Genocide: French appeals court to decide Philippe Hategekimana’s fate

The Court of Appeal in France will deliver its verdict on December 17 in the case of Philippe Hategekimana, a former deputy commander of the Gendarmerie in Rwanda, who was tried for genocide. The Paris Assize Court in June 2023 sentenced Hategekimana, alias Biguma, to life imprisonment after convicting him of having a role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in the former Butare Prefecture, today’s Southern Province. ALSO READ: French court hands Hategekimana life sentence for Genocide crimes Hategekimana faced charged of genocide, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. He denied the charges. The appeal process began in early November, following Hategekimana’s request to overturn the life sentence. He was found guilty of taking part in massacres of Tutsi in Nyanza, Nyabubare, Nyamure, Ntyazo, and ISAR-Songa (Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda). He was also found guilty of murdering Narcisse Nyagasaza, the former bourgmestre of Ntyazo commune, and a police officer, Pierre Nyakarashi. ALSO READ: More witnesses pin Genocide suspect Hategekimana on Ntyazo massacres The prosecution has requested the appeals court to uphold the life sentence. The appeal trial heard testimonies from numerous witnesses, some of whom accused Hategekimana of orchestrating and participating in killings during the Genocide, which claimed more than one million lives. ALSO READ: Survivors welcome trial of Genocide fugitive in France After the Genocide against the Tutsi, Hategekimana fled to France, where he assumed the false identity of Philippe Manier. He obtained a refugee status and later French citizenship in 2005. He worked as a university security guard in Rennes and fled to Cameroon in 2017 after media scrutiny and a complaint filed against him by the France-based rights group Collectif des Parties Civiles pour le Rwanda (CPCR). Hategekimana was arrested in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 2018 and extradited to France. Since 2019, he has been in custody awaiting trial. His case marked the fifth conviction in France of a perpetrator of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

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Genocide: French appeals court to decide Philippe Hategekimana’s fate