Rwandan witness eats his words
2004-04-21 06:30
Kigali - A key prosecution witness in the trial of former President Pasteur Bizimungu on Tuesday recanted damaging testimony against the man, claiming in court that he was intimidated by the police to sign a statement alleging that Bizimungu was recruiting a private militia.
Obed Nsigiyumva, 33, disowned the testimony during cross examination by Bizimungu who appeared in court 19 days after pleading innocent to charges of threatening national security, embezzlement and fomenting ethnic divisions similar to those that preceded the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
On Tuesday, the former president began cross-examining prosecution witnesses to highlight inconsistencies with written testimonies nearly two years after he was arrested and kicked out of the presidential mansion.
Bizimungu, a 53-year-old from Rwanda's Hutu majority, was the first president in the government of national unity formed after the genocide.
The 100-day rampage, in which Hutu extremists orchestrated the slaughter of more than 500 000 people, mostly minority Tutsis, ended when Tutsi-dominated rebels captured the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in July 1994.
Bizimungu resigned as president in March 2000 after disputes over the prosecution of ministers accused of corruption and mismanagement.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.
- AP