The Opening of the Ntakirutimana Trial before the ICTR

Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, whose trial will begin this week before the Tribunal for Rwanda, has not been forgotten by his flock in Mugonero, in the Southwest of Rwanda. Members of his former congregation agree on his oratory talents, less so on his Christian values. « I had to leave Rwanda in 1962 because of pastor Ntakirutimana », explains a pastor of the same Church, who, after 32 years in exile, was repatriated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo when the RPF came to power in 1994. He claims to have been a classmate of Ntakirutimana and thus considered him to be a friend. « But when my house was burnt and my property went up in smoke during the events of 1962, he pretended not to know me. Even worse, he treated me like a dirty dog », complains the former school friend. These events resulted from attacks led in the 60's by Tutsi exiles hounded out of power in 1959. The attacks were always followed by reprisals against the Tutsis inside the country, those still living in Rwanda. This forced new waves of refugees to flee to neighboring countries. An Adventist neighbor gives another facet of Ntakirutimana's personality. « He preached really well and knew how to galvanize crowds, but he was not nice at all », he affirms. And as if to bolster his claims, he adds: « he never gave anybody a ride in his car, not even women about to give birth, although he was one of the rare car owners in this out of the way spot called Mugonero ».

The Pastor's Sermons - What was he Preaching?
His sermons followed the teachings of the Adventist church, a puritan church born in the United States in 1844 and brought to Rwanda in the 30's. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is a Christian church claiming that salvation depends on temperance and respect of the Sabbath. A good Adventist neither drinks nor smokes. Some push their zeal to abstaining from meat, coffee or tea. Elizaphan Ntakirutimana held a high position within this Church. He was « President of the Association ». His powers covered the provinces of Kibuye and Cyangugu. In catholic terms, he was more or less equal to a bishop. Because he was influential, Tutsi pastors under his orders believed they would find refuge with him during the slaughters from April to June 1994. He gathered them all in one Church « to make it easier to protect them », they now claim. Every one of them was killed. « Pastor Aminadab Kabenga wanted to escape to Zaire over Lake Kivu, but Ntakirutimana dissuaded him, and he ended up being killed by a grenade in the church », asserts the wife of another pastor. She adds reproachfully, « powerless people were able to hide Tutsis, or at least they tried to, but powerful as he was, he can not claim to have saved anyone, not even among his colleagues! He did nothing to hide or evacuate anyone at all, not even his treasurer Kajongi! » Examples of courage did exist in Mugonero. Not concerning Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, but a rather woman named Magdaleine, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, who took the risk of mingling with the crowd of Tutsis, in the hope of deterring the assailants who knew her from attacking the church. She is now dead, but her memory will live on in History.