A commission of inquiry set up to investigate allegations of genocide denial and revisionism against the BBC has sought a one-month extension of its mandate to “finalise with its work.” The commission was established in November last year with a three-month mandate to look into several complaints against the broadcaster after BBC2 channel aired a controversial documentary titled; Rwanda’s Untold Story. The documentary provoked a lot of criticism which resulted into the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura) suspending BBC Gahuza Miryango, the kinyarwanda service, and establishing the commission that was expected to present its report on Monday Feb 2. “The commission has not completed the work within three months as envisaged. We have sought a one-month extension. We hope to present the report before the end of the month,” the Chairperson, Martin Ngoga told The New Times. Ngoga attributed the extension to logistical issues they faced at the beginning of the commission’s work. “We spent the initial two weeks assembling logistics and recruiting support staff,” he said.When the actual hearings started, he said, they had to skip some days depending on the availability of witnesses. During the hearings, several witnesses implicated the BBC in Genocide denial and revisionism. Among them included scholars, politicians, academics, journalists and Genocide survivors. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
