Fifteen years after Rwanda was ravaged by one of the most gruesome genocides in history, one of the brains behind the atrocities has been detained in a UN detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania, home of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Idelphonse Nizeyimana, known as the Butcher of Butare, was arrested in the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Oct. 5. He is facing charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against Humanity. He is believed to be one of the top four men who directed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
According to
communique by the tribunal, he is being accused of planning, inciting to commit, ordering, committing, aiding, preparing and participating of massacres.
For instance, in the months before the genocide, he allegedly drew up
lists of Tutsis and moderate Hutus that were to be eliminated.
A Captain in the Rwanda Armed Forces in the 1990s, Nizewimana also allegedly ordered for the execution of the home of the former Queen of Rwanda, Rosalie Gicanda, who was a symbolic figure for Rwanda's Tutsi population.
Roadblocks of death
Nizewimana also ordered roadblocks be erected at strategic locations in Butare. These points were scattered across the country, reports
Trial Watch, and civilians who approached these points with "Tutsi" written on the identification cards were subjected to violent acts such as assault, rape, beatings, stabbings and murder.
The list goes on an on. On
April 30, 1994, Nizewimana reportedly ordered Hutu soldiers to go the Beneberika convent in Butare and kidnap Tutsis who had sought refuge. During the attack, various people were killed and 25 people, including children, were kidnapped and never to be seen again.
Killing Tutsi intellectuals
Nizeyimana is also said to have been directly or indirectly involved in killing teaching staff and Tutsi students at the University of Butare in an attempt to eliminate Tutsi intellectuals, as well as in the massacre of entire Tutsi families.
The ICTR said it is grateful for the cooperation it has received from the Ugandan government in arresting people who are linked to the genocide which started early April 1994. The genocide claimed the lives of 800,000 to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days.
11 still at large
"This is the second time that Uganda has cooperated with the Tribunal in arresting an accused person," the ICTR
communique stated. "The Tribunal has commended the Interpol and the Ugandan authorities for their close cooperation. This level of cooperation is highly appreciated and will assist the ICTR in discharging its mandate fully in the framework of its completion strategy. It is hoped that the ICTR will continue receiving similar support from other member states at this critical junction of its work. Eleven remaining accused persons are still at large."
