Théoneste Bagosora

Colonel Théoneste Bagosora (born August 16, 1941) is a former Rwandan military officer. He is chiefly known for his role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

History and career

Bagosora was born in Giciye commune, Gisenyi préfecture, in Rwanda, of Hutu ethnicity. In 1964, he graduated from the École des officiers in Kigali with the rank of 2nd lieutenant, and continued his studies in France. During his military career he served as second-in-command of the École supérieure militaire in Kigali and as commander of Kanombe military camp.

He was appointed to the position of directeur du cabinet in Rwanda's Ministry of Defence in June 1992. Despite his official retirement from the military on September 23, 1993, he retained this portfolio until fleeing the country in July 1994.

Role in the genocide

“It seems that, inasmuch as there was a general organizer of the whole operation, this distinction has to go to Colonel Théoneste Bagosora.” (Prunier 1995:240)

Bagosora was born in the same northern region as Juvénal Habyarimana, the president of Rwanda from 1973 to 1994. He was linked to ‘le Clan de Madame’, known later as the akazu, a group associated with Agathe Habyarimana, the president’s wife, who was rumored to be a Hutu extremist and related to very powerful members of society. (Prunier 1995:167) He displayed a lust for power that was well known among extremists. (Off 2000:48).

Although, he was present at the negotiations of the Arusha Accords in August, 1993, he never supported them and is widely cited as saying, once everything was signed, that he was returning to Rwanda to prepare for the apocalypse. Luc Marshal, a Belgian Colonel, who was Romeo Dallaire’s Kigali sector commander, reported that Bagosora told him that the only way to solve Rwanda’s problems was to get rid of the Tutsi. (Off 2000:48)

Bagosora was responsible for establishing paramilitary ‘self-defense’ units, the Interahamwe, that would operate in every commune in the country. These groups were to act in concert with the local police, militas, and military authorities. Bagosora was also responsible for distributing arms and machetes throughout Rwanda. Between January 1993 and March 1994 Rwanda imported more than 500 000 machetes, twice the number than imported in previous years. (Meredith 2005:500-501). There were lists drawn up identifying people as enemies. The stage was set.

At about 8:15pm on the evening of April 6th, 1994 President Habyarimana was flying back to Kigali after a meeting when his plane was struck by two missiles fired from the ground. The plane crashed, killing everyone on board. While there is no conclusive evidence as to who is responsible for shooting down the plane, Colonel Bagosora and the akazu remain at the center of the conspiracy. Nonetheless, news of the President’s death was broadcast and the killings began. (Meredith 2005:507)

After the assassination, Colonel Bagosora along with Colonel Rwagafilita gathered supporters and convened a meeting of a Crisis Committee.(Off 2000:48-49) Romeo Dallaire, the UN commander was invited, and arrived to find the senior leadership of the Rwandan army. (Dallaire 2003:222). Dallaire rejected Bagosora’s proposal of having the military take control of the political situation until they could hand it over to the politicians and he reminded him that Rwanda still had a government headed by Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Bagosora responded that Madame Agathe was incapable of governing the nation. A few hours later, Madame Agathe was murdered with her husband by members of the Presidential Guard and the army. (Dallaire 2003:245) After Bagosora's failed attempt to have the military take over the role of government, the group proceeded to pick a provisional government. The interim government was a multiparty group, but all came from the hardliner sections of their respective parties. (Prunier 1995:232-233)

Massacres began all over the country. Many prominent Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed right away, their names and addresses having been on lists. Radio Mille Collines broadcasted incitements to murder. Trucks began arriving to pick up scores of bodies. On the morning of April 7th, ten Belgian peacekeepers who had been guarding Prime Minister Agathe and who were witnesses to the government troops laying siege to her residence, were disarmed and taken to Camp Kigali, approximately 200 metres from where Colonel Bagosora was holding a meeting of military officers. The peacekeepers were murdered over the course of several hours by military personnel. During his testimony Colonel Bagosora admitted attending to the scene while the murders were in progress, although claiming he could do nothing to stop the killings. As anticipated, the death of the ten Belgian peacekeepers prompted the withdrawal of most peacekeeping troops from Rwanda, effectively clearing the way for slaughter.

In the next 100 days, more people were killed more quickly than ever before in history. The number of dead varies from 800 000 to 1 000 000 people depending on the source.

Bagosora fled into neighbouring Zaire. “Fed and protected in refugee camps supported by millions of dollars in international aid, the Hutu Power leaders were able to hold regular planning meetings and to recruit new members.” (Off 2000:248) With Bagosora actively involved, they rebuilt their military structures with the purpose of wiping out the Tutsi population.

Bagosora later moved to Cameroon with several other Hutu Power leaders. It was here that he was detained with André Ntagerura. In 1997, he first appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, to face thirteen counts of eleven different international crimes, based on the laws of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The joint trial with three other senior military officers charged as co-conspirators opened on April 2, 2002.

During his trial further evidence was submitted that in 1991 he and his three other co-accused helped to draft a document where they referred to the Tutsi ethnic group as the "principal enemy" which was widely distributed in the army. They were also accused of supporting the media outlets responsible for spreading hate messages and making lists of victims. (Guardian Unlimited, June 1, 2007)[2]

The trial wrapped up on June 1, 2007 after five years with Colonel Theoneste Bagosora claiming his innocence. A verdict is expected this year.

On December 12, 2008 the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Bagosora guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentence to life imprisonment.

References

• ^ Indictment against Bagosora, Statement of the Facts, from the ICTR
• ^ Rwandan genocide suspect snubs trial, BBC News, April 2 2002
• Dallaire, Roméo. (2003). Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Random House Canada. ISBN 0-679-31171-8.
• Meredith, Martin. (2005). The State of Africa, London: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-6842-3.
• Off, Carol. (2000). The Lion, The Fox and The Eagle: A Story of Generals and Justice in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, Random House Canada. ISBN 0-679-31049-5.
• Prunier, Gérard. (1995). The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide, New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10408-1.
• Rice, Xan. "Rwanda Genocide Trial Finishes After 5 Years" [3], Guardian Unlimited, June 1, 2007.

External links

• Biography and trial proceedings, Trial Watch
• Théoneste Bagosora - ICTR