As the trial of one of the leading suspects, Félicien Kabuga of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide continues in the Hague one of the witnesses testifying, reiterated his position confirming Kabuga’s influence in the bloody event.
The witness said on Wednesday that Kabuga as the proprietor of the radio station which was airing hate messages that led to outrage turn genocide should have stopped the propaganda broadcast.
The anonymous witness, who worked at the Rwandan Ministry of Information at the time, told the court that if one is in charge of an institution and members of the institution commit faults, the chief is the first one to be responsible
The witness, who was a staff at the Rwandan Ministry of Information at the time further revealed that “the chairman of the RTLM was indeed the first person who needed to make sure that the sub-paragraph of the article in question was complied with by the staff”
The witness continued, that despite warnings from the ministry, the “RTLM did not correct anything but rather redoubled its efforts to propagate its divisionist propaganda.
“This hatred and division continued to such an extent that members of the Tutsi population were killed throughout the country,’ the person added.
Mr. Félicien Kabuga who was captured in Paris two years ago after decades on the run is accused of aiding and abetting hit squads in the slaughter of about 800,000 persons from the Tutsis ethnic in just 100 days, and of using a radio station to incite hatred against them.
Judges at the United Nations tribunal revealed last week that the hearing will proceed although Kabuga was not attending the opening of the three counts of genocide in Rwanda.
The presiding judge, Iain Bonomy, confirmed Kabuga’s presence though virtually for Wednesday’s hearing
“I note the presence of Mr. Kabuga this morning by video link from the UN detention unit. I confirm having been advised that he is able to view the proceedings and to hear them in the Kinyarwanda language”
Africa’s rich ethnic diversity is not void of clashes such as the Rwanda genocide. Other African countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all had and still share ethnic conflict.