KIGALI - The four Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) officers implicated in the murder of clergymen Tuesday appeared before Brig. Gen. Steven Kalyango of the Military Tribunal.

According to the prosecution, the officers are jointly accused of murder and complicity to murder as a war crime.

The quartet includes Brig. Gen. Wilson Gumisiriza, Maj. Wilson Ukwishaka, Capt John Butera and Capt (Rtd) Dieudonée Rukeba. They are charged with the murder of 15 clergymen who included four bishops and some priests.

"They are not all accused of the same crime; some are charged with murder, while others are accused of complicity to murder, both of which constitute war crimes,” said Capt Kayijuka Ngabo, a Military Prosecutor.

He said that Gumisiriza and Ukwishaka are charged with complicity in the murder of the said catholic clergymen as they were commanders of the soldiers who purportedly committed the crime.

Both Gatera and Rukeba pleaded guilty for murder while Gumisiriza and Ukwishaka pleaded not guilty of complicity to murder.

Prosecution brought them before court requesting for the temporary detention of the officers as investigations continue. "Despite the fact that the two (Butera and Rukeba) pleaded guilty, we still need time to investigate the role their commanders (Gumisiriza and Ukwishaka) might have played in the crime,” Kayijuka told court.

The priests were found at Kabgayi diocese in Muhanga District and were evacuated by the then forces of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) to pave way for military operations between RPA and the then government army.

According to prosecution, Gumisiriza was the officer in charge of the operation of evacuating the priests, who were taken to another place in Ruhango district, where they were killed on June 4, 1994.

Ukwishaka was the platoon commander of that force.
However, Gumisiriza, through Athanase Rutabingwa, his defence attorney, contested his arrest citing the principle of criminal liability.

"It is a principle that a person is individually held liable for the crime he or she commits. Why is my client being dragged into crimes that prosecution has not even ascertained?” Rutabingwa questioned.

He was reacting to an assertion by the prosecutor that given time, they would come up with the degree of Gumisiriza’s involvement in the commission of those crimes.

The prosecutor said that the crimes allegedly committed were in contravention of the Geneva Convention which provides protection to unarmed civilians during a struggle between armed belligerents.

All the accused requested for a temporary release and after hearing from both sides, Kalyango said that he would render a decision on the applications today.

They were arrested on June 11 following a joint investigation between prosecution and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

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