The soon-ending 2021 has been quite a busy year in the courts of law, where, among other cases, many top militia leaders fighting against Rwanda were brought to book.

From Paul Rusesabagina to Ignace Nkaka and Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo—two former FDLR officials — the country witnessed arguably its biggest terrorism cases.

In this article, The New Times looks at key criminal trials of the year.  

1.      Paul Rusesabagina and co-accused sentenced

In September this year, the High Court Specialised Chamber for International and Cross-Border Crimes handed a 25-year sentence to Paul Rusesabagina, the man who was the political head of the National Liberation Front (FLN), a militia that carried out attacks that claimed a number of civilian lives in South-Western Rwanda in 2018 and 2019.

He was found guilty of being a member of a terrorist group and committing acts of terrorism. The 20 persons with whom he was co-accused were given sentences ranging from 20 to 3 years.

Here, eight convicts were sentenced to 20 years in prison, including Callixte Nsabimana Alias Sankara (a former FLN spokesperson), Marc Nizeyimana (a former senior commander in the militia), as well as Cassien Bizimana, an FLN fighter.

Jean-Berchmans Matakamba, Emmanuel Shabani, Innocent Ntibiramira, Jean-Claude Byukusenge and Jean-Damascène Nsabimana, Rwandan citizens who worked with the FLN to carry out grenade and shooting attacks in Rusizi district were also sentenced to 20 years in prison.

2.      P5’s Major Habib Mudathiru gets 25-year jail term

In March, the Military High Court sentenced retired Major Habib Mudathiru and two active servicemen of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to a 25-year jail sentence after they were convicted for conspiring against an established government, among other charges. 

The two RDF soldiers; Private Dieudonne Muhire and Private Jean-Bosco Ruhinda were part of a group of six suspects who were arrested within the country for plotting acts of terrorism against Rwanda.

Other 25 militants who were extradited from DR Congo alongside Mudathiru were also convicted and handed varying sentences.

Mudhathiru was the former head of operations in P5, an umbrella organisation that brought together various outfits that were fighting against Rwanda.

He was facing charges including treason, forming and joining an illegal armed group, conspiracy against an established government or the President of the Republic, among others.

Reading the verdict, the presiding judge, Lt. Col. Bernard Rugamba Hategekimana said that one of the charges – conspiracy against an established government or the President of the Republic – is legally punished by a life sentence and that court lessened the penalty based on Mudathiru’s collaboration with the judiciary.

3.      Former FDLR commanders Nkaka and Nsekanabo sentenced to 10 years in jail

This month, Ignace Nkaka alias La Forge Fils Bazeye and Lt Col Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo, two former FDLR officials were sentenced to 10 years in prison, having been convicted of joining the terror organisation.

Nkaka was the outfit’s spokesperson while Bazeye was its head of intelligence.

The two were apprehended by Congolese authorities in 2018 and handed over to Rwanda where they were tried by the High Court Chamber for International Crimes (ICC) in Nyanza.

4.      Kinigi terror case reaches advanced stage

Another major case in which 38 people are being tried in connection to the deadly 2019 attacks against civilians of Kinigi sector, Musanze district reached its final stages this month.

After months of court sessions, the Military High Court announced that it will pass the verdict on January 7, next year.

The suspects belong to P5, an umbrella organisation that brought together several outfits fighting against Rwanda.

During the attacks, 15 people lost their lives, 14 were injured, and property was looted or destroyed. 

The defendants face multiple counts ranging from murder and being part of a terror group, to armed robbery and battery among others.

Some of them directly took part in the attacks, while others claim they had remained at their rear base in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the incursion took place. Military prosecution called for life sentences for all of them.

In an interview with The New Times, Alphonse Muleefu, a senior lecturer at the University of Rwanda’s School of Law, said these trials are a demonstration of the fact that rule of law is, among other things, about protection.

"We need to believe in our justice system, to feel that all actors in the justice system in Rwanda, from investigators to prison services and others in between, are committed to protecting Rwandans and their property,” he said.

Some of these cases, Muleefu added, generated a lot of international attention, and the manner in which the judiciary handled itself was remarkable.

"As these cases increase, lawyers too need to develop their skills to be able to defend suspects of those complicated cases,” he said; "This is important because justice is also about the performance of all actors, and perception is important to that effect.”

Former FDLR officials Ignace Nkaka alias La Forge Fils Bazeye (left)and Lt Col Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo in court. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana.

P5’s Maj (Rtd) Habib Mudathiru (with crutches) and co-accused duringa hearing at the Military High Court in Kanombe . Photo: Craish Bahizi.