Former senator Nzirasanaho's Genocide guilt verdict quashed

The High Court has acquitted Anastase Nzirasanaho of genocide charges, overturning a decision by a lower court that had convicted the former senator and sentenced him to life in prison with special provisions. During the hearing, prosecution had maintained that Nzirasanaho supplied the Interahamwe militia with guns that were used to kill the Tutsi during the 1994 Genocide, a charge he denied. In mitigation, Nzirasanaho had argued that he offered a lift to a man who had a gun and that he did not know the plans the man had. Yesterday, presiding judge Charles Gatwaza said there were inconsistencies in witness statements and the position of the prosecutors on what happened 20 years ago. “They all (witnesses) say the gun was taken from Kigali to Mataba but the different versions of stories do not tally. For example, they do not say who took the gun from the car and handed it to Interahamwe militia,” Judge Gatwaza ruled. The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court had convicted him in March this year over genocide charges, sentencing him to life in prison with special provisions, which Nzirasanaho appealed to the High Court. The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court that had convicted the ex-legislator based on a document from Gacaca courts where Nzirasanaho allegedly admitted to having carried a gun the Interahamwe militia used during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Gatwaza, however, said the document has never been presented in court, adding that the document referred to is from the Gacaca Court of Muhororo Cell and not from Mataba where the alleged crime took place. Nzirasanaho, who was not present at the hearing, told The New Times in a telephone interview yesterday that the verdict proves that the Rwanda has fair and independent justice. “What I can say is that the Rwanda judicial system is free and fair and it discharges those who are innocent,” he said. Nzirasanaho, who has been out of custody throughout the proceedings, served his full eight-year term in the Senate. The spokesperson of the Prosecution, Alain Mukuralinda, said they are yet to decide whether to appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court.

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Former senator Nzirasanaho's Genocide guilt verdict quashed