Allegiance Rwanda | Name Idelphonse Nizeyimana | |
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Born October 5, 1963 (age 60) ( 1963-10-05 ) | ||
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Idelphonse Nizeyimana (born 5 October 1963) is a Rwandan soldier, who was convicted of having participated in the Rwandan Genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
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Life
An ethnic Hutu, Nizeyimana was born in Gisenyi prefecture in 1963, in the same commune as President Juvénal Habyarimana. In 1994, he held the rank of captain in the Rwandan Armed Forces, and was the second-in-command, after Tharcisse Muvunyi, of the École des sous-officiers (ESO). He was convicted of ordering the execution of Queen Dowager Rosalie Gicanda at the beginning of the killings in Butare.
On November 27, 2000, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued an indictment against Nizeyimana, charging him with "genocide, or in the alternative complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity." Specifically, the indictment alleged that during the genocide, Nizeyimana had "instigated, encouraged, facilitated, or acquiesced to [...], the Interahamwe committing killings, kidnappings and the destruction of property." He was described as "one of [the] highest targets" of the ICTR.
According to the African Rights organisation he is a key member of the genocidical anti-Tutsi FDLR militia. On October 6, 2009, Nizeyimana was arrested in the Ugandan capital Kampala, apparently traveling from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Kenya on false documents. The United States government had previously offered a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
On September 29, 2014, the ICTR confirmed the conviction of Nizeyimana for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his personal involvement in the killings, including the killing of Queen Gicanda. They reduced his sentence to 35 years imprisonment.