The long awaited return of Leon Mugesera, a Genocide suspect known for his infamous incitement speech, made at Kabaya tea factory in Ngororero District, has been described as a victory as he will have to account for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Speaking to The New Times, Dr. Charles Karemangingo, the Rector of ISAE-Busogo, described Mugesera as a sectarian and racist philosopher, who tried to confuse the world and evade justice all these years he was in Canada.

Karemangingo, who was the president of the Rwandan association in Quebec, Canada, when Mugesera arrived there in 1993, narrated that, even his close friends advised him to own up and seek pardon, for his speech, but he stubbornly declined. 

"His speech had reached Canada before he arrived in 1993, we presented the recordings to the media, but he instead turned and smeared those who were trying to bring his crimes to the limelight branding them Interahamwe,” Karemangingo narrated.

He mentioned that his arrival in Quebec divided the Rwandan community since there was a group of those who had fled after the genocide and had a role in the killings, which protected him, yet there were those calling for justice to prevail.

"This s a new chapter, there are so many people living in Canada, who tried to change names or nationalities because of their role in the Genocide. This sends a strong message that justice will one day catch up with them as well,” he added.

Epimaque Samvura, who in 1992 lived in Ruhengeri town, says he remembers Mugesera as a lecturer at the Nyakinama Campus of the National University of Rwanda. 

"Thousands of bodies, including children, were thrown into rivers and other water channels because of Mugesera’s speech,” noted Samvura.
bonny.mukombozi@newtimes.co.rw