Monday marked the start of the trial of Séraphin Twahirwa and Pierre Barabosé, two Rwandans accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, at the Brussels Assize Court, as originally reported by Le Soir.
The trial comes almost three decades since the Rwandan Genocide which saw the mass killing of the Tutsis people at the hands of the Hutus between 7 April and 17 July 1994.
Twahirwa is accused of having led the extremist Hutu militia group (Interahamwe) primarily responsible for the attack on the Tutsis in Kigali, as well as being personally responsible for a number of murders and rapes. According to Le Soir, Twahirwa's ex-wife will testify against him, claiming that Twahirwa openly boasted to her about the young girls he raped.
Twahirwa is described as a powerful, cruel and violent man close to the former Rwandan presidential family with alcohol consumption problems, and even an "animal" by some witnesses. The indictment, a copy of which was obtained by Le Soir, says, "He's big, strong and very powerful, and gets away with everything, without anyone being able to stop him."
For his part, it seems like Twahirwa's team will claim that Twahirwa would have physically been unable to rape anyone, since he has worn a leg prosthesis for many years. They will also lean heavily onto his relations in Brussels, who describe him as an easy-to-get-along-with humorous individual.
Pierre Barabosé
Barabosé, on the other hand, is a businessman and ex-Rwandan soldier accused of having funded both money and arms to the Interhahamwe. However, he did not appear in court on Monday as he is suffering from "demented deterioration rendering him incapable of discernment or control of his actions," according to the indictment. It seems like Basabosé was also the second largest shareholder in RTLM (Radio-Télévision Libres des Mille Collines) after the former president – the radio station that notoriously broadcasted a call for violence against the Tutsis.
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Both Twahirwa and Barabosé arrived in Belgium after the Rwandan genocide, in 2006 and 1996 respectively. They were allegedly neighbours in Rwanda, and they met regularly in Brussels, as well. They were arrested in September of 2020.
The greatest challenge in the trial will be establishing facts beyond all reasonable doubt almost 30 years after their occurrence. The hearing is expected to last at least two months, after which the jury will have to decide whether Twahirwa and Barabosé will be found guilty.
