The decision by the French Court of Appeal to uphold the life sentence handed to Philippe Hategekimana alias Biguma for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has been hailed is an achievement of justice, according to Rwanda’s Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean-Damascène Bizimana. Members of the Rwandan community in France also welcomed the verdict on Tuesday, December 17, confirming the decision of the Paris Assize Court, which found the former deputy commander of the Gendarmerie guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity in June 2023. ALSO READ: Genocide: French court upholds Philippe Hategekimana’s life sentence “Justice has been delivered at the Court of Appeal in Paris,” Minister Bizimana wrote on X on Wednesday. “Warrant officer Philippe Hategekimana, alias Biguma, has been definitively convicted as a key perpetrator of the genocide in Nyanza and its surroundings. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The victims and their families have finally seen justice served. May resilience prevail.” Reacting to the verdict, the Rwandan Community in France (CRF) described 2024 as a “productive year” in combating impunity and genocide denial in the European country. “The CRF welcomes the conviction for genocide and crimes against humanity handed by the court against Hategekimana. This decision marks the culmination of an exceptionally productive year in France in the fight against impunity and denial of the genocide against the Tutsi,” Jean Noé Mwizerwa, the CRF president, said in a statement on Tuesday. Hategekimana's case is the third Genocide-related conviction by French courts in 2024. On December 9, Franco-Cameroonian writer Charles Onana was convicted of denying the Genocide against the Tutsi. In October, Sosthène Munyemana, a former medical doctor in Butare, had been convicted of genocide. Hategekimana, who had lived in France since 1994, acquired French citizenship in 2005 under the name of Philippe Manier. 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. ALSO READ: More witnesses pin Genocide suspect Hategekimana on Ntyazo massacres The CRF emphasized that Tuesday’s verdict ended 30 years of impunity enjoyed by Hategekimana since his arrival in France. Although long overdue, the decision provides a measure of solace to thousands of victims from Nyanza, Ntyazo, Nyabubare, Nyamure, ISAR Songa, and surrounding areas who endured his atrocities. The Rwandan community in France commended “progress and the unprecedented momentum observed at the end of this year in the fight against impunity and denial of the genocide against the Tutsi,” Mwizerwa said. He called for sustained efforts to bring Genocide perpetrators and deniers to justice. “Much work remains to be done. For its part, the CRF remains fully committed and will spare no effort to achieve this goal,” Mwizerwa said.
