UN tribunal renders judgments in appeals by two convicted Rwandans
A United Nations tribunal today affirmed the conviction and 15-year sentence of a famous Rwandan singer and composer for his role during the mass killings that engulfed the country in 1994, and reduced the sentence handed down against a top official after reversing a number of his convictions.
Simon Bikindi, a former singer, composer and leader of a ballet troupe, was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 2008 of a single count of direct and public incitement to commit genocide based on public exhortations to kill Tutsis, which he made on the Kivumu-Kayove road in Gisenyi prefecture in late June 1994.
More than 800,000 people were massacred in Rwanda, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.
The Appeals Chamber of the Tribunal, which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha, today dismissed the appeals of both Mr. Bikindi and the Prosecution and affirmed his conviction and sentence of 15 years in prison.
The Appeals Chamber also reversed a number of convictions of Simèon Nchamihigo, a former deputy prosecutor in Cyangugu Prefecture, and reduced his sentence to 40 years instead of life imprisonment.
Reversed today was Mr. Nchamihigo’s convictions for genocide and murder as a crime against humanity for aiding and abetting the killing of Joséphine Mukashema, Hélène and Marie, as well as his conviction for genocide in relation to instigating the killings of refugees taken from Kamarampaka stadium on 16 April 1994 and for instigating the killings at Shangi parish and Hanika parish.
The court further reversed his convictions for genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity in relation to instigating the massacre at Mibilizi parish and hospital and the massacre at Nyakanyinya school.
Both men will remain in the UN Detention Facility in Arusha pending their transfer to the countries in which they will serve their sentence.