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Posted to the web February 21, 2003
Mary Kimani On 16 April 1994, an estimated 5000 ethnic Tutsis were massacred at the Mugonero complex - a collection of buildings owned by the Adventist Church that include a school, hospital, and two chapels. Survivors claimed that the attackers were ferried there by the two people they trusted the most; their pastor, and his son, a medical doctor at the complex. On 19 February after one of the shortest trials in its history, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, and his son, Gerard Ntakirutimana, guilty of genocide and abetting genocide respectively. The court sentenced Elizaphan, aged 78, to 10 years imprisonment and Gerard, aged 47, to 25 years. The trial of the father and son duo has been a high profile case at the ICTR. Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark represented Elizaphan, a pastor at the church, while his son, a medical doctor, was represented by Canadian lawyer David Jacobs. Internews visited Mugonero to hear the reactions of the population to the decision. Our questions soon drew a crowd around us, leading to a heated debate on the sentence. "The sentence is too low, these people did terrible things. If it was up to me, I would extend the life of the pastor so that he can serve up to thirty years," Jean Nshimimana told Internews. "We are very disappointed, 10 years for the pastor and 25 years for the son, that is too low. It does not in any way correspond with the crime that they committed, and all it does is to add to the bitterness that the survivors feel," he said. Nshimimana's words represent a sentiment repeated by several survivors most of who feel that the pastor and his son betrayed the trust they had put in them when they allowed killers into the church complex. But not all people agree that the Ntakirutimana's were let of lightly. Athanase Nyilinkwaya, himself an old man, points out that recently the Rwanda government released all prisoners aged over 70. "The government here freed old people. That pastor, he is 79 now. He has already been in prison for four years. I think they should just let him go, just the way they let the old people here go home," he told Internews. Bernard Nkurunziza agrees that the pastor should have been released but for a different reason. He told us that he used to work at the complex. "Ntakirutimana was afraid; they [extremists] had already written him a letter telling him he was too friendly to the Tutsis. They told him they would attack, and he went out and tried to look for people to guard the place. I think there is a conspiracy here to give false testimony against people, I think this is not good and there cannot be any reconciliation if people organize themselves to incriminate others falsely," he told Internews Nkurunziza's allegation drew a heated response. "There is no such conspiracy. We do not know of it. The people committed the crimes and have been sentenced but in Ngoma there is no conspiracy to tell lies," Nshimimana said pointed out angrily. The Councilor of Ngoma, Vincent Usabyimfura agrees. "'Some people may lie but it is not good for generalizations to be made. As for me I cannot tell if they are innocent or guilty, I did not hear the witnesses and I do not think it is my role to say if they are guilty or not. I think that is the role of the ICTR, not us," he underlined. The issue of false testimony has been a key complaint throughout this trial. Ramsey Clark maintained throughout the trial that witnesses had been coached to say lie before the court but he was unable to prove it. In a statement issued after the decision Clark called the judgment a 'miscarriage of justice,' and promised to appeal. Perhaps the most disturbing comment came from a woman who refused to give her name. "The genocide was organized by the leaders. We know that the leaders of that time, the mayors, the councilors and the gendarmes were all determined to carry out the killings; the pastor had no authority to say no. Even now, if the government told us to go and kill, who would refuse?" She asks.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy " |
