Cape Town – The Paris Criminal Court has sentenced former Prefect of Gikongoro Prefecture Laurent Bucyibaruta to 20 years in jail for his role in the Rwanda genocide.
Bucyibaruta, who has been in this court for the last two months, was found guilty of complicity in the massacre of Tutsi at Kibeho secondary school, Marie Merci, where killings targeted Tutsi students between April 14 and 16.
The former Rwandan prefect is accused of aiding and abetting the genocide that left hundreds of thousands of people dead in the country back in 1994.
According to online news outlet The East African, at the heart of the case against the 78-year-old were several “security” meetings, either ordered or attended by Bucyibaruta, which prosecutors had argued were actually planning sessions for the killings.
Laurent Bucyibaruta, 78, was on Tuesday sentenced by a French court to 20 years in prison for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.https://t.co/Yg72NAL65U
— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) July 13, 2022
This follows the closing of the case last week, where the prosecution sought a life sentence for the man who is responsible for the death of thousands in the former Gikongoro Prefecture in southern Rwanda, where he was the prefect, says Rwanda’s The New Times.
Local media in Rwanda says that Bucyibaruta, who has been dubbed by survivors “the Butcher of Gikongoro” is specifically accused of masterminding the massacres of Tutsis in Murambi, Cyanika, Kaduha and Kibeho.
Particularly, in Murambi over 50 000 Tutsis were exterminated on Bucyibaruta’s command, making it one of the most horrific killing grounds during the 100-day massacre, according to The New Times.
