“The 1994 Tutsi genocide was prepared and planned” affirmed Huye Gacaca witnesses

Emmanuel Mungwarakarama

The lists of the Tutsi who had to be killed in the former Karubanda sector of Ngoma commune, Butare prefecture were already elaborated before April 1994. The meeting planning the extermination of KarubandaTutsi used to take place in corbial bar, by the extremists Hutus, between the years of 1990-1994.

This was revealed on Wednesday the 18 of January 2007, by Venuste Nkurunziza and Françoise Kayirangwa, Gacaca witnesses during the session of Butare Ville Gacaca court of Huye district in the Southern Province of Rwanda. These testimonies come 3 months after Bourguière, a French judge, declared arresting mandates for the high military leaders of Rwanda, accusing them of having killed the former president of Rwanda Habyarimana Juvenal. According to Bourguière, the 1994 genocide was a direct consequence of Habyarimana’s death, and not prepared and planned massacres as the Kigali regime believes.

“On 7th April 1994, a short while after the crash of Habyarimana’s Faustin Twagirayezu who was our local leaders in 1994 was circulating with a list of Karubanda Tutsis to be killed. On 21st, he and Habyarimana’s regime soldiers used the same list and killed many of our neighbours Tutsi.” Said Venuste Nkurunziza.


Tutsis were imprisoned, mistreated before 1994

Françoise Kayirangwa, a 1994 genocide survivor and widow of late Innocent Gashayija, killed during the 1994 genocide, said that since October 1990, after FPR inkotanyi rebellion attacked the Habyarimana regime , Tutsis were considered as enemies of the nation, she said, “ In Groupe( a catholic secondary school in Huye District) where my husband was working, emerged the Pawa (power) group. It was a group of extremists Hutu professors, resigned to exterminate their Tutsi fellows. This is the reason why Nyabusimba Benoit (accused of participating in 1994 genocide at Karubanda) imprisoned my husband in November 1990.” Nyandwi, another witness currently on studies in Canada, wrote in his testimony that he, also, has been imprisoned by Nyabusimba in 1991, for the same reason of seeming to be inkotanyi inside the country

Gacaca jurisdictions, a way to Rwandans unity and reconciliation

More than one million of people were killed during the 1994 Tutsi genocide. More than 115,000 other taken in jail. . The twelve specialised courts have been able to give a decision on about 5,864 cases between December 1996 and 2000. It would, then have been necessary to work during about 60 years in order to try the 115.000 persons who have been detained until that time in addition to those suspected of participation to genocide but still free. According to Kigali regime, It was therefore necessary to use a one of a kind justice system, inspired by the traditional Rwandan system of settling disputes and the aim of which was, not only the punishment of the guilty person, but also and above all social harmony and cohesion. According to the Rwandan government, the system requires the participation of every one to rebuilding justice, because it is in that participatory manner that the crimes have been perpetrated in broad daylight.

In 2000, the Supreme Court has been endowed with a 6th court called "Gacaca Courts Department". Since 2002, Gacaca Courts Department was replaced by the National Service of Gacaca Courts so as to coordinate the Gacaca Courts activities and speed up this process. According to the National Service of Gacaca Courts report of December 2006, more than 152,000 of the persons accused of participating in the 1994 genocide have already been judged from April to December 2006, and more than 650.000 others are to be judged this year (2007) by the elected and integrated local persons.