Former Politician Ladislas Ntaganzwa Convicted for Role in Rwandan Genocide

Former politician Ladislas Ntaganzwa has recently been convicted for his instrumental role in the infamous Rwandan genocide, according to Aljazeera. The ex-mayor of Nyakizu has been sentenced to life for plotting and ordering the killing of more than 25 000 Tutsis in what remains one of the darkest times in the country's history close to three decades later.

Ntaganzwa was initially indicted by the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda two years after the genocide, on charges of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, murder and rape. However, after the tribunal closed, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, with offices in Arusha and The Hague, Netherlands, took over the case.

A statement released by the prosecution body, partially reads as follows: "[We have] convicted him for genocide, extermination as crime against humanity and rape as crime against humanity and sentenced him to life imprisonment. [However, we have] not found [him] guilty of murder as crime against humanity and direct and public incitement to commit genocide."

Responding to the court's conviction, Ntaganzwa's lawyer Alexis Musonera says, "It's a guilty verdict. The court has sentenced him to life in prison." Musonera adds that, "Overall we are not satisfied with the ruling. We are going to appeal."

Additionally, 84-year-old Félicien Kabuga was arrested earlier this month for his alleged involvement in the genocide. The arrest follows an indictment made back in 1997 which saw Kabuga living under a false identity and on the run for 23 years. Previously the wealthiest man in Rwanda before the genocide, he is accused of having aided the financial backing of Hutu militias who went on to slaughter about 800,000 Tutsis in total.

Whether Kabuga will be tried in France or in Rwanda is currently the subject of much debate.