said Kiyeyu reading from the indictment.       

The registrar added that Bagangu was perceived by the local population as the eyes and arms of Ngirabatware and that through him, there was a large plan of exterminating Tutsis. 

The charge sheet adds that Ngirabatware is alleged to have conspired with others to work out a plan with the intent to exterminate the civilian Tutsi population and eliminate members of the opposition so that the government he served could stay in power.

The accused was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany in September 2007 and was transferred to the UN detention facility on Wednesday last week. 

After the hearing, the presiding judge asked the accused to file a motion if any, after 30 days. The hearing was adjourned until further notice.

Ends