The Appeals Chamber of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Wednesday confirmed the 25 years imprisonment sentence imposed on former Rwandan wealthy farmer and businessman, Yussuf Munyakazi, for genocide and extermination, as a crime against humanity.

“The Appeals Chamber dismisses Munyakazi’s appeals in all respect. Affirms convictions of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity (and) the sentence of 25 years of imprisonment imposed on (him) by the Trial Chamber,” said Judge Mehmet Guney.

Munyakazi, a 76-year-old Muslim, was convicted in June last year for his role on the killings of approximately 5,000 Tutsis who took refugee at Shangi parish and another group of Tutsis housed at Mibilizi church in April 1994.

The chamber dismissed all Munyakazi’s eight grounds of appeal in which he had alleged that his defence of alibi was not considered and the trial chamber erred in its assessment of prosecution and defence evidence relating to the attacks at the two massacre sites.

In its judgement, the Chamber considered that the lower court reasonably concluded that Munyakazi failed to provide notice of his alibi and found no error in the assessment of such evidence.

“The Appeals Chamber is also satisfied that the prosecution evidence formed a reasonable basis for the Trial Chamber to conclude that Munyakazi led the attacks (and) finds no error in the assessment of this evidence,” reads the judgment.

Furthermore, the chamber dismissed the prosecution’s appeal, challenging, among others, the sentence imposed and sought for enhancement to life imprisonment. “The prosecution has failed to demonstrate that the Trial Chamber committed a discernible error in determining Munyakazi sentence,” Judge Guney said.

Munyakazi, the father of 13 children with two wives, was a farmer and wealthy businessman during genocide. The prosecution describes him as leader of Interahamwe militias in Bugarama commune, Cyangungu prefecture, South-West Rwanda.

Munyakazi was arrested in May 2004 in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where he lived as an Imam. His trial started on 22 April 2009 after requests to transfer his case to Rwanda for trial were not granted.

The prosecutor rested his case on June 4, 2009 after having called 12 witnesses and the defence did the same on October 15, the same year, after presenting 20 witnesses, including Munyakazi himself.

(Hirondelle News Agency)