Rwandan man gets life term for role in genocide

A Rwandan man was Thursday sentenced to life in prison by the High Court in Kigali over his involvement in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.

Bernard Munyagishari was referred to Rwanda by the former International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in July 2013.

He was found guilty of two out of five counts, including participation in the genocide and killing as a crime against humanity.

Court however cleared the 57-year old man of rape charges after it found no incriminating evidence.

During the genocide Munyagishari worked in the then ruling party's secretariat.

Prosecution said he attended several meetings in which the genocide was prepared.

Court heard that Munyagishari used to train Interahamwe militia to kill Tutsi and gave them weapons, drew up lists of Tutsi to be killed and contributed to setup of roadblocks where Tutsi were slaughtered.

Defense lawyers said they would appeal against the verdict.

The convict was tried at the specialized chamber for international crimes at the high court.

Munyagishari was arrested in the DR Congo in 2011 on an arrest warrant by the ICTR.

During trial, Munyagishari was accused of organizing or being part of several meetings, mostly held in Gisenyi town, western Rwanda where he is said to have openly incited the Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbors then following these meetings Tutsi homes were raided with his direct supervision.

Prosecution also said besides commanding militiamen, the convict played personal direct role in killings; attacking people's homes using machetes. The genocide left close to one million people dead within 100 days. Endit