Rwanda: RPF regime and genocide survivors

Father Dr Dominique Karekezi

By The Rwandan Lawyer

Introduction

In the context of the often conflictual nature of the relations between the Rwandan regime and the survivors of the genocide, there is hereby raised the cases of father Dr Karekezi Dominique a genocide survivor who died in unclarified circumstances and that of Mrs. Nkundabanyanga Eugenie who was unjustly convicted for genocide while she was threatened during the killings as she is too a genocide survivor. On one hand, the governing regime punishes a dissenting personality by maliciously murdering him/her regardless of his or her ethnic; on the other hand, corrupt staff do not hesitate to condemn an innocent when attracted by huge bribes. The present article analyses this dual situation opposing the Rwandan power and the genocide survivors.

Moreover, to draw the attention of our esteemed readers, an article holding the same title was published in The Rwandan whereby some excerpts which had been taken from a publication of the Prof. Dr Filip Reyntjens were not referenced de facto committing a plagiarism and the redaction apologizes for that violation of intellectual property rights and promises that such facts won’t be reproduced.

Facts

Three held over death of INATEK rector. Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a catholic priest. Father Dr Dominique Karekezi was on Monday morning found dead at his home in Kigabiro Sector, Rwamagana District. Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a catholic priest. Father Dr Dominique Karekezi was on Monday morning found dead at his home in Kigabiro Sector, Rwamagana District. He was the rector of the Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Education of Kibungo (INATEK). Police Spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa told The New Times yesterday that two of those arrested were guards while the third suspect was a cook.The trio was working at the deceased’s home.“They are facilitating our investigations,” he said.The late Karekezi’s body was discovered in his room by relatives after he failed to answer repeated calls for hours, prompting the relatives and guards to enter his house where they found his body lying on the floor in his bedroom.“I was seated with one of his relatives…he had been given a cheque by the deceased, but the bank could not cash it because he was not picking his phone. The priest couldn’t answer phone calls the whole of Sunday evening,” said Claude Kayisire a resident.

“On Monday morning he was still not picking and after mid-day his phone went off. A suspicious relative decided to go to the deceased’s house to find out why he was not responding to calls. On reaching, he found all doors open and went straight into his room. He was shocked to find his body lying in a pool of blood…he had an injury on his head. His throat was swollen too.”

The relatives alerted the Police that subsequently transported Karekezi’s body to Kacyiru Police Hospital for post mortem.Results of the postmortem stated that he died from heart attack.

Mrs.Nkundabanyanga Eugenie was sentenced for genocide by gacaca courts while she was a Tutsi, genocide survivor. She was falsely charged by Karangwa Charles who had conflicts with her concerning large land. Indeed, Karangwa Charles who was a captain in Rwandan Defence Forces, had squatted this land and the presidency helped her to retake this land while he had to pay it at 100million of Rwandan francs as they had agreed. But as he changed his minds and opted for intimidation of the very owners notably by dressing military uniform of captain to cover his squatting act; he decided to manufacture charges against this genocide survivor by corrupting the gacaca judges and bribing accusing witnesses and therefore this woman was unduly sentenced for the crime of genocide while she was hiding as other Tutsi then threatened by Interahamwe militia.

The Rwandan regime is variously backing the damages daily caused against the genocide survivors.

Father Karekezi really assassinated

Per results from the Police Hospital of Kacyiru, the priest deceased due to heart attack; but one resident, who preferred anonymity alleged that the priest could have been strangled. “The Father had visitors in his house on Sunday. I am ruling out the possibility of natural death. He must have been killed,” said one source close to the deceased. The death shocked residents, fellow clergymen, nuns and INATEK staff.

“I am very shocked. On Monday he led the morning mass. We can’t believe what we are seeing, we have lost a dedicated priest, who has done a lot for the Church and community,” said Francois Rugema, a resident of the area.Jean Damascene Rwasamirira described the deceased as a very brilliant priest, who loved to keep a low-profile.

Two considerations support the thesis of murder. On one side, relatives of the victim testified that he had never suffered from a heart and that they found him bathing in his blood with clues of the fight against aggressors while a patient of such a disease does not bleed; on the contrary the heart stops but the blood does not come out. on the contrary, one vomits blood when he is strangled. On the other side, there is information according to which the deceased voiced out dissenting position against the regime and that he was very friendly with the Rwigara family, fact which was angering the regime which then decided to end up with his death and the executioners spied on him and made sure of the absence of the other occupants of the house to kill him coldly by a perfect crime.

Gacaca viscerally corruptible couldn’t do better

Diligent by peasants without legal or ethical training, the gacaca courts have done damage by often condemning innocent people on the basis of the sums received from the corrupters. It was a good opportunity for retaliations of all kinds. Thus, a magnate could use his money to hatch revenge against someone with whom he is in conflict and who did not have the means to get out; examples are legion; ethnicity did not matter; we have lastly in an article thereon talked of the Tutsi improperly imprisoned for genocide following false testimonies of those who took them as enemies or under injunction of the high authorities of the state. The daughter of the convict stated that detaining her is more secure because Karangwa Charles had threatened to assassinate her by unprovable ways such as disappearance; sorcery; poisoning and so on.

Conclusion 

In both cases, the Rwandan regime is accused of acting directly against the survivors of the genocide or of covering up its dishonest agents who harm the defenseless population without worrying about their status as a survivor of the genocide that it is supposed to protect as explicitly enshrined by the constitution. The question not yet responded is to whom they may resort to be overcome such an injustice given that Ibuka, Association of genocide survivors, is often accomplice with the State; its recent position in the case of Karasira does not need any additional evidence.