Former Rwandan politician, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison by the High Court Chamber for International Crimes for crimes he committed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsi.
The 58-year-old was arrested in 2015 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and extradited back to Rwanda in 2016 where he has been on trial since.
According to a report by local publication New Times Rwanda, the prosecution said that Ntaganzwa organised and coordinated killings and rape of women at various places and roadblocks in his home area.
The prosecution also stated that on April 14, 1994, Ntaganzwa convened a high-level meeting that brought together Interahamwe militiamen, military and police officers, as well as Burundian refugees who at the time resided in the district, to strategize the “final assault on the Tutsi.”
Here, he is said to have supervised the supply of traditional weapons, hand grenades and guns; and instructing the mob to wipe out all Tutsi who had sought refuge at Cyahinda Catholic Parish and told them to ensure no one escaped, among other violent crimes.
Ntaganzwa is also accused of personally leading and supervising a massive attack at Gasasa against Tutsi who were fleeing from the Gikongoro and Butare.
