Genocide perpetrator sent to jail for 14 years in Germany

The High Regional Court of Frankfurt, Germany, has sentenced Onesphore Rwabukombe to 14 years in jail for ‘aiding and abetting’ the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He will serve his sentence in Germany. Rwabukombe, 54, who was arrested in 2010 in Germany, is the first Rwandan to be tried in a German court in connection with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He is a former bourgmestre (mayor) of then Commune Muvumba, now Nyagatare District. Prosecution had accused Rwabukombe of inciting the Interahamwe militia in Muvumba to kill Tutsis and actively participated in the killings in the nearby Commune Murambi, in what is now Eastern Province. In particular, he was pinned for being responsible for the death of more than 3,730 people when, on April 11, 1994, he participated in the purge in Kiziguro Church. Some 1,200 people who had sought refuge in the church are said to have been killed on Rwabukombe’s instructions. After the killings at the church, survivors say Rwabukombe led a gang of militiamen to Kabarondo where he supervised the killings on April 13, 1994. Close to 100 witnesses testified in the case. RELATED: Germany charges Rwabukombe for GenocideGerman court sets Feb. 18 for Genocide case ruling

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Genocide perpetrator sent to jail for 14 years in Germany