Karongi Gacaca court hands life sentence to Kagaba

KARONGI- A Gacaca Court in Karongi District yesterday handed a life sentence ‘with special provisions to Enos Kagaba, a Genocide suspect who was deported from the United States, five years ago. The ruling, passed by seven judges said that Kagaba, 55, played a major role during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in the Western Province. Presiding judge Ildephonse Ndagijimana convicted Kagaba on three counts; leading armed Interahamwe militias to various designated killing sites, chairing meetings aimed at inciting killings and genocide ideology. During the trial, Phenias Bambanza, a self-confessed convict who served 12-years for participating in the Genocide told the court that Kagaba led them with a gun to places where Tutsis were targeted including at Mugonero Secondary School, where he served as the director of studies Survivors gave shocking accounts of how Kagaba participated in the killings at the crowded local secondary school premises, where the landmark ruling took place. A survivor, Paul Muvunyi, whose entire family perished at the school at the hands of Kagaba was one of the witnesses. “My parents and most of our relatives were employed at the school and they were killed on his orders,” Muvunyi said. Kagaba’s elder brother, Eliezer Niyitegeka, a former pastor at Ngoma Seventh Day Adventist church is currently on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. It is alleged that Kagaba worked closely with Genocide suspects like Joseph Munyakazi and Obed Ruzindana to kill Tutsi targets in Bisesero and Murambi. Shortly after the Genocide, Kagaba fled the country through the Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia, where he worked as a teacher for over 10 years. He later moved to USA and was deported in May 2005, following an arrest warrant issued by the Rwandan government. Ends

National

Karongi Gacaca court hands life sentence to Kagaba