Philippe Hategekimana: GUILTY of genocide – life sentence affirmed after appeal dismissed

UPDATE 18 December 2024
Original article on Rwanda Justice for Genocide website :
https://rwandajustice4genocide.org.uk/hategekimana-alias-manier-former-policeman-finally-finds-himself-on-trial-in-paris/

UPDATE 18 December 2024: After a 6 week appeal, the verdict of GUILTY was reaffirmed late on the evening of 17 December following that of Philippe Hategekimana, alias Manier/Biguma’s trial last summer. His sentence of life in prison was also upheld for the horrific crimes which he had continued to deny throughout the proceedings. In his sentencing remarks the court President Marc Sommerer told the former policeman that ‘You were a most enthusiastic arm of the genocide […] certainly not the only one, but without you the events would not have reached such proportions…. « You have used your authority and prestige … you have taken an active part in the murder of the elderly, women and children. »
The court heard the gendarme had used his authority to work with the interahahmwe (militia), setting up dozens of road blocks where Tutsis were stopped and murdered. Hategekimana had taken steps to remove and murder the local bourgmeister (mayor) of Narcisse Nyagasaza of Ntyazo commune in Nyanza, near Butare in the south of Rwanda after this brave man tried to prevent the genocide from being enacted. Witnesses spoke of how Hategekimana, given the nickname ‘Biguma’ after a particularly severe teacher, became infamous in the locality for leading the killing, including personally firing into groups of women to start one particular massacre. His defence team used the usual tactics of dismissing survivor and witness accounts as either factually wrong or being the product of political machinations by the Rwandan government. Hategekimana’s own recollections of events and times changed several times – making his testimony quite unbelievable.
Over the six week hearing, 100 witnesses were heard. Some remembered Hategekimana’s actions at roadblocks such as at Akazu K’amazi where a group of 28 Tutsis were slaughtered, or leading attacks against the defenceless, terrified Tutsis gathered on hills such as Nyaburare. As with so many genocidaire, Hategekimana had fled the scene of his terrible crimes and made his way to France to start a new life under a new name (‘Philip Manier’), without sparing a thought for the suffering and misery of those whose lives he had ended or survivors left with a lifetime of pain. Naturalised as a French citizen in 2005, he had worked as a fire safety officer at the University of Rennes until a French NGO, the CPCR, had uncovered his real history and launched a legal complaint against him. It then took 15 years to get him to face justice. As with all such killers there were no words of remorse, only more lies and denial from Hategekimana, who pleaded with the court before noting ‘my life is ruined.’ How about the lives of the many you killed, Monsieur Hategekimana? or the lives of those condemned to live without their families because of you? Did you not ruin them – and then flee to save your own sorry skin?
It was noticeable that the British journalist Michaela Wrong, who has recently made a good living on the back of her personal hatred of the current Rwandan president (who she blames for the murder of her very close friend Patrick Karegeya), gave testimony in defence of this mass murderer. One suspects Wrong will now happily testify in the defence of all alleged genocidaires facing justice – including the 6 in the UK if such proceedings ever start. Wrong’s ‘testimony’ certainly dovetails nicely with the usual defence tactic of blaming all the ills of Rwanda – including the genocide against the Tutsi – on the current Rwandan leader.

DAILY RECORD OF THE PREVIOUS TRIAL PROCEEDINGS FROM PARIS ACCESSED HERE
(translated from the French report by Alain Gauthier. Original on CPCR website – https://www.collectifpartiescivilesrwanda.fr/proces-philippe-manier)