It is uncommon issue that a witness wishes to not appear in a public trial of a genocide suspect in Rwanda as it happened yesterday during the hearing of witness of the persecution in the Mugesera case.
The hearing session delayed to start as the technical staff was setting tele- conferencing system in the court. Despite the physical absence of the witness, Mugesera expressed his wishes to ask to him questions close to his identity.
‘PMH’ said that at the epoch he was working for the Ministry of commerce and trade. He was also one the most active political activists of the MRND unique political party in Rwanda at the epoch.
The witness affirmed he saw Mugesera in different stadiums namely Umuganda stadium in Miyove former commune, in Nyamyumba Commune ( in the current Rubavu district) and in Miyove calling upon the youth to terminate the Tutsi.
Upon this, the body of judges asked him on which exact date the meeting has taken place and he said it was on 22, December 1992.
Mugesera as a guest of honor in all these meetings he uttered words that blazed the hatred of the Hutu against the Tutsi, the witness told the court.
The PMH witness underlined that the speech of Mugesera at the Kabaya square has been the real blaze that incited the Hutu to kill Tutsi two years later.
He affirmed that he had heard Mugesera telling Hutu to kill the Tutsi and throw them in the Nyabarongo river as to help them going back in their ‘homeland’ Ethiopia.
Asked about what happened after Mugesera’s utterances, he said that as PMH arrived in Kigali, he saw MRND political party members harassing other political parties members by insulting and destroying billboards of political parties opposing the MRND.
According to the PMH, Kabaya speech of Mugesera really motivated the Hutu extremists to start hunting the Tutsi and burn their houses in different communes of Rwanda as called early.
He added that all of these happened due to the social status of Mugesera Leon who was considered as an intellectual able to inspire the rest of the population.
Asked whether the public authorities did not take appropriate measures to hinder this from flourishing, he said that none opposed their deeds but rather the government officials protected these ideologists from facing ultimate sanctions from the international entities.
The hearing session closed before judges hear from what Mugesera had to ask or to explain about the accusations set up by witness PMH.
UM– USEKE.RW
