Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Emmanuel Nkunduwimye, a Belgian Rwandan man, receives a 25-year prison sentence in Brussels for war crimes and genocide committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including murder and rape.
A court in Brussels convicted a 65-year-old Belgian Rwandan man to 25 years in prison for killing and rape committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Emmanuel Nkunduwimye was uncovered guilty of war crimes and genocide for a string of murders as well as the rape of a Tutsi woman. Nkunduwimye, who was first apprehended in Belgium in 2011, possessed a garage in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, in April 1994 when the genocide started. The garage was part of a complex of structures that was the scene of massacres committed by Interahamwe militiamen.
What Were Emmanuel Nkunduwimye’s Crimes During the Rwandan Genocide?
Nkunduwimye was close to several militia commanders- including Georges Rutaganda, who was sentenced to life detention by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and died in 2010. The jury at the trial in Brussels discovered the accused helped the militia “with full knowledge of the facts.” “He could not have been unaware of the abuses committed there,” the sentencing said, according to Belga news agency.
Throughout the genocide, Nkunduwimye was usually seen in military attire and armed, frequently attending Rutaganda and Interahamwe leader Robert Kajuga. Due to the seriousness of the crimes he committed, the 25-year jail term handed to him was a result of some mitigating events including his association with the court during the trial process as well the fact that he is advancing in age
How Did Witnesses Describe Emmanuel Nkunduwimye’s Actions in Rwanda?
During the trial, Nkunduwimye was formally recognised by the woman he raped, who came to attest in private at the hearing. A 48-year-old woman attested that she was 18 years old during the genocide. She remembered seeing Nkunduwimye in military uniform, appearing comfortable with the murders of the Tutsi and discussing the particulars of their deaths. Other witnesses testified that Nkunduwimye assessed some Tutsi family’s money to help them escape.
Nkunduwimye rejected the accusations and his defence called for his acquittal, claiming in particular that the prosecution’s evidence was unreliable.
How Many Trials for Rwandan Genocide Crimes Have Occurred in Belgium?
Prosecutors at the trial, which started in April, had demanded a sentence of 30 years in jail.
The genocide in Rwanda, which took place between April and July 1994, claimed at least 800,000 lives, according to the U.N. The victims were mostly members of the Tutsi minority, but also included average Hutus. The trial of Nkunduwimye was the seventh such trial to be held in Belgium since 2001 involving alleged crimes committed during the genocide.
Does Belgium Hold Universal Jurisdiction for Genocide Offenders?
Belgium – which regulated Rwanda during the colonial period – can charge alleged genocidaires because its court recognizes universal jurisdiction for offences under international humanitarian law committed outside the country. In the most recent trial, Seraphin Twahirwa was convicted in December 2023 to life imprisonment for dozens of killings and rapes perpetrated by himself or the Interahamwe militiamen under his control in Kigali between April and July 1994.
