Wenceslas Munyeshyaka

Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka is a Rwandan Roman Catholic priest who was found guilty of involvement in the Rwandan genocide.

A military tribunal in Rwanda has found a Catholic priest, resident in France, guilty of rape and involvement in the 1994 genocide and sentenced him in absentia to life in prison. He was found to have delivered hundreds of adults and children to the genocidal militias, which brutally slaughtered them.

The military tribunal found Munyeshyaka guilty of rape and of aiding militias in the killing of hundreds of Tutsi refugees at the Holy Family Cathedral in downtown Kigali, where he was head priest.

Legal twists

He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison by a Rwandan Military Court on 16 November 2006, ICTR-arrest warrant made public on 21 June 2007, he was arrested in France on 20 July 2007, but released by a French Appeals Court on 1 August 2007. Revised indictment was released by the ICTR on 13 August 2007, he was then re-arrested by French authorities on 5 September 2007. Decision on the request of transfer to the ICTR was to be made public on 21 November 2007 [1].

On 20 November 2007, the ICTR decided to decline jurisdiction over this affair in favour of the French judicial authorities.

On 20 February 2008, the French authorities agreed to try Wenceslas Munyeshkaya in France.

On 26 August 2015, French prosecutors have asked for the case against Wenceslas Munyeshyaka to be thrown out. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said in a statement that "From our investigations, it appears the role of Wenceslas Munyeshyaka during the 1994 genocide raised a lot of questions but the probe was not able to formally corroborate specific acts pertaining to his active participation". French magistrates will now have to decide whether to bring the case to court or not.It is now up to magistrates to decide whether to bring the case to court or not.

See also

• Athanase Seromba
• Emmanuel Rukundo
• Elizaphan Ntakirutimana