CNLG lauds Belgian trial of more Genocide suspects

The National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) has welcomed the decision by the Belgian judiciary to try three men suspected of playing a role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In a statement, released yesterday, CNLG said this was a significant step by the Belgians towards fighting impunity, and called on other countries to try Genocide suspects or to extradite them to Rwanda. This comes after the Court of First Instance of Brussels in Belgium on September 19 decided to prosecute three Rwandans suspected of helping mastermind the Genocide in a case that involves four suspects. Those facing trial are Mathias Bushishi, Col Jean-Marie Vianney Ndahimana and Thaddée Kwitonda. The fourth suspect is Capt Ildephonse Nizeyimana, who was already tried and convicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He is serving a 35-year sentence. “The decision follows a request from the Belgian prosecutor’s office for a procedural settlement following an investigation by the Belgian investigating judge,” reads part of the statement signed by CNLG executive secretary Jean-Damascène Bizimana. According to CNLG, Bushishi, 77, a former state prosecutor in Butare prefecture, is accused of genocide and war crimes, including participation in a restricted security council on May 31, 1994, in the MRND palace in Butare. The council was aimed to prepare the genocide in Butare and to elaborate lists of Tutsi to be killed. Wanted by Interpol since 2002, Bushishi was arrested on April 18, 2011, following an arrest warrant issued by a Belgian judge. He was detained in Belgium until February 17, 2012, when he was released on bail. Belgian public prosecutor requested the Chamber to take note of former captain of the Rwandan armed forces Nizeyimana’s conviction by ICTR and to declare the case closed on the basis of the non bis in idem principle. The ICTR sentenced Nizeyimana on September 19, 2014, to 35 years in prison after being found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for murders in and around Butare. At first instance, on June 19, 2012, he had been sentenced to life in prison. CNLG said Ndahimana (also known as Rumende), a former Colonel of the Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR), was one of the senior military officers attached to Kigali military camp where ten Belgian soldiers serving under the UN Assistance Mission (UNAMIR) were killed on April 7, 1994. “Ndahimana is accused of having played a leading role in the genocide in Kigali and in Kibuye, his native prefecture. He is also suspected of having ordered the extermination of more than 5,000 Tutsi in the former Bwakira commune (Kibuye Prefecture),” CNLG said. He was arrested at the end of March 2011 in Belgium where he had fled after the Genocide. The other suspect is Kwitonda, who was born in 1963 in Cyeru commune of Ruhengeri prefecture (present Musanze District). He married the daughter of Maurice Ntahobali and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, who was the minister for family during the Genocide. Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman to have been convicted of genocide by the ICTR. “After the Genocide, he took refuge in Zaire (now DR Congo) where he headed the Kashusha camp near Bukavu town, then went to Belgium in 1997. After obtaining Belgian citizenship, he worked as a defence investigator at ICTR from June 1999 to July 2001. He in particular investigated the case of Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, his brother-in-law. “His contract was severed due to serious indications of his participation in the Genocide,” the statement continues. When the Belgian court opened investigation against him in 2006, he left for Uganda where he took the name of John Tumwesigye. He was arrested in Kampala on July 5, 2012, and deported to Belgium following an international arrest warrant issued against him. Belgium has so far tried eight Rwandans for their role in the Genocide against the Tutsi, including Sisters Consolate Mukangango and Julienne Mukabutera (Sister Kizito), who were sentenced to 15 and 12 years in prison, respectively, in 2001. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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CNLG lauds Belgian trial of more Genocide suspects